Workers Resistance

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  • 50th anniversary of March on Washington

    Washington, D.C. – On Aug. 24, thousands of people from across the country gathered together here at the National Mall to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. Crowd estimates are in the hundreds of thousands.

    The gathering consisted of unions, religious organizations and youth, demanding equality in this country, including an end to racial discrimination, racial profiling, police brutality and mass incarceration. Many urged “Justice for Trayvon Martin.”

    In addition to denouncing racist discrimination, speakers of all kinds, including Reverend Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, spoke to other struggles.

    An activist and organizer from Asheville, North Carolina, said of the event, “It was really inspiring to see such a variety of groups – labor unions, civil liberty groups, student contingents, LGBTQ and women’s organizations – all demanding an end to racist and discriminating laws that are still impacting our communities today.”

    Many activists angrily confronted the police when they were forced away from exiting the premises. Eventually, though, the police realized the growing rage and impatience of the crowd and allowed them to exit just minutes before the end march began.

    After the speeches on the National Mall, the people marched hand in hand to the Martin Luther King Memorial. Many did not stop there and continued marching throughout D.C. The chants of thousands could be heard over the police sirens, “Stop the war on youth of color!” with banners demanding “Justice for Trayvon Martin.”

  • Immigrant rights march in Grand Rapids, Michigan

    Grand Rapids, MI – More than 200 immigrants and their supporters marched for immigrant rights on Aug. 24. Mexican, Central American and Caribbean groups and families united in Lincoln Park on the Northwest side of Grand Rapids at noon. Leaders from religious, union and community groups spoke and then led a march through the neighborhood to protest outside the Republican Party headquarters. After chanting and singing, the protesters marched the mile back to the park for a cookout and party.

    Carlos Gutierrez of Saint Joseph the Worker Parish spoke through a megaphone to the crowd saying, “Millions of immigrants that live in our country did not just come here for a vacation. They came here for their very survival, because they had no other alternative. War, violence, economic and social discrimination, racism, and political repression, are driving people and families out of their countries looking for security and a better future.”

    Gutierrez continued, “We have dehumanized our immigrant brothers and sisters and we have forgotten our common human bond. We forget about all the women who travel so bravely to unite their families in the U.S. The mothers who see their sons and daughters leaving home, the mothers who pray that they will return one day, worried that their children might disappear or even be killed. The wives who stay home and keep their family together while their husbands are forced to leave and make great sacrifices to find work in the U.S. Don’t forget the children who grow up without their fathers at home because the fathers had to immigrate to earn money. Remember the sadness of the families who cannot even be united at a funeral, when a loved one dies back at home and they cannot return because of the broken immigration system. There are no strangers here; we are all one family, the family of God.”

    Lindsey Rosa of Peace, Hope and Love Forever, spoke about the struggles of undocumented immigrants as the number of deportations continues to rise. Rosa said, “We are coming together on the 50th anniversary March on Washington D.C. We are marching today in solidarity with tens of thousands marching from coast to coast. We are also marching in solidarity with the spirit of Martin Luther King and with all those who have fought for justice throughout history, with Gandhi and with Rigoberta Menchu, with people both known and unknown.”

    Rosa ended by saying, “I want to remember today, those who are currently undocumented and living in fear, and stress and anxiety, and those who cannot be here because they have been deported. We still remember and love them. We still continue to fight so this does not continue to happen…the universal fight for justice is the only true and honorable thing a person can do with their life. I know we will continue to fight until immigration reform is realized.”

    West Michigan Coalition for Immigration Reform organized the protest and march.

  • West Bengal – Appeal to express solidarity with contract workers’ struggle at ECL-Raniganj

    Received from Adhikar (Institute for workers’ rights, movement, research and social welfare) [Summary – Contract workers of Shitalpur Siding, Sonpur Bazar area of ECL (Eastern Coalfields Limited), Raniganj, were on a strike from 12/8/2013 demanding minimum wages, attendance in register (Form E), identity card. The union had been in discussion with the management. The management […]

  • CRPP Statement on arrest of JNU student Hem Mishra

    COMMITTEE FOR THE RELEASE OF POLITICAL
    PRISONERS

    185/3,
    FOURTH FLOOR, ZAKIR NAGAR, NEW DELHI-110025

     

    24/08/2013

    Condemn the Arrest of Student and Cultural Activist Hem
    Mishra

    by
    the Maharashtra Police!

    Release Hem Mishra
    Unconditionally!

    It was on the evening of
    23rd August that we at the CRPP received a call from a common friend
    about the alleged arrest of Mr. Hem Mishra,

  • More than 300,000 gather for March on Washington

    Washington DC – More than 300,000 people are gathered on the mall today for the March on Washington, with at least 150,000 on each side of the reflecting pool. The massive crowd is largely African-American, mobilized by the 50-year anniversary of Martin Luther King’s speech and by the pressing demand for justice for Trayvon Martin. African-American groups range from Florida’s Dream Defenders, to New Jersey’s People’s Organization for Progress, to the national NAACP. There is also a big union mobilization, with the United Auto Workers turning out thousands of members in t-shirts. Many other unions and their associated groups like Working America are also out in force.

    BJ Murphy drove up to the March on Washington from North Carolina and he said, “We arrived early, a little after 8:00 AM, and there were already tens of thousands on the Mall. It is great to see! On the down side, people are growing frustrated about feeling trapped. The police put up huge fences and there are choke points so people feel penned in, unable to come or go, and some folks are growing angry.”

    Murphy continues, “The crowd is so big and so loud that it is challenging for African-American leaders and government officials to speak over the crowd. The crowd is impatient and looking forward to the march and being allowed more freedom to move.”

  • FARC announces pause in peace negotiations

    Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC):

    Peace Delegation announces pause in peace talks.

    From the beginning of the peace process with the government of Colombia in Havana, our primary concern has been to open the doors to people’s participation for the construction of a democratic peace agreement with social justice.

    Apropos of this, and because of the importance for the country and for the future of our country of the issue of the resolution of the social and armed conflict, starting from the establishment of social justice, democracy and sovereignty, in a responsible and wellconsidered way, the FARC-EP proposed convening a National Constituent Assembly so that the sovereign people can decide on the crucial issues of political, economic and social development of all Colombians.

    We also said that the Constituent Assembly, convened under the auspices of a large national political agreement would be the way to achieve a real peace treaty, just and binding, which could melt our reconciliation, govern the fate of the nation and lead it towards the summits of real democracy.

    In contrast, the government yesterday announced to the country its decision to appeal to the referendum as a mechanism for countersignature, without mentioning at all the procedures of democratic construction which would endorse it.

    Under these new circumstances, at a moment in which from all the corners of Colombia you can hear the outcry of unsatisfied people, protesting against the consequences of a disastrous economic policy, behind the back of the interests of the great majority of citizens and which requires their participation in the decision-making of major national issues, the Peace Delegation of the FARC-EP has decided to pause the discussion of the Table, to focus exclusively on the analysis of the government’s proposal, without detriment to the internal consultation we have to carry out as organization.

    We will use this time also to listen to points-of-views, which will surely arise among the people in the fervor of political and social struggle that makes Colombia shudder today.

    Colombia’s peace is everybody’s business.

    PEACE DELEGATION FARC-EP

  • Chelsea Manning is a hero

    Minneapolis, MN – The anti-war movement sees Chelsea Manning as a hero for exposing the truth of the brutality of U.S. warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a result of her bravery in releasing classified documents that exposed U.S. war crimes to WikiLeaks, on Aug. 21 Manning was sentenced to military prison for 35 years.

    The day after her sentencing Manning performed yet another act of bravery. In a statement publicly thanking all those who supported her through her trial she also came out as transgender.

    While many of us in the queer community have known for a while that Manning was a member of our community, this was the first time she publicly addressed this topic. With this act Manning expands the arena where she is a hero, providing inspiration to the LGBT community. I hope her struggle will bring more awareness to the cause of transgender people and transgender liberation. Free Chelsea Manning!

    Please read the following statement from Chelsea Manning:

    The Next Stage of My Life

    I want to thank everybody who has supported me over the last three years. Throughout this long ordeal, your letters of support and encouragement have helped keep me strong. I am forever indebted to those who wrote to me, made a donation to my defense fund, or came to watch a portion of the trial. I would especially like to thank Courage to Resist and the Bradley
    Manning Support Network for their tireless efforts in raising awareness for my case and providing for my legal representation.

    As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition. I also request that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun (except in official mail to the confinement facility). I look forward to receiving letters from supporters and having the opportunity to write back.

    Thank you,
    Chelsea E. Manning

  • Syrian Chemical Weapons Attack: A False Flag Operation?

    For more information:

    Syria Rebels testing Tekkim chemicals to use as chem weapons
    Report: Syrian officials claim chlorine, saline mix used in Aleppo attack
    Syria: Jihadist Al-Nusra Front Siezes Chemical Factory Near Allepo
    Syria chemical weapons: finger pointed at jihadists
    UN accuses Syrian rebels of chemical weapons use
    U.N. Chemical-Weapons Experts Arrive in Syria
    U.K., France Call for UN

  • South Florida protests Bradley Manning’s 35-year sentence

    Ft. Lauderdale, FL – 20 supporters of whistleblower Private First Class Bradley Manning gathered on the evening of Aug. 21 at the Federal Building in downtown here for an emergency protest. They demanded a presidential pardon for the 25-year old whistleblower.

    The action was organized by the anti-war group People’s Opposition to War, Imperialism and Racism (POWIR) in response to the 35-year jail sentence imposed on Manning earlier that day, for sharing military documents and videos of U.S. war crimes with Wikileaks. The sentencing came after Manning had already served three years, including nine months spent in solitary confinement.

    As activists from South Florida arrived, they were given tape to cover their mouths as a symbol of how President Obama is silencing whistleblowers during his term. Along the sidewalk in front of the building were large letters on yellow signs spelling, “Free Manning” and demonstrators held signs reading, “Manning leaked the truth,” “Release Bradley Manning,” and “Jail our nation’s war criminals, not our whistleblowers.”

    Manning disclosed injustices, human rights violations and war crimes that the U.S. military was involved with and continues to commit abroad. He believed that by exposing these ugly truths to the American public, he could help put an end to them. In her opening remarks at the protest, Pamela Maldonado, a lead organizer with POWIR explained, “Manning’s sentence is being used by the Obama administration as a threat to all future whistle-blowers thinking of exposing the truth to the public.”

    After the activists removed the tape from their mouths, whistles were distributed for all to blow shrilly in solidarity with Manning. The protesters shouted, “We will not be silent!” and blew their whistles loudly. As cars and trucks passed the busy intersection, many honked in solidarity. Upon seeing the protest, a few passersby picked up signs and joined the demonstration chanting, “Same thing every time, leaking truth is not a crime!”

    Towards the end of the action, Victor Agosto, the lead organizer of POWIR and a Veteran for Peace member, read from Manning’s poignant and compelling statement released after the sentencing was announced. The crowd listened in silence. “I realized that in our efforts to meet the risk posed to us by the enemy, we had forgotten our humanity,” Agosto read. “We consciously elected to devalue life both in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

    Whistles were held until the end and once the statement was finished the crowd whistled in unison.

    POWIR, Veterans for Peace, Progressive Democrats of America, Occupy Miami and Food Not Bombs members demanded that President Obama pardon Manning. The South Florida response was held in unity with actions being led by the Bradley Manning Solidarity Network on the same day. Manning’s defense team is now seeking a presidential pardon. As one of the signs held by the South Florida activists read “Call Obama 202-456-1414 and ask him to pardon Manning.”

  • Aug 24 : ABVP activists ‘beat up’ students of FTI

    http://www.indianexpress.com/news/abvp-activists-beat-up-students-of-ftii-for-inviting-kkm-artistes/1158469/ Express news service : Pune, The National Film Archives of India (NFIA) on Wednesday evening witnessed a ruckus as a group ABVP activists allegedly thrashed students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) for inviting the Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) artistes for a performance. The programme was to pay homage to the slain […]