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Protests

The Call Is Out For Mass, Simultaneous Strikes In 4 Years

There is a credible call for a general strike in the United States in four years. The call first came from the United Auto Workers after its fall 2023 stand-up strike, in which the union took on the Big Three carmakers simultaneously in rolling, surprise work stoppages. All three contracts that emerged are slated to expire on the same day: May 1, 2028, International Workers’ Day. This is not the first time UAW has aligned the Big Three contracts, but what the union did next is remarkable. It put out a challenge to the US labor movement: “We invite unions around the country to align your contract expirations with our own so that together we can begin to flex our collective muscles,” UAW announced on October 29, 2023.

Port Strike Is Suspended Until January After Days On Picket Lines

Local International Longshoremen's Association workers claim the port strike is over, Kenneth Riley with Local 1422 said to News 4. Riley, the international vice president of the ILA and ILA Local 1422 member, claimed the dockworkers got the automation language and significant pay raises included in the contract. However, the deal is far from over. The union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, is to resume working immediately at least until January while contract negotiations continue. “Now that the parties have agreed to resume their roles in our supply chain success, South Carolina’s maritime community stands prepared to deliver for shippers, including manufacturers, farmers and retailers, who utilize our port facilities to access global markets," said South Carolina Port Authority Chief Executive Office Barbara Melvin.

Thousands In New York City Protest Netanyahu

Thousands of people in multiple demonstrations throughout New York City have protested the appearance of Israeli Prime Minister and war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations 79th General Assembly Friday and on previous days this week. New York Police Department (NYPD) cops have provoked, hospitalized and arrested large numbers of people throughout the week. Protests against Netanyahu took place throughout Friday in the face of a massive deployment of police at the United Nations. There were also protests at multiple campuses, including one at Columbia University. On Thursday night cops rushed a march from Grand Central Station to the Loew’s Regency hotel on Park Avenue where Netanyahu was staying in preparation for his speech at the UN and kept up constant provocation by driving into the mass of protesters with mopeds and bicycles.

Protest Under Fire: Fall 2024 Special Conventions Issue

It’s a powerful tool to force confrontation and shake up the status quo. From writing letters to protesting in the streets, from occupations to boycotts, our democracy demands that people have the freedom to exercise their constitutional rights, to hit the streets and speak loud. But all too often, police meet protests with violence and prosecutors punish activists. Over the past decade, we’ve faced a new wave of state and national legislation that seeks to criminalize protest. In this quarterly publication, we examine the policies and practices that threaten First Amendment rights. We’ll also uplift the fights taking place in courtrooms, capitals, and on the street to defend the right to protest.

Activists Take Over Harris’ Campaign Office Demanding: ‘Release One NOW!’

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Southeast Asian community members and allies held a peaceful sit-in for over three hours inside the Harris/Walz campaign office in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia on Sept. 9. They were demanding the Biden/Harris administration release Southeast Asian refugee Sereyrath “One” Van from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention and order a moratorium on deportations through the end of their term. The sit-in began when six Southeast Asian community members and allies attending a weekday canvassing session at Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign office sat down on the floor, held up signs and chanted: “Release One NOW! Moratorium NOW! Not One More!”

Pro-Palestine Students, Faculty Sue UC Santa Cruz Over ‘Unconstitutional’ Ban

Students and staff at the University of California, Santa Cruz launched a lawsuit against the school on Monday for barring them from campus without due process after they were arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest in the spring. The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Northern California, the Center for Protest Law & Litigation, and civil rights attorney Thomas Seabaugh, is demanding that the University “cease summarily banishing” people who exerciser their First Amendment rights as the new academic year beings. “The bans were incredibly punitive and profoundly unfair,” Rachel Lederman, senior counsel with the Center for Protest Law & Litigation, said in a statement.

She Was Brutally Killed Before She Could Write Her Story

On 8 August 2024, a 31-year-old doctor at the RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata (West Bengal, India) finished her 36-hour shift at the hospital, ate dinner with her colleagues, and went to the college’s seminar hall to rest before her next shift. The next day, shortly after being reported missing, she was found in a seminar room, her lifeless body displaying all the signs of terrible violence. Since Indian law forbids revealing the names of victims of sexual crimes, her name will not appear in this newsletter. This young doctor’s story is by no means an isolated incident: every fifteen minutes, a woman in India reports a rape. In 2022, at least 31,000 rapes were reported, a 12% increase from 2020.

Democrats Who Say They Want A Ceasefire Vote For More Military Aid

“We rally, we march, and we continue to fight like hell for our rights!,” wrote the organizers in a social media post. “The Democratic Party has funneled billions of dollars to support a genocide that Israel is committing on the Palestinian people with our tax dollars and the people say no more! No more money for bombs and war, we want our money to go to free education, housing, and healthcare! We want justice for all of our communities all across the United States and we will fight for it until we get it!” Mondoweiss spoke with Lara Haddadin, who has been an organizer with the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) since 2019, about the march, the ongoing protests, and the policies of the Democratic party.

From East To West Africa: The People Are Uprising Against Colonial Oppression And Corruption

The time for Africans to reclaim their land, dignity, and future is now. The only means by which Africans can achieve liberation and self-determination is through collaborative unity, in the form of scientific socialism. A divided continent will only remain mired in the exploitation and degradation that has defined its very existence since the imposition of colonialism a century and a half ago.

Hundreds Protesting Netanyahu Visit Arrested At US Capitol

Around 200 pro-Palestine protesters were detained on Capitol Hill on 23 June, ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the US Congress the day after. The protest took place in the Canon House Office Building. The demonstrators, wearing shirts with the slogan “Not in our name,” were organized by the Jewish Voice for Peace group. According to police, the protesters were warned that demonstrating in the Canon House Office Building was illegal. Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace, Stefanie Fox, said the Israeli premier’s speech in Congress on Wednesday was the reason for the demonstration.

Arrest Netanyahu! Surround Congress On July 24

When war criminal Netanyahu comes to Washington DC on July 24, we will mobilize and issue a notice of a citizen’s arrest! The people of the world stand with Palestine and against the genocide committed by Israel with full support of the United States and impunity. Join us in forming a People’s Red Line Against genocide around the Capitol building! Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of the genocidal state of Israel should be arrested for war crimes and crimes against humanity. In fact, the International Criminal Court has requested arrest warrants for him and Yoav Gallant, the Minister of Defense of Israel. We won’t let a war criminal walk the streets of DC.

Why Protests Work, Even When Not Everybody Likes Them

efore this latest wave of action, we have witnessed in recent years a proliferation of disruptive protest, spanning a wide range of social movements. A small sampling of activity since the start of 2023 could note that animal rights advocates have disrupted the U.K.’s Grand National horse race and Victoria Beckham’s fashion show; abortion rights protesters have been sentenced for impeding the proceedings of the U.S. Supreme Court; striking dockworkers “upended operations at two of Canada’s three busiest ports;” and climate protesters have blocked access to oil and gas terminals, chained themselves to aircraft gangways to prevent private jet sales, and spoken out forcefully at corporate shareholders meetings.

India: 2024 Election Was A ‘Revolt Of The Farmers’

The election results from India made the whole world sit up and take notice. Headlines used words like “stunning” and “shocked” to describe the result. No Indian election has elicited such worldwide attention. Modi and his BJP have thundered into the electoral arena with the slogan “Ab Ki Baar, Char So Paar”, which means “this time will go over 400”. The National Democratic Alliance, the coalition that the BJP leads, was to win more than 400 seats in a Lok Sabha that has 545 seats. And the BJP itself was supposed to win 370 seats, which would have itself constituted the super majority of over two-thirds.

Top US Official On Israel-Palestine Affairs Tends ‘Surprise’ Resignation

The deputy assistant secretary for Israeli-Palestinian affairs at the US State Department, Andrew Miller, resigned from his position this week in what US media describes as a significant “setback” to the White House's efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza. Miller's colleagues told the Washington Post that he announced his departure on 21 June in a surprise move, citing his family and saying “he has seen them sparingly as the eight-month war in Gaza has become all-consuming.” Nevertheless, officials familiar with Miller described him as skeptical of President Joe Biden's "bear hug” strategy toward Israel.

How Belgian Students Forced Their University To Cut Ties With Israel

The student uprising continues! Students at Ghent University have maintained a Gaza solidarity encampment for over a month, and even after winning a major victory with their university administration agreeing to cut some key ties with Israeli institutions – they are not stopping. Peoples Dispatch spoke to Mingtje Wang of COMAC, who is a masters students at the university and participant in the encampment.