Vol. 80/No. 22      June 6, 2016

 

Socialist Workers Party candidate backs strike at Washington college

 
AUBURN, Washington — Chanting “No more cuts!” teachers, adjuncts and students at Green River College’s three area campuses walked out May 23. The action began a three-day strike to protest moves by the community college’s administration to eliminate 11 programs, fire faculty and attack the Green River United Faculty Coalition, Local 2195 of the American Federation of Teachers.

Osborne Hart, Socialist Workers Party candidate for vice president, and campaign supporters joined the spirited action. Hart marched on the picket line as part of a four-day visit to Washington. He also spoke to a Seattle rally of over 60 people and joined efforts to put the Socialist Workers Party presidential ticket — himself and Alyson Kennedy for president — on the ballot.

Twenty-two of the 50 protesters signed petitions to put the socialist candidates on the ballot. There are over 500 teachers and 8,000 students at the school. The college carried out a series of cuts last year, including an auto body repair program run by the then president of Local 2195. The strike followed more than a month of student and faculty protests.

“The school is breaking the union contract by cutting classes and getting rid of teachers,” student Jessica Dowell told Hart. “They’re cutting the math and writing resource centers.”

Over the past week here more than 900 people have signed petitions and many have picked up the Militant, got copies of Pathfinder books on revolutionary working-class history and politics, and exchanged information to keep in touch.
 
 
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