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How Texas’ abortion ban hurts Big Oil’s effort to transform its workforce

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How Texas’ abortion ban hurts Big Oil’s effort to transform its workforce


Hayley Hollands, an legal professional, and her husband Steve Beaman, an oil employee, who moved from Texas amid issues in regards to the legal guidelines within the state, pose for an image in Lone Tree, Colorado, U.S., on this undated handout image. Hayley Hollands/Handout by way of REUTERS

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DENVER/HOUSTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) – As Texas officers moved to limit abortion, promote Christianity in colleges and the state’s energy grid teetered on collapse, oil employee Steven Beaman and his spouse Hayley Hollands determined it was time to stay elsewhere.

By April, Beaman had joined a communications agency in Colorado, abandoning a greater than decade-long profession in oil and fuel, and Hollands, an legal professional, quickly adopted, forsaking the state over its more and more strident politics and polarization.

“It’s form of the primary time I’ve reckoned with the concept I do not suppose I’ll stay in my house state ever once more,” mentioned Hollands. She likened the local weather contributing to the couple’s choice to depart Texas to “dying by a thousand paper cuts.”

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Oil firms have spent hundreds of thousands to counter the frayed picture of fossil fuels and recruit a youthful and extra numerous workforce. However a flaring of political tradition wars – round abortion, faith and LGBT+ rights – threaten to undo hiring and retention objectives, in response to interviews with greater than two dozen employees and a nationwide survey.

Over half of ladies between 18-44 years and 45% of college-educated female and male employees wouldn’t think about a job in a state that banned abortion, in response to a survey of two,020 U.S. adults final month by opinion researcher PerryUndem.

BP (BP.L), Chevron (CVX.N), Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Shell (SHEL.L) and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) didn’t touch upon how abortion and cultural wars are affecting their hiring and worker retention when requested by Reuters.

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RECRUITING HURDLE

“It has at all times been tough to draw girls into oil and fuel,” mentioned Sherry Richard, a 40-year oil business veteran most just lately human assets chief at offshore driller Transocean Ltd (RIGN.S). “If you create an setting that’s unfriendly to girls, it simply makes it tougher,” she mentioned.

Richard, 66, who now sits on the boards of two oilfield companies, mentioned she doesn’t plan to depart the state, however would help her son and his household in the event that they moved.

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The enterprise dangers to recruiting is very excessive for oil firms, already unpopular with graduates of engineering packages, mentioned Jonas Kron, chief advocacy officer at Trillium Asset Administration. The Boston-based agency, which oversees $5.4 billion in investments outdoors of oil, is asking firms to take motion to attenuate the monetary losses of a restricted workforce.

“Lack of variety isn’t solely an issue to monetary efficiency, which they’re aware of, but additionally one among firm values,” Kron mentioned. “That’s deeply regarding.”

Some California members of the Society of Ladies Engineers (SWE) have declined to attend the group’s convention in Houston in October due to the state’s anti-abortion regulation, which bans most abortions after about six weeks. The one exception is when a health care provider certifies the mom’s life is in speedy hazard.

SWE after subsequent 12 months is not going to maintain conferences for its 40,000 members in states with abortion bans attributable to “restricted entry to girls’s healthcare,” in response to its web site.

Trevor Greatest, chief govt of Syzygy Plasmonics, a Houston-based startup whose chemical reactors run on renewable electrical energy, just lately had a girl job candidate from out-of-state say she wouldn’t think about relocating to Texas.

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has acknowledged the state is dropping employees, however doesn’t remorse the departures. “Now we have an trade program happening,” Abbott mentioned in August at a conservative political gathering. “We’re getting California conservatives; we’re sending them our liberals.”

SILENCE ON ABORTION

The 5 prime oil majors have mentioned they help journey for well being remedies by workers in numerous states. However none named abortion of their responses, nor disclosed whether or not there’s an inner steerage for abortion care, a priority for workers who need to administer the insurance policies.

“The foundations are usually not clear,” mentioned a Texas engineer who additionally does recruiting for an U.S. oil main in Houston and declined to be named. “Will (an worker) have to inform her supervisor the explanation of the journey as an illustration? I’ve requested for readability, however I acquired no reply.”

Some employees need their employers to take a stand on abortion.

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“Firms say they worth worker’s rights and but finance politicians who violate my rights and wellbeing,” mentioned a 45-year-old engineer at oilfield service agency Halliburton (HAL.N) who declined to be recognized fearing reprimands. “That is hypocrisy,” she mentioned.

Oil firms contribute to politicians who advocate without cost commerce, tax and vitality insurance policies by political motion committees (PACs). That standards matches a majority of Republican politicians who additionally vote to limit abortion rights.

A California-based Chevron engineer who’s planning to have a toddler and likewise declined to have his identify used mentioned he advised his boss that he couldn’t go forward with a relocation to Houston.

“We discover it medically unsafe to hold a being pregnant in Texas,” he mentioned, including his spouse is at excessive danger for ectopic pregnancies. With docs in Texas now solely capable of carry out emergency abortions in occasion of speedy hazard to the mom’s life, “that’s too near name for me.”

Daybreak Seiffert, 52, and her husband, an oil firm worker, returned to Texas in 2012 and deliberate to remain. However with Texas’ anti-abortion regulation applied, the mom of 4 is contemplating shifting together with her daughters to Maine whereas her husband stays to earn full retirement advantages.

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Texas politics “even earlier than Roe” had been heading within the mistaken path, Seiffert mentioned. “The general public schooling, the grid… they’re extra consumed with private freedoms versus any duty in the direction of each other,” she mentioned.

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Reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver and Sabrina Valle in Houston; Modifying by Gary McWilliams and Lisa Shumaker

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Ideas.



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Former Colorado defensive end Dayon Hayes transfers to Texas A&M

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Former Colorado defensive end Dayon Hayes transfers to Texas A&M


Former Colorado Buffaloes defensive end Dayon Hayes is set to continue his collegiate career at Texas A&M after transferring following a season-ending injury. Hayes, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound defender, began his journey at Pitt, where he played from 2020 to 2023, accumulating 13 sacks and 80 tackles over four seasons.

At Pitt, Hayes showcased his potential in his sophomore and junior years, logging around 500 combined snaps and producing 30 pressures. His breakout came in 2023 when he amassed 44 pressures and a 13% pass rush win rate, ranking 12th in the ACC. Hayes also demonstrated solid run defense, posting an average tackle depth of 1.6 yards and recording 10.5 stops for loss. His ability to set the edge and prevent runners from escaping outside made him a critical piece of Pitt’s defense.

Following his success at Pitt, Hayes transferred to Colorado as a highly sought-after addition to Deion Sanders’ revamped Buffaloes roster. He made an immediate impact, registering two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in Colorado’s first three games. However, his promising start was cut short by a knee injury in the fourth game, sidelining him for the rest of the season.

Deion Sanders says he won’t attend the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay

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Despite the setback, Hayes’ strong early performance likely earned him a medical redshirt, granting him another year of eligibility. With his final collegiate season on the horizon, Hayes opted to join Texas A&M, bringing his pass-rushing skills to the SEC. The Aggies, coming off an eight-win season, are set to face USC in the Las Vegas Bowl. Hayes’ ability to pressure quarterbacks and defend the run should bolster Texas A&M’s defensive front, adding experience and depth to their edge rotation for the 2024 season.



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D-FW can claim Texas’ best high school football team in an otherwise down year for Dallas

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D-FW can claim Texas’ best high school football team in an otherwise down year for Dallas


ARLINGTON — North Crowley showed out on Saturday in its dazzling 50-21 victory over Austin Westlake in the 6A Division I state title game, winning the program’s second state championship and putting Fort Worth high school football on the map in front of 36,120 fans at AT&T Stadium.

Until North Crowley took the field at 7:30 p.m., there was a possibility the Dallas-Fort Worth area might boast only one state champion in 2024. Celina routed Kilgore 55-21 in the 4A Division I state championship to capture the program’s ninth state title and its first under coach Bill Elliott.

But North Texas teams came up short in the next three title games, the region’s worst showing at state since 2021, when South Oak Cliff became the first Dallas ISD school to win a recognized state championship since 1958, but Denton Guyer and Duncanville fell in the 6A state championship games.

Two-time state champion South Oak Cliff missed a last-second field goal, falling 38-35 to third-year program Richmond Randle in the 5A Division II state title game Friday night. It was SOC’s second straight loss in the state championship game.

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“The future is still bright,” South Oak Cliff coach Jason Todd said. “We just gotta find out what’s going to get us over this hump.”

Texas high school football central: 2024 state championship game stories, photos and more

Smithson Valley, from the San Antonio area, topped Highland Park 32-20 as the six-time state champion faded in the second half of the 5A Division I state title game Saturday afternoon.

In the second game of the day, eight-time state champion Southlake Carroll extended its title drought to 13 years with a 24-17 loss to Austin Vandegrift in the 6A Division II game.

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“It’ll happen one day. I’m excited about what the future holds,” said Carroll coach Riley Dodge, who fell to 0-2 in state title games as a coach.

The Dallas area claimed three football state champions in 2023 with Anna winning the 4A Division I state title and Duncanville and DeSoto sweeping the 6A Division I and II state championships, respectively. The southern Dallas County schools also swept the 6A state championships in 2022, when South Oak Cliff won its second straight 5A Division II state title.

But this year, the rest of Texas didn’t let the Dallas area, a high school football mecca, run the table. Teams from each of the state’s major metros — Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio —- won a title in each division of the UIL’s two highest classifications.

Even before this week’s state championship games, 2024 seemed to mark a changing of the guard. Neither Duncanville, DeSoto nor Houston-area power Galena Park North Shore made it to AT&T Stadium this year. Nor did 12-time UIL state champion Aledo, the juggernaut west of Fort Worth that had won the last two 5A Division I state championships.

North Crowley, coach Ray Gates didn’t ‘duck any smoke’ in bold state championship season

But North Crowley did, after knocking off both DeSoto and Duncanville this season. North Texas might not have dominated the competition as it has in recent years, but for a third straight season, the king of 6A reigns in Dallas-Fort Worth.

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“When you get to this point, there’s only one team that’s standing that’s hoisting the trophy. And fortunately for us, this year it’s us and we just happen to be from 817,” North Crowley coach Ray Gates said. “We’re elated to be able to bring that type of recognition back to our community, just to let people know that when you talk about this area, when you talk about Metroplex football, you can’t forget about us.”

On Twitter/X: @t_myah

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Saving Hope Rescue receives $1,000 donation as part of CBS News Texas 11 Days of Giving

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Saving Hope Rescue receives ,000 donation as part of CBS News Texas 11 Days of Giving


Saving Hope Rescue receives $1,000 donation as part of CBS News Texas 11 Days of Giving – CBS Texas

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As the season of giving is underway, CBS News Texas has teamed up with Tom Thumb and Albertsons to highlight nonprofits making a difference in their communities year-round, while offering a $1,000 donation. Among them is Saving Hope Rescue, an organization passionate about giving North Texas animals a second chance.

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