Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

Labor

By staff

Porto, Portugal – Business elites and conservative political leaders are powerless to stop the massive working class wave about to hit them as momentum builds toward a nationwide general strike June 3.

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By Eric Alseth

Milwaukee letter carriers at an event to support reform in the NALC.

Milwaukee, WI – On Sunday, May 24, nearly 200 letter carriers and their supporters gathered to rally and fundraise for the union reform slate Concerned Letter Carriers (CLC), outside American Family Field ahead of a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game.

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By Sebastian Miscenich

Salt Lake City, UT – On Sunday, May 17, over 50 members of ATU 382 formed a picket line for a decent contract in downtown Salt Lake City. Working under an expired contract for six months, transit workers and community supporters demonstrated in front of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) International Bus Roadeo, demanding Utah Transit Authority (UTA) address worker safety, outsourcing, and pressing economic demands.

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By Ian Freeman and Gemini Gnull

Tacoma, WA – A dozen people gathered along the fence of U.S. Oil & Refining Co on Wednesday, May 27 in an emergency picket and vigil for the 11 people killed in the Longview paper mill disaster. Signs with statements like “Clean it up or shut it down,” “Justice for the Longview 11” and “System change not climate change” waved as attendees picketed the back gate.

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By Dre Say

New York, NY – On Monday, May 18, around 3500 Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) workers from five unions concluded a three-day strike. During the strike, rail workers shut down the busiest commuter train service in the United States, which transports between 250,000 and 300,000 passengers daily. New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli estimated that the strike cost the region $61 million per day.

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By Jim Byrne

Dozens of peasant organizations, unions and community organizations representing tens of thousands united for a national strike on May 20 to demand agrarian reform. Marches and street blockades in the countryside and major cities like Bogotá, Valledupar, Cartagena, Popayán, Montería and Sincelejo have shut down transportation and some services.

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By Bailey Heaton and Cassandra Heil

Workers at the Denver Art Museum demand end to poverty wages.

Denver, CO – On the afternoon of May 14, dozens of people rallied at the Cow and Calf statues outside the Denver Art Museum (DAM) to support the museum employees’ struggle for a union contract.

The crowd, led by the Denver Art Museum Workers United (DAMWU), marched three times around the block from 12th and Tacoma Street to 14th and Bannock, chanting, “Exploitation ain’t the way, workers gotta get their pay!” and “Hey hey, ho ho! Poverty wages have got to go!”

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By Jim Byrne

Months of popular resistance to political decisions to benefit the wealthy elite have brought Bolivia to a boiling point. Trade unions are two weeks into a general strike that calls for the resignation of center-right President Rodrigo Paz. Rural indigenous organizations have surrounded the house of former President Evo Morales to protect him from an assassination or kidnapping attempt. Reports say that workers have seized the airport near the home to prevent an operation similar to what the U.S. did to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

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By Montana Hirsch

Marcha de 1º de mayo en Minneapolis. | Ashley Taylor-Gouge/Watch Me Rise Minneapolis

Minneapolis, MN – El viernes, 1 de mayo, una coalición encabezada por el Comité de Derechos de Inmigrantes de Minnesota y el Movimiento de Protectores Indígenas y respaldado por más de 60 sindicatos, grupos de derechos de inmigrantes, y otras organizaciones progresivas salieron a las calles para conmemorar el 20ª marcha annual el Día Internacional de los Obreros.

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By staff

Tampa, FL — Despite a thunderstorm and tornado warning, a small but passionate group of workers and community members rallied in Ybor City on May 2 to celebrate International Workers' Day. The rally was organized by the West Central Florida Future Labor Leaders, the youth branch of the West Central Florida Central Labor Council, with demands to defend workers’ and immigrants’ rights.

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By Talison Crosby and Claire Thomas

International Workers Day march in Tacoma, Washington.

Tacoma, WA – Several hundred people took to the streets of Tacoma on May 1 to rally for immigrants and workers’ rights. The crowd gathered around 4 p.m. and began chanting with messages such as “Stand up and shut it down, Tacoma is a union town!” and “Power to the people! No one is illegal!” Energy was high, and the mood of the event was celebratory.

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By staff

New York, NY – On Wednesday, May 6, the Movement of Rank and File Educators gathered for general assembly in Midtown Manhattan. More than 40 classroom teachers from across the city met to discuss the presence of NYPD in schools and the police’s role in oppressing the student body of New York and intimidating teachers and staff in schools. The group was joined by the Dignity in Schools organization, which is against scanners and police in schools.

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By Evelyn Cooper

San Jose, CA – On May 7, dozens of community members gathered at Hillview Branch Library for a panel discussion led by rank-and-file union members and organizers about the state of the labor movement in the South Bay.

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By Emma Gottfried

Santa Ana, CA – On May 1, nearly 300 people packed into Sasscer Park for International Workers’ Day. The rally and march, which also commemorated the 20th anniversary of the immigrant mega marches, was organized by the Orange County May Day Coalition. The energy in the crowd grew as the emcee of the rally, Abe Quintana from Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) led chants of “ICE out of Santa Ana! ICE out of OC!”

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By Sebastian Miscenich

Members of AFSCME Local 1004 rally for a strong contract.

Salt Lake City, UT- On May 5, over 100 city workers and supporters demanded a strong contract in front of the Salt Lake City and County Building as union negotiations continue. Organized under AFSCME 1004, Salt Lake’s city workers demanded no cuts to worker compensation and condemned the city’s proposal for its attacks on union rights.

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By Faith Arteaga

International Workers Day in Denver, CO.

Denver, CO – On Friday, May 1, public spaces saw protests, rallies and events celebrating International Workers’ Day. About 100 attended a May Day rally at the Colorado State Capitol to hear activists, organizers and workers speak in support of workers everywhere.

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By staff

International Workers Day celebrated in Jacksonville, Florida.

Jacksonville, FL – Chants of “Who got the power? We got the power! What kind of power? Workers’ power!” echoed in the streets of downtown Jacksonville, May 1, as Duval County celebrated its largest May Day commemoration yet. With over a dozen organizations and union locals in attendance, the community showed up in solidarity with the workers' struggle, with immigrants, and all oppressed peoples of the world.

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By Daniel Hawley-Lowry

Grand Rapids, MI – The Grand Rapids May Day Committee organized a rally commemorating International Workers Day, Saturday, May 2, at Fountain Street Church.

Co-hosted by the May Day Committee chair, Tom Burke of IATSE 26, along with Ivan Diaz, candidate for Michigan State Senate District 29, the event started with songs of solidarity by Carsten Forester of AFM Local 56. After the music, local labor leaders and community activists spoke on meeting the attacks from the Trump administration. Many focused on standing in solidarity with immigrants and fellow workers.

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By Paris Lamb

May Day event in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Salt Lake City – This May Day, hundreds gathered at Salt Lake City’s Washington Square Park, May 1, to celebrate the hard fought achievements of the workers and immigrant movements and to call the people to keep organizing and fighting for a more just world.

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By Anthony Renzetti

May Day rally in Space Coast, Florida.

Space Coast, FL – On May 1, over 100 workers, union members and community members rallied at Kiwanis Park to mark International Workers’ Day, featuring a series of speeches by community organizers and union members.

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