Jacksonville, FL – There are around 8000 Central American immigrants and refugees making their way from Honduras and other Central American nations to the United States-Mexico border. Currently the caravan is over 1000 miles from the nearest border city. These are Central American immigrants and refugees escaping poverty and instability in their home countries due to U.S.-backed governmental regimes and violence fueled by U.S. interference. These immigrants and refugees have pleaded for humanitarian assistance and a better life. However, they have been met by Donald Trump and his racist presidential administration with disdain and hate. Trump has called the caravan a mix of “criminals and unknown Middle Easterners,” claims pulled from his own administration’s bigotry towards Central Americans and other immigrants. His administration has even sent thousands of troops to fortify the border.
The Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) condemns in the strongest terms the assassination of Luis Fajardo, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV), who was killed alongside his brother-in-law and comrade Javier Aldana in a drive-by shooting.
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.
Saint Paul, MN – On November 6, Minnesotans will head to the polls along with the rest of the country for the midterm elections. With copycats and enablers of Trump’s bigoted and reactionary agenda up and down the ballot, there’s a lot riding on the outcome for working and oppressed people in Minnesota.
Oshkosh, WI – On Oct. 25, UW-Oshkosh Students for a Democratic Society (UWO SDS) hosted an event regarding the campus administration's current budget cutting policies. Members of UWO SDS were joined via Google Hangout by a leading student activist from UW-Superior and a member of UW-Parkside SDS, as well as a few members of the UWO faculty.
Oshkosh, WI – 20 people rallied outside of Polk Library on the UW-Oshkosh (UWO) campus, on the evening of October 29, to stand in solidarity with transgender and gender non-conforming people as they face attacks from the reactionary Trump administration.
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 – More than 70 people rallied in downtown Salt Lake City, October 27, to protest Trump’s proposed policies that would erase protections for transgender and non-binary individuals. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at the University of Utah organized the event, in conjunction with other protests by SDS chapters around the country.
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.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Oct. 27 statement from Jose Maria Sison, Chief Political Consultant, National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
San José, CA – On Friday, October 26, the U.S. stock market fell again. The broadest measure of U.S. stocks, the S&P 500, which measures the prices of 500 of the largest corporations in the United States, fell 1.7%, ending the day below where it started the year in January. One of the hardest hit stocks was Amazon, which fell almost 8% on Friday, down nearly 20% since it hit a high in September, giving the corporation a market value of $1 trillion.
Jacksonville, FL – On November 6, Floridians will vote on 12 amendments to the state constitution. Some of these amendments would have a far greater impact on the working-class and oppressed communities of this state than others. Several reached the ballot by citizens’ petition, while others were added by Governor Rick Scott’s majority-appointed Florida Constitutional Revision Commission, which met in 2017.
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).
