Reporting by the FRSO delegation in Caracas The following report is from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization delegation in Venezuela.

Dallas, TX – About 50 people gathered in Lake Cliff Park in Oak Cliff, Dallas to celebrate International Workers Day. The theme of the celebration was the resurgence of the strike in labor organizing, and recent victories for workers, such as the teachers' strikes.

El primero de mayo, el día internacional de los trabajadores, es una celebración de la lucha heroica por un mundo mejor por los trabajadores y los oprimidos de todo el mundo. El imperialismo es el sistema contra que luchamos. Este sistema está en todas partes, desde nuestros bajos salarios y la falta de atención médica, hasta las leyes racistas e intolerantes, hasta la interminable guerra y opresión que se siente en todo el mundo.

Chicago, IL – Freedom Road Socialist Organization will host a major celebration of International Workers Day, on May 2, 6 p.m. at the UE Hall, 37 S. Ashland.

Boston, MA – Workers and students packed into the office of Boston’s Chinese Progressive Association on April 27 to hear labor activists from the Philippines speak about the state of working-class struggle in their country. The event, sponsored by the Boston chapter of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), featured speakers Raymond “Mong” Palatino and Ed Cubello.

Caracas, Venezuela – On their first day in Venezuela, April 28, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) delegation held a two-hour meeting with members of Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) Central Committee and leaders of the Communist Youth of Venezuela.

Solidarity with the KMU

Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 trade unionists gathered at the United Labor Centre here, April 25, to hear Ed Cubelo, the president of Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation Workers Association and chairman of the Metro Manila chapter of the major trade union federation in the Philippines – Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) or 'May First Labor Movement.' Also speaking was Raymond “Mong” Palatino, the chairperson of the metro Manila chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-BAYAN, a progressive alliance of people’s organizations.

New York, NY – More than 50 people gathered at The People’s Forum, on the evening of April 25 for a talk by the Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Arreaza. Arreaza was part of a Venezuelan delegation visiting the United Nations to demand an end to U.S. sanctions against their country. The sanctions have completely frozen Venezuelan assets and have stalled government activities meant to help the population.

San José, CA – On Friday, April 26, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) issued its first report on economic growth in 2019. The country’s Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, which measures the total production of goods and services, grew at a 3.2% annual rate during the first three months of the year (January to March). This was stronger than most economists expected.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following April 25 statement from the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU).

Chicago, IL – Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) members at as many as ten more charter schools could be on the picket lines on May 1 – May Day – in what would be the third CTU strike against charter operators this school year.

Deer Park, TX – On April 22, the United Steelworkers (USW) condemned Rohm and Haas Texas Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company, after the company made the decision to lock out more than 200 workers at its plant in Deer Park, Texas.

San José, CA – On April 21, the Trustees of Social Security and Medicare released their annual report. The report includes a projection that the Social Security benefits will be greater than income next year for the first time since 1982. The Social Security trust fund, which has grown to almost $3 trillion, will start to be tapped for the first time.

Tampa, FL – El United Parcel Service (UPS) sacó a la luz sus ganancias del cuarto trimestre el mes pasado, sobrepasando las expectativas de Wall Street con casi $5 mil millones en ganancias en el 2018. Con una combinación de abrir nuevas instalaciones de clasificación automatizadas, la compra de nuevos aviones de carga, y la explotación de los empleados por medio de salarios bajos y largas jornadas de trabajo, UPS tuvo una temporada navidena muy lucrativa. La compañía es optimista sobre el tema de sus ganancias en el 2019 y en el futuro. Para los trabajadores, sin embargo, el futuro no se ve tan luminoso.

Los Angeles, CA – An LA jury took less than 24 hours to reject the wrongful death claims of a man killed by LAPD. The civil lawsuit needed a minimum of nine jurors to rule that the killer cop used excessive force in killing victim Omar González. However, all 12 jurors rejected the claim and ruled that police did not use negligence nor excessive force. In other words, the jury unanimously accepted the lies of two-time killer cop Eden Medina and his legal team.

Jacksonville, FL – The Student Commission of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) recently met to discuss building a revolutionary student movement to challenge President Trump and the Republicans’ reactionary and racist agenda.

To mark the April 22, 1870 birthday of Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, Fight Back News Service is circulating the following excerpt from his 1918 book, The State and Revolution.

Holoke, MA – On the sixth day of an ongoing strike, a picket line of 40 workers, union families, and supporters faced a sparse parking lot at the Lincoln Street Stop & Shop in Holyoke. The strike was called by United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) earlier this week in response to Stop & Shop's efforts to strongarm severe cuts within the proposed contract. According to Local 1459, these cuts include a shift to 401K away from pensions, inadequate wage compensation and attacks on the health benefits of workers.

New York, NY – Picket lines graced the sidewalks in front of Brooklyn and Staten Island courthouses this week, as the legal aid attorneys and staff of CAMBA Legal Services (CLS) launched an indefinite strike. The workers at CLS won their union in May of 2018, as part of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys – UAW 2325 (ALAA), and have been in contract negotiations with management ever since.

Minneapolis, MN – President Trump came to Minnesota on Tax Day, April 15, to tout the alleged success of the Republican tax cut bill. He came to Nuss Truck and Equipment in Burnsville, a Twin Cities suburb, to hold a roundtable discussion about his tax policy. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) initiated a coalition protest, which included the MN Anti-War Committee and Women Against Military Madness, to rally outside of Nuss Truck and Equipment to challenge the president.