Baltimore – Right to Rebel
On April 12, Freddie Gray was chased down by three cops for looking at an officer. He was thrown in a police van and when he arrived at the station, his spinal chord was severed and he had three fractured vertebrae and a crushed voice box. He fell into a coma and died a week […]
Albert Parsons: Fighter For Workers’ Revolution
Albert Parsons, a leader of the fight for the eight hour day, was arrested for the murders of seven policemen on May 4th 1886 and executed on November 11, 1887. Six years later the Illinois governor publicly acknowledged that Parsons and the seven other convicted workers were entirely innocent of these charges. Albert Parsons was […]
The Struggle To End Police Brutality!
The widespread murderous behavior of the police in this country has been exposed for all to see. The murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, broke the silence. The people of Ferguson refused to be ignored. They took to the streets – day after day and month after month demanding justice and refusing to be […]
The Carbon Cycle, Carbon Emissions and Global Warming
The carbon cycle is the exchange of carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2) or methane (CH4), between the earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land, and all plant and animal life. This exchange of carbon, along with sunlight entering our atmosphere, has regulated the earth’s temperature and climate since earth’s atmosphere emerged over four billion years […]
International Workers’ Day – Honor the Past, Fight for the Future
For working people today it might be hard to imagine people coming together to fight and change things. This is because there is a history of struggle that doesn’t get taught in our schools, doesn’t get made into movies or T.V. shows. It is intentionally hidden from us. One of the major battles in our […]
The Crisis in Yemen – Not a Domestic Product
In the last weeks, fighting has broken out between two factions based in the North and South of Yemen. This conflict threatens to become a civil war as U.S. military forces have been mobilized to support Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in a military intervention. This conflict has to do with the twisted manipulation […]
Union Legislation: A Tool of the Bosses
In the last five years, right wing politicians have successfully imposed restrictions on unions, mainly limiting what unions can bargain over, and the right of unions to automatically collect dues. The vulnerability of unions to these attacks lies in the fact that over the last 30 years, most unions have made huge concessions to the […]
The Right to Work (For Less)
Last month in Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker signed the latest in a series of so-called “right to work” laws that have been passed in half the states in the country. In most of the 25 states that have passed these laws, unemployment is usually higher than average, and wages are often lower as well. These […]
The Ludlow Massacre: April 20, 1914
This month, 101 years ago, was the Ludlow Massacre, one of the most brutal events in a violent 14-month strike against poverty wages and dangerous working conditions by coal miners in Colorado. Seven months into the strike, on April 20th, 1914, about 1200 strikers and their families living in a tent colony near Ludlow, Colorado […]
Trans Pacific Partnership: Tightening the Grip of U.S. Capitalism
A deal is being struck in order to tighten the control of U.S. corporations on the world markets that will have huge consequences for workers in the United States, Asia, and everywhere else – the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The ruling class of the U.S. wants the TPP so badly that both parties, Republicans and Democrats, […]
Purvi Patel: Sentenced to 20 Years for a Miscarriage
Purvi Patel, a 33 year-old woman from Indiana has been sentenced to twenty years for nothing more than having a miscarriage of an unwanted pregnancy and seeking medical attention. The facts of the case don’t even make sense. Patel was charged for two crimes – killing a fetus, and neglecting a living child. These supposed […]
California’s Drought: Water For Profit
For months we’ve been hearing about how severe California’s drought is. Governor Jerry Brown has made several warnings that drastic measures might have to be taken if the drought continues. And usually the overall message is clear: individuals need to cut back on their water consumption, and if necessary, extreme water rationing will be imposed […]
Fannie Lou Hamer: A Leader in the Freedom Struggle
In the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, many of the most important leaders were women. One of those leaders who stands out in history is Fannie Lou Hamer, born into a family of poor black sharecroppers in rural Mississippi on October 6, 1917. This was a time when most black people in the U.S. […]
From Selma to Ferguson
This past weekend people poured into Selma, Alabama to mark the 50th anniversary of the famous civil rights march. The original march was met with a furious and brutal response by Alabama police. Among those beaten was John Lewis, an activist in SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) that was organizing in Selma. Today Lewis is […]
Citizenfour: A Film Everyone Should See
During this year’s Academy Awards, there were a few moments when real world events forced there way through the thick wall of self-obsessed stardom that typically surrounds Hollywood. One of these moments came when filmmaker Laura Poitras won the award for the best documentary for her film Citizenfour – a film about Edward Snowden, former […]
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. – In their Own Words
For those who are determined in their fight to bring about a society free from discrimination and inequality, their political views are rarely stagnant. The more we struggle, the more we organize with others, the more we study the past – the more our views evolve. Both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were […]
ISIS – Another Excuse for Endless War
On February 11th, President Obama gave a speech demanding that Congress take action by waging a wider war – once again, against terrorism. This time the target is the so-called terrorist group ISIS, the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. ISIS has made headlines as it seizes territory in Northern Iraq and in Syria. In […]
Afghan Women – Occupation is Not Liberation
The U.S. and NATO invaded and occupied Afghanistan in October 2001. One excuse given for this invasion was that women in Afghanistan needed to be liberated. In fact, U.S. foreign policy towards Afghanistan has never had anything to do with championing the rights of women but rather manipulating the issues to further U.S. economic interests. […]
An Injury To One Is An Injury To All
For nearly a month workers at refineries across the country have been on strike. This week the number on strike rose to 14 refineries, out of a total of 63, involving 5200 workers out of 30,000. This strike has followed a path similar to recent contract strikes. Union officials put demands on the table. The […]
When Ordinary People Did Extraordinary Things
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s -1970s was one of the most significant social movements in U.S. history. It involved millions of people in its ranks. It was a grass roots movement often organized locally. It involved elementary school children in Selma, Alabama and the elderly, registering a man to vote for the first […]
Super Bowl Sunday – Who Will Win
Super Bowl Sunday is a day we get to spend with family and friends whether we like football or not. For some, the Super Bowl is the only football game they’ll watch all year. For others, it is the game they wait for all year. At work the game gets even more exciting if we […]
Who Will Decide What Happens In 2015?
This past year was a big success for the one percent. Their profits are higher than in decades. Their proportion of the wealth is higher than it was in the 1920s, considered the best period for capitalism. Their tentacles are spread all over the world, monopolizing natural resources, gobbling up the land, privatizing the water, […]
The First Steps To Build A Movement?
This past Saturday, there were rallies and marches, involving tens of thousands of people in big cites and small towns all over this country. The people who gathered were diverse in age, race, ethnicity and gender, though certainly the majority were young. The cry against police brutality was to “Shut the system down” until there […]
This Murderous System Has To Be Stopped!
In the last weeks, two murderers were freed and the go-ahead was given to cops across the U.S. to continue to carry out their murderous activity. For some the belief in the fairness of this system was shattered. First came the acquittal of Darren Wilson, the cop who gunned down Michael Brown in Ferguson. Then […]
Indicted! – This Murderous System Must Go!
This system we live under, the system of capitalism, has indicted itself again. In the last two weeks it has freed two murderers and given the go-ahead to cops across the country to carry out their murderous activity. For some people the belief they might have had in the fairness of this system was shattered. […]
“NO!” To State Sanctioned Murder!
Last week the grand jury finally ruled in the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson. No indictment was issued against policeman Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Brown. In other words, a white cop was legally justified in killing an unarmed 18-year-old Black youth. Unfortunately this should not surprise us. Police or security guards murder […]
Black Thursday or Black Friday?
The Thanksgiving holidays are coming. Some of us will be lucky enough to come together with our families and loved ones and relax in a rare moment free from work. How often do we get a day off to eat good food, spend quality time with others? But even allowing us to enjoy this one […]
Ebola: Our Health vs Their Wealth
The current Ebola outbreak is the largest in history. So far there have been over 5000 official deaths but Doctors Without Borders, one of the main organizations on the ground in West Africa, reported that the outbreak is more likely as high as twenty thousand deaths, having wiped out whole villages outside the cities. But […]
Film Review – Pride
Pride is a film that provides a rare glimpse of the power of ordinary people to change themselves while they fight to change the world. In 1984, England’s right-wing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher launched a terrible attack on the most organized section of the working class in England, the miners. It was an all-out war. […]
Health Care From The Inside
The following articles come from information from our workplace newsletters that are distributed every two weeks at Kaiser Oakland, Alta Bates in Berkeley, and Highland Hospital in Oakland. The Crisis in Kaiser Oakland In the first nine months of 2014, Kaiser reported a profit of $3.1 billion, making 2014 its most profitable year yet. The […]
Work Until We Drop
Work literally makes us sick, causes injuries and lowers our lifespans. The stress of short staffing, the feeling of constantly being overworked, the chemicals, exhaust, and dust that we breathe in – it all adds up. Understaffing, long hours, increased stress, repetitive strains – these are the causes of injuries and health issues. It’s a […]
Destroying Public Hospitals
Public Hospitals like Highland and San Francisco General are essential health centers, and they are on the chopping block. These safety net hospitals serve the poor, those without health insurance, and are also some of the best and most widely used trauma centers. And now, over the next five years, the federal government plans to […]
The Affordable Care Act – Still Making A Killing
It’s been over a year since people began to sign up for new health insurance linked to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Obama administration says it’s a huge success. And this is sort of true. The program is succeeding at what it set out to do: to deliver more customers to the health care […]
Health Care or Wealth Care?
The health care industry in the U.S. is not organized to serve the medical and health needs of the population – its main priority is the generation of profits. And this is what stands in the way of quality health care. The Highest Costs In the U.S., health care is a $2.7 trillion industry. The […]
From Syria to the U.S. – We are Being Manipulated
In Syria, on the border of Turkey, thousands of Kurdish men, women and children are camped, waiting to see what will happen to their home city of Kobani. Another 200,000 people have fled into Turkey. In Kobani, Kurdish forces are battling street to street with forces of ISIS, the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. […]
Ebola Outbreak – Now An Imperialist Epidemic
The Ebola outbreak, which started last March in Guinea, has continued to spread in West Africa. With close to 3500 dead, it now affects six countries in the region. It has quickly gone from an outbreak to a pandemic. It is estimated that the virus could infect over one million people. It is not just […]
International Situation: Our solidarity with the world’s peoples does not mean political support for their leaders
This is a translation of an article written by the French Trotskyist group, L’Étincelle (The Spark), as a contribution to a discussion within the NPA (New Anti-Capitalist Party) of France. The general situation in the world is currently characterized by two things: an overall offensive against the working class, not only in France or Europe […]
Israel and the U.S. – The Special Relationship
It is clear the U.S. and Israel have a special relationship. Every U.S. official has to make this absolutely clear whether they sit in Congress or in the Oval Office. During the latest war Israel inflicted on Gaza, while nearly one third of all Americans polled believed that the violence was unacceptable, every singe member […]
ISIS – A Product of U.S. Imperialism
U.S. warplanes have started bombing communities in Syria and Iraq, targeting the group called ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. In the last year, ISIS has rapidly extended its control into areas of both Iraq and Syria, which produce large amounts of oil, threatening the profits of big Western Oil companies. This is […]
The Police: To Serve and Protect…Their System!
The militaristic response by the police to the rebellion in Ferguson showed the country and the world something all too familiar to poor and working class people – that the police are heavily armed and ready to use brutal force to put people down. The police are often represented as the good guys who only […]
The United States – The Cop of the World
The U.S. government acts like the cop of the world. It claims that when it wages war, it is protecting people. Politicians do their best to mask U.S. military violence in the language of humanitarian intervention and the promotion of democracy. But just like cops, the real role of the U.S. military in the world […]
Ferguson, Missouri – The War at Home
On August 9, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old unarmed black man, was murdered in cold blood by a cop. The reason? He was walking in the street and questioned the cop’s order to get out of the street. This outrageous act attracted the attention of people across the U.S. and around the world, but not because […]
In Iraq, The Worst Terrorist Is The U.S. Military
Last week President Obama made an address calling for military intervention in Iraq and Syria against the group known as ISIL, the Islamic State in the Levant. Like a comic book story, Obama painted a picture of ISIL as an evil force causing death and destruction. The United States military is therefore called upon to […]
Climate Change? No! We Need a System Change!
There have been five major extinction events on earth where most of the larger plant and animal species were wiped out. The last extinction killed the dinosaurs. An asteroid crashing into earth and drastically changing the climate caused that extinction. Now we are living in what could be the sixth extinction. But this time, our […]
Labor Day – When the Workers Used Their Power
For those of us who have jobs, Labor Day means a day off work, or possibly overtime. Some union officials may organize a picnic or a parade. But, it has little or nothing to do with dealing with the situation facing us as workers. Eighty years ago, in the early months of 1934, workers in […]
Ferguson – People Are Right To Resist!
On Saturday, August 9, an all-too familiar incident took place in Missouri. Another unarmed young African-American man was murdered in cold blood by a cop. Most of us had never heard of Ferguson but soon it was on the lips of people – both in the U.S. and around the world. An African American man […]
Our Planet or Their Profits
Last month the Richmond city council approved a billion dollar project for Chevron’s Richmond facility to refine dirtier and higher sulfur containing crude oil, which is more toxic than regular oil. This is barely two years after the 2012 fire which sent black fumes into the air and 15,000 people to local hospitals. That was […]
Stop the Murder in Gaza! End The Occupation!
In the last weeks, Israeli bombs and guns killed nearly a thousand people in the Gaza strip. The list of atrocities keeps expanding. Hospitals and schools are being blown up. Nearly one child per hour was killed during the height of the attacks. People taking refuge in a United Nations facility were bombed. Are we […]
All Out For Palestine!
There are two protests being called in the Bay Area this week against Israel’s latest assault on the people of Palestine. Please join others in demonstrating your opposition to this slaughter. Look for members of Speak Out Now at the following demonstrations: Thursday July 24 4:00pm Downtown Oakland Ron Dellums Federal Building 1301 Clay […]
Summertime Living Isn’t Easy, But It Should Be!
The summer months are a time to spend with our families, visit relatives in other cities, and simply hang out and get some rest. But for workers, the family time and relaxation has to be squeezed into our schedules before we have to clock back in to work. Without a job all you have is […]