Patients die as ‘private equity’ hospital bosses rake in profits

Vol. 88/No. 11 - March 18, 2024
Sungida Rashid gave birth at Boston’s St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, above, last October, but began bleeding. Machine that could have saved her had been repossessed as bosses hadn’t paid for it. The center is run by Steward, largest private, for-profit hospital system in U.S.

The joy felt by Sungida Rashid and her husband, Nabil Haque, a couple who had just become new parents, was short-lived. Within hours of giving birth to a daughter at Boston’s St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center last October, Rashid began bleeding.…


Rail unions push for steps needed to prevent more East Palestines

Vol. 88/No. 8 - February 26, 2024

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — For rail workers, “East Palestine was no surprise,” Jared Cassity, director of safety for the SMART-TD rail workers union, told a video conference of rail union officers two days before the Feb. 3 one-year anniversary of…



Panel blown off Boeing airplane shows need to end profit system

Vol. 88/No. 4 - January 29, 2024
Door-size panel tore off Alaska Airlines plane Jan. 5, forcing emergency landing in Portland, Oregon. Threat to passengers, crews is a result of the bosses’ insatiable drive for profits.

The near disaster when a door-sized panel on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jet ripped off in midflight Jan. 5 exposes once again how the bosses’ drive for profits above all else comes at the expense of safety…


Derailment at CSX, toxic fire create crisis in Kentucky town

Vol. 88/No. 1 - January 1, 2024

LIVINGSTON, Ky. — “The smoke was so thick you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face,” said Andrea Johnson. “I’ve had migraines, sores in my nose and throat, and stomach pain.”  Johnson and other workers who live in…


Life expectancy continues to fall, workers face health crisis

Vol. 87/No. 39 - October 23, 2023

Declining life expectancy in the U.S. — now at its lowest point in over 25 years — is a product of the deepening social and moral crisis of capitalism today. Working people find themselves unable to afford decent medical treatment…


Miners face rise in black lung as bosses reap profits

Vol. 87/No. 36 - October 2, 2023

Black lung, a devastating and often fatal disease caused by prolonged exposure to dust that scars lung tissue, has been on the rise among coal miners over the past two decades, as the bosses’ drive for profits comes at the…


Bosses drive for profits, rail workers lose lives and limbs

Vol. 87/No. 32 - August 28, 2023
Rail workers picket North American Rail Shippers’ Kansas City conference, May 2022, during contract negotiations. Four rail workers have been killed on the job in the last seven weeks.

Since the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment and fires contaminated East Palestine, Ohio, working people everywhere have been paying attention to the job conditions and life disruptions the bosses’ drive for profits inflicts on rail workers and their families. During…


New report shows rail bosses caused East Palestine disaster

Vol. 87/No. 31 - August 21, 2023
Uncontrolled toxic fire instigated by Norfolk Southern bosses after derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, six months ago prioritized getting trains running as opposed to safety of area residents.

LINCOLN, Neb. — Aug. 3 marked six months to the day that 150-car Norfolk Southern train 32N derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, causing a social disaster. The train was almost 2 miles long, weighing 18,000 tons. The derailment dumped 50…


Residents, rail unions fight for control over safety, health

Vol. 87/No. 29 - August 7, 2023
Protesters in Lisbon, Ohio, July 22, demand lifelong Medicare coverage for residents in area of East Palestine stricken ill from Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment and toxic burn-off.

LISBON, Ohio — Residents of this area around East Palestine, who continue to be affected by the toxic chemicals released by the Norfolk Southern derailment and burn-off Feb. 3, and rail workers across the country are continuing to fight for…