Tucson, AZ – As one of the country’s longest running strikes continues into week 13, educators from Arizona’s RedForEd movement brought food donations to the picket line. The eight unions serving nearly 2000 workers at five Asarco copper mining operations have created a tradition at the Pima Mine: Sunday dinner. It’s a beautiful display of worker solidarity and union power as striking workers and their families come eat a warm meal and enjoy their camaraderie. It is there that a van-full of non-perishable goods from Phoenix-area educators was delivered.

Los Angeles, CA – 2019 marked the ten-year anniversary of the successful fight to stop the charter school Green Dot from taking over Garfield High School. The threat started with the so-called Public School Choice 1.0, approved by the then pro-charter Los Angeles Unified School District board and Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines in 2009. Low-performing schools were to be put on a bid list. This allowed charter schools like Green Dot and others to write up a bid or proposal to take over and manage a publicly-funded school.

Fight Back! interview with the president of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 937 Alex Terrazas.

Chicago, IL – More than a 1200 joined together November 22, at the hall of the Chicago Teachers Union, to refound the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. The newly refounded Alliance will center its efforts on building the fight against police crimes and for community control of the police, and it will campaign for the release of political prisoners and the wrongfully convicted.

Minneapolis, MN – 50 protesters rallied at the intersection of Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue in Minneapolis on November 14 in response to a call for emergency response protests. On November 8, Bolivia’s military staged a coup and ousted democratically elected President Evo Morales. Even though Morales accepted asylum in Mexico, the people’s movements have refused to back down and have been protesting in the capital. Protests internationally have been organized to show solidarity with the indigenous and workers’ movements opposing U.S. interference in Bolivia.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) General Secretary, George Mavrikos, against the coup in Bolivia.

Sarah Chambers is a rank-and-file member of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and a member of their bargaining committee.

Fight Back News Service is circulating following Oct. 24 statement from the Provisional Committee of International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) – Latin America and the Caribbean.

Chicago, IL – Last year, Brazil emerged from its greatest political crisis since the dictatorship to find that Jair Bolsonaro, an extreme right winger, was now president. His victory marked the high point of the so-called ‘roll-back’ of the Pink Tide, a political phenomenon that saw left-wing governments elected across Latin America, on platforms of sovereignty and freedom from U.S. interference. Bolsonaro’s election was a moment openly celebrated in the halls of the White House, as many hoped that the few isolated governments left standing from the Pink Tide movement would soon be snuffed out.

Los Angeles, CA – On October 12, hundreds of people gathered downtown to demand Trump’s concentration camps be closed. Many organizations and labor unions came together including NDLON Day Labor Organizing Centers and MEChA de CSULA with a clear message, “Close the camps.” October 12 was a national day of action in which multiple cities participated.

Los Angeles, CA – A joyous parade, block party and festival were held October 12 in Boyle Heights to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the opening of Mendez High School. The parade down First Street with beautiful vintage lowriders, featured Chicano writer Luis Rodriguez, author of Always Running; the daughter of Felicitas Mendez; Eloisa Galindo of Eastside Padres Contra la Privatización; Carlos Montes of Centro CSO; Jose Huizar of Council District 14 and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board member Monica Garcia.

Chicago, IL – Unions are on the march in defense of their members across the country, with the autoworker strike against GM and strike authorization votes by teachers and other city employees in Chicago. Unions are also defending their members when they leave work and find their lives in danger from the very people paid to protect them: the police.

Chicago, IL – A standing room only crowd filled the Holy Covenant United Methodist Church on September 29 to commemorate Reverend Bruce Johnson and Eugenia Johnson. The reverend and his wife Eugenia were remembered for supporting the Young Lords and their role in the struggle against poverty, war and oppression. They were savagely murdered in their own home 50 years ago, stabbed to death, during a U.S. government campaign of repression known as COINTELPRO or the Counterintelligence Program.

Aurora, CO – Immigrant rights groups from the greater Denver area came together on September 19 to confront Johnny Choate, the warden of Aurora’s notorious ICE detention facility, at his Aurora home.

St. Paul, MN – Over 40 people protested in front of the Governor's Residence Monday, September 16, to demand the divestment of Elbit Systems by the State of Minnesota. The protest, which was organized by the Anti-War Committee, is the latest action in their current campaign to demand the divestment of Elbit Systems from the state’s public retirement fund. Currently the Minnesota State Board of Investments, which Governor Tim Walz chairs, holds $1.2 million, or approximately 10,000 shares, in Elbit Systems.

Chicago, IL – On Monday September 16, the leaders of several opposition parties arrived at the Foreign Ministry in downtown Caracas to participate in the Roundtable of National Dialogue organized by the elected government of Nicolás Maduro. The Roundtable was established in the aftermath of the fascist violence in 2017, which was a response to the Supreme Court's decision to strip the National Assembly of its powers after its refusal to adhere to the country's constitution.

Tampa, Fl – On September 10, students at the University of South Florida (USF) participated in a national day of action that was called by National Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to speak out against the Trump administration’s attacks on undocumented immigrants. The event was hosted by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Over 30 students and staff attended.

Arlington, TX – 60 people showed up at a protest organized by the Progressive Student Union (PSU) at the University of Texas at Arlington, September 4, against the Trump administration’s change to of policy on the detention of undocumented children.

Caracas, Venezuela – August 31 marked the last day of the Meeting of International Workers in Solidarity with the Venezuelan People and Its Government. In the morning, hundreds of trade unionists assembled to hear closing remarks and review a final declaration. Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) joined with other delegations came from 25 countries, and all parts of Venezuela, and proudly shouted out their approval. The audience was lively and often broke out in chants.

Los Angeles, CA – On August 29, hundreds of community members, activists and families gathered at a local Chicano art center, Self Help Graphics, to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War.The event marks the August 29, 1970 Chicano Moratorium, which included over 30,000 Chicanos and supporters marching against the Vietnam War in East Los Angeles. The large march ended with a rally at Laguna Park – now known as Ruben Salazar Park. The moratorium was against the Vietnam War, against the high casualty rate of Chicanos in that war, against police terror and against racism. East LA Sheriffs and LAPD attacked the peaceful rally, beating hundreds, tear gassing thousands and killing three participants. One of those killed was well-known Los Angeles Times reporter and KMEX news director Ruben Salazar.The commemoration was organized by Centro CSO, which continues to denounce police terror, President Trump's ICE raid threats against undocumented immigrants, militarization of the U.S./Mexico border, and threats of intervention in Iran and Venezuela.The event kickstarted with local indie-funk band Resonance, while everyone attending got food and refreshments. Centro CSO members Rosario Bonilla and Lupe Torres gave an introduction about Self Help Graphics.The keynote speaker of the evening was the author and longtime Chicano activist from Denver, Colorado, Ernesto Vigil. Vigil spoke about the importance of organizing the community and having the correct ideas to defeat U.S. imperialism. Lisa Vargas, the mother of Anthony Vargas, who was shot and killed by East Los Angeles Sheriffs last August, spoke about her son's legacy and her fight to seek justice.Antonia Montes, a public school teacher at Eastmont Avenue School spoke about charter schools’ devastating effects on public schools, about co-locations, and the parents, students and teachers united against privatization of education. They are currently fighting to remove Extera Charter school. Rudy Chavez, a Vietnam veteran and activist, performed an exclusive poem which included an atmospheric set up and props. Carlos Montes, a longtime Chicano activist, spoke about the Vietnam War and its high mortality rate of Chicano soldiers and about continuing the fight for public education, defeating the mega KIPP Promesa charter school and police killings.Sol Marquez, member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), spoke about different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean currently fighting back against U.S. domination. Marquez informed the crowd that FRSO trade union delegation arrived in Caracas, Venezuela for the “1st International Meeting of Workers in Solidarity with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, its Government and Its People,” which started on August 29.