With this year’s May Day mobilizations, the question of immigration is again a hot topic for discussion. Since 2006, when millions of immigrants and their allies took the streets in historic marches, May 1st has turned into a point of reference in the fight for immigrants’ rights.
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[Event] 50 Years of the Cuban Revolution
Jorge Martín, International Secretary of the Hands Off Venezuela Campaign and regular presenter at the Havana Book Fair in Cuba will discuss the history and experience of the Cuban Revolution, the lessons for Latin America, and perspectives for the future. August Nimtz, professor at the U of M and expert on Cuba will also be a featured speaker. The presentation will be held at the Central Labor Union Council in Minneapolis, MN. Please join our Facebook group for the event.
St. Louis’s Independent Mayoral Campaign
After a six month city election struggle, the campaign to elect independent labor candidate Elston McCowan as Mayor of St. Louis, MO has ended. Francis Slay, the Democratic incumbent, won re-election on April 7th, with just 17 percent of registered voters participating in the election. A member and officer of SEIU local 2000, running on the Green Party ticket, McCowan received just 3.2 percent of the vote. Nonetheless, his campaign was a step forward and a sign of things to come as the economic crisis exposes the Democrats’ inability to offer any fundamental alternative to unemployment, cuts in public services and education.
No More Excuses: Pass the Employee Free Choice Act!
It now appears that the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will not be passed in the 111th Congress. According to the official excuse given by the Democrats, it lacks the necessary votes to “invoke cloture.” As Socialist Appeal explained in the past, big business clearly does not want the bill to pass, as evidenced by the huge propaganda campaign that they have financed. We also pointed out that the bosses’ “concerns” have absolutely nothing to do with any abstract concern for “democracy,” least of all the democratic rights of the workers, and everything to do with the fear of a resurgent labor movement.
Can Workers Strike and Win?
On February 11, 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report on “Major Work Stoppages in 2008.” The Federal Government defines a major work stoppage as a strike or lockout involving 1,000 employees or more that lasts at least one full shift…
…The statistics show that there were just 15 major work stoppages in 2008, down from 20 in 2006 and 21 in 2007. The last time there were more than 50 major work stoppages was twenty years ago in 1989, when there were 51…
…Some labor leaders and capitalist commentators might look at these statistics and draw the conclusion that strikes are a thing of the past. The theoreticians of Big Business and their political leaders believe that workers should not expect higher wages and benefits, but must work harder for less. Unfortunately, the labor leaders echo their argument. However, no class will give up its rights and privileges without a fight and this includes the working class. The working class will fight back; but the question is not only how to fight back, but how to fight back and win.
Bossnappings – Workers React to the Crisis of Capitalism
Luc Rousselet, who works for Minnesota-based 3M, recently told reporters that talks between his company and its employees were a good thing. This, however, was only after he was kept in his office for more than 24 hours by workers he was intending to fire. Rousselet, who manages one of 3M’s French factories, was described as a “scoundrel boss” by the workers, who demanded negotiations surrounding their layoffs. This case, along with similar situations across France and in other parts of Europe, has been dubbed a “bossnapping.”
Obamas Auto Plan: Workers Control or Bosses Management?
President Obama has just passed the 100 day mark of his term in office. What a difference a few weeks makes! Even though GM and Chrysler have already been given millions in public money, Chrysler has now been allowed to go bankrupt. All of its plants will be idled until it emerges from bankruptcy. And despite putting forward the option of a UAW “ownership stake” in GM and Chrysler, Obama is at the same time addressing auto workers with the cold vocabulary of Wall Street: Viability, Profitability and Liability. And these words are not hollow. The administration’s restructuring plan is backed up with factory closings, mass layoffs, wage and benefit cuts and possibly the closing of entire companies.
Swine flu: No panic, No indifference Calderon is responsible for the health crisis!
Epidemics and natural disasters occur throughout the world and to some extent are unpredictable. Why, however, despite the H1N1 virus spreading to several countries, are people only dying in Mexico? Here are some answers.
U.S. Workers Under Attack
Month after month, we report a seemingly endless stream of dismal economic figures. And month after month, things just keep getting worse for U.S. workers. What is most important to remember is that behind these numbers are millions of American working families who can hardly stay afloat, let alone get ahead. Behind these numbers are millions of Americans who are beginning to ask themselves a very important question: is the instability of capitalism really the only alternative?
Editorial for Socialist Appeal 47
Welcome to Obamaville: Homelessness and the Crisis of Capitalism
In an uncharacteristic break from the focus on “Obamamania,” the mainstream media recently cast a cautious spotlight on the plight of America's “newly homeless” and a phenomenon that should send a chill through anyone even remotely familiar with the history of the Great Depression: the return of the shanty town.
Exxon Valdez: corporate greed and environmental catastrophe
On 23rd March 1989 the oil tanker Exxon Valdez left normal shipping lanes and smashed into the Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Within hours, the once mighty vessel had spilled over ten million gallons of oil into the icy waters: the largest oil spill in ever recorded in US waters. As the company responsible, Exxon Mobile was slow to act.
A Review of Supporting Caste
For the uninitiated, Propagandhi is one of the most outspoken political bands in North America. Beginning with 1993’s “How to Clean Everything”, Propagandhi was loud, fast and vocal. While there were many changes in members, tone and style since then, these three things have remained a constant. The Winnipeg, Manitoba ensemble has reinvented itself with every album; from the poppier “Less Talk, More Rock;” the more hardcore “Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes;” all the way to the prog-punk “Potemkin City Limits.”
The Communist: The Voice of America’s Communist Generation
The Communist is the official newspaper of the party of the Revolutionary Communists of America. It is different from any other publication you’ll find in the US today. Behind this newspaper, there’s a vast network of communist activity from coast to coast. It is a tool for organizing in the streets, at protests and strikes, for building communist cells in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and campuses.
The RCA is on a mission to carry Bolshevism into the political arena of a country that’s ripe for it. Yes, we’re Bolsheviks living in the digital age, and we also use social media and our podcast to spread the communist program. But we’re not the kind of internet leftists who stay inside and “do politics” online. That’s why we need something we can carry with us into the streets and put into people’s hands. The physical paper is an instrument for building a real-life organization—a genuine Communist Party of fighters.