Brooklyn, NY – More than 100 legal aid attorneys, paralegals, social workers and support staff came out to the picket lines, July 26, as workers at Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS) demanded their bosses come to the table and negotiate a decent contract.

Metairie, LA – On July 25, over 30 people marched on a mansion in the New Orleans metro area to disrupt a fundraiser for Donald Trump. Joe Canizaro, a wealthy retired banker in Old Metairie, hosted Trump’s campaign event. Jeff Landry, Trump’s handpicked candidate for the Louisiana governorship, also attended. The noise from the protest forced the event to end early, and the campaign raised only half as much as when he visited the city in 2019.

On Tuesday, July 25, the Teamsters reached a tentative agreement for the UPS 2023-2028 contract which covers 340,000 workers across the country. The agreement follows a rank-and-file campaign for a strong contract that resulted in a 97% strike authorization vote in June, and practice pickets all around the country in July in the lead up to a potential national strike on August 1.

Tucson, AZ – Asserting their power as workers, the educators at BASIS Tucson North won three major victories even before finishing bargaining a first contract. First, paid time off days will increase from five to ten. Second, some educators will receive pay at the rate of $40 per hour for being assigned extra subbing duties. Third, the punitive “attendance bonus” system, which compensated teachers for not using their days of paid time off and which unfairly punished educators with disabilities and illnesses, will come to an end. These changes will take effect starting in August of the 2023-2024 school year.

San Jose, CA – 20 activists and community members held a rally, June 9, to demand dropping the charges against the Tampa 5, the five University of Southern Florida of protesters who were brutalized by police and wrongfully charged.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following call from the Emergency Committee to Defend the Tampa 5.

Minneapolis, MN – Over the weekend of July 21and 22, members of Minnesota Workers United took to the streets in Minneapolis and Eagan, a Minneapolis suburb, with hundreds of UPS workers who are members of Teamsters Local 638 and their supporters. The workers and solidarity supporters conducted practice-pickets to show their readiness to strike if UPS doesn’t meet their demands for a new contract by August 1.

Washington, DC – On July 24, United Steelworkers Local 4-200 announced that they gave Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick, located in New Jersey, official notice that they will begin an unfair labor practice strike on August 4.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following July 25 statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following resolution passed by the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO executive board in July 2023.

Milwaukee, WI – On Saturday, July 22, activists and community members united at The Calling sculpture in downtown Milwaukee to protest the annual Milwaukee Air & Water Show. The rally was organized by the Milwaukee Anti-War Committee (MAC) to demonstrate that the show is not a harmless family event as it is often portrayed, but a celebration of U.S. militarism and a polarizing affair for the city.

Tustin, CA – On July 12, over 20 activists and community members rallied in front of the Tustin Police Department in solidarity with the Tampa 5 and against police repression in Orange County. The rally was held for an emergency National Day of Action with rallies happening across the country. The Tampa 5 are student and worker activists who were arrested while for protesting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s attacks on education. The activists now face up to ten years in prison.

Milwaukee, WI – On July 19, a dozen activists gathered in front of the Sunburst Statue for a rally demonstrating solidarity and demanding justice for the Tampa 5. Protesters demanded charges be dropped against the Tampa 5, with calls to action to sign the petition and donate to their legal fund.

Minneapolis, MN – The United Steelworkers (USW) announced that workers at Cleveland Cliffs’ Northshore Mining joined the union July 18.

Denver, CO – On July 12, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Denver was joined at the Union Station by members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Black Student Alliance of MSU Denver, and other members of the community. They staged a speak-out demanding that the politically-motivated charges against the Tampa 5 be dropped.

Milwaukee, WI – The people’s movements mourn the loss of veteran activist George Martin, who passed away on July 16th, 2023. Martin was a well respected leader in local, national, and international anti-war, environmental, and social justice movements who had a great impact on many people over his life-long service to the cause of peace and justice.

Grand Rapids, MN – At 6 a.m., July 15, around 200 members of Teamsters Local 346 walked off their jobs at the UPM Blandin Paper Company and began a strike. Grand Rapids gets its name because it sits along the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota. The UPM Blandin paper plant was built in its location on the edge of the river to use the river to power its paper mill. The plant has been an established feature of the town’s economy since its founding in 1901. Now, for the first time in the history of the plant its workers have gone on strike.

Dallas, TX – On July 12, 30 organizers, activists and community members beat the 105-degree heat and joined in solidarity to seek justice for the Tampa 5, rallying at Dealey Plaza, on the day of the Five’s court appearance.

Pittsburgh, PA – United Steelworkers Local 4-200 announced today that 1700 members who work as nurses at Robert Woods Johnson New Brunswick have voted to grant the union the authority to call a strike.

New Orleans, LA – On July 12, a dozen activists representing several organizations gathered on the steps of New Orleans City Hall to demand justice for the Tampa 5. That day, the five University of South Florida activists – Laura Rodriguez, Gia Davila, Lauren Pineiro, Jeanie Kida and Chrisley Carpio – faced trumped up felony charges in a Tampa court. Protesters demanded the charges unjustly leveled by District Attorney Susan Lopez against the five be dropped.