Tallahassee, FL – On July 13 Tallahassee community organizers and experts gave presentations at the Mayor's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council at City Hall. The presentation's focus was the demand to transform Tallahassee into an LGBTQ sanctuary city.

Chicago, IL – Shon Barnes, Angel Novalez and Larry Snelling were nominated by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) as the next superintendent of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) on July 13 at Kennedy King College in the Englewood neighborhood. The Commission selected these three from 54 applicants through a 120-day process after the resignation of Superintendent David Brown, who was appointed by Mayor Lightfoot.

Milwaukee, WI – On July 11, Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee (RJAM) held a press conference in front of Milwaukee City Hall concerning the recent updates to the lawsuit being pursued by Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul against the 1849 state statute 940.04. This lawsuit was launched by Kaul on June 28, 2022, in response to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision and came in the wake of mass protests across the state.

Fight Back! is circulating the following “Solidarity with the Tampa 5” resolution voted up by the union delegates to the West Central Florida Labor Council (WCFLC). President Jim Junecko of the WCFLC, AFL-CIO sent the resolution to Florida State’s Attorney Susan Lopez asking she direct Prosecutor Justin Diaz to drop the charges. Resolution in Solidarity with the Tampa 5

Milwaukee, WI – The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) began bargaining their national agreement with the United States Postal Service (USPS) in February 2023. Then union members heard no status update after May 21 – the date the current agreement expired. The current agreement remains in effect until a new negotiated date, but it is now July and members are worried.

Milwaukee, WI – After contested town halls, the Milwaukee Common Council has voted in favor of increasing the city’s sales tax by 2%. The vote was 12-3. As mandated by Wisconsin Act 12 (the Shared Revenue Bill), the revenue generated by this 2% sales tax increase can only be used to pay for the city’s pension obligations to the fire and police departments.

Boyle Heights, CA – On July 12, over 25 people gathered at Mariachi Plaza and joined the emergency and national day of action for the Tampa 5. The Tampa 5 are five women from Tampa who were brutally arrested while staging a peaceful protest at the University of South Florida (USF).

Jacksonville, FL – 40 members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) rallied near the Jacksonville United Parcel Service Hub on the morning of July 12. Officials from IBT Local 512 called for members to hold a “practice picket” like others held around the country. These practice pickets are part of the overall Teamster campaign to win a good national contract at UPS. Teamsters around the country are prepared to go on strike come August 1 if their demands for higher wages and better working conditions in the new contract are not met by the company.

Jacksonville, FL – As part of a coordinated effort across the country, the activist community in Jacksonville stood in solidarity with the Tampa 5. On July 11, 65 people gathered in front of the Duval County Courthouse to demand legal charges be dropped against the four members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and a union worker who were arrested in early March. Laura Rodriguez, Gia Davila, Lauren Pineiro, Jeanie Kida and Chrisley Carpio are facing felony charges.

Sunnyvale, CA – On July 6, members of the Teamsters union at the UPS Hub in Sunnyvale, in the San Francisco Bay area, held a picket in the lead-up to their contract expiring and a potential nationwide strike.

Commerce City, CO – After the contract negotiation fallout between UPS and the Teamsters a week before, 300 workers marched outside the UPS Commerce City Hub just outside Denver, Colorado, July 9. Teamsters Local 455 is holding practice pickets which have been exploding across the country as the Teamsters keep up their fight for a strong UPS contract August 1.

On Sunday, July 16 at 3 p.m. Pacific time (4 p.m. Mountain / 5 p.m. Central / 6 p.m. Eastern), Freedom Road Socialist Organization will be hosting an online event entitled “UPS Teamsters on the Frontlines” featuring rank-and-file Teamsters, some of whom are FRSO members, speaking on the latest in their current struggle for a contract with UPS.

Fight Back! is circulating the following July 9 statement and call for a solidarity rally by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization in Orlando, Florida.

Austin, TX – On July 8, ten students gathered on the steps of the Texas Capitol building to protest recent attacks on affirmative action. They protested the U.S. Supreme Court decision that race cannot be a factor in college admissions.

Oak Lawn, IL – Over 130 protesters shut down the Oak Lawn Police and Fire Commission meeting on July 5 in response to the killing of Murod Kurdi and the beating of Hadi Abuatelah. “We need to clean out the Oak Lawn Police from top to bottom. That's why we're demanding an independent investigation into the Oak Lawn Police Department,” declared Mohamed Sunkari, a leader of the Arab American Action Network (AAAN).

San Jose, CA – On June 26, around 35 people gathered at Willow Street Frank Bramhall Park in San Jose to honor political prisoner and American Indian Movement leader Leonard Peltier. The event was organized by Leonard Peltier Support Group Silicon Valley and Indian Health Center Silicon Valley on the 48th anniversary of the historic shootout at Oglala on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The rally was emceed by Donna Wallach, chair of Leonard Peltier Support Group Silicon Valley and longtime community organizer.

Porto, Portugal – At an event in Porto on July 4 attended by around 200 people, leaders of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) firmly condemned the privatization of a key state energy company, Efacec, to a German shareholder. Mutares, the German shareholder, submitted a bid to acquire a 71% ownership of the currently nationalized company that specializes in transformers, appliances and equipment, automation solutions and electric mobility.

Fight back News Service is circulating the following statement of Juliet de Lima, the Interim Chairperson, Negotiating Panel, of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

Washington, DC – On July 1, the bargaining committee of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) announced that three major economic tentative agreements had been reached with UPS in their negotiations over the next contract at UPS. These agreements are the elimination of a two-tier driver system, ending forced overtime on worker’s scheduled days off, and receiving Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday.

Organize a protest for the Tampa 5's second court appearance!

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