Event Details

Please join us to mark the second anniversary of the tragedy at Texas City, and to unveil the Remember the 15 Bill. We will assemble on the South Steps of the Texas Capitol in Austin from 12:30 to 2:00 P.M.

Location:
South Steps of the Texas Capitol in Austin
1100 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX

For driving directions click here.

Time: 12:30pm - 1pm

Speaker List:

Gary Beevers is the former USW District 13 Director and new International Vice President in charge of the union’s National Oil Bargaining program. After the OCAW-UPIU merger to form PACE, Beevers was elected in 2003 to be vice president and regional director of PACE Region Six. In 1987, OCAW President Joseph Misbrener appointed him to be an international representative covering workers in the oil, chemical and paper industries as well the public sector.

Brent W. Coon is the founding member of the firm Brent Coon & Associates. A veteran of hundreds of jury trials, his firm has obtained verdicts for many individuals in excess of a million dollars over the last decade and total settlements in the hundreds of millions of dollars. As lead plaintiff’s attorney for Eva Rowe in her lawsuit against BP, PLC., Mr. Coon reached an unprecedented settlement : the terms included the first-ever release of corporate documents that would have otherwise remained sealed and unseen by the public. These internal documents detailed every misstep made by BP leading to the tragic explosion at Texas City. Furthermore, the settlement called for at least $32 million in charitable donations to be made to medical, education and research institutions on behalf of the victims of Texas City. Brent Coon & Associates is the largest plaintiffs’ trial firm in the country has 15 offices across the country.

State Representative Craig Eiland was first elected to the Texas State Legislature in 1994. Mr. Eiland began his public service representing the citizens of Galveston County. Mr. Eiland has been recognized three times by Texas Monthly magazine, including one of the "Ten Best Legislators" in 2003.

Texas State Senator Mario V. Gallegos, Jr., has dedicated his career to helping others. After serving 22 years in the Houston Fire Department where he retired as Senior Captain, Gallegos continued his public service in the Texas Legislature. Elected to the Texas State Senate in 1994, he is the first Hispanic Senator elected to represent Harris County. Most recently Mr. Gallegos was recognized by the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters and the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas for his work during the 77th Legislative Session.

Tammy Miser co-founded United Support & Memorial or Workplace Fatalities (USMWF) in 2004 after her brother Shawn Boone was killed in an explosion at Hayes-Lemmerz Huntington, IN. Tammy’s experience dealing with a workplace death prompted her to ensure other families were able to gain the support, healing, awareness, and sensitive information she was not able to obtain. Through USMWF Tammy has helped assemble groups and individuals together for common causes; such as giving our lost workers a voice and helping families deal with the repercussions of their loved ones death.

Eva Rowe is a native of Hornbeck, Louisiana. On the morning of March 23, 2005, her parents were killed in the explosion at the BP Chemical Refining plant in Texas City, Texas. On November 9, 2006, Ms. Rowe agreed to a settlement in her lawsuit against BP, LLC. BP agreed to her demands, including the public release of legal documents and a total of $38 million to be donated to Texas A&M University, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, the College of the Mainland in Texas City, the Cancer Center at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in memory of her parents, and to the Hornbeck, Louisiana school system in the memory of her mother. Ms. Rowe, along with attorney Brent Coon, is helping spearhead the passage of the “Remember the 15” bill in the Texas Legislature to do everything possible to prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again.

Emmett Sheppard is president of the Texas AFL-CIO, a state labor federation with approximately 220,000 affiliates from labor unions across Texas. The Texas AFL-CIO is the leading voice advocating for workers’ rights in Texas. A former City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem in his hometown of Groves, Mr. Sheppard worked at Gulf Oil Corp., where he assumed various duties in his union. In 2003 Mr. Sheppard won unanimous support to become Texas AFL-CIO president. Among other activities, he serves on the executive board of the Workers’ Assistance Program, which helps workers throughout the state with a variety of problems and on the executive advisory board of Project SAFE Texas.

N. Alex Winslow As Texas Watch’s Executive Director, N. Alex Winslow oversees all legislative, political, administrative, and research operations for the organization. Alex directs issue strategy and leads program development. Mr. Winslow has been named one of Texas’s Top 10 “Lobbyists for Causes” by the influential political newsletter Capitol Inside , and he currently serves as a consumer liaison to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Prior to coming to Texas Watch in 2004, Alex served five years as the Chief of Staff for State Representative Barry B. Telford. He has also worked on numerous political campaigns, as well as for several members of the Texas House. Alex’s broad experience in the legislative and political arenas has given him a unique knowledge and understanding of public policy-making.