what we do

Centuries of colonialism, capitalism, and white supremacy have embedded us in systems that prioritize profit and result in environmental degradation, severe social inequity, and climate change. This comes at the cost of our natural environment, our health and well-being, and our collective future on Earth. We are witnessing the unfolding of catastrophe, with increasingly frequent natural disasters, extreme weather, public health crises, and social and economic desperation. Governments, large businesses, and other wealthy, ruling elite have and will not implement a  transition to an economy that supports and protects workers, the historically marginalized, and the environment. We cannot count on those who created and benefit from this crisis to save us from it.

We need bold, creative, and urgent solutions that do not reinforce historic injustices or create new human rights violations. The climate crisis disproportionately harms already-marginalized communities and many of these communities are leading battles for a better, healthier, safer planet. These are the communities we support and the battles we fight.

our work

Breach is a nimble organization with the capacity and expertise to support movements at varying stages of development with divergent approaches to making an impact. Our mission is to build power within the climate and labor movements through organizing, legal advocacy, education, and storytelling.

Currently, our work is centered around: 

  1. Fossil fuel resistance, including “natural” methane gas

  2. Building electrification

  3. Labor movement building

  4. Movement education

  5. Internal anti-racism work

our project & partners

Stop Zenith Oil: We work with a broad contingent of neighborhood organizations, nonprofits, and elected officials in Portland to stop the expansion of Zenith Energy and ensure a rapid, managed decline of fossil fuel infrastructure in the city’s Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub.

Fossil Free Eugene & other Oregon anti-gas and building electrification work: We are a member of the Fossil Free Eugene coalition holding the City of Eugene accountable to its Climate Recovery Ordinance by demanding building electrification policy and a just transition to renewable energy. We connect with grassroots organizations in other cities around the state to help propel similar initiatives at the local government level. We are involved in efforts to expose the truth about “natural” methane gas and the deception of the natural gas industry to portray the dangerous fossil fuel as a safe climate solution.

Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP, formerly Memphis Community Against the Pipeline): We were one of MCAP’s first partners when it formed in 2020 to successfully fight construction of the proposed Byhalia Connection Pipeline through Black neighborhoods in Southwest Memphis. After this victory, we continue to support MCAP as they protect Memphis’ groundwater from pollution and broaden their advocacy to include other environmental justice issues.

Organize Your Organization!: Breach launched this project in early 2024 to help educate and empower other nonprofit workers to organize a union in their workplace.

Support Unionizing Efforts in Other Nonprofits: We collaborate with staff at our union, Communications Workers of America, to create resources and foster a unionization movement at nonprofit organizations and in other climate-vulnerable workforces. 

Movement Education: Breach provides ongoing education courses and trainings for activists, organizers, storytellers, attorneys, and other interested members of the communities we partner with. Our 2021 course, “Organizing the Green New Deal,” attracted hundreds of participants and showcased cutting edge thought in the climate justice movement.

Internal Anti-Racism Work: We work to proactively identify, take accountability for, and dismantle components of white supremacy and hierarchy in our internal culture and workplace dynamics.

Breach in the press

  • “Given Zenith’s record in Portland, there are myriad reasons that the DEQ could deny the air permit application so we’ll see whose interests our state agencies prioritize: the safety of the community or the profits of fossil fuel company with a pattern of dishonesty and rule breaking…I am confident that Oregonians will show up to these hearings en masse to remind DEQ who they work for.” - Nick Caleb in the Oregonian.

  • “There is a vast chasm between NW Natural’s representations and reality. NW Natural has spent years greenwashing its operations to prevent needed regulation and is finally being called to account by its own customers.” - Danny Noonan for KOIN News

  • “A coalition of environmental groups called the Pacific Northwest Forest Climate Alliance is planning to protest old-growth logging on public lands in front of the Forest Service’s Portland office Thursday afternoon. Member Meg Ward, also co-founder of the Eugene-based nonprofit Breach Collective, said it is part of a growing movement of opposition to mature and old-growth logging across the region.” - Oregon Capital Chronicle

  • “They are legitimizing what the city did with Zenith. The bureaucrats of DEQ had no appetite to pursue any of this, and the EQC as their oversight body just deferred to that.” - Nick Caleb in Street Roots

  • “In the context of everything that is going on, this is really interesting because on August 24th, no one except the city, Zenith, and now DEQ know that these conversations are taking place. There’s an active lawsuit at the same time. DEQ is basically in negotiations with a party to that litigation over how to protect its interests. That’s how this reads to me.” - Nick Caleb in DeSmog

  • How Do You Hire at a Worker Self-Directed Nonprofit? - Jay Monteverde for Nonprofit Quarterly

  • Remaking the Economy: Worker Self-Directed Nonprofits in Practice - Jay Monteverde and other for Nonprofit Quarterly

  • “They misled regulators and the public about their intent and activities.” - Nick Caleb re: Zenith in the Oregonian

  • “In 2022, officials at the City of Portland — including Commissioners Carmen Rubio and Dan Ryan — plotted behind closed doors with Zenith to rush new permissions to allow the oil company to continue running oil trains through Portland neighborhoods. I’m glad that the City Auditor is holding Zenith accountable for its part, and now we need state regulators to hold city officials accountable as well.” - Nick Caleb in the Oregonian

  • “For those of us who have followed Zenith’s activities since they came to Portland, it’s not a surprise that they broke the law again.” - Nick Caleb in Street Roots

  • “It just shows that the wealthier Portlanders who have been putting money behind dark money campaigns like People for Portland have made up their mind about who they want to see in the mayor's office.” - Nick Caleb in the Portland Mercury

  • “The city categorizes both its denial and granting of the Land Use Compatibility Statement as an administrative process. But it’s really clear that they had a very unique and unprecedented process for Zenith. And this came after a court told them that they had to do a quasi-judicial proceeding, which requires informing the public, conducting a public comment process and disclosing ex-parte communications with Zenith and its agents. The city did none of these things.” - Nick Caleb in the Oregonian

  • “Given their track record, it seems likely,” Caleb said. “Portland residents’ risk from liquid fuel transport will likely increase.” - Nick Caleb re: Zenith in the Oregonian

  • "Pursuant to Or. Admin. R. 340-018-0050(2)(a)(C), if DEQ 'concludes a local government LUCS review and determination may not be legally sufficient, the Department may deny the permit application and provide notice to the applicant…We encourage you to act with the boldness that the moment deserves.” - Breach letter quoted in Street Roots

  • “Our city officials intentionally worked with Zenith to issue them a new permit, allowing them to continue bringing oil tankers down our river and oil trains through our neighborhoods.” - Josie Moberg in the Mercury

  • “It has become very fashionable in the fossil fuel industry to just use the word renewable when describing the operations that they plan on doing in the future. In a lot of ways, this will depart from how maybe ordinary people understand what renewable energy is — like solar panels and wind turbines. This is not renewable in that sense.” - Nick Caleb in Street Roots

  • “If you had told me the city is going to strike a deal with Zenith to allow at least five more years of their fossil fuel operations, I would just be like, ‘Why? You’re in the driver’s seat. Why would you give up your power and leverage?’ It doesn’t make any sense.”- Nick Caleb in DeSmog

  • “Anybody who follows the fossil fuel industry close knows you should be pretty skeptical about their claims. They’re not the most honest industry. They've been lying about the climate for, you know, 50 years." - Nick Caleb in Street Roots

  • “Without the work of passing laws and re-seizing the reins of politics and going to the ballot box, we can’t win. We should celebrate, sure, but we should be realistic about the work ahead.” Nick Caleb in the Guardian

  • “Prosecutors providing assurances that a new terrorism law will only be used in the most narrow and responsible ways in Oregon doesn’t ease my worries in the least…The Secretary of State report on extremism demonstrated that there’s little appetite to actually grapple with the abuses of anti-terrorism laws and institutions that have arisen in this country over the last several decades, so Oregon is at high risk of repeating history.” - Nick Caleb in The Intercept

  • “Suddenly there’s enough Democrats that also think labeling things as terrorism will have an effect on stopping that type of disruptive activity.” - Nick Caleb in Grist

  • “I think that's probably a next step ... trying to figure out how we as unionized workers and workplaces can start pressuring funders to not support organizations whose management is actively engaged in union busting or contracting with notorious union- defense firms.” - Danny Noonan in E&E

  • “The most information we got out of the meeting was how scared the city is of getting sued…You can always cite fear of litigation when you’re citing industry over community, but that’s a very frustrating answer for the community to hear.” - Josie Moberg in the Pacific Sentinel

  • “Portland is ready to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy.” - Nick Caleb in the Oregonian

  • “We advocated for additional measures to ensure community oversight of major polluters and protections for communities living near large liquid fuel storage tanks, but these recommendations were ignored by [Portland] city staff and City Council.” - Nick Caleb in the Oregonian.

  • “The ‘deal’ does nothing to protect Portland’s residents from dangerous trains or fuel storage facilities. The city fast-tracked this decision without any community involvement and with full knowledge of how many residents and elected officials spoke out against Zenith’s operations last fall.” - Nick Caleb on Zenith in Oregon Public Broadcasting.

  • “We hope that this is just the beginning of building electrification policy in Eugene, and we hope they stay the course and move expeditiously on the timelines they set themselves.” - Danny Noonan on KLCC.

  • “NW Natural has been exceptionally successful for many, many years running a marketing campaign to convince people that they're a green company. Even their name makes them sound like an organic grocer rather than a fracked gas supply.” - Nick Caleb in the Mercury.