Tallahassee, FL – On February 1 from 8 to 11 a.m., around 20 people showed up to AFSCME 3343’s informational picket line to demand Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) raise the wages of workers on campus.

Pittsburgh, PA – The United Steelworkers union (USW) announced today that it rejected Marathon Petroleum’s most recent proposal for a pattern settlement on wages, benefits and working conditions for approximately 30,000 USW members in the oil and petrochemical industry. The union then offered rolling 24-hour extensions of the current labor agreements.

Tallahassee, FL – On February 1, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) Local 3343 AFSCME workers will hold an informational picket line to protest the stalled contract negotiations between the AFSCME union and FAMU administrators.

Miami, FL- Over 60 members of the South Florida community joined in the monthly caravan in Miami on Sunday, January 30, to demand President Joe Biden end the criminal U.S. blockade on Cuba. The group called on the U.S president to end all sanctions on Cuba, restore the family reunification program and recommence freedom of travel between the United States and Cuba for both Americans and Cubans. The event was organized by the U.S. Hands Off Cuba and Venezuela South Florida and Puentes de Amor.

College Station, TX – Students at Texas A&M University gathered in a silent sit-in on January 28 for improved COVID-19 policies on campus. The coalition, consisting of individuals and organizations such as Grad Aggies for Worker Safety (GAWS), Feminism4Aggies and TAMU Students for a Democratic Society, organized the protest in solidarity with the students of the University of North Texas, who were also calling for improved COVID-19 policies at universities across Texas.

New York, NY – On the evening of January 28, hours before a nor’easter was going to hit the east coast, a few dozen people gathered in front of City Hall to demand that Mayor Adams end his relationship with Brock Pierce, a crypto currency expert.

Looming strike averted

Minneapolis MN – A looming strike was averted when AFSCME Local 2822 came to a mediated settlement with Hennepin County, January 27. The agreement comes one day after Local 34 also reached a tentative deal. Workers represented by these two locals will begin voting on the contract February 2, the first day workers were poised to walk out. The bargaining committees of both locals are unanimously recommending a yes vote on the new contract offer.

Denver, CO – On January 21, the United Food and Commercial Workers’ (UFCW) Local 7 reached a tentative agreement with Kroger subsidiary King Soopers after an all-night bargaining session. The picket lines that had been established ten days earlier went down and the strikers returned to work.

According to a January 14 report from the Korean Central News Agency, the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) said that that north Korea would continue to take measures to defend itself against the U.S. and other hostile powers.

Pittsburgh, PA – Roughly 500 workers at four Kane Community Living Centers voted unanimously January 21 to join the United Steelworkers union (USW).

Minneapolis MN – Trails of frozen breath rose above hundreds of workers, January 19, as they chanted and picketed in subzero temperatures in front of county buildings throughout Hennepin County, the most populous county in Minnesota. The picketers are members of AFSCME Local 34 and AFSCME Local 2822 and work as library workers, social service workers and more. Earlier that morning the union members filed notice to go on strike February 2.

Denver, CO – On Monday, January 17, grocery workers represented by UFCW Local 7 entered day six of their Unfair Labor Practices strike against King Soopers. King Soopers is a subsidiary of Kroger.

Fight Back! interviews Carol McMillian, a bakery worker from Denver currently on strike against the unfair labor practices of King Soopers, a division of Kroger. Fight Back!: Why are you out here today on the picket line?

Last month marked the 30th anniversary of one of the most colossal events in history. On December 26, 1991, the Soviet Union formally dissolved itself, bringing an end to the 70-plus year project of building socialism, and reintroducing capitalism to nearly a fifth of the world.

Los Angeles, CA – In the afternoon of January 8, community organizations marched through North Hollywood to demand justice for Valentina Orellana-Peralta, a 14-year-old who was killed by LAPD officer William Dorsey Jones Jr.

Chicago, IL – Members of the Chicago Teachers Union’s House of Delegates voted to end a four-day remote learning action and return to school. The union announced today that by a vote of 55.5% in favor that the union would accept an agreement with Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s handpicked school board.

Fight Back! interviews Frank Chapman, Executive Director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR). Fight Back!: One month ago, you held the second national conference of the Alliance. What came out of that?

Denver, CO – On January 3, King Soopers workers represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 (UFCW) in Denver and Colorado Springs approved an Unfair Labor Practices strike by a 97% margin. On January 7, the union announced that workers would walk off the job and onto the picket line starting next Wednesday, January 12.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot locks teachers and students out of virtual classrooms

Chicago, IL – On Tuesday, January 4, more than 73% of teachers in Chicago who are represented by Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted to not return to classrooms on Wednesday, and instead taught their classes remotely to keep the teachers, staff and students safe as the pandemic surges. As the Omicron variant intensifies, the current positivity rate for COVID-19 in Chicago is at 23% and climbing.

Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville residents angered with Governor Ron DeSantis' handling of the pandemic and other issues showed up to make their voices heard on Tuesday morning, January 4, just before the governor was scheduled to conduct a press conference in Jacksonville.