News and Views from the People's Struggle
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following May 18 call from the Labor Party of Turkey (EMEP), Central Executive Committee.
Let’s unite our forces and raise the struggle for a democratic constitution and a Parliament!...
Minneapolis, MN – Margaret Sarfehjooy, a tireless, fearless and greatly respected anti-war activist, died suddenly and unexpectedly on April 28. She was a longtime member of WAMM (Women Against Military Madness) and on the organizations board for many years.
Chicago, IL – Several hundred people gathered on the lawn of Maria Saucedo Academy today, April 18, in an after-school to rally in support of Sarah Chambers, who has been suspended and faces termination. Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s appointed school board is coming after this teacher for her role in the fight to defend the public schools and Special Education. The crowd included students, parents, teachers, Chicago Teachers Union activists, trade unionists from other unions, and groups from the Palestinian and Filipino communities. Cook County Commissioner Chuy Garcia spoke and demanded that Chambers be returned to her students immediately. Rasmea Odeh, the Palestinian community activist persecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice, also came out to show her solidarity.
#ChicagoIL #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #teachers #ChicagoTeachersUnion #TeachersUnions
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Rasmea Defense Committee.
WHEN: Tuesday, April 25th, 2017, at 1:00 PM Eastern Time (rally at 1:00 PM, hearing starts at 2:30 PM)
Los Angeles, CA – Brock Turner is a 22-year-old white Stanford University swimmer jock who nobody cared about, until he decided to rape an unconscious woman (“Emily Doe”) behind a dumpster. His disgusting face should be familiar to all of you.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
On March 8, women of the world mark this day as one that honors the role of women and their struggle in their families and communities to confront discrimination, oppression and marginalization, emphasizing the struggle of working class women and nationally and racially oppressed women. This day takes on additional importance for Palestinian women in the context of their struggle and participation in the Palestinian national liberation movement since the very beginning of the struggle against colonization on the land of Palestine, confronting Zionist invasion and occupation of the land of Palestine.
Chicago, IL – Over 1000 people gathered at the headquarters of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) to celebrate International Women’s Day, March 8. Speakers from CTU, Fight For 15, the teachers union at the Charter School Aspira, AFSCME and other unions shared the stage with Rasmea Odeh, along with Filipino, Iranian and undocumented immigrant women.
Protest demands “Stop Trump’s attacks on women”
More than 250 people gathered here on March 8, International Women’s Day, to oppose Trump’s attacks on women. After rallying in Mayday Plaza, in the West Bank neighborhood, protesters marched on the headquarters of the Minnesota Republican Party.
Jacksonville, FL – Workers and trade unionists are preparing for a rally to defend the working class in Jacksonville. On March 11, beginning at 2 p.m. in Hemming Park, labor activists plan to rally and march to protest attacks on the working class, including national ‘right to work’ laws being debated in Congress. The rally, originally proposed by the Young Workers of Jacksonville, has been endorsed by the North Florida Central Labor Council (CLC), a strong coalition of AFL-CIO unions.
The U.S. has a long history of women rising up against their bosses and demanding economic justice. The first industrial strike in the U.S. was in May 1824, when 102 women workers in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, left their looms after the mill’s owners announced a wage cut. They refused to return to their stations and, instead, gathered the rest of the workers (including children) and took to the streets. They marched to the factory owner’s house while throwing rocks and shouting obscenities. Before the strike ended, the protests affected factories in eight nearby towns. The workers only returned when the factory owners reinstated their wages.