25, 50 and 75 Years Ago

Vol. 83/No. 37 - October 14, 2019

October 17, 1994 DECATUR, Illinois — Striking and locked-out workers here have put out a call for solidarity with their struggles. October 15 is set for a march and rally backing the locked-out unionists at A.E. Staley Manufacturing Co., members…


Support GM strikers, Blackjewel coal miners!

‘No more tiers!’ is demand at the center of GM strike
Vol. 83/No. 36 - October 7, 2019
Caravana de solidaridad de Louisville se une a huelguistas en planta de GM Corvette en Bowling Green, Kentucky, el 23 de septiembre. “Tenemos que defender a todos o no podemos defendernos a nosotros mismos”, dijo Renata McKenney, trabajadora jubilada de Ford.

ROANOKE, Ind. — “I’ve been a temporary worker for three and a half years with no end in sight,” United Auto Workers union member Raymond Walker told the Militant on the General Motors strike picket line here as he joined…


Blackjewel miners keep up camp, say ‘No pay, we stay!

Vol. 83/No. 36 - October 7, 2019

CUMBERLAND, Ky. — Coal miners have been camped out for eight weeks just outside this town of 2,000 in Harlan County blocking Blackjewel bosses from moving trainloads of coal. Blackjewel LLC, the sixth largest coal company in the U.S., declared…


Imperialism is the arsonist in Brazil’s rainforest

Vol. 83/No. 36 - October 7, 2019

Much liberal media space has been given to the fires currently burning in the Amazon in Brazil, with calls coming from “concerned” celebrities, bourgeois environmentalists and imperialist heads of state to “save the rainforest.” In late August more than 93,000…


SWP national tour: Workers struggles point road forward

Vol. 83/No. 36 - October 7, 2019
Miembro del UAW Melvin Jennings habla con Alyson Kennedy, candidata presidencial del PST en 2016, frente a planta de la Ford en Chicago. Sobre la lucha de los mineros de Blackjewel por salarios robados por los patrones en Kentucky, Jennings dijo, “Es justo lo que están haciendo”.

“When you stand up and fight, you are guaranteed to win a victory, even if you don’t accomplish all you set out to do. You set an example, you inspire others, you gain confidence in what we can do when…


‘Cancel Puerto Rico debt,’ say protesters in NY, Philadelphia

Vol. 83/No. 36 - October 7, 2019

PHILADELPHIA — Marches here and in New York Sept. 21 marked the second anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s devastation of Puerto Rico, highlighting that the social catastrophe since the storm is not the result of a “natural” disaster, but a manmade…


US rulers step up sanctions, tell Tehran to pull back in Mideast

Vol. 83/No. 36 - October 7, 2019

After threatening military action against Iran, President Donald Trump announced Sept. 20 that the U.S. government was sending hundreds more troops to Saudi Arabia and tightening its sanctions on Tehran. It is increasing pressure on the Iranian rulers to enter…


Climate hysteria is obstacle to defense of land and labor

Vol. 83/No. 36 - October 7, 2019

“If we translate everything commonly thought of as an environmental issue into how to advance the protection of the working class, and how the working class can extend that protection to all, then we can hardly ever go wrong,” explains…


Baltimore Symphony kept playing music throughout lockout

Vol. 83/No. 36 - October 7, 2019
Baltimore Symphony musicians, who were locked out for over three months, joined United Auto Workers strike picket line at GM’s transmission plant in White Marsh, Maryland, Sept. 18.

BALTIMORE — “The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra produced this entire concert, everybody volunteered their time,” percussionist Brian Prechtl told 2,000 people at a free public concert at New Shiloh Baptist Church Sept. 14. The turnout showed the widespread support Local 40-543…


Thousands of nurses strike 1-day over workload, patients’ safety

Vol. 83/No. 36 - October 7, 2019

HIALEAH, Fla. — Some 6,500 members of National Nurses United conducted a one-day strike Sept. 20 at 12 Tenet hospitals in Florida, California and Arizona to protest the harsh work conditions they face created by the high nurse-to-patient ratios imposed…