Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

Ryan Hamann

By Ryan Hamann

Janan Najeeb of the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine speaks at a rally in Milwaukee challenging Democratic Party policy on Palestine just days before the opening of the DNC.

Milwaukee, WI – Nearly 200 people marched through the streets of downtown Milwaukee on the afternoon of August 17, demanding an end to the genocide in Palestine and denouncing Democrats like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for facilitating Israel’s crimes.

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By Ryan Hamann

More than 3500 march on the opening day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.  | Brad Sigal/Sigal Photos

Milwaukee, WI – After two years of work, the Coalition to March on the RNC culminated its efforts with a 3500-person rally and march on the opening day of the 2024 Republican National Convention. The Coalition was truly national in character, composed of more than 120 organizations representing all manner of social movements. The principle rallying cry of the broad united front was to fight against the racist and reactionary Republican agenda.

“The most visible figurehead of the Republican Party right now is Donald Trump, but we want to be clear: we are marching on the Republicans’ entire agenda. Our speakers today represent a broad movement against the entire Republican platform,” said Omar Flores, one of the co-chairs of the Coalition. “We are marching on every Republican state slashing funding for DEI initiatives in education, every Republican governor putting up more razor wire to militarize the Southwest border, every Republican voting for right-to-work bills, and every Republican signing bombs they are sending to Gaza.”

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By Ryan Hamann

Workers and supporters picket outside the Milwaukee Master Lock facility after n

Milwaukee, WI – On the afternoon of May 31, nearly 100 union members and their supporters gathered outside the entrance to the Master Lock factory on Milwaukee’s North Side to call on the company to keep the plant open. The rally came in response to a sudden announcement that the shop was going to be closed, a course of action that will leave more than 400 people out of work. A number of other unions were represented by the different participants at the rally and picket, including United Steel Workers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, and others.

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By Ryan Hamann

Members of the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee participate in a march on Ron Johnso

Milwaukee, WI – On May 13, two days before the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, over 50 community members and activists from different organizations gathered in downtown Milwaukee to demand an end to the on-going genocide of Palestinians and to put a stop to all U.S. aid to Israel. The assembled crowd chanted things like “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s war crimes!” and “Free, free Palestine! Long live Palestine!” Signs declaring support for the cause of Palestinian liberation were prevalent throughout, and members of the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC) held a 30-foot long banner that read “Long live the popular Palestinian resistance, from Milwaukee to Palestine!”

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By Ryan Hamann

FRSO reportback on visit to Venezuela.

Milwaukee, WI – More than 20 people filled a room at the Urban Ecology Center in the Silver City neighborhood on April 29 to hear a report from Freedom Road Socialist Organization member Omar Flores on his recent trip to Venezuela. Flores was one part of a FRSO delegation that was invited to participate in a special conference that coincided with the tenth anniversary of the death of Comandante Hugo Chavez, the former Venezuelan president and one of the primary figures behind the ongoing Bolivarian Revolution.

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By Ryan Hamann

Workers from St. Francis Hospital march with community supporters to save the La

Milwaukee, WI – More than 60 workers and union members from Ascension St. Francis Hospital (SFH), together with community supporters, gathered outside Milwaukee’s city hall on the evening of December 20. The event was called for by the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (WFNHP) Local 5000, the union which represents nurses and technical and service employees at the hospital. The purpose for the rally was to raise awareness around the services being cut at the hospital, specifically management’s decision to close down the labor and delivery department.

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By Ryan Hamann

Sarah Wunderlich of the Oneida Nation discusses Indian Child Welfare Act and wha

Milwaukee, WI – On the evening of December 10, more than 40 people packed into the community room at Zao MKE Church to listen to a lineup of speakers commemorating the 64th International Human Rights Day. A highlighted speaker was Sarah Wunderlich of the Oneida Nation who joined the program to talk about the current Supreme Court case trying to undermine the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), including some history about the system of boarding schools, the effects this still has on the present, and how these things relate to the broader struggle for indigenous rights.

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By Ryan Hamann

ATU 998 President Donnell Shorter talks about the conditions of MCTS workers.

Milwaukee, WI – On November 16, nearly 50 members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 998 and their supporters marched from their union hall to the Milwaukee County Courthouse, raising the demands for greater security on their buses, better healthcare, and an overall decent contract. Chants of “Who are we? ATU!” and “Who moves this city? We move this city!” could be heard as the demonstrators marched through the streets of downtown Milwaukee. At least one on-duty MCTS bus driver along the route opened her window with a beaming smile and voiced her support for the action.

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By Ryan Hamann

Wisconsin event featuring Dozthor Zurlent, advisor to the late Venezuelan Presid

Milwaukee, WI – Dozthor Zurlent, a lifelong political activist and one-time advisor to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has been touring the U.S. since mid-October talking about the achievements and the struggles of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. His trip has also raised the call to free Alex Saab, a Venezuelan diplomat being held as a political prisoner in the U.S. After beginning his travels in Florida and then moving on to Michigan, Zurlent made three separate stops across the state of Wisconsin, engaging enthusiastic activists in each place.

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By Ryan Hamann

Milwaukee press conference announces march on Republican National Convention.

Milwaukee, WI – Cameras and microphones of news outlets were out in force the afternoon of August 5 as members of organizations hosted a press conference outside City Hall in downtown Milwaukee to announce the formation of the Coalition to March on the RNC 2024. The press conference came only a few hours after the decision of the Republican National Committee became official following a vote at their summer meeting in Chicago.

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