Refinery Town: Big Oil, Big Money, and the Remaking of an American City

by Steve Early, Bernie Sanders (Foreword)

The People vs. Big Oil—how a working-class company town harnessed the power of local politics to reclaim their community

With a foreword by Bernie Sanders

Home to one of the largest oil refineries in the state, Richmond, California, was once a typical company town, dominated by Chevron. This largely nonwhite, working-class city of 100,000 suffered from poverty, pollution, and poorly funded public services. It had one of the highest homicide rates per capita in the country and a jobless rate twice the national average.

But when veteran labor reporter Steve Early moved from New England to Richmond in 2012, he discovered a city struggling to remake itself. In  Refinery Town , Early chronicles the 15 years of successful community organizing that raised the local minimum wage, defeated a casino development project, challenged home foreclosures and evictions, and sought fair taxation of Big Oil.

A short list of Richmond’s activist residents helps to propel this compelling chronicle:

• 94 year old Betty Reid Soskin, the country’s oldest full-time national park ranger and witness to Richmond’s complex history
• Gayle McLaughlin, the Green Party mayor who challenged Chevron and won
• Police Chief Chris Magnus, who brought community policing to Richmond and is now one of America’s leading public safety reformers

Part urban history, part call to action,  Refinery Town  shows how concerned citizens can harness the power of local politics to reclaim their community and make municipal government a source of much-needed policy innovation. 
 
 

“ Refinery Town  provides an inside look at how one American city has made radical and progressive change seem not only possible but sensible.”— David Helvarg ,  The Progressive

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Economics, Labor, Environment, Politics

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 17, 2017

Reviews

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to Edelweiss+ and Beacon Press for my DRC.

There is nothing worse than a corporate lobbyist seeking the blinding of oversight for their industry: Congressional intervention alone saved the Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board in 2017, whose paltry $11 million budget stands in stark contrast to the $530 billion industry they're charged with regulating. Author Early, in his extremely tendentious résumé of the many battles fought by the Richmond (CA) Progressive Alliance, some won and others lost but all in service of the humans of the city, kept me gasping in outraged sympathy. I definitely encourage Bernie supporters, environmentalists, and progressives to make the considerable effort to read this case study of a movement.

[BMR, LCSW · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got a preview copy from the publisher.

About 10% into the book, I was so infuriated at Chevron and their manipulation of city hall that I wanted to throw my Kindle across the L car.

This book is a fantastic study of the relationships between Chevron, the City of Richmond CA, and the citizens affected by all the municipal intrigue, infighting, backbiting, attacking and posturing.

Steve Early gives great background on the history of the companies that have run Richmond since its inception, evidently it's always been a company town of one type or another.

Corporations would rather pay fines (which they then get reduced) for "accidents" that kill numerous people, than pay to create safer environments for workers and citizens. Reduced fines are ALWAYS cheaper than safety plans, government mandates, and political donations to local pols.

For those interested in: poli-sci, progressive activism, public health, history, grassroots organizing, urban planning/development, environmental causes, labor unions/history, Citizens United, mystery PACs, and local government issues

[Friscomama · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm impressed by the progress made. There is certainly a feel-good quality in the town's residents replacing the mayor who was willing to do anything Chevron Oil requested. The book attracted me because I live near Richmond, and while I never worked at Chevron there, I did work at another bay area refinery briefly (until I found out the number of fatalities resulting from safety standards not adhered to).

While the opposition referred to the new city counsel members as radical extremists, the coalition cleaning up the government was only able to succeed by drawing from diverse groups and working on issues with wide appeal. The book is well written and has many notes in the back so that sources are documented, while letting a casual reader just move through the story.

details about politics and refinery safety:
I'm writing this on the early morning of December 22, 2017, scared for refinery workers if the new federal budget shuts down the Chemical Safety Board. If so, the residents of Richmond can expect "more shelter in place" events where they are ordered to stay inside with windows all shut, and preferably taped at the edges, while toxic chemical clouds from the Chevron refinery settle over the neighborhoods.
This article in Chemical & Engineering News notes that Trump's plan has been to delete the safety board's entire 11 million dollar budget, to help increase defense spending by $54 billion and build a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although Steve Early wrote this book before Trump was elected, Trump's election increased the need to focus on state and local organizing for progressive change. Early's book uses the case study of Richmond, California, as a study in how progressives can build power on the municipal level and fight back against corporate power (in this case, the main--but not sole--corporate foe is Chevron). The Richmond Progressive Alliance, working with liberal Democrats, Greens, socialists, and leftists of all stripes, managed to wrest control over local politics from Chevron and advance and pioneer progressive policies. Early is clearly a booster of the RPA (he is also a member), but he does not shy away from some of the problems the group has faced (e.g., a divide between a core of largely old, white, and retired activists and a more multiracial, working-class, younger membership). Constructive criticism is vital for the success of any movement. The RPA is an example of how movement organizing can interface with local government, and if we are to survive the next four years, we'll need more examples of it.

[Shayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though informative and full of wonderful quotes and interviews of local Richmonders through the ages, the author's biases are difficult to overlook: who he chooses to quote and who is left out of a conversation, how minority groups are identified when convenient for the narrative, and how other Bay Area cities are discussed. As a recent Richmond resident, I'm glad to learn some of my city's social and political history, but having lived elsewhere in the Bay for much longer, it's hard to ignore how certain events and relationships have been exaggerated or removed from the narrative to tell a specific version of events.

[Zack]

This book is definitely worth reading (if you're interested in the topic) for its quality writing into roughly 2008-2015 Richmond politics and what left leaning electoral organizing could and couldn't do. There was a decent quick labor history of Richmond in general as well. I could have with much more input from leftest critics in the chapter about police. It was a pretty easy read; not in a bad way.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has a lot of info about policies that the RPA put into place after getting candidates elected. What this book is missing is info on exactly how the RPA went about building their base, creating coalitions, and winning elections.

[Julie Stevenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to read this book. I grew up in neighboring El Sobrante. Many of the views stated about Chevron and big oil are inaccurate and unfortunately do not capture the entire story. Chevron was there long before Richmond was ever incorporated as a city and long before unions as we know them today were established. The City of Richmond has always had a "bite the hand that feeds" approach and it was even worse when McLaughlin rolled into town. It blows my mind that McLaughlin went to Ecuador and stuck her nose in that. It was a Texaco issue and although Chevron did acquire Texaco, the case was deemed fraudulent on several levels. Chevron has always desired and proved to be a good neighbor in the communities where employees live and work, as have other major oil companies. Chevron funds greater than 50% of the City of Richmond's budget and above that funds programs and provides thousands of volunteers for multiple events supporting various organizations and causes every year and has done this for decades. It was hysterical how the "Stop Work Authority" card was portrayed in this book. It made it seem like prior GM Kory Judd just deployed it as a new initiative when in reality that card has been in place for years! It is updated when a new GM comes in. It is obvious that the references in the book lack internal knowledge of the oil industry. It was nice to read the historical recap of Richmond and many things I remember as a child growing up, young teenager, and an adult and comparing this to my own experiences and those of my family members.

[Gemini · Rating 3 out of 5]

While reading this book I kept thinking it was Virginia because the city they referenced was Richmond, but it actually is California. There were certain chapters of this book that I didn't really follow to well for some reason & think it was because they went off topic so to speak. I mean I guess it was related but it wasn't making sense to me but I kept reading anyway. This is not a happy ending type of story, so don't expect that. There are some victories which is great but I think maybe trying to figure out some of that in this book isn't all that clear. I guess I found some of it just tedious or boring due to the writing. I was expecting more out of this & it wasn't there.

[Barbara Kemp · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subject material about the town's fight to maintain independence from big oil and big money was important and interesting. However, I got bogged down in the details, especially in the petty disputes between some of the city council members. If Reader's Digest wanted to make this into a condensed book I would wholeheartedly recommend it. I found myself sharing with others some of the details of how the city fought back, so in that sense it was worth reading. It was just a slog to get through some parts.

[Wylie Hughs]

this book does a great job of documenting the progressive successes in richmond. i’d recommend it for people who grew up in the bay area or are interested in local politics. i better understand the extent to which chevron has manipulated richmond as well as how they’ve manipulated the city.

i will say the writing isn’t the best. the narrative came secondary to facts and stats, which made it hard to feel truly inspired. but it was never confusing and i got a decent sense of the people’s personalities.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who recently moved to the East Bay, this book provides a great landscape of the progressive community organizations and public servants fighting against Chevron in Richmond. I particularly enjoyed the history successes and failures of “blue-green alliances” in the city. The only fault was the optimistic view of police reform.

[Gerry Dincher · Rating 1 out of 5]

I generally agree with the side of the author and the progressive leaders of Richmond. If you want to read about both sides of the Chevron v. socially conscious leadership, this is not the book for you. The anti-Chevron bias is too strong.

[Jason Schulman · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, essential piece of political analysis and reporting. A must-read for democratic socialists looking for something like a "model" of how to engage in local electoral politics.

[Benja · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 but rounding up

[Thayer Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book if you want to learn about how successful grassroots movements can be

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy political stories of the David and Goliath nature this book will be appealing. It goes beyond the company controlled town to the grassroots efforts to return the control to the people. Who also must face that in doing so they risk the gentrification that has overtaken neighboring areas and would put the homes beyond affordability for new, young buyers.

[RACHEL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early provides an great look at the intersection of big business, local politics and the people count in the middle.

My copy was a gift through Goodreads First Reads.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely worth reading, at least skimming as I ended up doing for the last part of the book. Could have been more engagingly written but gives one a good understanding of what we're up against in the form of large corporations like Chevron and the possibilities of overcoming all the roadblocks thrown in the way of progressives, even if temporarily. It helped that the city this book is talking about is just up the road from where I live. As I said it is worth reading to get an idea of what it takes to fight big capital.