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Solidarity

Syria And Iraq: Unsung Heroes In Defending Lebanon And Palestine

Syria and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq are demonstrating exceptional solidarity with Lebanon, providing critical aid and defense against Israeli terrorist attacks and indiscriminate bombings, yet their contributions remain largely unrecognized. They are the unseen forces behind Lebanon’s defense and resilience, backing Hezbollah, the country’s militant resistance organization. Syria has bolstered its defensive and humanitarian efforts, while the Iraqi resistance has intensified its offensive operations. They, alongside Iran and Yemen, are united in their material support for Lebanon and Palestine. Syria has significantly increased its defensive measures and humanitarian aid to Lebanon.

Quiet Rollout Of Cop Cities Across The US Meets Growing Resistance

On June 11, a week after a police training facility in Richmond, California, broke ground, organizers from the Stop Cop City Bay Area Coalition marched to the Overaa Construction headquarters in protest. Citing concerns over rising police militarization and repression in the predominantly Black and Latino area, the protesters — joined by local residents — called on Overaa workers to boycott the $30 million construction deal. “By furthering the militarizing and surveillance of our city — and coordinating law enforcement resources across the region, including ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] — they’re actually making our cities into Cop Cities,” said Refilwe Gqajela, a community organizer with the Anti Police-Terror Project in California’s Bay Area.

ManiFiesta 2024 Brings New Energy To Activists And Movements

Over 15,000 people gathered in Ostend, Belgium, for ManiFiesta 2024, a two-day event of activism and solidarity. Inspired by speeches from global activists and union leaders, attendees left with a renewed drive to pursue mobilizations in different parts of Europe. Speaking at the central event of ManiFiesta, Raoul Hedebouw, president of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB), set the tone by addressing growing inequalities and attacks on workers’ rights in Belgium, announcing a response from the party. A significant part of the event was also devoted to building solidarity with Palestine, with speakers such as Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) and climate justice activist Anuna De Wever Van Der Heyden emphasizing the importance of international support for Palestinian liberation.

ManiFiesta Brings A Weekend Of Solidarity And Activism To Belgium

Thousands are expected to gather in Ostend, Belgium, on September 7-8 for ManiFiesta, a festival of solidarity organized by a coalition of left organizations in the country. The event will mark the unofficial start of Belgium’s political season, bringing together activists, trade unionists, and political leaders to discuss some of the most pressing issues in Europe and the world today. ManiFiesta, organized by groups including Intal, Cubanismo, and Redfox, with the support of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB), consists of a mix of political discussions, cultural performances, and music. This year’s lineup includes performances by funk band Jamila & the Other Heroes, and rapper Lowkey.

Bridging Political Divides Through Solidarity

How should unions engage with members drawn to right-wing, anti-worker politics and candidates? One union trying to tackle this disconnect is the Communications Workers (CWA). Steve Lawton, former president of CWA Local 1102 in New York (now merged with Local 1101), has been heavily involved with political education through his work as a local leader and in the District 1 political department. In this interview he discusses organizing in a union with many Trump-supporting members, how to talk with members about immigration, and strategies for organizing and building solidarity across political divides.

People’s Movements Worldwide Launch Campaign Of Solidarity With Venezuela

On August 9, the ALBA Movimientos, a platform of social and political movements from across the Americas and the Caribbean, the International Peoples’ Assembly, the Simon Bolivar Institute, and the Assembly of Caribbean Peoples, launched a campaign titled: “For Democracy and Sovereignty: Hands Off Venezuela!” The campaign comes in the aftermath of Venezuela’s presidential election and a wave of seemingly coordinated attacks from right-wing political actors, mainstream media, and US and its allies. The launch document states that, for several months, a media campaign has been created to question the legitimacy of the elections in the Caribbean country.

Freedom Summer 2024, The Struggle For Black Rights Continues

On July 29, 2022 the U.S. government initiated violent military-style assaults on seven offices and homes of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) and Uhuru Movement in two cities and states – St. Louis, Missouri and St. Petersburg, Florida. Nine months later three members of the Uhuru Movement, African People’s Socialist Party Chairman Omali Yeshitela and Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel, two white leaders of the Party’s solidarity front, were indicted under charges of being Russian agents.  This is one way the colonial government is attempting to stifle any criticism of the U.S. for its ongoing mistreatment of African people within this country.

Columbia University Hind’s Hall Defendants Reject Deals

We stand here today united by our action and the Palestinian cause. The state has attempted, once again, to divide us, dismissing some of our cases and offering others deals in accordance with their “outside agitator” narrative. As ever, we categorically reject this division as one drawn along arbitrary, classist lines meant to preserve the sanctity of Columbia University—not an institution “in the City of New York,” but always above and apart from it. All of us who took part in the liberation of Hind’s Hall were driven by the same necessity to escalate, to escalate for Gaza, to resist the savage genocide of our siblings in Palestine.

What Is The State Of Organized Labor?

Last year was a good year for organized labor. At least that’s the popular perception. And that perception has some real basis. Major strikes, including ones that led to substantial victories for workers, marked a positive surge of the labor movement in 2023—and perhaps on into 2024. (See sidebar, “Some Major Strikes of 2023.”) The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 2023 saw an increase of 139,000 in labor union membership following an increase of 273,000 the year before. What’s more, according to Gallup polling, public approval of unions was higher in 2022 (71%) and 2023 (67%) than it has been since the mid-1960s.

Union Power Can Change Campus Protests Forever

Strikes are different from protests. Though protesters frequently say that they are making ​“demands,” it is more accurate to say they are making requests. Protests rely on persuasion. Their persuasion may be gentle, or it may be aggressive. It may rely on moral shaming to get its point across, or it may rely on the elevation of awareness, or it may rely on the pure intimidation of numbers. But protests, for all of their righteous fury and necessity, lack the legal ability to shut things down until change is achieved. Strikers, on the other hand, can truly make demands. Their proposition is simple: No work will get done until a change is made.

University Of California Workers Vote To Authorize A Strike

On May 15, United Auto Workers Local 4811, which represents 48,000 student workers across the University of California campuses, voted to authorize a strike following police and administrative repression of pro-Palestine students staging Gaza Solidarity Encampments.  Strike authorization votes took place from May 13 to May 15. Workers voted in favor of striking by a landslide of 79%. There is currently no fixed date for a strike, but the vote empowers the union’s executive board to call a strike at any time.  Were Local 4811 to strike, it would be the first strike in history to be called for Palestinian liberation.

Unions Support Student Protestors Against Administrators And Police

As campus protests—and violent police repression—continue to roll across the country, some unions are getting involved. More than 2,700 protesters have been arrested on 64 college campuses since the initial arrests at Columbia University in New York on April 18. Encampments have appeared at 184 campuses worldwide. The protesting students are calling for full disclosure of their universities’ finances and divestment from all financial ties to weapons manufacturers and Israel’s war on Gaza. Unionized academic workers are demanding decision-making power over their work and what it’s used for. For instance, academic workers in the astronomy department of the University of California Santa Cruz have organized to refuse to apply for or accept funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, weapons manufacturers, and military contractors.

The Principle Of Landless Solidarity And The Recent Rains In Brazil

The Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST) this past week launched the Landless Solidarity Campaign in Rio Grande do Sul to help the more than 1.3 million people affected by the heavy rains and floods in the state. More than 90,000 Brazilian reais have already been raised for the campaign. In addition to cash donations, the Movement has also converted the Galpão Elza Soares and the Casa dos Movimentos Carlito Maia, both in São Paulo’s Campos Elíseos neighborhood, into collection points for clothes, hygiene products, medicines, and non-perishable food. “Our beloved people of Rio Grande suffered from the heavy rain that occurred last weekend, which destroyed our settlement areas, our cooperatives, our crops and, above all, the people’s dream of producing healthy food, which we were just making a reality.

University Of California Office Of The President Attacked

With the Aurora Borealis above us and the martyrs in our hearts, we attacked the UC Office of the President in solidarity with the Palestinian Resistance. Using a fire extinguisher filled with red paint we covered the facade and smashed seven windows. Then, with access to the building, we released 500 cockroaches inside and emptied a second fire extinguisher onto the interior. We finalized the act by leaving a water jug inscribed with "Bonk" at the scene - an homage to the militants of Cal Poly Humboldt and the international student encampment movement.

University Workers Could Strike To Reject Repression Of Student Protests

From May 13 to May 15, members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 4811 will be holding a strike authorization vote for a potential strike, in response to the University of California’s crackdown on peaceful pro-Palestine student protesters. On May 3, the union local filed Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) charges against the University of California (UC) system, in response to various UC campuses sending police officers to brutalize student protesters staging Gaza Solidarity Encampments. Last week, administration at the University of Los Angeles- California sent in the Los Angeles Police Department to clear out the Gaza Solidarity encampment staged by student protesters, peacefully demanding that their university divest from Israel.
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