Class Struggle

May 2: Remembering The Odessa Massacre

May 4, 2018 Bruce K. Gagnon, Space4peace.blogspot.com Resist! Class Struggle, Massacre, Repression, Ukraine

On May 2, 2014, the people of Odessa, Ukraine, experienced the worst civil atrocity in Europe since World War II. Scores of people [46] died when a fascist-led mob chased a group of progressive activists into the five-story House of Trade Unions in Kulikovo Square - and then set it on fire. Some died from the flames, some from smoke inhalation, some from gunshot wounds. Some leapt from the building, only to be beaten to death when they hit the ground. Dozens of cellphone videos posted on the Internet clearly show that this was a mass lynching. Just google “May 2, 2014, Odessa.” But even though many of the attackers’ faces are clearly visible on the videos, to date not one of the perpetrators has been brought to justice - while victims who survived the fire still languish in prison, many without ever being charged with a crime.

This Is The Wrong Time To Cut Back On Public Housing

May 4, 2018 By Ebony Slaughter-Johnson, Otherwords.org Educate! Affordable Housing, Class Struggle, Public Housing, Public Services

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson has answered President Trump’s call to shrink the social safety net. Carson recently offered a proposal that would triple the rent some of America’s poorest families have to pay before they get housing assistance. Housing advocates are appalled. If they’re pushed out of public housing, many low-income families could face housing instability at every turn. That could mean a lifetime of poverty, tenuous employment, and an unstable environment for kids. As of March 2018, the median cost of a new home is $337,200, placing home ownership out of the reach of many Americans. Even for those who try to reach it, redlining and discriminatory lending on the part of banks can render the possible impossible. An analysis from Reveal by The Center for Investigative Reporting found that black Americans in particular...

Cutting Capitalism Out Of Our Relationships

May 3, 2018 By William C. Anderson, Truthout.org Educate! Capitalism, Class Struggle, Relationship Building

Capitalism does not just rule over the large-scale functions of the society we live in. It also infiltrates our interpersonal relationships. There are plenty among us who are sick of the capitalist system, but our actions don't always reflect this. Plenty of self-described anti-capitalists and progressives end up exploiting their lovers, partners, family and friends on behalf of themselves in capitalistic ways. The labor of the everyday lives we're already used to is multiplied by the often predictable selfishness of people who want to "succeed" and are ready and willing to sacrifice others to do so. By observing the capitalistic interactions we have with those in our own movements, relationships and communities, we can begin to understand just how sinister the system that permeates our lives really is.

Arizona Strike Enters Second Week As Teacher Union President Opposes Calls For Nationwide Strike

May 3, 2018 David Moore, Wsws.org Resist! Arizona, Class Struggle, New Economy, Strikes, Teachers

On Monday, nearly 50,000 Arizona educators and supporters continued their walkout against underfunded schools and low pay for a third day. Although the teacher unions have done everything to isolate the teachers and wear them down with fruitless appeals to hostile politicians, educators came out to the state capitol in Phoenix en masse Monday to demonstrate their determination as the strike began its second week. Several of the largest districts announced they would remain closed on Tuesday as the Arizona Education Association and the national teacher unions scramble to come up with some justification to end the strike without meeting teachers’ demands, as the unions did in West Virginia and Oklahoma.

‘We’ll Shut Down Economy’

May 3, 2018 Naziziphiwo Buso, Heraldlive.co.za Resist! Class Struggle, Minimum Wage, South Africa, Workers Rights and Jobs

South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has threatened to shut down the economy if the proposed national minimum wage is implemented. Vavi was speaking at a May Day rally at the Lilian Ngoyi Sports Centre in Kwazakhele, Port Elizabeth. “We need a total shutdown of this economy for a minimum of two days. We want to occupy every city,” he said. “We won’t move until they withdraw this attack on workers.” Saftu is demanding a living wage of at least R12 500 a month, while the proposed minimum wage is R3 500 a month, or R20 an hour. “If the economy is going through hell, let the economy go through hell for everyone,” Vavi said.

Workers, Activists Mark May Day with Defiant Rallies

May 3, 2018 Staff, Thenationalherald.com Resist! Activists, Class Struggle, May Day, Rally, Workers Rights and Jobs

Thousands of Greeks are marching through central Athens in at least three separate May Day demonstrations. Museums were also shut while ferries remain were tied up in port and public transport operated on a reduced schedule in strikes marking labor day. Police said at least 7,000 people were at the first demonstration in Athens, which was organized by a communist party-led union. The protesters marched by parliament and headed up a major avenue to the United States Embassy. Another four demonstrations were planned in Greece’s second largest city of Thessaloniki in the north. Trains, the suburban railway, urban trolleys and ferries to and from the islands suspended operations for the day, while buses and the Athens metro system were operating on reduced schedules

Unions, Democrats Promote Deal To Suppress Struggle By Colorado Teachers

May 2, 2018 Bill Kidd, Wsws.org Resist! Class Struggle, Colorado, Democrats, Electoral Politics, Teachers, Unions

The Colorado Education Association (CEA) is collaborating with the Democratic-controlled state government to suppress the resistance of teachers in the state and prevent them from uniting with striking educators in neighboring Arizona. Last week, rolling sickouts and protests led to the shutdown of dozens of school districts, including the 10 largest, and rallies by thousands of educators at the state capitol in Denver. Like their counterparts in other states, Colorado teachers are demanding higher pay, improved pensions and the restoration of school funding cuts. Unlike West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona, where teachers confront Republican-controlled state governments, in Colorado the Democratic Party is spearheading the assault on public education. Colorado teachers are among the lowest paid in the nation and the cost of living is driving many teachers and other workers to seek less expensive places to live and work.

Only 1 In 3 Americans Work Full Time

May 2, 2018 By Matt Bruenig, Peoplespolicyproject.org Educate! Class Struggle, Full Employment, Workers Rights and Jobs

In last week’s discussion of the job guarantee, a lot was said about the “dignity of work” and other things of that sort. I’ve mostly avoided that topic because I am more interested in technical details than philosophical concepts at this point in my life. But the questions of work — whether it is good or bad, fulfilling or alienating, dignified or exploitive — are nonetheless interesting ones that I think are worthy of some intraleft debate. My view on work is generally negative. Work swallows up your time, tends to subordinate you to others, and is usually not very fun. For the time being, work is a necessary evil because we need the things it produces, but it would be nice to keep it to a minimum and have more leisure.

May Day: An American History Coverup

May 1, 2018 Eleanor Goldfield, Artkillingapathy.com Educate! Class Struggle, History, May Day, Propaganda

60 years ago, President Eisenhower proclaimed May 1st Law Day. According to the American Bar Association, it was to be “a national day set aside to celebrate the rule of law.” Even compared to the more frivolous holidays, this one seems particularly arbitrary. How does one celebrate Law Day? By high-fiving a lawyer? For once not crossing the street on red even though the coast is clear? The truth is, no one celebrates it. And even for those who first constructed and proclaimed it – celebration wasn’t the point. Rather, the point was to cover up and malign those who demanded justice over an oppressive and violent law and order. With this new day proclaimed, the powers that be could spray-paint “Commie” on the fight for worker’s rights so that all who labor here fall in a capitalist line, afraid of being thought unpatriotic if they demand justice.

Second Wave Of Arab Revolutions ‘Inevitable’, Experts Say

April 30, 2018 Ali Younes, Aljazeera.com Resist! Class Struggle, Middle East, Uprising

Doha, Qatar - Eight years after the so-called Arab Spring, the region is facing the prospect of another phase of revolts due to pressing financial, urbanisation and unemployment challenges, experts have argued. Several Arab leaders were deposed in the aftermath of the popular 2010 and 2011 uprisings, while others' grip on power was loosened. Speaking during the 12th Al Jazeera Forum, held this weekend in Qatar's capital, Doha, a number of regional experts said it is "inevitable" that change will come to a region with one of the world's highest percentages of youth. "Massive uncontrolled urbanisation, pressure on the job markets are among other socioeconomic factors the leading causes behind greater expectations of the youth in the Arab societies," said Mohamed Mahjoub Haroon, professor of social science at the University of Khartoum, in Sudan.

What Kind Of Unionism Is This?

April 28, 2018 Andrew Stewart, Counterpunch.org Educate! Class Struggle, Education, Teachers

For the past three years, I’ve been working in the urban core of Providence public schools. Prior to that, I did a year of after school programming with City Year Rhode Island, an AmeriCorps program. My maternal grandmother and her siblings, as well as one of her daughters, were all public school teachers. The aforementioned second generation teacher-aunt was in fact a member of the bargaining unit for her local. In the past twenty years, my parents have been caring for that aging matriarch and we owe a sincere debt of gratitude to the New York state teacher union movement that earned her a defined-benefit pension plan for retirement, a monthly check that has been a substantial element of maintaining Grandma’s quality of life and healthcare.

Teachers In Arizona, Colorado Stage Mass Walkout For Better Pay

April 27, 2018 Staff, Telesurtv.net Resist! Arizona, Class Struggle, Colorado, Education, Teachers

Encouraged by similar protests in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kentucky, organizers said the action would send a message to political leaders about their dissatisfaction. Tens of thousands of teachers in Arizona and Colorado walked out of public school classrooms on Thursday to demand better pay and more education funding, in the latest revolt by educators that has spread to the U.S. West. At least 50,000 teachers and their supporters wearing red T-shirts streamed down city streets in Arizona's capital of Phoenix, carrying placards reading '35 is a Speed Limit NOT a Class Size' and 'The Future of Arizona is in my Classroom.' The teachers are demanding an immediate 20 percent increase to salaries which are among the lowest in the country; increased pay for support staff; restoring education funding to 2008 levels, and a freeze on tax cuts until the state's education budget reaches the national average.

May Day: Know Your History & Why May 1st Matters

April 27, 2018 Eleanor Goldfield, Occupy.com Resistance Report Class Struggle, History, May Day

Be it Fight for 15, teacher strikes, tree-sits in the path of pipelines, outcries against police brutality or the #metoo movement, it's clear that tensions are high and the gaping chasms between the haves and have nots, the oppressors and the oppressed, the rich and poor – are more and more visible to those on the losing side. It's getting harder for the powers that be to make excuses for gross inequalities – the pressure of oppression is reaching a breaking point – and the question is, who will break?? And I'm no blind optimist – more so a realist with hope and an appetite for historical connections. Without history to explain the present, we move into the future blind – we build on foundations we know nothing about, rehashing old mistakes, unaware of what worked and what didn't.

Bring Back May Day

April 27, 2018 By Saurav Sarkar, Otherwords.org Create! Class Struggle, May Day, Poor People's Campaign

Most of the world recognizes May 1 — May Day — as International Workers’ Day. Here in one of the few countries that doesn’t, it’s worth pausing to ask how U.S. workers are doing. At an event last December, Fight for $15 organizer Terrence Wise recalled “going to bed at night, ignoring my own stomach’s rumbling, but having to hear my three little girls’ stomachs rumble. That’s something no parent should have to endure.” Wise was marking the launch of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Last month, the Institute for Policy Studies and the Poor People’s Campaign released The Souls of Poor Folk, a report on 50 years of change in the issues that affect working people, and particularly those at the bottom. We looked at systemic racism, poverty, militarism, and ecological devastation.

Challenging Capitalism Through Workers’ Control

April 26, 2018 Ricardo Vaz, Dissidentvoice.org Create! Capitalism, Class Struggle, Workers

But I would say that workers’ control is one first step on a path to socialism, in the sense that control over production and workplace should not be only on behalf of the workers but also of the communities, the self-organised people in general. And even that is still not the last step, because as Marx says, the commune is the finally discovered political form, so it is still a political form. Socialism, or communism, is about going beyond politics, achieving the self-organisation of life. So these are all intermediary steps, and even the commune would not be the final form, but we cannot even imagine the final form, because we are trapped in the imagination of what we know and what has been done. What has to be developed is probably beyond our imagination now. RV: Nevertheless it is important also in the immediate context…

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