_Community activists call on Putnam to condemn statement, white supremacists _
Jacksonville, FL – On Wednesday, May 17, Adam Putnam, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Republican candidate for governor of Florida, spoke in Jacksonville Beach at a campaign event. Just a few feet outside, his official campaign tour bus was pictured with “Convict the #Jax5” written in large white lettering on the back, directly below Putnam's name.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Communist Party of Greece (KKE).Mass combative strike response of the workers to the anti-people political line of the government-EU-IMF
Minneapolis, MN – More than 20 people held banners, May 13, in the busy Uptown neighborhood, to mark Al-Nakba. Al-Nakba, Arabic for “the catastrophe” remembers the 1948 Zionist expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.
Jersey City, NJ – A group of Jersey City educators and workers got together, March 22, to discuss the ongoing threats facing working-class men, women and their families due to the onslaught of gentrification threatening to rip apart the social fabric of New Jersey’s second largest city, Jersey City.
Saint Paul, MN – On May 11 at 8:18 a.m., a video was posted publicly on Facebook which shows a brief clip of plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents terrorizing a local family in St. Paul when, according to witness accounts, their unmarked car swerved in front of a vehicle with four Latino men and stopped and detained them. A man from El Salvador and a man from Honduras were detained. Family members arrived on scene but could not get answers from ICE agents about who they were or why the men were being detained – instead they were shouted at and one of the detained men's wife had a gun pointed at her. Neither man had any criminal conviction.
Washington, DC – The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) is reporting that Syrian prisoners in Israeli jails have joined the open-ended hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners.
Chicago, IL – Union educators at Passages Charter School voted overwhelmingly to strike, May 4, after nearly a year of bargaining with management has failed to produce a decent contract. Teachers voted 43 to zero to strike, in a bargaining unit of 46 members. The May 4 vote authorizes the bargaining committee to set a strike date in the coming weeks if they do not receive an acceptable offer.
“Trump and the government are once again flirting with war”
St Paul, MN – For the second week in a row a Twin Cities peace vigil focused on opposition to U.S. war on Korea. On May 3 over 25 people attended the weekly vigil to speak out against the danger of U.S. war in Korea. The vigil is held on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge over the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
San Salvador, El Salvador – Tens of thousands of Salvadoran workers came out to march here on International Workers Day. The event started with three marches from different parts of San Salvador that converged in the El Salvador del Mundo plaza for a unified rally. The marches started at Schafik Handal Plaza in Mejicanos, at Árbol de la Paz by Cuzcatlan Stadium, and on Boulevard de los Héroes. Many unions, social movement organizations and the left participated in the march. Workers celebrated their accomplishments including an increase to the minimum wage. They also expressed their rejection of a proposal from the private sector to privatize pensions. The unions presented their own proposal to the FMLN government to reform the pension system to guarantee a pension for current and future retirees.
Chicago, IL – On May 1, over 250 workers at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) picketed to demand a fair contract. Many members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73 have been without a contract for almost two years.
Opa Locka, FL – On April 28, 20 community members, students and family members gathered to honor the life of Chay Reed and called for an end to trans murders. The vigil was held on the street corner of NW 27th Avenue and 39th Street, the corner where Chay Reed, a 28-year-old Black trans woman, was murdered by an unidentified shooter on April 21. Nine Trans women of color have been murdered in 2017.
Los Angeles, CA – The beautiful and unified chants of, “Chicano power! Immigrant power! Student power!” and “Que viva la Raza! Que viva Aztlán! Que viva Mexico!” was heard through the streets of the Chicano neighborhood of Boyle Heights, May 1. The spirited May Day march proceeded on Chavez Avenue in the heart of Boyle heights where residents came out to cheer and show support. A short rally was held at the corners of Chicago and First Street at the LAPD Hollenbeck police station to denounce the killings of Jose “Peruzzi” Mendez, Jesse Romero and other youth.
Houston, TX – There were two May Day events in Houston, Texas. Immigrant rights groups demanding an end to deportations and to defend the rights of undocumented workers organized a noontime march and rally. With some union support, the crowd of hundreds marched to Houston City Hall and rallied on the steps.
Milwaukee, WI – Buses came in from at least 12 cities across Wisconsin to march for this year’s May Day celebration. Since 2006, an annual rally and march has been held in Milwaukee, with this being one of the largest gatherings to date.
New York, NY – Several hundred gathered at Union Square on May 1 to celebrate International Workers Day. The event was one of several organized for the day and was put together by groups that are a part of the International League of People’s Struggles – North East.
Chicago, IL – Rasmea Odeh speaks to a massive crowd at the May Day rally at Union Park in Chicago, May 1. The International Workers Day action eventually grew to 20,000 people marching in the streets. Odeh, who represented the Arab American Action Network, highlighted organizing with Arab and Muslim immigrants to resist attacks coming from the Trump regime.