London march marks 1 year since Grenfell Tower fire

Vol. 82/No. 25 - July 9, 2018
London march marks 1 year since Grenfell Tower fire

LONDON — Thousands of working people joined a silent march through North Kensington June 14 marking one year since a massive fire destroyed the Grenfell Tower block, killing 72 people and leaving hundreds homeless. While the big-business media repeated police…


UK hospital workers wage second strike, call further action

Vol. 82/No. 25 - July 9, 2018
Hospital workers march in Wigan, England, June 9 during 48-hour strike over jobs transfer, new two-tier pay.

WIGAN, England — “New starters would be getting less money,” striking hospital worker Sharon Pemberton told a June 9 union rally here. Hospital bosses “want to divide us into two tiers, but we are on strike together, united and determined.”…


Ukraine rail workers fight for job safety

Vol. 82/No. 25 - July 9, 2018

Hundreds of rail workers turned out in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, June 14 when the Free Trade Union of Railway Workers of Ukraine (VPZU) called an open-ended action outside the offices of the state-owned Ukrainian Railway. Rail workers across the…


Rail bosses press for longer freight trains, less workers

Vol. 82/No. 25 - July 9, 2018
Mandatory evacuations were ordered June 22 after oil train derailment south of Doon, Iowa.

In their never-ceasing drive for profits, rail bosses are forcing workers to drive longer and longer freight trains, endangering the safety of rail workers and those living in communities near the tracks. At the same time the bosses are pressing…


Books by Thomas Sankara spark interest at Harlem festival

Vol. 82/No. 25 - July 9, 2018

NEW YORK — More than 30 years after Thomas Sankara, the leader of the popular revolution in Burkina Faso, was assassinated, his example and ideas live on. That was clear from the interest in books of his speeches, other revolutionary…


Ivan Licho’s ‘Militant’ cartoons exposed capitalist rule

Vol. 82/No. 25 - July 9, 2018
Militant cartoons by Ivan Licho. Left, from July 16, 1976, cartoon illustrated attack on working class by U.S. Supreme Court legalizing death penalty. Above, cartoon from Nov. 30, 1979, issue depicting blood-soaked hands of shah of Iran. Revolution there earlier that year overthrew his dictatorial rule, forcing him to flee. Accompanying article was titled, “Why Iran Wants Him to Stand Trial: Firsthand Account of Torture and Murder.”

SEATTLE — Ivan Licho, a former member and lifelong supporter of the Socialist Workers Party, passed away of complications from Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases in Edmonds, a suburb here, June 2. He was 78. After four years in the Navy,…


Crisis in Puerto Rico caused by colonial control, capitalist rule

Vol. 82/No. 25 - July 9, 2018
Right, John Studer, Socialist Workers Party, addresses U.N. decolonization committee June 18 in support of fight to end U.S. colonial rule. Left, Myrna Pagán from Vieques Lives Matter.

The following is the statement by John Studer, editor of the Militant newspaper, given on behalf of the Socialist Workers Party at the June 18 U.N. Special Committee on Decolonization hearing. Distinguished Chairman and committee members, Dear friends and fellow…


25, 50 and 75 Years Ago

Vol. 82/No. 25 - July 9, 2018

July 12, 1993 On June 21 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Clinton administration’s policy of stopping in international waters Haitians fleeing military repression and forcibly returning them to Haiti without even permitting an asylum hearing. “This is a crime,”…


Locked-out Quebec aluminum workers win support

Vol. 82/No. 24 - June 18, 2018
United Steelworkers members locked out by ABI Bécancour bosses in Quebec picket plant May 27, in front of solidarity wall. Walmart worker Michel Prairie holds poster of support.

BÉCANCOUR, Quebec — The over 1,000 members of United Steelworkers Local 9700, who’ve been locked out by the ABI Bécancour aluminum bosses since Jan. 11, received a solidarity boost when professors from the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières joined their…


Fidel: Cuba backs fight for Puerto Rico independence

Vol. 82/No. 24 - June 18, 2018

Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and the Cuban government have emphatically spoken out in defense of the struggle of Puerto Ricans for freedom from U.S. colonial rule. “Even before our independence, there had been bonds between Puerto Rico and Cuba,”…