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How Black Workers Overcome Historic Obstacles To Labor Organizing

February 13, 2025 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. , , , , , , ,
The struggle between Black organized labor and the political establishment has been historically waged with particular fierceness in the US South—a region with the highest proportion of Black workers but with the most hostile laws against workplace organizing. States in the US South have some of the lowest rates of union coverage in the country—meaning that they have a lower share of workers who are organized in a union. The national union coverage rate stood at 11.2% as of 2023, while the rate was as low as 3% in South Carolina, 3.3% in North Carolina, 5.2% in Louisiana, and 5.4% in Georgia.

Labor Fights Back Against Attacks On Federal Workers

February 9, 2025 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. , , , , , ,
Following a legal response by organized labor, one of Trump’s early attacks against the US federal workforce have been temporarily halted. On Thursday, February 6, Trump’s deadline to furlough millions of federal workers if they did not accept a buyout offer was paused following an injunction by a federal judge in Boston. This pause came less than 11 hours before the deadline for workers to accept the buyout offer, which 65,000 federal workers did—agreeing to leave their jobs in exchange for eight months of pay and benefits through September.

Actions Planned Across The US In Opposition To Immigration Raids

February 8, 2025 People's Dispatch. , , , , , ,
As Trump’s administration escalates immigration enforcement raids across the United States, detaining around 1,000 immigrants on a daily basis in sweeping arrests, the movement against harsh measures has grown. Protests have been called for the weekend of February 7 through 9 to oppose Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Demonstrations have been scheduled in cities across the country including Riverside, California; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; San Antonio, Texas; Anchorage, Alaska; Chicago, Illinois; New York City; Phoenix, Arizona; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Indianapolis, Indiana.

When Workers Resisted Labor Exploitation At Bronx ‘Slave Markets’

February 7, 2025 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. , , , , , , , , ,
Following the Great Depression, Black working class women flocked to street corners in the Bronx, New York, forced to sell domestic labor for far below its value in order to make ends meet. “They come to the Bronx, not because of what it promises,” reads the renowned exposé by two Black radical activists, investigative journalist Marvel Cooke and civil rights leader Ella Baker. These informal domestic workers flocked to the infamous “Bronx Slave Market,” “largely in desperation,” Cooke and Baker wrote in 1935. Desperation did indeed characterize the circumstances at the so-called slave markets, in which impoverished women braved the elements for hours, waiting to be exploited by wealthy families for a few cents and hour and risking all manner of dangerous working conditions and potential sexual abuse.

How Does RFK Jr. Intend To ‘Make America Healthy Again’?

February 1, 2025 Ana Vračar, People's Dispatch. , , , , , ,
In the course of two Senate hearings this week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), faced a long list of questions, ranging from immunization to chronic diseases to the functioning of the United States health system in general. Having observed him spreading vaccine misinformation for years, most senators were prepared for a very long conversation—and that’s exactly what they got. During his marathon testimonies, Kennedy largely struggled to provide definite and clear answers. One of the most concerning moments came when he failed to differentiate between the basic functions and workings of Medicare and Medicaid, two of the most important health programs in the US.

US Senate To Vote On Sanctions Against ICC Over Israel War Crimes Warrants

January 28, 2025 Palestine Chronicle. , , , , , , ,
The US Senate is set to begin voting on Tuesday on a bill that would impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to a report by The Washington Post. The move has reportedly sparked concerns among some prominent European allies who warn it could undermine international law. “U.S. lawmakers are moving to pass a law that some of Washington’s top European allies fear will ‘cripple’ the world’s preeminent international court, enable war criminals to act with impunity, and degrade the West’s moral authority,” the Washington Post reported.

Trump Bids World Health Organization Goodbye

January 27, 2025 People's Health Dispatch. , , ,
In January 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) is poised to lose a member state, following US President Donald Trump’s executive order to withdraw from the UN health agency. Should this plan go ahead, it will mark the end of US participation in the world’s main global health forum and bring budgetary headaches to the WHO, given that the US remains its top financial contributor. The WHO’s rather dry response to the announcement suggests it was expected and that the agency has likely begun preparing to navigate a second Trump presidency on reduced resources.

US Health Insurance System Is Failing, Say Doctors

January 27, 2025 Michael Sainato, The Guardian. , , , ,
American doctors are accusing US health insurance giants of causing deadly delays to vital medical procedures and care – and putting profits ahead of their patients’ health. Firms including United Healthcare have denied basic scans, and taken months to reconsider, according to physicians who spoke to the Guardian. “There’s good evidence that these kinds of delays literally kill people,” said Dr Ed Weisbart, former chief medical officer for Express Scripts, one of the largest prescription benefits managers in the US. “For some people, this isn’t just an inconvenience and an annoyance and an aggravation.

Organizers Are Ready To Defeat Trump’s Mass Deportation Agenda

January 24, 2025 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. , , , , ,
Through racist, anti-migrant claims, falsehoods, and fearmongering, the Colorado suburb of Aurora has emerged as the right-wing’s potential staging ground for US President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Trump has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in US history, expelling between 15 to 20 million migrants in an effort that will have ripple effects across working class communities and the entire US economy. The current US President has dubbed his mass deportation effort “Operation Aurora,” after a town that has become the epicenter of anti-migrant hysteria.

President Trump’s First 24 Hours

January 22, 2025 People's Dispatch. , , , , , , , ,
On Monday, January 20, as thousands were taking to the streets to protest Donald Trump’s inauguration, Trump himself signed a barrage of executive orders with broad implications. These orders were largely an attempt to reverse many of the moves of the Biden administration, in particular Biden’s most progressive policies on immigration, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, and efforts to combat climate change. The US government is the largest employer in the country. Some of Trump’s executive orders followed through on the right-wing promise to attack the federal work force, as mentioned in both the 2024 Republican Party platform, which pledges to “fire corrupt employees” and the infamous Project 2025.

Biden’s Legacy: Genocide Abroad, Economic Despair At Home

January 20, 2025 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. , , , , , , , , , , , ,
46th US President Joe Biden officially leaves office Monday, January 20, to be succeeded by former President Donald Trump. Trump’s promises in the name of “saving American workers” have raised alarm for people across sectors of society, including migrant workers who are gearing up for mass deportations, and unionized workers who are preparing for Trump’s attacks on labor rights. Trump’s loyalty to multi-billionaires has also given the working class of the US great cause for concern. Meanwhile, in contrast, the Democrats have attempted to position themselves as the real defenders of working people.

Over 80 US Cities To Hold Protests On Trump’s Inauguration Day

January 18, 2025 People's Dispatch. , , , , , ,
Conveners of the demonstrations have spoken to the variety of Trump’s promised attacks on working people. “Trump is planning to wage war on immigrant families through a brutal mass deportation campaign,” said Claudia De La Cruz, who ran on a socialist platform in her campaign for president against both Harris and Trump, on the ticket of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. “We will stand up and say NO to these attacks. Trump is a billionaire, was elected with the help of other billionaires, and runs the government on behalf of the billionaire class.

Biden Removes Cuba From List Of State Sponsors Of Terrorism

January 15, 2025 People's Dispatch. , , , , , ,
United States President Biden has announced that he will remove Cuba from the US’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism in his final days as President, reversing Donald Trump’s addition of Cuba to the list in 2021. The Biden administration said on Tuesday, January 14, that this move is meant to facilitate the release of individuals detained in Cuba. “I transmit herewith a report to the Congress with respect to the proposed recission of Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism,” Biden announced. Countries are added to the US’s State Sponsors of Terrorism list by the State Department that have allegedly “repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism”.

Israel, US, UK Launch First Joint Attack On Houthi Targets

January 10, 2025 Ikrame Imane Kouachi, Anadolu Ajansı. , , , , , ,
Sanaa, Yemen - Israel, the US, and Britain on Friday carried out their first coordinated attack on Houthi targets in Yemen, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported. Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV also reported that a series of airstrikes targeted the vicinity of the Al-Sabeen Square in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. The attack coincided with a rally in support of Palestine amid Israel’s 16-month-old continuing genocidal war on Gaza. Additionally, the Houthis reported six airstrikes on the port city of Al-Hudaydah in western Yemen. Al-Masirah later reported: “An American-British assault targeted the Harf Sufyan district in the governorate of Amran with 12 airstrikes.”

Amazon Extracts Profit From The Suffering Of Its Workers

January 9, 2025 People's Dispatch. , , , , , , ,
The week before Christmas, Amazon workers at facilities across the US, organized by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, took on the world’s most profitable third party logistics corporation by walking off the job by the hundreds. Although this pre-holiday strike represented a minority of the Amazon workforce, it represented the largest strike against Amazon in US history. Amazon’s profits keep breaking records, even within the context of a logistics industry that as a whole is experiencing a difficult freight market due to an oversupply of truck capacity.
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