Workers Resistance

Author: Fight Back

  • Minnesota May Day march demands drivers licenses, no more deportations

    Saint Paul, MN – On May 1, International Workers Day, around 2000 people marched two and a half miles from the Governor’s Mansion to the State Capitol. The march raised four demands: drivers licenses for all, workers rights, just immigration reform, and no more deportations.

    Most of the immigrant rights movement in Minnesota is united behind the push for drivers licenses for all. A drivers licenses bill at the capitol is near passage, but the legislative session is almost over and the bill is being blocked by Speaker of the House Representative Paul Thissen. That gave an urgency and focus to the May 1 march to the capitol.

    The demand for drivers licenses rang out strongly throughout the march. The demonstration arrived at the capitol and , after several speakers, the marchers streamed into the capitol building and filled the rotunda with booming chants, demanding that the legislature approve the bill for drivers licenses for all this session. The demand for drivers licenses resonates deeply because 2 million people have been deported since 2009. A large number of them are first detained for driving without a license.

    The demand for “no more deportations” was also prominent at the march. Because so many people are being deported, it is an issue that has touched almost all immigrant families and their communities. The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) organized a No More Deportations contingent to press this demand with banners, flags, posters, flyers and chants.

    The St. Paul march was led by immigrant rights organization Mesa Latina along with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee and around 30 other organizations including unions such as AFSCME Locals 3800 and Local 34, UNITE HERE Local 17 and organizations including Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL), MORENA-Minnesota, Centro Campesino, Occupy Homes, Chicano Studies departments at the University of Minnesota and at Saint Cloud State University and many others. Many students came to the march from the University of Minnesota, Saint Olaf, Saint Benedicts, and high schools including Washburn, Harding and others.

    The march in Saint Paul wasn’t the only May Day action in the Twin Cities. A church-based immigrant rights group, Asamblea de Derechos Civiles, blocked traffic in downtown Minneapolis to demand action on deportations and immigration reform.

    On May 3, Freedom Road Socialist Organization is hosting a May Day Dinner and Celebration featuring speakers from important local working class struggles. The celebration is at 5:00 p.m. at 4200 Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis.

  • Marcha en Tucson por el Día Internacional de los Trabajadores e Inmigrantes

    Tucson, AZ – El día internacional de los trabajadores se reconoce no solo como el día en que la clase trabajadora sale a las calles a defender los derechos que ha conquistado durante su larga historia de lucha, sino que también es el día en que la clase trabajadora internacional se manifiesta para continuar exigiendo sus reivindicaciones. Debido a las condiciones históricas y culturales especificas al Suroeste los Estados Unidos, aquí en Arizona existe una estrecha relación entre las luchas laborales y la lucha por los derechos de los inmigrantes. La clase trabajadora de Tucson está comprometida con el deber histórico de defender los derechos de los inmigrantes, ya que la gran mayoria de los inmigrantes también son parte de la clase trabajadora.

    La Coalición del 1ro de Mayo de Tucson junto a organizaciones sociales, comunitarias, estudiantiles y sindicatos, se organizaron para marchar unidos y con una sola voz en defensa de los trabajadores e Inmigrantes. Entre consignas, cantos de lucha y un enorme ambiente de solidaridad, madres, padres, jóvenes, estudiantes, trabajadores y campesinos, cientos de personas se concentraron y marcharon por las calles del sur de Tucson para celebrar el 1ero de Mayo.

    Entre las demandas exigidas estuvieron: no más deportaciones, no más cárceles privadas y acabar con la militarización de la frontera. También fueron proclamadas demandas en defensa de los trabajadores a favor de horarios garantizados y un sueldo mínimo de $15.

    Durante la marcha se hicieron breves paradas y discursos frente a distintos establecimientos, en donde representantes de diferentes grupos sociales alzaron sus voces para explicar y dar a conocer la gigantesca injusticia y desigualdad social que produce este sistema esclavista llamado capitalismo. Líderes sindicales enjuiciaron a la compañía McDonalds, explicando cómo esta corporación multinacional produce billones de dólares en ganancias anuales, mientras explota a sus trabajadores negándoles horarios garantizados y sueldos dignos para poder mantener a sus familias. Representantes de distintos movimientos defensores de los derechos de los inmigrantes e indocumentados, criticaron por igual al banco Wells Fargo por sus inversiones millonarias en corporaciones de cárceles privadas como CCA y GEO Group. Estas corporaciones son responsables de políticas tales como la de operación “streamline”, operación creada para hacer ganancias a través de la criminalización de la inmigración, en donde el inmigrante es inhumanamente condenado en cárceles privadas antes de ser deportado.

    En todo momento la comunidad chicana estuvo presente repudiando y rechazando la ley racista SB1070, la cual involucra a la policía local en asuntos migratorios para aplicar a la fuerza la discriminación racial. Los estudiantes por igual se mantuvieron en pie de lucha, recordando que la educación es un derecho humano y exigieron el retorno del programa de estudios México –Americanos (MAS), y la igualdad en pagos de matriculas en la educación superior para aquellos que han recibido la Acción diferida para Jóvenes (DACA).

    A lo largo de todo el recorrido se respiro un aire de justicia colectiva, en donde al finalizar la marcha con una concentración en el parque Quincy Douglas en el sur de Tucson, la comunidad pudo disfrutar de música, comida y festejar un año más de lucha unida.

  • Marcha en Tucson por el Día Internacional de los Trabajadores e Inmigrantes

    Tucson, AZ – El día internacional de los trabajadores se reconoce no solo como el día en que la clase trabajadora sale a las calles a defender los derechos que ha conquistado durante su larga historia de lucha, sino que también es el día en que la clase trabajadora internacional se manifiesta para continuar exigiendo sus reivindicaciones. Debido a las condiciones históricas y culturales especificas al Suroeste los Estados Unidos, aquí en Arizona existe una estrecha relación entre las luchas laborales y la lucha por los derechos de los inmigrantes. La clase trabajadora de Tucson está comprometida con el deber histórico de defender los derechos de los inmigrantes, ya que la gran mayoria de los inmigrantes también son parte de la clase trabajadora.

    La Coalición del 1ro de Mayo de Tucson junto a organizaciones sociales, comunitarias, estudiantiles y sindicatos, se organizaron para marchar unidos y con una sola voz en defensa de los trabajadores e Inmigrantes. Entre consignas, cantos de lucha y un enorme ambiente de solidaridad, madres, padres, jóvenes, estudiantes, trabajadores y campesinos, cientos de personas se concentraron y marcharon por las calles del sur de Tucson para celebrar el 1ero de Mayo.

    Entre las demandas exigidas estuvieron: no más deportaciones, no más cárceles privadas y acabar con la militarización de la frontera. También fueron proclamadas demandas en defensa de los trabajadores a favor de horarios garantizados y un sueldo mínimo de $15.

    Durante la marcha se hicieron breves paradas y discursos frente a distintos establecimientos, en donde representantes de diferentes grupos sociales alzaron sus voces para explicar y dar a conocer la gigantesca injusticia y desigualdad social que produce este sistema esclavista llamado capitalismo. Líderes sindicales enjuiciaron a la compañía McDonalds, explicando cómo esta corporación multinacional produce billones de dólares en ganancias anuales, mientras explota a sus trabajadores negándoles horarios garantizados y sueldos dignos para poder mantener a sus familias. Representantes de distintos movimientos defensores de los derechos de los inmigrantes e indocumentados, criticaron por igual al banco Wells Fargo por sus inversiones millonarias en corporaciones de cárceles privadas como CCA y GEO Group. Estas corporaciones son responsables de políticas tales como la de operación “streamline”, operación creada para hacer ganancias a través de la criminalización de la inmigración, en donde el inmigrante es inhumanamente condenado en cárceles privadas antes de ser deportado.

    En todo momento la comunidad chicana estuvo presente repudiando y rechazando la ley racista SB1070, la cual involucra a la policía local en asuntos migratorios para aplicar a la fuerza la discriminación racial. Los estudiantes por igual se mantuvieron en pie de lucha, recordando que la educación es un derecho humano y exigieron el retorno del programa de estudios México –Americanos (MAS), y la igualdad en pagos de matriculas en la educación superior para aquellos que han recibido la Acción diferida para Jóvenes (DACA).

    A lo largo de todo el recorrido se respiro un aire de justicia colectiva, en donde al finalizar la marcha con una concentración en el parque Quincy Douglas en el sur de Tucson, la comunidad pudo disfrutar de música, comida y festejar un año más de lucha unida.

  • Miami celebrates May Day

    Miami, FL- About 50 people waving flags and banners gathered at the Torch of Friendship, May 1, to celebrate International Workers Day. Members of various South Florida progressive, socialist and anarchist organizations joined together for this event, which included speeches and a brief march down busy Biscayne Boulevard.

    Activists from the Green Party and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) were among the speakers who addressed the crowd.

    Didier Ortiz, from Broward County Green Party, spoke out against capitalist corruption. “The rich capitalists, they are all united – they don’t care about religion, or morals or politics. All they care about it getting more money. And they want to get it at the expense of all of us, our lives, and our labor. So we too need to be united and fight against them!”

    The people listening cheered and waved banners that read “Support workers!” and “Time to unite!”

    “We stand here today in recognition that the system we are being forced to live in right now is rotten from the inside-out,” said Cassia Laham of FRSO. “We recognize that this same system is responsible for the slaughter of thousands abroad by the U.S. military machine. And we know the only way to defeat it is to struggle together in unity!”

    The gathering was put on by One Struggle, Miami Autonomy and Solidarity and Broward Green Party. It was also meant to show solidarity with the NATO 3, three activists who have been sentenced to five to eight years in prison for protesting at the NATO summit in Chicago in 2012. The activists were entrapped by undercover cops and charged with phony ‘terrorism’ charges in Illinois. The imprisoning of these three young men is another example of the systematic oppression by the U.S. government of anti-war and solidarity activists.

    The Anti-War 23, Midwest activists who were involved in organizing the protest at the 2008 Republic National Convention, have also been targets of government repression since 2008. These activists’ homes were raided and their freedoms jeopardized with phony charges based on lies. The recently unsealed documents reveal the lengths to which the U.S. government is willing to go in order to attempt to silence the anti-war and solidarity activists in this country.

  • Tampa May Day protest demands: “Not one more deportation!”

    Tampa, FL – Activists gathered front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, May 1, to demand not one more deportation.

    “We marched four miles today in Lakeland,” said Oscar Hernandez of Tampa Bay United We Dream. “And we traveled more than 40 minutes to Tampa to demand a stop to the deportations! It’s time President Obama stop them now!” He led the crowd in the chant, “Not one more! Not one more!”

    Some of the organizations present on the busy thoroughfare in front of the ICE building were Raíces en Tampa, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Student/Farmworker Alliance, AFL-CIO, Tampa Dream Defenders and Mi Familia Vota.

    “President Obama can issue deferred action or immediate relief to all of the undocumented.” said Marisol Marquez of Raíces en Tampa. “Attacks on the undocumented and in particular the Central American and Mexican people, must stop. We will not rest until there is a stop to deportations and legalization for all.”

    Raíces en Tampa plans on hosting a immigrant rights march on Saturday, May 3rd at 4:00 p.m., at 1800 East 8th Avenue in Tampa.

  • Low-income families protest MN State of the State

    St Paul, MN – On April 30, members of the Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) gathered outside the House Chambers of the Minnesota state capitol to protest Governor Mark Dayton’s State of the State address. “It’s been 28 years without a grant increase and Governor Dayton refuses to help children and their families,” said the WRC’s Darnella Wade.

    For the State of the State address, the whole legislature, Supreme Court, Secretary of State, Attorney General and former U.S. Vice-president Mondale attend. They all had to pass by the Welfare Rights Committee members holding signs of Governor Dayton’s face that read, “Shame on Dayton for ignoring 70,000 kids in extreme poverty.” They chanted, “70,000 kids! 70,000 kids!” and “The rich got bailed out, we got sold out!”

    WRC members also displayed 28 tombstones to represent 28 years without a grant increase for MFIP (the state of Minnesota’s welfare program for poor children and their parents). The tombstones had slogans such as, “R.I.P. 28 years without an increase,” and “Rest in poverty.”

    According to the Welfare Rights Committee’s statement: “Over the past decade, hundreds of millions of federal dollars targeted for Minnesota’s welfare have been raided by Minnesota politicians to supplant state spending and pay down the state’s deficits. Because of this theft, only 27% of the federal TANF dollars actually go to the Minnesota families receiving welfare. Meanwhile, MN welfare grants have not seen an increase for 28 years, while the cost of living has more than doubled.

    “This year the state had a surplus. The governor and legislators had a chance to raise the welfare grants to help get 70,000 kids out of extreme poverty, but they refused. Instead they gave tax breaks, mostly to corporations and the well-to-do.”

    The last to make a ceremonial entrance was Governor Dayton. WRC had a member stationed at the elevator, so he had to walk through the capitol and into the house chamber to the chants of “Dayton, Dayton! Shame on you!”

    As the governor started his address, he got loud “boos” from WRC members. Their statement notes, “The governor tried to give a rosy picture of the state, but WRC was there to show that the ‘real state of the state’ is horrible for the poor and working families.”

  • Florida students prevent FAMU-FSU College of Engineering split

    Tallahassee, FL – Students prevented the proposed split of the Florida A&M University-Florida State University (FAMU-FSU) College of Engineering this 2014 legislative session. Student activists organized and protested at the Florida legislature to force Republican politicians to back off. FAMU is an historically Black university and African-American students view the proposed split as a racist attempt to create separate and unequal colleges.

    The bad legislation went away when Florida Speaker of the House Will Weatherford introduced a compromise. It calls for funding a study into the viability of the joint engineering college. This then passes the buck to the Florida Board of Governors in March 2015. They have final decision on the future of the joint and historical partnership.

    Florida State Senator John Thrasher, the campaign co-chair for Governor Rick Scott’s re-election campaign, originally proposed splitting the engineering college. Thrasher attempted to cover his tracks by claiming the discussion would not have taken place if he had not proposed a budget amendment to fund the split.

    “Thrasher is a notorious anti-worker and anti-higher education bully, who this session, due to the FAMU and FSU students working together, didn’t get what he wanted,” said Michael Sampson, organizer with the Dream Defenders. “He can try and sum this up any way he wants but he lost this go around and those who wanted to prevent the FAMU-FSU School of Engineering from being split this year were successful.”

    Thrasher is rumored to be a finalist for the FSU presidential search. Many view his proposal to split the FAMU-FSU School of Engineering as a power grab by elite FSU interests at the expense of FAMU. This is currently one of the few partnerships between a mostly white university and a historically Black university. Neither FAMU nor FSU administrative leadership were even notified of the possibility of a split of its engineering program before it happened. New FAMU President, Elora Mangum, said that FAMU by itself didn’t have the means to sustain its own engineering program at current rates of funding from the state legislature.

    Florida State University is a predominantly white education institution that continues to grow, often at the expense of the neighboring African-American communities. This move by Thrasher to split away from a joint venture with the Florida A&M University was a move that angered many of Tallahassee’s African americans. Engineering students from the National Society of Black Engineers spoke out with Dream Defenders against the attempted injustice.

    “I think that it was a great step,” said FSU Engineering student and former vice-president of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Samuel Ichite. “It’s great to know that the logical step was taken as a result of different people stepping up and standing for what was right. It should never be left up to politicians to determine the fate of our education.”

    Tallahassee Dream Defenders, working with organizations like NSBE and the FAMU Student Government Association and other FAMU student leaders, organized to prevent Thrasher’s power play from being successful. However, student activists know they have a long way to go to make sure the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering is protected in the future.

    “This is a short-term win but we need to keep organizing over the summer and throughout next year to prevent them from attempting to split it again,” said Melanie Andrade, president of the FAMU chapter of Dream Defenders. “We need to make sure we are researching whatever they are proposing and targeting whoever needs to be targeted in order to make sure the FAMU-FSU School of Engineering stays the way it is.”

  • Protesters at stockholders meeting say “No killer drone for Boeing”

    Chicago, IL – The Boeing Company annual stockholders’ meeting took place at the Field Museum, April 28, and 25 activists protested, both inside and outside. Braving a cold downpour, they first gathered on the steps of the museum for a press conference in opposition to Boeing’s plan to build the next combat drone for the Pentagon. Then several of the protesters that had purchased stock in Boeing for this purpose went to make statements to the board of directors

    Before going in Kait McIntyre from the Chicago Anti-War Committee (AWC) explained that she was presenting herself as a candidate for the board, because, “Time and time again AWC has addressed Boeing, in the media, outside their board meetings and at their headquarters. Boeing has either responded with ‘no comment’ or they bring out their guard dogs and call the Chicago police department. This time, we decided to nominate someone for the board in order to address them directly: me.”

    She continued, “Boeing has already used a bureaucratic technicality to say I am ineligible but we all know the real reason they find me unqualified: Because I stand up to and defy the masters of war, not take and fill their orders.”

    The AWC activists were joined inside by faith-based activists, including Sister Gwen Farry of the 8th Day Center for Justice. Meanwhile, other 8th Day activists, Sisters Dorothy Pagosa and Kathleen Desautels, spoke at the press conference. Speaking to the group on the steps, Pagosa addressed herself to the Boeing stockholders. “Your profits are not sustainable because it’s blood money used to destroy, rather than to build up the human community.”

    Also at the press conference were Michael James, a long time peace activist in Chicago, and a veteran of the Vietnam War-era Students for a Democratic Society. Standing alongside James was another SDSer, Bernardine Dohrn. James said, “On the planet, there are few places with as diverse a population as Chicago. What we do rings out.” He added, “We don’t want anyone based in our home bringing destruction on the world.”

    Brian Terrell of Voices for Creative Non-Violence, who had spent six months in prison in 2013 for protesting drone war at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, added his voice to the press conference as well. “We have not been simply protesting drones as they are now, horrific as they are. We also protest the next levels of development that logically follow. The Phantom Ray drone that Boeing is bidding to build would be a drone with the speed and killing capacity of a fighter plane and be another large step toward totally autonomous robotic warfare,” said Terrell

    Once inside, Newland Smith of AWC rose to tell the meeting, “Drone strikes as conducted by our government, according to the Geneva conventions, are illegal and immoral and inflict terror on civilian populations.” Smith, McIntyre, and Richard Berg all succeeded in making their voices heard at the meeting.

    When the delegation returned from speaking to the stockholders, AWC’s Berg told the waiting group, “Our statements caused a stir in there because there were protesters outside.” Berg urged the group to continue its efforts, “We are building the movement against war, and that’s what scares Boeing the most.”

  • Tallahassee students stand against Engineering School segregation

    Tallahassee, FL – On the morning of April 23, over 20 students from Florida State University (FSU) and the historically Black college Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), gathered outside the state capitol building. Despite final exams, they joined together to speak out against the split of the joint FAMU-FSU Engineering School.

    Engineering students from both colleges, as well as students of other majors, spoke out vigorously against the proposal. The students were angered by the lack of democracy in the process. Student voices were never once heard when administrators put the proposal through. Many students denounce the proposal as a ‘separate but equal’ policy that treats students from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) as second-class students.

    Brian Marshall, the campus president of FSU Dream Defenders, stated, “This proposal reeks of racism and sends a clear message that predominantly white institutions view themselves as superior over Black institutions.” Students chanted with passion, “Separate but equal is not for the people,” and, “FAMU or FSU, we believe in one goal, one E- school! One E-school! One E-School!” The Engineering School was a joint program run by both universities for 32 years. Reactionary Florida State Senator John Thrasher made the proposal to separate the two schools. John Thrasher is the campaign manager for Florida Governor Rick Scott and is vying for the spot as President of Florida State University. The split is being done under the guise of turning FSU into a Top 25 University.

    Regina Joseph, FSU vice-president of Dream Defenders, stated, “FSU may be trying to be a Top 25 university, but it is clearly not concerned with being a Top 25 university in racial diversity and inclusiveness.”

    Engineering students took time from their projects and called out the undemocratic move and stated unequivocally that the school would be best served if it stayed united. With only one week left to stop this racist proposal from coming to fruition, organizations like Dream Defenders and National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) are urgently working to stop the split. African-American students in Tallahassee are angered by this second-class treatment. Many students conclude there is an utter disregard from both Florida politicians and campus administrators. Student organizers vow to thrash racism wherever they see it.

  • Honors go to civil rights leaders and Jacksonville Progressive Coalition for battling KKK

    Jacksonville, FL – 150 people attended the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s (SCLC) annual “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Dinner” on April 26. Hosted at the Sheraton in Deerwood, the dinner drew clergy, politicians and activists from across the Jacksonville community.

    Reverend Dr. C.T. Vivian was the keynote speaker. Vivian, a close associate of King and a Freedom Rider, worked to integrate the South during the Civil Rights movement. In 1964, Vivian fought ‘whites only’ beach segregation with ‘wade-ins’ at Saint Augustine Beach. Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members physically attacked the brave waders in the water. The sheriff’s office arrested the civil rights waders. Dr. Vivian’s efforts contributed to passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

    Dr. Vivian delivered an impassioned speech at the dinner calling for activists to recognize the class struggle taking place in the U.S. and to renew the mission of Dr. King for a new generation. He also called on older activists to create a space for young activists to get involved and lead the modern struggle against racism.

    During his speech, Vivian criticized politicians who promise the African-American community change but do not deliver when they are elected, “It’s important that any time we have a gathering like this with politicians in the room, we talk openly about these issues.” He continued by directly addressing Jacksonville’s Mayor Alvin Brown, who was present at the dinner, by saying, “We should support the mayor and the city council when they are on the right side, and we should throw them out when they don’t follow through.” His comments drew huge applause from the audience.

    At the dinner, the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition (JPC) received the “Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award for Legends, Pioneers and Trailblazers.” The JPC, founded in 2012, worked closely with the SCLC to successfully change the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest High School. In 1959, white segregationists named Forrest High after the first Grand Wizard of the KKK.

    Reverend Opio Sokoni, the President of the Jacksonville chapter of the SCLC, wrote of the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition, “Your organization helped to lead the fight which changed the name of Westside High School from the KKK’s first Honorary Grand Wizard, Nathan B. Forrest. You also stood vigilant for justice against the killing of Jordan Davis, among other causes.” Sokoni continued, “This award is in response to the JPC’s activist fight against racism in the City of Jacksonville, Florida. The SCLC of Jacksonville is proud to serve beside you.”

    The SCLC and the JPC led the protests outside the trial of Michael Dunn, the racist vigilante who murdered 17-year-old African-American youth Jordan Davis in Jacksonville. Dunn was convicted on several attempted murder charges but received a mistrial for murdering Davis. Protesters led a night march demanding the resignation of State Attorney Angela Corey after the verdict.

    Additionally, the JPC is working on a citywide campaign to pass a Human Rights Ordinance through the city council which extends civil rights protections to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

    In addition to Vivian and the JPC, other important civil rights leaders and activists in the community were honored, including Pastor R.L. Gundy and J.T. Johnson, both with the SCLC, and Pastor Landon Williams, who distinguished himself with his staunch pro-worker activism.

    The Jacksonville Progressive Coalition is planning protests in solidarity with Marissa Alexander, who is being retried by State Attorney Angela Corey in July 2014. Alexander is the 33-year-old African American mother originally convicted for firing a warning shot to fend off her abusive husband. There are growing calls nationwide for the resignation of State Attorney Angela Corey and freedom for Marissa Alexander.