Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

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Arlington, TX – On April 5, the second student government bigot, a member of the conservative group Turning Point USA, had their impeachment trial in the student senate. Alyssa Spencer, now ex-chief of staff, faced similar charges to Caitlyn Burge-Surliest in being unable to perform her duty as an executive officer of student government due to her bigoted views alongside her poor performance as a chief of staff.

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Arlington, TX – On April 4 and 5, the University of Texas at Arlington held its semester student elections. In addition to these elections was a referendum brought forth by the administration of UTA to justify raising tuition and fee costs related to the school.

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Los Angeles, CA – On March 6, Centro CSO hosted its fifth annual International Women’s Day event. Hosted over Zoom for the second consecutive year, “Luchadorxs de Los Ángeles: Resisting State Sanctioned Violence during a Pandemic” highlighted the efforts of women in leading the fights against police brutality, the privatization of education as well as other struggles.

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New York, NY – On April 1 workers at the Amazon warehouse JFK8 in Staten Island New York voted to join the newly formed Amazon Labor Union (ALU).

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Tallahassee, FL- On April 2, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee held a vigil for the lives lost by police brutality and violence within the city. The event was held for those who perished in recent killings such as Tony Mcdade, Mychael Johnson, Wilbon Woodard and Oluwatoyin Salau, as well as previous killings such as the murder of George “Lil Nuke” Williams by Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell.

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Arlington, TX students protest racists in student government.

Arlington, TX – On March 24, an email went out to senators of the University of Texas at Arlington student government detailing screenshots from the Turning Point USA discord server that revealed the student government President Caitlyn Burge-Surles and student government Chief of Staff Alyssa Spencer engaging in racist, transphobic and generally bigoted rhetoric.

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Minneapolis, MN – On April 8, Hennepin County Administrator David Hough plans to fire or put on track to terminate over 150 workers for not being vaccinated. While union representatives of AFSCME 2822 are awaiting demographic data, past disciplines suggest the firings will hit workers of color and low wage workers the hardest.

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Minneapolis educators ratify new contract.

Minneapolis, MN – On Sunday evening, March 27, Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) Presidents Greta Callahan and Shaun Laden announced that both teachers and education support professionals (ESPs) had ratified their new contracts. Laden is the president of the education support professionals’ local, and Callahan is the president of the teachers’ local of MFT.

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Striking Minneapolis educators

Minneapolis, MN – Early on Friday, March 25, the striking Minneapolis teachers and education support professionals reached tentative agreements that will be voted on by union members. They have been on strike since Tuesday, March 8.

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U of MN students stand with striking educators.

Minneapolis, MN – Around 40 people gathered in Dinkytown, off the intersection of 15th Avenue and 4th Street to hold a speak-out in support of striking Minneapolis educators on Saturday, March 19. The action kicked off with a round of chants, as onlookers passed by, some even joining the protest, and cars honked their horns in support, and speakers made their way to the mic.

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San Francisco, CA – Members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 5 voted down Chevron’s most recent proposal on a contract covering more than 500 workers at its Richmond, California, oil refinery.

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Minnesota Workers United solidarity action with striking educators.

Minneapolis, MN – At least 14 unions from Minnesota held a rally in support of the striking Minneapolis educators, March 20. The rally was organized by the Minnesota Workers United (MWU) Strike Support Committee, which is the sanctioned labor and community strike support committee of the Minneapolis educators’ strike.

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Colorado Springs, CO – On March 14, Starbucks employees at the Flintridge & Academy Starbucks store in Colorado Springs held a rally to mark their filing for unionization. The workers were joined by community members, local politicians and baristas from other locations.

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Minneapolis, MN – Just one day before public defense lawyers and support staff in Minnesota enter what could be a final mediation session before striking, their employer, the state of Minnesota, has begun a campaign to bust the union and weaken the resolve of the workers. Last week Minnesota public defense lawyers and support staff voted overwhelmingly to reject a substandard final offer and authorize a strike. That vote triggered a ten-day cooling off period before an actual strike could begin.

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Minneapolis, MN – Just one day before public defense lawyers and support staff in Minnesota enter what could be a final mediation session before striking, their employer, the state of Minnesota, has begun a campaign to bust the union and weaken the resolve of the workers. Last week Minnesota public defense lawyers and support staff voted overwhelmingly to reject a substandard final offer and authorize a strike. That vote triggered a ten-day cooling off period before an actual strike could begin.

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Jessica Schwartz speaking at NYCAP event.

New York, NY – Members of New York Community Action Project (NYCAP) gathered on the cold and windy Sunday, March 13, after International Women’s Day, to speak out and protest the New York Police Department’s treatment of women in New York.

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MEG workers stand strong on the picket line.

Minneapolis, MN – At 6:30 a.m., March 14, around 100 workers at Minnesota Epilepsy Group (MEG) walked off the job and began a five-day Unfair Labor Practice strike. The striking workers are EEG technologists and EEG associates – union members represented by SEIU Healthcare Minnesota. When on the job, the MEG workers perform Electroencephalogram (EEG) tests to detect abnormalities in people’s brain waves and electrical activity in the brain.

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Support is growing for Minneapolis educators strike.

Minneapolis MN – Teachers and education support professionals at Minneapolis Public Schools began a strike on March 8, shutting down the Minneapolis school system. Today, March 14, the strike continues as the schools remain closed for a second week.

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Minneapolis, MN – Fed up with crushing caseloads and substandard pay, public defense lawyers and support staff workers employed by the Minnesota Board of Public Defense voted overwhelmingly March 10 to reject a final offer and authorize a strike. The workers are all represented by Teamsters Local 320.

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Striking educators march in downtown Minneapolis.

Minneapolis, MN – The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) strike entered its fourth day on Thursday March 11 as Minneapolis Public Schools remained closed. Picket lines continued to have large crowds with many schools reporting 100% turnout to their picket lines every day of the strike, and the others reporting nearly all educators on their lines.

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