Tampa, FL – With the ongoing COVID-19 crisis putting workers at risk and UPS making huge profits, many rank-and-file Teamsters are demanding hazard pay. Teamsters in Tampa, Florida are organizing co-workers to fight for it.

Los Angeles, CA – On Friday, May 1, a car protest of over 40 vehicles driven by workers, teachers and activists took to the streets for the sixth consecutive year to celebrate International Workers Day, May Day, in the Boyle Heights neighborhood. Organized by Centro CSO, this year’s May Day protest focused on Trump’s attacks on immigrants and called for free healthcare for COVID-19 patients, support for public education, jailing killer cops and community control over the police.

New York, NY – Dozens of cars gathered in different boroughs of New York City on Friday May 1 in honor of May Day, or International Workers Day. Due to the city being on pause, protesters used a caravan to display signs and drive through different neighborhoods in the city, showing solidarity with workers and other oppressed groups. A special focus was put on COVID-19 and how workers, prisoners and immigrants lack protection from COVID-19.

Minneapolis, MN – Activists will gather virtually to celebrate May Day here, on Saturday, May 2. The 4 p.m. gathering is taking the place of the originally scheduled annual May Day dinner celebration, which the Twin Cities branch of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) has held for over 20 years.

Second UIC hospital worker confirmed dead of COVID-19

Chicago, IL – A University of Illinois health operating room technician, represented by SEIU Local 73, passed away this week of COVID-19 complications. An UI Health RN, represented by Illinois Nurses Association (INA), passed away last week. Over 200 hospital workers have tested positive for COVID-19. The two workers who died were not assigned to COVID-19 designated floors. There is a growth of infection outside the COVID-19 designated floors. Many employees throughout the hospital are only given surgical masks and gloves as protection.

Minneapolis, MN – With the Minnesota governor’s stay-at-home order set to expire on May 4, and as COVID-19 cases are beginning to spike across the state, hundreds of Minnesotans are calling on Governor Tim Walz to resist the pressure from right-wing business groups and keep Minnesota closed until a time at which it is safe to reopen.

Tampa, FL – UPS announced April 27 that the company would begin drone deliveries in early May. The drones would deliver medications from a local CVS pharmacy to the largest retirement community in the U.S. Experimenting with drone delivery is only the latest development in automation at UPS. While good for shareholders, automating deliveries through drones will be disastrous for UPS workers.

Dallas, TX – On Saturday, April 25, cities and towns around the country mobilized for a National Day of Car Protests to demand the cancellation of all rents and all mortgages for homeowners, small landlords and small businesses for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis. Demands included halting payments for utilities and internet, as well as implementing hazard pay for all essential workers.

Jacksonville, FL – Around three dozen cars joined a Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) protest on Friday evening, April 24, calling for a mass release of Duval County inmates in the overpopulated Duval County jail. Along with the JCAC, the New Florida Majority, Dignity Florida, Northside Coalition of Jacksonville along with other organizations and community supporters came out Friday evening for a caravan protest to demand that Melissa Nelson and Sheriff Mike Williams #FreeThemAll. The protesters taped signs to their vehicles that demanded the release of prisoners, to avoid the Duval County Jail becoming a death trap during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Plymouth, MN – AFSCME members from Local 2822 and other Hennepin County library and service center workers were out protesting for the second week in a row on Friday, April 24. The protests revolve around Hennepin County’s unsafe decision to keep some libraries open for curbside pickup of books even while businesses all around have been shut down and the state is under a Stay at Home order from Governor Tim Walz.

According to April 23 report in Granma, “On Havana's Lenin Hill, a small group of trade union leaders, headed by Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, Party Political Bureau member and general secretary of the Cuban Workers Federation (CTC), dedicated a floral tribute to the legendary Bolshevik, who played a key role in the Russian Revolution, the greatest lesson in the annals of history of what the emancipated working class can achieve in unity of thought and action, guided by socialist principles.”

Minneapolis, MN – On April 17, more than 60 cars, filled with union members and supporters, packed the parking lot outside the Ridgedale Library. This action, one of the few worker actions happening in Minnesota during this pandemic, is part of an effort by AFSCME Local 2822 to keep Hennepin County buildings closed and keep workers paid. Joining this protest were members of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, Saint Paul Federation of Educators, Teamsters Local 320, members of other AFSCME Locals representing workers in Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Saint Paul, and the University of Minnesota, and members of community organizations including the Anti-War Committee and Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar.

Tampa, Fl – On April 21 Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) had its most recent email-in for the University of South Florida (USF) to end unnecessary summer tuition fees. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person classes and certain activities at the USF are canceled for the summer semester. Instead of canceling additional tuition fees, USF is planning to charge them at a reduced rate. One of the fees Tampa Bay SDS demands be removed is the distance learning fee, which is a fee per credit hour of online courses. Tampa Bay SDS demands USF remove these unfair fees entirely for summer tuition due to the extra costs that they add to students during the pandemic.

Union demands: End library curbside and service center drive through, expand remote services and internet access

Plymouth, MN – Last week, over 60 cars converged on Ridgedale Library and Service Center in Minnetonka to demand public health and worker safety. Now Hennepin County union library and service center workers represented by AFSCME Local 2822 and supporters will be gathering at Plymouth Library parking lot, 15700 36th Ave N, Friday, April 24, 12:30 pm to press their demands to: end library curbside pick-up program until the spread of COVID-19 is better understood in Minnesota; end the DMV drive thru window at Maple Grove Licensing Service Center, and delay drop box service at service centers until workers can process motor vehicle transactions remotely.

New York City, NY – On the evening of April 22, the North East chapter of the International League of People’s Struggle held a webinar titled “Rent Strike: What it is and how to do it.”

Chicago, IL – Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) will be marking International Workers Day virtually with talks from leaders of workers struggles in Chicago. The Sunday, May 3 forum will be streamed from the FRSO Chicago page via Facebook Live at 4 p.m.

Chicago, IL – 100 cars surrounded the Thompson Center in Chicago’s Loop, April 20, during Governor J.B. Pritzker’s daily press briefing on COVID-19. The caravan protest was held to demand Pritzker free police torture survivor Gerald Reed and all vulnerable prisoners at Cook County Jail, Illinois Department of Corrections prisons and ICE detention centers in Illinois – especially those over 60, those with medical conditions, and those who the governor’s own Torture Commission has already confirmed are victims of police torture and therefore wrongfully convicted.

To mark the 150 birthday, April 22, of the outstanding revolutionary V.I. Lenin, Fight Back News Service is circulating his famous article ‘Letter to American Workers.’

Tampa, FL – Florida FRSO members are holding a webinar May 1, May Day, to highlight the struggles taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare workers, Teamsters, teachers and students will lead these discussions. Focus will be on the labor movement and the struggles of the working class as we navigate the pandemic. Speakers will highlight the steps they have taken to continue this struggle against the bourgeoisie who neglect the needs of the working class.

New York, NY – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday, April 16, that the city will cut $827 million from the department of education budget in the next fiscal year. These cuts to the NYC public schools will mean a hiring freeze, fewer counseling resources, the elimination of youth employment summer programs, and reductions in overtime, materials and training.