W. Va. workers discuss crisis, importance of teachers strike

Socialist Workers Party campaigns in coal country
Vol. 83/No. 10 - March 11, 2019
Above, picket line in Hurricane, West Virginia, during Feb. 19-20 strike by school workers. Inset, Socialist Workers Party member Samir Hazboun, left, talks with former miner Eddie McLaughlin in Kermit. SWP campaigners went door to door talking to workers about conditions they face and need for solidarity with strikers.

On Feb. 20 Amy Husk, Socialist Workers Party candidate for Kentucky governor, and campaign supporter Samir Hazboun went to West Virginia’s coal country to talk to working people at their doorsteps about conditions they face, and about the school workers…


Quebec aluminum workers stand firm in over yearlong lockout

Vol. 83/No. 9 - March 4, 2019

BECANCOUR, Quebec — Over 1,000 ABI Becancour aluminum smelter workers, members of United Steelworkers Local 9700, have stood strong here since being locked out over a year ago. Solidarity and contributions from other workers have given the USW members the…


School workers strike beats back gov’t attack

W.Va. strike wins solidarity of coal miners, others
Vol. 83/No. 9 - March 4, 2019
Picket line Feb. 19 outside Capital High School, Charleston, W. Va. All schools were shut down.

More than 30,000 teachers, bus drivers, janitors, cooks and other school workers shut down all the schools across West Virginia Feb. 19 and 20 to protest an education “reform” bill. The measure, submitted by State Senate President Mitch Carmichael, included…



Chicago charter school teachers strike over pay, conditions

Vol. 83/No. 8 - February 25, 2019
Chicago Teachers Union members and supporters picket Chicago International Charter School headquarters Feb. 5, first day of strike at four charter schools over class size, pay, conditions.

CHICAGO — Some 175 members of the Chicago Teachers Union hit the picket lines at four schools here operated by Chicago International Charter School network Feb. 5. “The most important issues are class size and full staffing, as well as…


What are lessons for workers from the LA teachers strike?

Vol. 83/No. 7 - February 18, 2019
Retired mine workers bring solidarity to 9-day strike by teachers and school workers, Kanawha County, West Virginia, Feb. 22, 2018. Strike took on aspects of a social movement, impacted by the fighting traditions of miners union in that state going back decades. It set an example for the kind of labor movement workers will need to build to respond to the bosses’ attacks.

The six-day strike in Los Angeles by more than 30,000 teachers deserves further assessment. This is in the interest of all those in the working class who participated in the walkout, and all those across the country interested in how…


Building workers in New Jersey strike three days for contract

Vol. 83/No. 7 - February 18, 2019

FORT LEE, N.J. — Chanting “What do we want? Contracts” and “If we don’t get it, shut it down,” some 200 workers at Horizon House Buildings and their supporters rallied here Jan. 29 in a fight for a new contract.…


Virginia teachers march over low wages, school conditions

Vol. 83/No. 6 - February 11, 2019
Jan. 28 protest by thousands of Virginia teachers, other school workers and their supporters. Since 2008 state has cut thousands of teaching and school positions while enrollment soared.

RICHMOND, Va. — Thousands of red-jacketed teachers, other school workers and their supporters rallied at the state Capitol here Jan. 28 protesting both the long-standing decline of the schools and state government budget cuts that slashed school funding, building maintenance…


Coal miners face rise in scourge of deadly black lung disease

Vol. 83/No. 6 - February 11, 2019

Black lung disease is on the rise among coal miners throughout Appalachia, with the most deadly forms now affecting a younger generation of miners. Facts about this debilitating and deadly disease were highlighted in an NPR/Frontline program “Coal’s Deadly Dust”…


Los Angeles teachers won with broad strike support

Fight inspires teachers in Denver, Virginia, Oakland
Vol. 83/No. 5 - February 4, 2019
Teachers picket Dorsey High School in Los Angeles Jan. 17 before strike settled. Capitalist rulers there underestimated widespread support teachers strike got from working people.

LOS ANGELES — A spirited and popular six-day strike by more than 30,000 teachers here ended Jan. 22 after a majority voted to approve a new contract. Teachers won widespread support from students, parents and other workers as they demonstrated…