New York, NY – Widespread panic erupted last month as more than a dozen package bombs were sent to public figures critical of the Trump administration. These package bombs contained identical one by six-inch pieces of PVC pipe packed with shrapnel, pyrotechnic powder, a timer and a detonator. Thankfully, none of these packages exploded before being intercepted.

¡Lucha y Resiste! entrevistó a Amanda Martínez, una Sandinista leal y patriótica. Su nombre verdadero ha sido omitido porque ella ha recibido amenazas violentas contra sí misma y su familia. Ella viene de la ciudad La Concepción, que está al sur de Managua y al oeste de Masaya. La Concepción tiene alrededor de 30,000 personas y es un área agrícola. ¡Lucha y Resiste!: Como sucedió El Golpe Suave en el pueblo de La Concepción? ¿Había tranques? ¿Secuestraron a gente? ¿Como trataron a la gente Sandinista? ¿Que hizo la Policía Nacional?

Fight Back! interviewed Amanda Martinez, a patriotic Sandinista. Her name has been changed to a pseudonym, as counter-revolutionaries have made violent threats against her and her family. She lives in the small city of La Concepcion that is south of Managua and west of Masaya. La Concepcion has a population of around 30,000 people and is mostly an agricultural area. Fight Back!: How did the soft coup against President Ortega play out in the town of La Concepcion? Were there roadblocks? Did they sequester people? How did they treat Sandinista members? What did the National Police do?

Minneapolis, MN – Over 5000 people from all across Minnesota lined Lake Street, from South Minneapolis to Saint Paul, October 28, to show solidarity with transgender, gender nonconforming and intersex people under attack by the Trump administration.

_ “Defending Palestinian struggle and the right to resist occupation by any means necessary must, by necessity, also prioritize the struggle to free all political prisoners.”_

Fight Back! interviewed Charlotte Kates, International Coordinator of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, on the fight to free Palestinian political prisoners. We encourage all of our readers to support this effort.

Chicago, IL – The Teamsters Local 705 negotiating committee informed UPS, October 31, that the contract extension covering over 10,000 UPS workers will be over in 30 days. Both sides will likely continue to meet before that date.

San Jose, CA – “Coast to coast – the Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns President Trump’s plan to issue an executive order against birthright citizenship,” said Masao Suzuki, chair of the FRSO Joint Nationalities Commission. Suzuki said that proposed executive order would be the most infamous presidential order since President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which led to the incarceration of over 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent in concentrations camps during World War II.

Salt Lake City, UT – Student activists from as far as Massachusetts, Florida, Texas and Minnesota gathered in Salt Lake City for the 13th annual Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) national convention over the weekend of October 20.

New York, NY – Over 150 people gathered at the Holyrood Church in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City on October 27 for the International Peoples Tribunal on U.S. Colonial Crimes in Puerto Rico.

Northampton, MA – Western Massachusetts Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally and speak out for transgender rights, October 26, in downtown Northampton’s Pulaski Park. Pulaski Park is a block from Smith College, and a short trip from Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Amherst College, and UMass Amherst.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 60 people packed a hall, October 27, to view the film Fidel: The Untold Story, and to learn about the tremendous advances made in socialist Cuba. The event was organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

Chicago, IL – Negotiations continued between Teamsters Local 705 and UPS, October 25 and 26, on a collective bargaining agreement covering nearly 10,000 Chicago-area workers and one of the last two to settle with UPS around the country.

Washington, DC – UPS Freight (UPSF) employees will be voting on a Last, Best, and Final Offer (LBFO) presented by the company on November 9, 10 and the 11. The vote will take place in person at UPSF employees’ respective local unions and will not be online like the previous vote. The previous tentative agreement was rejected by the membership with a 62% “no” vote.

According to widespread media reports, two Palestinian protesters were killed in Gaza, October 26, while participating in the Great Return March. According to the news outlet Ma’an, “Spokesperson of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf al-Qidra, identified one of them as Muhammad Khalid Mahmoud Abed al-Nabi, 27, saying that al-Nabi succumbed to his wounds while being treated at the al-Shifa Hospital.”

Chicago, IL – Strikes are on the agenda. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) made this perfectly clear, turning out more than 250 people on October 24 for a rally to announce strike authorization votes at 19 charter schools next week. The votes will occur at two of the largest charter networks: Acero (formerly UNO, famous for scandals) and Chicago International Charter School (CICS).

Minneapolis, MN – Steff Yorek, the Political Secretary of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, sharply condemned the Trump administration, October 22, for orchestrating attacks on the democratic rights of transgender people.

Chicago, IL – Over 1000 Teamster Local 705 members packed their union hall, October 21, on the eve of serious negotiations with UPS. Support was widespread for the bargaining team, who are ready to end their contract extension should the company refuse to address some key issues.

Interview with Luiza Bezerra of the Brazilian Workers Central (CTB) union federation

On October 28, Brazilians will vote in the second round of their presidential election. The first round on October 7 sent shock waves around the world as extreme right-wing pro-military dictatorship candidate Jair Bolsonaro won 46% of the vote and leads polls heading into the second round of voting, where he will face Fernando Haddad of the Workers Party (PT). Brazil is a vast country which has the second largest economy in the Americas, behind only the U.S. economy. Brazil only emerged 33 years ago from a right-wing military dictatorship. Bolsonaro comes from the military and has openly called for returning Brazil to military rule. Unions and the left in Brazil face a potentially grim situation if Bolsonaro wins, since he calls for repression against trade unionists and leftists as well as promoting attacks on Black people, LGBTQ people and women.

New York, NY – Organizers from across the five boroughs joined together for a press conference, Oct. 19, decrying the recent assaults by Proud Boys and 211 Bootboys on community members. The organizations and speakers at the conference not only called attention to the violent assaults and the ultra-right wing groups behind them, but also to the collusion between these street gangs and the New York Police Department.

New York, NY – On the evening of October 13, members and friends of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding at the Kefalos Society in New York City. The highlight of the evening was an address about the current situation in Greece and the world by Zissis Lymperidis, a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the KKE. Before his address, various friends and fraternal parties of the KKE from New York City presented short greetings. After the greetings there was a presentation of a video showing the heroic history of this party and the struggles they have engaged in.