News and Views from the People's Struggle
Denver, CO – On January 3, King Soopers workers represented by the United Food and Commercial Worker’s Local 7 (UFCW) in Denver and Colorado Springs approved an Unfair Labor Practices strike. Workers across 87 King Soopers locations approved the motion by a 97% margin.
Los Angeles, CA – On December 23, 2021, the crowded North Hollywood Burlington store became the scene of two lives taken by LAPD. Daniel Elena Lopez was assaulting a woman, and 911 calls were placed by witnesses. One witness incorrectly reported that shots had been fired inside of the store. LAPD showed up to the scene. Police body cam video recently released shows the LAPD negligence and disregard for human lives.
St. Paul, MN – Chanting their demand for “raises and respect,” close to 200 members of AFSCME members braved the snow, December 28, for an informational picket to bring attention to the county's proposed plan to freeze wages and raise health insurance costs on workers during the ongoing global pandemic. AFSCME Locals 8, 151, 707, 1076 and 1935 took part in the picket, and were joined by other workers in solidarity.
Chicago, IL – On Tuesday, December 22, 150 workers at the Jefferson Street UPS barn in Chicago staged a protest before work.
Minneapolis, MN – On December 16, around 2500 hundred clerical, technical and healthcare workers at the University of Minnesota reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. The workers are members of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Locals 3800, 3801, 3260 and 3937 and have been working with an expired contract since July 1. The agreement is for a one-year contract, which means even as this long round of negotiations and contract campaign actions wraps up, the locals are already gearing up to begin bargaining their next contract.
Milwaukee, WI – In the middle of a cold winter evening, on December 17, the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression organized a picket with the family of Theodore Malcolm Edgecomb to amplify awareness of Edgecomb’s case, which is set for a jury trial on January 3, 2022.
Minneapolis, MN – On December 13, over 3500 Hennepin County clerical and social service workers who are members AFSCME Locals 34 and 2822 rejected the county’s “last best and final” contract offer and authorized a strike across both locals. The two locals represent the largest blocks of organized workers in the Hennepin County system.
Dallas, TX – Hundreds of members of Dallas's large Ethiopian community rallied outside Dallas City Hall on November 21 against U.S. intervention in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The protest was associated with the nationwide #NoMore movement and was called by community members, though the rally was also attended by members of the All African People's Revolutionary Party and the Dallas Anti-War Committee.
Fight Back! interview with Frank Chapman, of the Central Committee of Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
Toni Gilpin is a prominent labor historian, author and activist. She wrote the book The Long Deep Grudge which covered the militant history of the Farm Equipment Union whose members later merged into the United Auto Workers, including some the locals that recently struck for five weeks at John Deere, where Gilpin provided support on the picket lines.
To mark the Nov. 28, 1820 birthday of the revolutionary Frederick Engels, Fight Back News Service is circulating one of his writings – On Authority. On Authority
Hartford, CT – On November 20, a dozen protesters rallied in front of the Hartford Supreme Court building to protest the mass evictions happening across Connecticut. The protest centered around Governor Ned Lamont’s inability to protect renters from evictions during the ongoing pandemic. There is a new bill requiring landlords to provide tenants with 30 days’ removal notice, being disguised as a continuation of the stay on evictions. Other issues included cancelling rent payments and investing in the community instead of police. “Cancel the rents, evictions must end,” chanted the protesters.
Tampa, FL – At least 40 people gathered November 21 on a busy intersection off Hillsborough Avenue in East Tampa Florida to demand justice for the victims of right-wing vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse. Only days before, in a sham trial, Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges stemming from his rampage in Kenosha in August of 2020. The crowd chanted “How do you spell racist? K-Y-L-E” and “No justice, no peace, vigilantes get off our streets.”
Tampa, FL – At least 40 people gathered November 21 on a busy intersection off Hillsborough Avenue in East Tampa Florida to demand justice for the victims of right-wing vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse. Only days before, in a sham trial, Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges stemming from his rampage in Kenosha in August of 2020. The crowd chanted “How do you spell racist? K-Y-L-E” and “No justice, no peace, vigilantes get off our streets.”
On November 22, Tallahassee activists gathered on Transgender Day of Remembrance. Tallahassee Community Action Committee. Florida Coalition for Transgender Liberation, Planned Parenthood, Students for A Democratic Society, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the Pride Student Union held a march and vigil for Transgender Day of Remembrance, an international day of solidarity and remembrance of the transgender lives lost every year.
Tallahassee , FL – On November 13, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) led a march to the headquarters of the Tallahassee Police Department calling for the resignation of police chief Lawrence Revell as well as City Manager Reese Goad. Revell recently spoke at a religious retreat for law enforcement executives hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, a known anti-LGBTQIA+ group that has made claims such as “trans activists are in league with ‘many homosexuals’ and are ‘propagandizing, grooming, and mutilating children.’”
Grand Rapids, MI – 50 people marched Saturday night, November 20, in Grand Rapids to protest the acquittal of vigilante murderer Kyle Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse was acquitted earlier in the week, a result clearly engineered by biased circuit court judge Bruce Schroeder. The protest was organized by Justice for Black Lives, a Grand Rapids-based organization that has been leading the Black Liberation movement in the city since last year's protests after the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others.
Tallahassee, FL – Tallahassee Community Action Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Students for A Democratic Society held a protest, November 20, against the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse, who killed two protesters in Kenosha. TCAC called an emergency protest the night before, urging community members to come out and fight against the white supremacist vigilantism.
Colorado Springs, CO – On the evening of November 21, activists from Colorado Springs gathered on the steps of City Hall to hold a candlelight vigil for Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum. Huber and Rosenbaum were in Kenosha, Wisconsin, protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake, when they were gunned down by right-wing vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse in August of 2020.
Jacksonville, FL – Around 80 people gathered at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Jacksonville, November 20 after the acquittal of racist vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse, demanding the Department of Justice file civil rights charges. Organized by the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, they were joined by Florida State Representative Angie Nixon (who spoke), members of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, UNF SDS, Take Em Down Jax, Florida Rising, DSA Jax, Our Revolution along with other community members and activists.