Support UPS workers – Their fight is our fight, too!
The contract between UPS and workers in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters expires on July 31. It covers more than 340,000 workers, making UPS the largest U.S. company that bargains contracts with a union. UPS is a rich company, far more profitable than any of its competitors, like FedEx, and has become more profitable as […]
The Fight of Dock and Delivery Workers is Our Fight, Too
In the past month, we have seen glimpses of workers showing their power in the shipping and delivery sectors, and there could be more to come. Frustrated after working without a contract for almost a year, dockworkers in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) temporarily shut down major ports along the West Coast in […]
The Homestead Strike of 1892: The State Shows Whose Side It’s On
On June 25, 1892, the management of the Carnegie Steel Works in Homestead, Pennsylvania, posted notices that the men working at the works could no longer work there if they were part of a union, and that each man would have to negotiate individually with management in order to retain their job. Three days later, […]
Solidarity on Striking Writers’ Picket Lines
On May 2, TV and movie writers went on strike for the first time in 15 years. Today’s strike includes some 11,500 film and TV writers, who belong to the union Writers Guild of America (WGA). The strike began when the union and the boss, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which […]
France: We Stand With the Vertbaudet Workers!
May 22, 2023 editorial of the Workplace Newsletters of the Etincelle fraction of the NPA, translated from French. Last Tuesday, May 16, the police intervened to break up a picket line of workers at the warehouse of a children’s clothing company, Vertbaudet, in Marquette-les-Lille (northern French town). One worker was rushed to a hospital with […]
Oakland Teachers’ Strike — A Balance Sheet
On May 4 teachers in Oakland, California, went on a seven-day strike that ended with a tentative agreement. Many teachers felt that the contract was mediocre at best. The timing of the strike was very difficult for students, teachers, staff, and families, since the end of the school year is a special time for field […]
France: Macron in Trouble Plays the Race Card, and the Billy Club!
May 8, 2023 editorial of the Workplace Newsletters of the Etincelle fraction of the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA), translated from French. The government is still trying to end the fight against the pension reform… It can even thank the trade union leaders, who agreed to meet with Macron on May 17, and who set the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
France: What Perspectives can Revolutionaries Advance in the Movement?
The following is a translation of a perspective written by the Etincelle tendency of the New Anticapitalist Party for discussion with comrades in France organized around Philippe Poutou and Olivier Besancenot. Since its beginnings in January, the movement against the pension reform has had a political character that goes far beyond the postponement of the […]
Francia: la clase obrera puede decidir su futuro
Durante meses, desde mediados de enero, ha habido huelgas y movilizaciones continuas en Francia. Ha habido múltiples jornadas de huelga y manifestaciones, convocadas por los sindicatos tanto en el sector público como en el privado. Millones de personas en toda Francia, en grandes ciudades, pequeños pueblos y aldeas, han participado en estas acciones. Los trabajadores […]
German Transport Workers Strike
On Monday, March 27, German workers from EVG, the nation’s largest railway and transport workers union, and Verdi, an umbrella union of many transport and other public sector workers, staged a 24-hour strike demanding pay increases to meet the burdens of massive price inflation in the German economy. The strike paralyzed transportation nationwide, turning airports, […]
France: The Working Class Can Decide Its Future
For months, starting in mid-January, there have been ongoing strikes and mobilizations in France. There have been multiple strike days and demonstrations, called by the unions in both the public and private sectors. Millions of people, across France — in big cities, small towns and villages — have participated in these actions. Workers have blocked […]
Los Angeles School Staff and Teachers on Strike
On Tuesday, school staff represented by Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 99, in the Los Angeles school district launched a three-day strike. In solidarity, the teachers, organized by the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), have refused to cross the picket line. This puts the entire school district out of commission, with 30,000 school […]
The Tunisian Tinderbox – A Society Set to Explode
In 2011, the Tunisian people overthrew the regime of Ben Ali, the long-standing and corrupt ruler of Tunisia. Today, a decade and a half later, little has changed, though the country has passed through elections, strikes, demonstrations, and more upheaval. Underneath the surface, the main problem persists. Unemployment is over 16%, and inflation has hit […]
French Workers Continue the Fight Against Raising the Retirement Age
Many thousands of workers and students have taken to the streets of France once again in response to the government’s announcement on March 16 that it is raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne have done this without a vote of the National Assembly. Macron’s government […]
NYC Uber and Lyft Drivers Strike and Win Higher Pay
Last month, New York City Uber and Lyft drivers staged a 12-hour strike at LaGuardia Airport, calling once again for a pay raise, as they picketed at the airport and refused pickups from the busy transit hub. It is their third strike in recent months, as drivers demand higher pay due to skyrocketing inflation and […]
Determined Alabama Coal Miner’s Strike Ends After 23 Months
In mid-February, striking coal miners at the Warrior Met Coal mine in Brookwood, Alabama decided to return to work, ending their 23-month strike. The miners, organized in the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), finally decided to go back to work after one of the he longest strikes in the U.S. in many years. The […]
France: March 7, 8, 9 and as Long as it Takes: General Strike for Our Pensions!
February 27, 2023, Editorial of the Workplace Newsletters of the Etincelle fraction of the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA), Translated from French Pension reform is coming to the Senate this Tuesday, February 28. And this is the Senate that for the last few years has made a habit out of voting in favor of rolling back the […]
French Workers Fight Pension Reform: Is a General Strike Next?
The fight against the pension reform in France that began in January is still raging. Last Saturday, February 11, French working people and students filled the streets again, in a massive protest against the government’s plan for pension reform. The government wants to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 and the population says, […]
Education Workers in Portugal Fight Back
After a month-long, rotating strike that began in mid-January, 150,000 teachers and supporters staged a major demonstration in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday, Feb. 11. The demonstration by teachers was probably the largest single action by educators in Portugal’s history, and showed the anger that has been building for years among education workers. In all, eight […]
France on January 31: Another Day of Struggle Against Pension Reform!
On Tuesday, Jan. 31 huge crowds took to the streets in the biggest nation-wide protest since 1995. This is the second day of mobilization to oppose President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to slash pensions by raising the minimum retirement age to 64 and increasing the pay-in period to 43 years. As of January 19, trains ground […]
France: Strike on Tues. 31: We Will Fight to the End!
January 29, 2023 editorial of the workplace newsletters of the Etincelle fraction of the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA). Translated from French. The January 19 strike was a success: the trade unions counted more than two million demonstrators, and even the police acknowledged that more than one million people marched. This is more than the strike […]
France: After the January 19 Strike: We Will Persist to the End!
January 23, 2023 editorial of the workplace newsletters of the Etincelle fraction of the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA). Translated from French. The January 19 strike was a success: the trade unions counted more than two million demonstrators, and even the police acknowledged that more than one million people marched. This is more than the strike […]
France: Force the Government and the Bosses to Back Off!
January 16, 2023 editorial of the workplace newsletters of the Etincelle fraction of the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA). Translated from French. The government keeps repeating “we are living longer, so we have to work longer.” But only when we work less do we live longer! When you’re a worker, your life span is not the […]
Largest Ever Higher Education Strike in UK
In November, an estimated 70,000 researchers, academics and administrators went on strike at 150 different university campuses across the United Kingdom. These strikes are the largest in the history of higher public education in the UK. This struggle has been brewing for some time. Over the past four years, universities have been shut down several […]
Amazon Workers Around The World Stand Up On Black Friday
Another annual ritual of capitalism has came and gone — Black Friday, the day following Thanksgiving which marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. For working people in retail, transportation, and logistics, this day and the following month can be extremely chaotic and stressful on top of all of the normal pressures that people […]
The Railway Workers’ Fight Is Our Fight
Last Friday, President Biden signed a Congressional resolution to impose a contract on railway workers. He and Congress took this action in spite of the fact that the majority of railway workers had voted to reject that very same contract. Despite the exceptional profits that the railway companies are making, Congress didn’t direct the companies […]
A Railroad Strike is Back on the Table as Workers Reject the Tentative Agreement
Conductors and yard workers represented by the Transportation Division of International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) have voted down their tentative agreement. Together these workers make up about 30% of all unionized rail workers. Now, just over half of all railroad workers have voted against their tentative agreements, while the […]
Railroad Bosses Threaten Workers on the Job and in Our Communities
The possibility that workers might strike against national freight rail companies has gotten some headlines recently. But the attacks of such companies against working class people threatens life in our communities as well as on the job. People in a working-class neighborhood of Baltimore have fought back against one such attack by the giant CSX […]
Graduate Student Workers in University of California System Launch Statewide Strike
On Monday, November 14th, about 48,000 unionized academic workers across the University of California’s 10 campuses went on strike. The student workers, who are employed at the 10 UC campuses across the state and are organized in both the United Auto Workers (UAW) union and Student Researchers Union (SRU), have begun this strike in order […]
France: Let’s Go on the Offensive!
October 24, 2022 Editorial of the Workplace Newsletters of the Etincelle fraction of the NPA, Translated from French. President Macron did not see this one coming: the oil workers’ strike sparked a protest that had been brewing for months. And even if the movement is on hold in several refineries, their struggle was not for […]
The 1969-70 General Electric Strike: “If You Want A War, We’ll Give You A War”
On October 27, 1969, over 150,000 workers across the United States walked out of General Electric, taking on the fourth largest corporation in the world at that time, in the largest national strike in over two decades. The strike lasted for 102 days, through the cold winter months until February 4, 1970. It involved workers […]
British Workers Resist Skyrocketing Living Costs as Corporations Make Record Profits
In the United Kingdom (U.K.), more than 50,000 rail workers represented by three unions recently went on strike, bringing rail services throughout the country nearly to a standstill. In many areas, no trains are running, and direct services between Britain’s biggest cities have been shut down. About 89 percent of normal train schedules have been […]
Prisoner-Workers Strike in Alabama
Thousands of prisoners in the Alabama state prison system have gone on strike, refusing to cook, clean, conduct regular maintenance, or labor to produce the license plates and furniture that they commonly make and from which the corrections system profits. The inmates are striking to put an end to a long list of grievances, including […]
Rail Workers Point to the Power of the Working Class
Freight railroad workers have been on the brink of striking for months. On September 14, at the 11th hour, it was announced that a rail strike was called off, and rail companies and union negotiators reached a tentative agreement. President Biden, who was present during the final negotiations, has tried to paint himself as a […]
What’s Been Going on in the Railroad Sector?
For those not familiar with the railroads, trying to follow the situation over the last few months can be confusing. We offer some clarification to help paint a clearer picture. Freight and passenger rail operators in the U.S. have been negotiating with railroad workers’ unions for months now. Railroad workers, or “rails” as they sometimes […]
A National Railroad Strike has been Called off … for now
On Thursday, Sep. 14, two unions representing about 60,000 railroad workers announced that they have reached a tentative contract agreement, and have called off what would have been the first national railroad strike in 30 years. For months the Biden administration has been supporting the rail companies in trying to stop a strike from happening. […]
Kaiser Mental Health Workers Continue the Fight
Note: This article comes from the most recent edition of Speak Out Now’s Healthcare Newsletter. Kaiser mental health workers in Northern California have reached week 4 of their strike. They are fighting alongside Hawaiian mental health workers, who have also been on strike since August 29th. Their fight is linked to absurd levels of understaffing, which […]
UK Port Workers Stand Up to the Global Supply Chain
On August 28, nearly 2,000 port workers in Felixstowe, the United Kingdom’s busiest port, concluded an 8-day strike that followed their rejection of a final offer from C.K. Hutchinson Holding, Ltd, the port operator. Because the port handles nearly one-third of all the U.K.’s trade, and an even larger percent of its trade with Asia, […]
Starbucks – Hands Off Your Worker-Organizers!
In recent months, workers at over 220 Starbucks locations in 33 states across the United States have organized to join a union, with a store in Buffalo, New York being the first store to unionize back in December 2021. The struggle has not come without some serious consequences. Many of the core organizers across the […]
Coal Miners’ Strike: Over 500 Days and Betrayed by Democrats and Republicans
Coal miners in Alabama have been on strike now for more than 500 days — nearly a year and a half. The strike originally started when the mine’s owner, the company Warrior Met Coal, refused to negotiate a contract with better terms. This refusal came even though years earlier the company told miners they would […]
Workers of Panama: “Solo el pueblo salva al pueblo” (Only the people can save the people!)
On August 2nd the teachers of Panama ended their nationwide strike that sparked strikes for construction workers, Indigenous groups, and regular people nationwide. The strikes began because of high prices on fuel, food, and medicine caused by the pandemic and U.S. and EU sanctions from the war in Ukraine, high unemployment, and political corruption. But […]
(video) U.S. Rail Workers Could Strike and Shut Down the Economy
The following short video {5 min} was produced and edited by Paula Pecorella and Meg Herschlein for the website More Perfect Union. In this excellent video railroad workers discuss many of the reasons that could lead to a major railroad strike in the U.S. as soon as next month, in September 2022. Over the past […]
Richmond, California: Lessons from the Chevron Workers Strike
On May 28, 2022, striking workers at Chevron in Richmond, California voted by a narrow margin to ratify a contract and to call off their strike. The strike lasted over two months, a long strike reflecting the determination of the workers in a very difficult situation. The strike involved about 500 workers, who struck for […]
Denver: Grocery Workers Strike at King Soopers
Since Wednesday, Jan. 12th, more than 8,000 workers in the Denver metro area at King Soopers, a grocery chain store owned by Kroger, have been on strike against low wages and poor working conditions.