Iran teachers fight for wages, pensions and free public schools

Vol. 86/No. 28 - August 1, 2022
Retirees protest at parliament in Tehran Jan. 17. Placards say, “Employed and retired, unity, unity.”

Teachers across Iran have been stepping up their push to win wage and pension increases to keep up with inflation and to defend free public education. The value of the rial, the national currency, has plummeted 25% since late March.…


Boris Johnson ouster reflects political crisis of rulers in UK

Vol. 86/No. 28 - August 1, 2022
Nurses march in London June 18 demanding government pay higher wages. Nervousness of U.K. rulers amid spreading shifts in capitalist “world order” and rising working-class anger over assaults on living standards led Conservative Party leaders to oust Boris Johnson.

LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned as Conservative Party leader July 7, forced out by mounting pressure from working people and former supporters, and a tsunami of ministerial resignations. Fifty members of Parliament quit the government in just…


Constitution, Bill of Rights conquest of First American Revolution

Vol. 86/No. 28 - August 1, 2022
Delegates in Philadelphia, Sept. 17, 1787, submit Constitution for ratification by the states. American Revolution, revolts by farmers and other working people won Constitution, as well as Bill of Rights — 10 amendments that codified crucial protections for the working classes.

One of Pathfinder’s Books of the Month for July is America’s Revolutionary Heritage: Marxist Essays by George Novack. A long-time leader of the Socialist Workers Party, he wrote a number of books on questions of Marxist politics and history. The…


Workers need our own party, a labor party

Vol. 86/No. 28 - August 1, 2022

The labor movement should join rail workers in fighting President Joseph Biden’s intervention in contract talks between rail bosses and unions aimed at preventing the workers from using their union power, after they voted by 99% to strike against industry-wide…


25, 50 and 75 Years Ago

Vol. 86/No. 28 - August 1, 2022

August 11, 1997 Working people in the United States and around the world should join our brothers and sisters in Cuba in denouncing the latest terrorist bombings of tourist hotels in Havana. Whether the U.S. government has a direct hand…



UAW workers at Case strike for better pay, safer conditions

Vol. 86/No. 27 - July 25, 2022

BY NAOMI CRAINE, JOHN HAWKINS, AND LEROY WATSON BURLINGTON, Iowa —“We’re fighting for wages that will keep up with inflation, and better retirement benefits. And they don’t want to give that to us,” said Gary Binder, a worker at Case…


Back Ukraine independence! Moscow’s troops out now!

Working people in Russia find ways to oppose invasion
Vol. 86/No. 27 - July 25, 2022
Russian students wore green sashes for high school graduation to show opposition to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Dressed in black, they used peace sign in place of “0” in date. Those who saw them on street “thanked us for our position.” One said he was proud of us, they reported.

Despite significant troop losses and festering disquiet at home, Moscow continues to press its war aimed at conquering Ukraine and crushing its decadeslong battle for independence. While facing resistance in occupied areas (see article on Mariupol protest), Russian forces have…


Constitutional right to freedom of worship is upheld by court

Vol. 86/No. 27 - July 25, 2022
Blaine amendments, laws targeting state government aid to Catholic schools, were adopted during rise of anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic bigotry in the 19th century. They are still on books in 37 states. Drawing from 1871 depicts Catholic bishops as crocodiles looking to gobble up American schoolchildren.

Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions protecting the constitutional right to freedom of worship are good for working people. At the same time, these rulings are attacked by liberals as reactionary and as a further reason why Democrats must win…