Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

GrandRapidsMI

By Tom Burke

Stagehands pushing music road cases with signs reading Push for 600.

Grand Rapids, MI – Fifty union stagehands chanted, “$600 now!” while pushing music road cases thru downtown Grand Rapids. They began their push at the U.S. Federal Building to demand Senator Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans pass the $600 workers need.

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By Tom Burke

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Grand Rapids, MI – Fifty local people gathered for an emotional vigil to remember Vanessa Guillen, the U.S. Army soldier murdered and disappeared by another soldier at Fort Hood, Texas. The U.S. armed forces are rife with sexual harassment and rape, both on and off military bases. The unrelenting response of Guillen’s family, demanding answers, has top military leaders on the defensive, scrambling.

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By Tom Burke

Enter a descriptive sentence about the photo here.

Grand Rapids, MI – Fifty local people gathered for an emotional vigil to remember Vanessa Guillen, the U.S. Army soldier murdered and disappeared by another soldier at Fort Hood, Texas. The U.S. armed forces are rife with sexual harassment and rape, both on and off military bases. The unrelenting response of Guillen’s family, demanding answers, has top military leaders on the defensive, scrambling.

Read more...

By Tom Burke

Enter a descriptive sentence about the photo here.

Grand Rapids, MI – Fifty local people gathered for an emotional vigil to remember Vanessa Guillen, the U.S. Army soldier murdered and disappeared by another soldier at Fort Hood, Texas. The U.S. armed forces are rife with sexual harassment and rape, both on and off military bases. The unrelenting response of Guillen’s family, demanding answers, has top military leaders on the defensive, scrambling.

Read more...

By Tom Burke

Stagehands and gig workers demand extension of benefits for the unemployed.

Grand Rapids, MI – After a lively rally on June 24 with nearly 100 workers, the stagehands union IATSE is calling a new rally on the steps of the Michigan State Capitol for July 15. The stagehands and other gig workers are demanding the passage of the HEROES (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions) Act by the U.S. Senate. July 25 is looming as the $600 per week unemployment boost that keeps people paying their bills is set to run out. Tensions are rising not just in Michigan, but also for stagehands from New York City to Hollywood, across the whole country.

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By Tom Burke

Michigan stagehands to rally June 24 for unemployment extension

Grand Rapids, MI – Union stagehands and gig workers are rallying to extend unemployment at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on June 24 at 10 a.m.

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By Severin Mortensen

Grand Rapids, MI – Protesters gathered in several major Michigan cities last weekend, including Grand Rapids and Lansing, demanding justice for the Minneapolis Police Department’s killing of George Floyd and for all victims of police brutality.

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By Tom Burke

Protest in Grand Rapids, MI against a U.S. war on Iran.

Grand Rapids, MI – 45 people rallied in Grand Rapids on January 25 to demand “No U.S. war on Iran! U.S. out of Iraq!”

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By Barbara Howard

Grand Rapids, MI says no to war with Iran.

Grand Rapids, MI – On January 4, about 35 people gathered at the intersection of Division and Fulton, the center point of Grand Rapids, to express their outrage and protest the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force. Soleimani was killed outside Baghdad’s airport.

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By Tom Burke

Grand Rapids, MI – Excitement is building among trade unionists and community activists in Grand Rapids, about an upcoming event where labor negotiator and author Joe Burns will speak. Michigan is a so-called ‘right to work’ state, where labor unions are struggling to maintain their membership and power.

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