To mark the May 5, 1818 birthday of Karl Marx, Fight Back News Service is circulating a work he authored in 1864, a statement of congratulations to President Lincoln upon his reelection.
Tampa, FL – Labor and community activists in Tampa rallied May 1 to join the world in celebrating International Workers Day. The rally was called by the Tampa District of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, with speakers including Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, Tampa Bay Community Action Committee and local union activists.
Grand Rapids, MI – West Michigan labor unions joined by community and social justice groups celebrated International Workers Day on May 1 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
New York, NY – Around 400 people gathered in Union Square on a sunny afternoon of May 1, International Workers Day. Dozens of organizations based in New York came together to not only celebrate workers and our struggles, but to call for the general demands of unionizing and organizing all workers, immediate asylum for all migrants, abolishing ICE and stopping police terror.
San Jose, CA – More than 500 people marched through downtown San Jose for the annual May Day event. On one side of the street, hundreds of cars carrying Mexican flags and flags of the United Farm Workers Union drove by and honked in support. The May Day Coalition of San Jose organized the march and invited dozens of speakers from various community and labor organizations to raise issues important to their community. The community groups marched from Roosevelt Park to San Jose City Hall.
Minneapolis, MN – On a hot 87-degree afternoon, a large crowd assembled at the starting location for the International Workers Day march that was hosted by a large coalition of union, immigrant rights groups and other progressive organizations in the Twin Cities area.
St. Paul, MN – Students for A Democratic Society (SDS) held a sit-in at Eastcliff Mansion, the home of University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel, April 30, to demand police accountability on campus, community control of the police, and to divest from the West Command Task Force. The occupation lasted from noon to 6 p.m. and had an extensive program which included marshal training, cop watch, know your rights training, an explanation of CPAC, and a discussion of disability justice and policing.
Denver, CO – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) rallied here April 29, as a part of their campaign to disarm and defund the Auraria Campus Police Department.
Coon Rapids, MN – As SEIU Healthcare Minnesota members picketed on Wednesday, April 28 in front of Allina’s Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids Minnesota, they gathered up the crowd that included supporters from other unions and the community for a rally. At the rally, SEIU announced they were filing a 10-day strike notice, for a strike to begin on May 10, at all eight Allina hospitals, where SEIU represents over 4000 members.
St. Paul Park, MN – As of May 2, the Teamsters who work at the Marathon Refinery in Saint Paul Park, Minnesota will have been locked out for 100 days after a one-day strike unless a deal is reached before then to settle their contract negotiations. At this writing, April 28, by all accounts neither side appears ready to back down any time soon.
Milwaukee, WI – On April 24, the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression hosted a press conference to publicly announce their campaign to change the name of Lindbergh Park to Lucille Berrien Park and fund the renaming by defunding the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s overtime budget.
Minneapolis, MN – Around 50 protesters gathered outside the John B. Davis Education and Support Center, the main headquarters for the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education, on April 25 to demand justice for Anthony J. Thompson, Jr., a 17-year-old Black youth who was murdered by Knoxville, Tennessee police on April 12, in his own school. The Knox County district attorney already declared that Jonathan Clabough, the officer who shot and killed Thompson, will not be charged. The protest to demand justice was organized by the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J) and the Student Movement Activists of South High (SMASH), an affiliate of Students for a Democratic Society.
Tampa, Fl – Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a 20-person protest outside the University of South Florida’s (USF) entrance on April 20 opposing the university’s budget cuts and a state bill restricting the Bright Futures scholarship. Bright Futures provides 75 to 100% of an eligible student’s tuition. USF is implementing $36.7 million in cuts to areas such as student success, financial aid and health services.
Tallahassee, FL – A group of transgender students and community members gathered on Florida State University’s campus to demand changes to the campus housing policy for trans students. The student organization Gender Odyssey has been leading a campaign to adopt a new student housing policy that would, among other things, create an opt-in system for trans students to stay in dorms with fellow trans students, allow for students to change their name in the electronic housing registry system, and discipline students for transphobic harassment.
Tallahassee, FL – On April 20, in less than two hours after the Derek Chauvin verdict was announced, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee gathered at Cascades Park to celebrate this win but also to reiterate the fight for Black liberation is not over. They chanted, “Indict convict, send that killer cop to jail, the whole damn system is guilty as hell.”
New York, NY – At approximately, 5 p.m. Eastern time, April 20, Derek Chauvin, the cop who fatally jammed his knee on George Floyd’s neck for over to nine minutes, was found guilty on all three charges. The murder of George Floyd caused millions of people to take to take to the streets demanding justice.
Chicago, IL – 300 protesters showed up for the first in-person city council meeting in a year, April 21, to demand passage of an ordinance called Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS). Coming out of nine years of efforts by over 100 community organizations, labor unions, churches and other faith-based groups, the ordinance is a merger of two bills: CPAC (Civilian Police Accountability Council, proposed by the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression), and one proposed by GAPA (the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability). ECPS combines elements of the CPAC and GAPA bills to create the most democratic police accountability system in the country.
To mark the 151st birthday, April 22, of the outstanding revolutionary V.I. Lenin, Fight Back News Service is circulating his famous article ‘Letter to American Workers.’
Buena Park, CA – A march and protest took place in Buena Park, Orange County, April 17, to demand justice for David Sullivan, a 19-year old Chicano who was shot and killed August 19, 2019 in the city of Fullerton, by Buena Park Police Department. The protest's demands included the firing and prosecution of Buena Park police officers Jennifer Tran and Bobby Colon. Sullivan was shot and killed in broad daylight, posed no threat, and was unarmed.