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A national anti-fracking group staged a silent protest at the chamber
YOUNGSTOWN
Members of a national group marching across the country to draw attention to climate issues were escorted out of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber’s downtown office after staging a silent protest there.
About 30 to 50 members of the Great March for Climate Action went to the chamber office, 11 Central Federal St., about 9:30 a.m. Friday.
The group was protesting the chamber’s position in opposition to an anti-fracking Community Bill of Rights charter amendment that is in front of Youngstown voters for the fourth time during this election. The proposal has failed the three previous times it’s been on the ballot.
Group members at the chamber staged a silent protest, said Susie Beiersdorfer, a member of Frack Free Mahoning Valley who was outside on Central Square when the Climate Action group went inside to the chamber.
The group posted a picture of the protesters on its Twitter account and a statement that read: “No #fracking Chamber of Commerce #climatemarch #Youngstown.”
On its Facebook wall, the group posted pictures of its walk from the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Youngstown, where its members stayed Thursday and Friday, to the chamber. The Facebook post stated the group “stood in silence in the chamber offices and pointed people to learn more about the negative impact of fracking in the community.”
The members were inside the chamber office briefly before the police were called, said Guy Coviello, the chamber’s vice president of government affairs. Most of the chamber’s employees were at a Good Morning Boardman breakfast when the protesters were there, he said.
There was no damage caused by the protesters, who observed some chamber employees working and were looking in chamber offices, Coviello said.
The police were called, and the protesters were escorted out by officers, he said.
There were no arrests, and “they were cooperative,” said Police Chief Robin Lees.
Members of the Great March for Climate Action had an anti-fracking rally Thursday downtown. The group started traveling from Los Angeles on March 1, and is on its way to Washington, D.C., expecting to arrive Nov. 1, to demand action to resolve climate issues.