British Dockworkers in 1920 Show International Working-Class Solidarity
In 1920, British dockworkers in East London carried out a little-known strike. It was not simply a strike for higher wages or better conditions. British workers struck to stop the British government’s attempt to militarily crush the Russian Revolution – the first successful workers’ revolution in world history. In 1917, after more than three years […]
Baltimore Government Responds to Youth-Related Violence with Repression, Not Solutions
Baltimore is responding to youth-related violence by instituting a curfew, which punishes youth and does nothing to address the causes.
Capitalism is Killing Migrants Crossing the Mediterranean Sea
The number of migrants, many coming from Sub-Sahara Africa, making the dangerous journey through the Mediterranean Sea is at a record high. People fleeing civil conflict, other violence, and poverty are seeking refuge in Europe. Last month, dozens of bodies identified as people from Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, and Pakistan have appeared along Libya’s coast, and a boat […]
Rail and Airport Workers in Germany Flex Their Muscles in Fight for Higher Wages
Rail workers organized in the Railway and Transport Union (EVG) in Germany have engaged in two short “warning strikes,” on March 27th and April 21st, in an effort to win their demand for a 12% wage increase phased in over the course of a year and meant to counteract high levels of inflation. That increase […]
Chile Nationalizes Lithium – Sustainability or Sustained Exploitation?
On April 18th, Chile’s president, Gabriel Boric, announced his government’s plans to nationalize the country’s lithium mineral reserves. This mineral has enormous importance in the production of electric car batteries, a massive and growing industry in the world. Chile has the largest lithium reserves in the world. Chile, like other countries in the world, is […]
Texas Governor and Politicians Don’t Care About Human Suffering
Last Friday, in yet another horrifying case of armed violence, a man shot and killed five people in a suburb of Houston, Texas. The incident began after Francisco Oropesa had been shooting his gun in his yard. The noise woke up a six-week-old baby next door and kept it from sleeping. When the baby’s father, Wilson Garcia, approached […]
Israel’s 75th Anniversary – Nothing to Celebrate!
The state of Israel celebrated its 75th anniversary on April 25th. This comes after weeks of protests in which hundreds of thousands of Israelis opposed the right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu. The movement has angrily opposed the conduct of the Israeli government, as Netanyahu has attempted a power grab by trying to pass a law […]
Transport Worker Cuts Impact Kaiser Care
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Kaiser and Highland Hospitals in Oakland, CA. A hospital is not made up of solely healthcare providers and patients. Hospitals function because of the vital responsibilities of all its workers: those who transport patients, the ones who move medications from one building to […]
France: Huge Turn Out Again on May 1st: We Won’t Give Up the Fight!
On May 1, French workers continued their fight against Macron’s pension reform.
SpaceX Threatens Human Communities and Wildlife
SpaceX’s Starship launch threw debris into local communities and wildlife habitats.
55 Years Ago: May ‘68 Rebellion in France — From Student Protests to General Strike
Part of this article is extracted from the pamphlet, “1968 – Be Realistic, Demand the Impossible” published by Speak Out Now. Fifty-five years ago, an explosive social movement burst on the scene in May of 1968 in France. This was a mobilization that was both intimately linked to and fed by a world-wide movement. In […]
Safety – It’s On Who?
The following is reprinted from Speak Out Now’s workplace newsletter at Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Everyone knows you have to be alert when you are working in the system at BART – whether it’s on the trains, in the stations, the shops or on the trackway. From Management’s perspective, safety is a simple […]
Mississippi Police Laws Stifle Democracy in Jackson
Two new laws passed by the Mississippi legislature and signed into law by the governor are going to further remove the Jackson police and so-called justice system from any semblance of control by the people of Jackson. The first, House Bill 1020, establishes a separate, parallel court system for parts of Jackson with judges and […]
Rockridge Trader Joes and the Difficulty of a Contract
Workers at the Rockridge Trader Joe’s in Oakland, California, voted on April 20 in favor of unionization by a vote of 73 to 53. The Rockridge Trader Joe’s is the fourth Trader Joe’s in the country to unionize, after 3 other stores in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Kentucky voted to form a union with Trader Joe’s […]
Yes, It’s The System
The following is reprinted from Speak Out Now’s workplace newsletter at Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Station Agents face threats of attacks every day. No matter how alert and conscientious a worker is, an attack can seem to come out of nowhere. These can be deeply traumatic events, especially when a worker faces returning to […]
Racist Antioch Police
“This… is the most pervasive racial hatred case I’ve ever been involved in…This conduct itself was so horrible that it was more than just locker room talk, it was a state of mind.” That’s how civil rights attorney John Burris referred to the city of Antioch’s police department after he filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against […]
Biden Power Plant Proposal – Not Nearly Enough
Over the weekend news broke that the Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration will, for the first time, attempt to directly limit the allowable emissions from the nation’s coal and gas fired power plants. To do so, they would be mandated by 2040 to either cut emissions outright or use carbon capture technology to keep “nearly all” carbon burn off from being released […]
Tesla-Linked Project Threatens Indigenous Populations in Indonesia
On Halmahera island in Indonesia, nickel mining operations are threatening the territory of one of world’s last remaining indigenous tribes living in voluntary isolation. Members of the O Hongana Manyawa tribe on Halmahera are some of the last “uncontacted peoples” on Earth, meaning they remain in voluntary isolation from the wider world, in the forests of the […]
CSX in Baltimore: A Dangerous Place to Work
The December 2021 explosion at the CSX coal pier in the Curtis Bay neighborhood of Baltimore, along with ongoing toxic pollution, has prompted immense public outcry against the company’s executives, including numerous protests, city hearings, and a community-led lawsuit. However, the company’s illegal neglect and unfair abuse—across the country, in Maryland, and in Curtis Bay—falls […]
Sudan: Heading Towards a New Civil War?
This is a translation of an article that appeared in Prensa Obrera on April 17, 2023, the website of the Trotskyist Party, Partido Obrero of Argentina, (Workers’ Party). The armed clashes which broke out this weekend in Sudan aroused fears of a new civil war in this African territory. The army, under the command of […]
France: Macron’s Sound, Our Fury: The Pension Struggle Continues, and Will Continue!
April 24, 2023, Editorial of the Workplace Newsletters of the Etincelle fraction of the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA), Translated from French Wherever Macron goes, an angry chorus of clanging pots and pans follows him to protest his pension reform. While he claims loudly that it’s over and done with, that we need to turn the […]
30 Years After LGBTQ March on Washington: We Are Still Fighting for Freedom
The March On April 25, 1993, more than a million people participated in a March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. Despite being left out of the official title, protestors attended who were also concerned about transgender and other queer rights. Other marches had occurred during the decade before, with […]
The Shooting of Ralph Yarl
The shooting of Ralph Yarl and the delay in charging the shooter show the toxic effects of racism in the U.S.
May Day: Celebrate Workers’ Power and Possibilities
May Day was established as an international holiday in 1889 to honor the struggles and sacrifices of the international working class. It is a recognition of its historic mission — to liberate humanity from the exploitation and oppression caused by the capitalist system. Today, more than ever, working people need to remember our history, as […]
Curtis Bay: A Community Fights against Deadly “Sacrifice Zone” in Baltimore
Across the Patapsco River from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor tourist district lie the former neighborhoods of Fairfield and Wagner’s Point. Throughout the 20th century, these tight-knit immigrant and Black communities were a target for the development of chemical and refining industries. Many decades of explosions, fires, and pollution from industries engulfing the area eventually led residents […]
Hedge Funds Profit Off High Food Prices and Human Misery
Following “momentum driven” algorithms that automatically determine when to buy or sell commodities at the most profitable moments as their prices rise and fall, a group of 10 major hedge funds bought up huge amounts of wheat, corn and soybeans in the months leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A new report now […]
Massive Catholic Church Child Sexual Abuse in Baltimore Area Documented; But Where is the Justice?
Earlier this month, the Maryland Attorney General’s office released an explicit, brutal, and horrifying report detailing decades of child sexual abuse by clergy and employees of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Not only does the report identify countless instances of abuse by hundreds of abusers, but it also details the role of Church leadership in covering […]
Su sistema está destruyendo nuestro mundo
Desde 1970, el Día de la Tierra ha sido el día en que millones de personas en todo el mundo demuestran su preocupación por el medio ambiente. Hoy, en el Día de la Tierra, debemos pensar en la emergencia climática que amenaza toda la vida en todos los rincones del planeta. La emergencia climática es […]
Clarence Thomas and the Courts for the Rich
ProPublica recently revealed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has for decades received luxury trips from billionaire Harlan Crow and even sold properties to Crow for tens of thousands of dollars – none of which he disclosed on his financial reports, even though this is required by law. But while most of the media has […]
France: The More Macron Talks, The Less We Listen
April 18, 2023, Editorial of the Workplace Newsletters of the Etincelle fraction of the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA), Translated from French [Translator’s introduction: After President Macron used an anti-democratic article (article 49.3) of the constitution to pass the pension reform without a vote in the National Assembly, his final move to legitimize the reform in spite of […]
Their System is Destroying Our World
Since 1970, Earth Day has been the day millions of people around the world demonstrate their concern for the environment. Today, on Earth Day, we must think of the climate emergency that threatens all life in every corner of the planet. The climate emergency is the direct result of the priorities of the global capitalist […]
Greg Abbott Green-Lights Far-Right Violence
The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, is “working as swiftly as Texas law allows” to have Daniel Perry pardoned. Perry was recently convicted of the murder of a Black Lives Matter protester during the mass protests in 2020. Abbott took up the crusade to push for a pardon only after Tucker Carlson called him out […]
China Military Drills – Dangerous Friction with U.S. Empire
Last week, China held three days of combat drills in the South China Sea, simulating naval and air force maneuvers to “seal off” the island of Taiwan. These military exercises took place only a few days after the U.S. House of Representatives Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, visited Taiwan. This is the latest episode in ongoing friction […]
The Israeli Occupation of Palestine is the Source of Violence
The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem has seen tense standoffs and clashes between Muslim worshipers and Israeli police. On April 4, several hundred worshipers, barricaded into the mosque, afraid of a police raid, were attacked with stun grenades. Four hundred people were arrested in the aftermath. On Saturday, April 10, another raid was expected, but called […]
Tennessee Republicans Up the Ante on Political Repression
On April 6, Republicans in the Tennessee House of Representatives upped the ante on political repression in the United States. Tennessee Democratic Party representatives, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, were expelled by the Republican-controlled legislature. This is one of only a handful of times since the Civil War that such measures have been taken, and […]
Determined Until the Withdrawal of the Pension Reform!
April 10, 2023 Editorial of the Workplace Newsletters of the Etincelle fraction of the NPA. Translated from French. The demonstrations of April 6 were once again numerous – young people, workers, pensioners gathered in the streets of large and small cities. This is enough to make the government tremble, a government that will use any […]
People in Greece Rise Up Against Austerity after Tragedy
Greece has been rocked by protests for the past several weeks in response to a train crash that took place on February 28th. The crash occurred after a train carrying students crashed into a freight train. Both trains were traveling in opposite directions on the same track. The crash left 57 people dead, many of whom were students and […]
Right-Wing Courts Move to Ban Medication Abortion Nationwide
Last week in Texas, a Trump-appointed judge placed a nationwide ban on the use of the drug mifepristone, which is used in medication abortions. Over half of all abortions in the U.S. use oral medication, rather than a clinical procedure. The drugs used for medication abortions – mifepristone and misoprostol – have been F.D.A.-approved since 2000. […]
Exposed! Railroads Bosses’ Dirty Tactics to Make Sick Workers Stay on the Job
Union Pacific Railroad (UP) routinely employs private investigators to find a pretext for firing employees taking sick leave, according to a lawsuit recently filed in Texas. Shifts on the UP can last 12 hours for days at a time, and the danger of injury is a constant threat. In this case, UP Conductor De’Ron Rutledge […]
Academic Workers Strike in New Jersey
On Monday morning, nearly 9,000 tenured professors, part-time lecturers and graduate student workers went on strike at the three campuses of Rutgers University, the state university of New Jersey, and one of the largest state universities in the nation. The workers who make the university run are sick of Rutgers spending money on new buildings, […]
We Still Need a Health Safety Net
The U.S. is rolling back Medicaid benefits, but we still need healthcare!
Finland joins NATO – Militarism in Eastern Europe on the Rise
Finland has joined NATO, the alliance through which the U.S. advances its military interests.
Fallujah, Iraq – Fallout from the Iraq War
Fallujah, Iraq remains polluted by radioactive weapons used decades ago by the U.S. military.
Fishing Ban in California
California has canceled salmon fishing season, as salmon populations have collapsed.
Trans Day of Visibility
Transgender Day of Visibility is now more important than ever, as the far-right pushes anti-trans laws and rhetoric.
50 Massive Tornadoes Destroy Communities in Two Days
Last week over 50 massive tornadoes swept across the southern and eastern parts of the U.S in two days, hitting some 10 states, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Delaware and more. The tornadoes have left at least 32 people dead, hundreds injured, thousands made homeless and/or jobless, and hundreds of thousands remained without power for […]
Mask & COVID Vaccine Mandates Ending April 3!
This article is reprinted from the Speak Out Now healthcare newsletter at Kaiser and Highland Hospitals in Oakland, CA. It might be hard to recall, but only a few years ago people were not wearing masks in high-risk settings. Even within hospitals, the majority of workers went mask-less for daily procedures, and would only don […]
The Indictment of Trump: What Can Come From This Media Circus?
Yesterday, Donald Trump was charged with 34 felony counts for falsifying business records around hush money payments to a porn star seven years ago. The media has gone into a frenzy over this indictment, but much of it seems like a big distraction rather than a significant case against Trump. Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, […]
The “Freedom” to Die Young: U.S. Declining Life Expectancy
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently published a paper that sounded the alarm about the rising death rates among children and teenagers. Among 1- to 19-year-olds, deaths have increased due to car crashes, homicide, suicide, and poisoning; findings were seen among all genders. Young people are dying from preventable circumstances, exposing the fact that […]
France: Now and Forever – Let’s Fight Until Total Withdrawal of the Reform!
In France, fight until the pension reform is withdrawn!