Chicago, IL – Sirlena Perry is a clerical worker and a trade unionist in Chicago. She has also been a supporter of the Teamsters 743 New Leadership Slate for many years. She gave a speech introducing members of the Slate when they were honored at this year’s People’s Thanksgiving in Chicago, an annual fundraiser for Fight Back! newspaper.

Minneapolis MN – Attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union returned to federal court on the evening of June 9, on behalf of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. The Coalition is seeking a preliminary injunction requiring the city of Saint Paul to issue adequate permits for the Sept. 1 anti-war march.

St. Paul, MN – Organizers of the massive anti-war march scheduled for Sept. 1, the opening day of the Republican National Convention, slammed the Saint Paul city council for turning down the permit appeal, May 21. By a six to one vote, the Council voted to uphold the unworkable permit that was issued for the protest on May 15.

Chicago, IL – A cheer rang out Oct. 22 as the U.S. Department of Labor announced the winners of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) officers’ election for Local 743. Richard Berg and the 743 New Leadership Slate beat the incumbent Ford-Galvan Unity Slate. After twelve years of difficult and sometimes frustrating campaigning, a new day is dawning in Local 743.

Los Angeles, CA – On the April 17, a coalition of campus peace groups led by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a protest against the U.S. war on Iraq. After a spirited rally at the site of the 1969 assassination of Black Panthers Bunchy Carter and John Huggins, the crowd marched through the campus, chanting the slogan, “Iraq for Iraqis! Troops out now!” before symbolically 'seizing' the student union building. Once inside, onlookers gawked in astonishment or gave the thumbs-up, as the deafening sound of anti-imperialist chanting, accompanied by the stomps, whistles, cheers and claps of the crowd, filled up the enclosed space. Finally, the protesters rallied in front of the building for more than hour, giving speeches, performances and thought-provoking materials to the passers-by before dispersing.

Chicago IL – Members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 743 are looking forward to a fair election this time around. In a flurry of action, Robert Walston, former president of IBT 743 resigned under pressure, to be replaced by Walston’s former Recording Secretary, Richard Lopez, as president of the local.

Chicago, IL – Teamsters Local 743 officers admitted their guilt. Through their attorneys and in front of U.S. District Court Judge Kennelly they submitted a motion that admitted that they sent Teamster ballots in their own election to the bosses. And guess what, the bosses voted.

Tuscaloosa, AL – Applause and cheers erupted in the courtroom at the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse, May 2, when the judge threw out the charges against four anti-war protesters. “As I was waiting outside to give my testimony, I heard the roar of clapping from behind the door,” remembers Tom Keenan, a member of the Tuscaloosa chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). “A mass of people flooded out of the court room, saying ‘We won!’”

Asheville, NC – Students and community members confronted North Carolina congressperson Heath Shuler at the University of North Carolina at Asheville March 26.

Minneapolis, MN – In a great display of unity and solidarity, activists from around the country gathered on the University of Minnesota campus, Feb. 9-10, for an organizing conference to plan the anti-war protests at the Republican National Convention.

Minneapolis, MN – About 2000 people filled the streets here, March 15 for an anti-war march to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S. war in Iraq with a call for an end to the occupation.

Working at United Parcel Service (UPS) is a backbreaking, grueling job. Few people last even one year. Most who work there for a long period of time have back and/or joint pain. The main jobs, loading the trucks or delivering packages in the boxy brown trucks, are especially taxing. The loading jobs are so rough that UPS only wants part-timers to do them, figuring no one can handle the job for a full eight hours.

Oregon Teamster Tom Leedham came up short in his bid to unseat Jimmy Hoffa for the top spot in the union. Leedham ran the kind of campaign that Fight Back! readers like to see. His basic theme was that trade union power comes from the workers, not the officials. Leedham said that we need to organize that power to confront management to win better contracts and protect our Teamster pensions.

Chicago, IL – As Fight Back! goes to press Teamsters are getting ready to count the ballots in the showdown between the slates of incumbent International President Hoffa and the reform challenger, Local 206 President Tom Leedham. The Tom Leedham Strong Contracts, Good Pensions slate, with extremely limited resources, took out a message of rank-and-file power to challenge employer greed.

Los Angeles, CA – Students, teachers and parents demonstrated here with Latinos Against War on March 20, the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, marching from Roosevelt High School to the building that houses a military recruiting center and the Eastside Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center.

Minneapolis, MN – 16 demonstrators were arrested here, March 27, after shutting down the offices of the Army National Guard Recruiting Office and protesting five years of war and occupation in Iraq.

New Brunswick, NJ – “Yes to peace! No to war!” rang out in Arabic over the campus of Rutgers University as more than a thousand students walked out of classes on March 27 to protest five years of the occupation of Iraq. The walkout came a week after over 90 SDS chapters and progressive student organizations held demonstrations denouncing five years of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

New Brunswick, NJ – A large anti-war demonstration is set to take place March 27 at Rutgers University.

Minneapolis, MN – Standing in front of the Federal Building here, March 24, leaders of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War and their lawyers announced they are seeking a preliminary injunction requiring the City of Saint Paul to grant the permits for their September 1 anti-war march. The attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint in federal district court later that day.

Cincinnati, OH – Police attempt to suppress African American uprising following the police murder of Timothy Thomas, April 7. Thomas was the fourth Black man killed by Cincinnati police since November. Cincinnati police have killed 15 African Americans since 1995.