United States
Over 700 Joliet, Illinois nurses go on strike for better wages and safe working conditions
By Benjamin Mateus and Kate Randall, 6 July 2020
Strikes of healthcare workers are part of a growing global response of workers across industries to the dangers posed by governments’ back-to-work drive.
The US COVID-19 toll to hit 3 million cases as Texas health system nears collapse
By Benjamin Mateus, 6 July 2020
The number of COVID-19 cases will reach 3 million today, and the pandemic surge is straining health systems across the south and southwest.
Over 300 children catch COVID-19 in Texas daycares
By Nick Barrickman, 6 July 2020
The number of COVID-19 cases among children and staff members has skyrocketed since the state began reopening facilities in May.
Trump rails against Marxism and “international socialism”
By Patrick Martin, 6 July 2020
With his campaign trailing in the polls, the US president is resorting more and more to openly fascistic appeals.
US labor secretary says “reopening” will proceed in face of surging pandemic
By Kevin Reed, 6 July 2020
Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia declared that “Our workplaces can be very safe places to be,” even as hospitalizations broke records in states across the country.
Two US aircraft carriers in war games in South China Sea
By Peter Symonds, 6 July 2020
The “high-end” exercises sought to test US naval capabilities in a conflict with China involving both offensive operations using war planes and defending the ships from any counter-attack.
Seattle protester killed after being struck by car driving wrong way on closed interstate
By Jacob Crosse, 6 July 2020
Police blamed protesters after a man drove into a peaceful demonstration early Saturday morning, killing one person and critically injuring another.
New Jersey growers refuse to test migrant farm workers for COVID-19
By Erik Schreiber, 6 July 2020
The decision not to test these laborers, many of whom have traveled from states with rising rates of infection, creates the conditions for a public health disaster.
The significance of the July 4 online discussion, “The Place of the Two American Revolutions: Past, Present and Future”
By David Walsh, 6 July 2020
The World Socialist Web Site marked the 244th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by hosting a discussion with five significant historians: Victoria Bynum, Clayborne Carson, Richard Carwardine, James Oakes and Gordon Wood.
As COVID-19 pandemic explodes out of control
Trump gives fascistic rant at Mount Rushmore event held in defiance of health experts
By Barry Grey, 4 July 2020
Trump sought to use recent attacks on monuments to leaders of the American Revolution and Civil War to brand protesters against police killings as "far-left fascists," while hailing the police and right-wing militia groups and pledging to crack down on opponents of his authoritarian and pro-corporate policies.
Millions in the US face catastrophe as federal unemployment relief set to expire amid surging pandemic
By Kevin Reed, 4 July 2020
The combined economic impact of the raging pandemic and the imminent cutoff of $600 weekly federal assistance is leading to a social catastrophe for millions across the US.
Bath Iron shipyard workers face stepped-up attacks as strike continues
By Shannon Jones, 4 July 2020
Management is mobilizing additional strikebreakers as the walkout by 4,300 workers at the Bath Iron Works heads toward its third week.
Riverside, California: HCA nurses strike continues as coronavirus takes its toll
By Alex Johnson, 4 July 2020
According to health officials, the confirmed active case count in Riverside bloated to 10,059 on Thursday, compared to 9,532 on Wednesday. The number of deaths due to COVID-19 stands at 465.
Southeastern US continues to mark substantial rise in coronavirus cases
By Cordell Gascoigne, 4 July 2020
As with much of the country, cases continue to rise rapidly across the region as a result of the push to reopen the economy in the middle of the still raging pandemic.
HPAE union betrays New Jersey nurses’ fight for PPE and better pay
By Erik Schreiber, 4 July 2020
New Jersey nurses must not allow their struggles to be strangled by the Health Professionals and Allied Employees union.
UAW and General Motors downplay outbreaks of COVID-19 at US auto plants
By Jessica Goldstein, 4 July 2020
As the UAW and auto corporations to play down the health crisis, workers’ anger is at breaking point as they demand the plants be shut down for their safety.
Residents of Sheboygan, Wisconsin protest police murder of man with mental illness history
By Jacob Crosse, 4 July 2020
Over 100 protesters took to the streets Thursday evening after Kevan Ruffin, 32, was shot multiple times by an unnamed Sheboygan police deputy earlier in the day.
Trump administration gives private equity firms access to 401(k) retirement funds
By Gabriel Black, 4 July 2020
The $7.9 trillion in 401(k) retirement funds will be used to buttress private equity markets and further enrich the financial oligarchy.
City University of New York lays off 2,800 adjuncts in wave of austerity
By Elliott Murtagh, 4 July 2020
These actions will have a devastating effect on the largest urban university system in the US, forcing faculty, students, and staff to bear the brunt of the current pandemic-triggered state and city financial crisis.
The two American Revolutions in world history
By David North, 4 July 2020
Today marks the 244th anniversary of the public proclamation of the Declaration of Independence, on July 4, 1776, which established the United States of America. It is not only the direct political impact of the document, but, rather, the principles it proclaimed that determined its world historical stature.
Neil Young’s Homegrown: Time capsule from the 1970s
By Kevin Reed, 4 July 2020
Canadian-born singer-songwriter Neil Young has released Homegrown, 45 years after it was recorded, an album of twelve songs that brings us back to his music of the early 1970s.
Why Canada’s media is fawning over the war criminal John Bolton
By Roger Jordan, 4 July 2020
Canada’s ruling elite wants a more stable and strategic-minded partner in the White House, who can more effectively employ intrigue, intimidation and war in pursuing their common imperialist agenda.
US unemployment rate dips, but millions remain jobless or face wage cuts
By Jerry White, 3 July 2020
Despite Trump’s claims that the “economy is roaring back,” joblessness remains at depression levels while the reopening of businesses has produced a surge of COVID-19 cases.
As pandemic accelerates in US, young people made the scapegoat of ruling elite’s malicious return to work policy
By Benjamin Mateus, 3 July 2020
The US continues to see a surge of new infections at an unprecedented rate with a single one-day high of 57,236 new cases.
“We are at our breaking point”
FCA Toledo Jeep workers support call for rank-and-file safety committees
By Marcus Day, 3 July 2020
Anger is reaching a boiling point over the refusal of management and the UAW to release information about COVID-19 cases.
Meat processing plants spread the coronavirus in North Carolina
By Rosa Shahnazarian, 3 July 2020
Both Democrats and Republicans are complicit in concealing the magnitude of the coronavirus crisis in and around North Carolina’s rural meat and poultry packing facilities.
Letter from a New York City transit worker on miscarriages and pregnancy on the job
By our reporters, 3 July 2020
A New York City transit worker has written in to the WSWS describing the atrocious conditions faced by pregnant workers at the facilities run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
US Fed official warns of potential for a financial crisis
By Nick Beams, 3 July 2020
Having boosted the wealth of the financial oligarchy, in the midst of economic devastation for working people, the Fed is actively considering giving the rich even more support.
An assault on separation of church and state as well as public education
US Supreme Court rules in favor of religious schools
By John Burton and Ed Hightower, 3 July 2020
Undermining the wall between church and state, the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot deny funding to religious schools, sweeping aside dozens of state constitutional provisions enacted to protect public education.
Jeffrey Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell arrested in New Hampshire
By Kevin Reed, 3 July 2020
Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in New Hampshire on Thursday and charged by a federal court in Manhattan with six counts related to her alleged collaboration with Jeffrey Epstein in a sex ring that involved girls as young as 14 years old.
Primaries show deepening political polarization in US
By Patrick Martin, 3 July 2020
While both corporate-controlled parties, the Democrats and Republicans, are moving to the right, the bulk of the population is moving to the left.
The New York Times fabricates Russian murder plot
By Patrick Martin, 3 July 2020
The Washington frenzy against Russia has been triggered by a lying propaganda campaign initiated by the New York Times.
Hands off Lincoln and the Emancipation Memorial! Defend the legacy of the Civil War!
By Niles Niemuth, 3 July 2020
The unanimous decision of the Boston Art Commission to remove the statue of Abraham Lincoln and a freed slave which memorializes emancipation is a reactionary assault on the progressive legacy of the Civil War.
The Last Dance: Basketball star Michael Jordan and professional sports in the 1990s
By Omar Ali, 3 July 2020
The recently released documentary miniseries The Last Dance chronicles the championship season of the 1998 Chicago Bulls, with particular focus on the figure of superstar Michael Jordan.
“The company is taking risks with the lives of 5,000 workers”
Texas GM workers demand closure of factory as COVID-19 cases surge
By Jerry White, 2 July 2020
Just days after Fiat Chrysler workers in Detroit halted production, GM workers in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area are demanding the closure of Arlington Assembly.
“Chrysler was telling everybody that it was safe to come back to work, and it’s not.”
Autoworkers at FCA Trenton Engine call for rank-and-file safety committees to fight COVID-19
By Tim Rivers, 2 July 2020
Autoworkers at the FCA Trenton Engine Plant south of Detroit called on their co-workers to build rank-and-file safety committees to fight the spread of COVID-19 in factories and save lives.
Workers in Germany express their solidarity with striking Fiat Chrysler workers
By our correspondents, 2 July 2020
The strikes at two Detroit Fiat Chrysler plants in Jefferson North and Sterling Heights against intolerable health and safety conditions for production workers have met with a powerful response from workers in Germany.
Senate votes unanimously to extend CARES Act loan program despite businesses' plans to lay off thousands more
By Jacob Crosse, 2 July 2020
The corporate-government fraud known as the Payment Paycheck Protection program has done little to stave off massive job losses or small business closures while large banks and well-connected industries have profited handsomely
Arizona Department of Health Services activates plan to ration healthcare for COVID-19 patients
By Benjamin Mateus, 2 July 2020
As the pandemic surges throughout Arizona, the governor is seeking emergency support from the federal government to supplement the beleaguered hospital staff in hard-hit counties.
As union works with companies to beat back wildcat strikes
UAW president meets with prosecutor to avoid government takeover
By Tom Hall, 2 July 2020
There are signs of growing pressure within the state to shut down the investigation, with officials worried that this airing of the union’s dirty laundry could serve to further encourage rebellion.
“It’s back to the way it was before I made things public,” says whistleblower
As flights increase, airline workers face more COVID-19 dangers
By Steve Filips, 2 July 2020
Even as the pandemic continues to surge, airlines continue to push for increased flights. American Airlines has resumed booking its flights to capacity on July 1. United Airlines, which never blocked out seats or limited capacity, will be adding 25,000 flights in August.
Riverside, California Nurses strike continues as ICU beds reach capacity
By Kevin Martinez, 2 July 2020
Nurses are protesting unsafe working conditions while county health officials announced this week that ICU beds were at 99 percent capacity
After multiple shootings and two deaths
Seattle police forcibly end Capitol Hill Occupied Protest
By Kayla Costa, 2 July 2020
The protest tent site was overrun by more than one hundred local police and FBI officers armed with heavy riot gear and military-grade vehicles.
As pandemic spread accelerates
Wall Street celebrates biggest quarterly surge in more than 20 years
By Nick Beams, 2 July 2020
In the course of less than three months, the actions of the Fed—its reduction of interest rates to zero and purchases of debt across the board, including junk bonds—have put $7.1 trillion into the hands of stock investors and speculators.
Reddit bans 2,000 communities in major censorship action
By Kevin Reed, 2 July 2020
On Monday, the news aggregation site Reddit banned the pro-Trump r/The_Donald and the left-radical r/ChapoTrapHouse, along with hundreds of other subreddits, in a censorship move aimed at satisfying the demands of advertisers.
Teen shot in back by Louisiana police, charged with resisting arrest
By Aaron Murch, 2 July 2020
Tre’mall McGee’s mother has been demanding answers from the sheriff’s office for three months to no avail, while the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office until recently has been concealing that there was a shooting at all.
The inequality pandemic: How American capitalism puts profits over lives
By Andre Damon, 2 July 2020
The resurgence of COVID-19 is the outcome of a policy, led by the Trump administration but supported by the entire political and media establishment, of subordinating society’s needs to the interests of the financial oligarchy.
SEP presidential candidates Kishore and Santa Cruz file federal lawsuit challenging ballot access restrictions in California
By Norissa Santa Cruz—SEP Vice Presidential Candidate, 2 July 2020
The Socialist Equality Party’s candidates argued in court filings Tuesday that the state’s requirement that the candidates gather 200,000 voter signatures is impossible to meet during the pandemic and a violation of basic democratic rights.
Workers, young people denounce undemocratic efforts to keep Socialist Equality Party off the ballot in Michigan
By our reporters, 2 July 2020
Workers and youth voiced support for the SEP election campaign in the United States.
Caterpillar slashes jobs in Illinois, rewards corporate shareholders
By Jessica Goldstein, 2 July 2020
Caterpillar is one of many US-based corporations that have laid off workers and cut jobs and pay since the pandemic took hold in the US, as it continued to pay out dividends to investors.
City of Chicago announces plan for mass arrest and detention of youth over holiday weekend
By Andy Thompson, 2 July 2020
The plan for arrest and jailing of teenagers comes as the Lightfoot administration has stepped up policing in wake of recent protests and as President Trump urges Democratic leaders in Illinois to take “decisive action” against gun violence.
Record 47.2 percent of working-age Americans without jobs
By Shannon Jones, 1 July 2020
According to the employment-population ratio, a more accurate measure of joblessness than the unemployment rate, a postwar record number of Americans were without work in May.
As COVID-19 infections explode in the US, Fauci warns of 100,000 new cases a day
By Barry Grey, 1 July 2020
Fauci's testimony underscored the grim reality that the pandemic in the US is now far more widespread than it was at its previous height in late March and early April.
030 US: HCA nurses strike
1 July 2020
New York City transit worker suffers miscarriage on the job
By Sam Dalton, 1 July 2020
Transit workers are outraged at the Transit Authority and the union after a conductor who was six-months pregnant lost a baby when she was forced to return to track switching.
US House passes Washington D.C. statehood bill
By Nick Barrickman, 1 July 2020
If made law, the bill would make the District of Columbia the country’s 51st state.
Pandemic profiteering: Gilead Sciences cashes in on COVID-19
By Bryan Dyne, 1 July 2020
Gilead’s declaration that it will charge over $3,000 per patient for the drug remdesivir sends a clear message that pharmaceutical companies plan to use the COVID-19 crisis to make billions of dollars.
210 Announcement of July 4 event
1 July 2020
New York Times’ Charles Blow demands the removal of monuments to Washington and other “amoral monsters”
By Niles Niemuth, 1 July 2020
The Times’ latest assault on the American Revolution is part of the effort by the Democratic Party and its operatives to derail the popular multiracial protests against police violence in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.
230 Poet in New York Times: "My Body is a Confederate monument" article
1 July 2020
“It’s up to workers to fight this virus”
Fiat Chrysler threatens to fire workers who stop production over COVID-19 concerns
By Jerry White, 30 June 2020
FCA’s threats come just days after workers at two Detroit area assembly plants halted production and set up rank-and-file safety committees.
Merkel, Macron promote EU militarism amid growing conflicts with Washington
By Johannes Stern and Alex Lantier, 30 June 2020
The leaders of Germany and France called for stepped-up military spending and austerity to ensure Europe’s ability to wage war independently from Washington.
South Carolina emerges as new COVID-19 hot spot
By Rosa Shahnazarian, 30 June 2020
The southern state was among the last to implement measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus and among the earliest to relax them.
US Supreme Court upholds abortion access, eliminates executive watchdog and opens federal death chambers
By John Burton, 30 June 2020
On Monday, the US Supreme Court issued a significant ruling protecting the right to abortion, but also strengthened the unitary executive and cleared the way for the first federal executions in 17 years.
US Supreme Court rejects environmental groups’ appeal to halt border wall construction
By Jacob Crosse, 30 June 2020
The appeal was rejected without comment by the justices.
Aurora, Colorado, police attack protesters after investigation reopened into 2019 death of Elijah McClain
By Matthew MacEgan, 30 June 2020
Aurora police fired pepper spray and smoke grenades on a vigil for McClain, which was attended by families and children a day after the governor announced a reopening of the state.
Detroit Police SUV plows through protesters, several injured
By Stephen Fuller, 30 June 2020
This incident is the latest in a series of vehicular attacks on protesters by police and right-wing individuals.
“Street medics” provide emergency care to US protesters injured by police
By Alex Johnson, 30 June 2020
”Street medics” have helped protesters cope with the effects of tear gas and pepper spray, broken limbs and injuries from “less-lethal” rounds of rubber bullets and bean-bag hits.
US regulator approves re-certification flights for Boeing’s deadly 737 Max
By Bryan Dyne, 30 June 2020
Not a single corporate executive or regulatory official has been prosecuted for the two crashes that cost 346 lives.
Michigan Governor Whitmer argues SEP candidates should have petitioned for ballot status during the peak of the pandemic
By Kevin Reed, 30 June 2020
Democratic Party defendants in the lawsuit filed by the SEP against ballot access requirements in Michigan have responded by arguing that supporters of Kishore and Santa Cruz should have endangered their lives and those of the public by collecting voter signatures.
Pandemic surpasses 10 million COVID-19 cases and over 500,000 deaths globally
By Benjamin Mateus, 29 June 2020
COVID-19 cases in the United States have careened out of control, with health care systems in Texas, Florida and Arizona nearing collapse.
Citing COVID-19 spread, EU denies US citizens entry to Europe
By Alex Lantier, 29 June 2020
The American ruling elite’s catastrophic handling of the COVID-19 pandemic is undermining Washington’s position overseas, with far-reaching implications.
COVID-19 cases surging rapidly in Florida
By Alex Johnson, 29 June 2020
The swelling of cases demonstrates the disastrous and homicidal nature of the back-to-work campaign and lifting of social distancing measures.
Arkansas continues to be ravaged by COVID-19
By Cordell Gascoigne, 29 June 2020
The state government has been pressing forward with reopening the economy at the expense of worker safety even as confirmed infections and deaths have been rising.
Trump retweets video of supporter shouting, “White Power”
By Jacob Crosse, 29 June 2020
Seeking to bolster an administration in crisis by appealing to the most backward and reactionary elements in society, Trump left the video on his timeline for over three hours before deleting it.
Republicans introduce Senate bill to abolish strong encryption on consumer devices
By Kevin Reed, 29 June 2020
Three Republican Senators introduced a draft bill that would force tech companies to decrypt private consumer data on-demand for law enforcement.
University of Michigan Flint cuts 41 percent of lecturers
By Sheila Brehm and Sam Wayne, 29 June 2020
“I think higher education is over for the working class,” sociology lecturer Laura MacIntyre told the WSWS.
Autoworkers initiate new wave of struggles in fight against COVID-19 pandemic
By Marcus Day, 29 June 2020
Workers are forming new democratic organizations in order to protect their lives.
Another anti-Russian smear from the New York Times
By Patrick Martin, 29 June 2020
The front-page article claiming the Russian government offered “bounties” for the killing of American soldiers in Afghanistan offers not a single fact to support its charges.
999 Poet in New York Times: "My Body is a Confederate monument" article
29 June 2020
One person killed in attack on anti-police violence protest in Louisville, Kentucky
By Warren Duzak, 29 June 2020
The suspected shooter, Steven Lopez, had been arrested by police earlier this month and was known to be in possession of a handgun and ammunition.
Work stoppages against COVID-19 spread to FCA Sterling Heights Assembly Plant
By Jerry White, 28 June 2020
On Saturday evening, workers at the Fiat Chrysler Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, just north of Detroit, refused to work after learning that a material handler had tested positive for COVID-19.
Nurses, farmworkers, autoworkers strike for safe working conditions
Detroit Fiat Chrysler workers halt production for second day to demand COVID-19 protection
By Jessica Goldstein, 27 June 2020
The mounting struggles by workers against the back-to-work drive highlight the immense power of the working class in the fight to halt the deadly pandemic and the corporate-government attack on jobs and living standards.
As pandemic rages, Trump administration calls on Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare
By Kate Randall, 27 June 2020
An overturn of the Affordable Care Act would wipe out health care coverage for as many as 23 million Americans.
New York City police commissioner defends vehicular assault on protesters
By Erik Schreiber, 27 June 2020
Secure in the knowledge that city and state officials will support him, Commissioner Dermot Shea testified that officers who drove into a crowd of protesters last month did not violate department policy on the use of force.
New York City officials accused of undercounting and mismanagement after dozens of homeless COVID-19 deaths reported
By Sam Dalton, 27 June 2020
A new report gives an insight into the consequences of the city authorities’ malign neglect as the virus spread amongst the homeless in the center of global finance.
COVID-19 cases rise in Louisiana but governor refuses to reverse economic reopening
By Emma Arceneaux, 27 June 2020
The state's Democratic governor says restaurants, cafes, bars, shopping malls, gyms and many other businesses can operate at 50 percent occupancy.
Dole Foods in Ohio hit by 230 COVID-19 cases as food processing plants globally are ravaged by infections
By Alex Findijs, 27 June 2020
Food processing plants around the world continue to be hit by mass infections, even in countries that had largely stopped the spread of the disease.
CIA releases TV recruiting ad for streaming video services
By Kevin Reed, 27 June 2020
The CIA has released a TV commercial portraying the agency as a diverse workplace and appeals to young people to become US spies.
Against public opposition, Michigan Democrats and Republicans push for unsafe reopening of schools
By Mitch Marcus, 27 June 2020
Both Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Republican-controlled legislature have fully committed to the reopening of in-person schooling, in line with the demands of automakers and other big businesses.
US professional sports confront an opponent that may be unbeatable: COVID-19
By Alan Gilman, 27 June 2020
Major League Baseball plans to begin play during the pandemic, but as with the other professional sports, and college football, the hope of resuming in the midst of the pandemic seems delusional.
Expand autoworkers’ struggle to stop the coronavirus and save lives! Form rank-and-file safety committees!
By the Jefferson North Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 27 June 2020
Autoworkers at Fiat Chrysler’s Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit are taking a stand to defend our lives and the lives of our families.
Contact tracing and capitalism’s response to the pandemic
By Benjamin Mateus, 27 June 2020
As the globe rapidly approaches ten million cases of COVID-19, the United States continues to ignore any public health measures to contain the pandemic.
YDSA develops ties with SYRIZA youth, Greek party of austerity and police repression
By Sam Wayne, 27 June 2020
Members of the Young Democratic Socialists of America have published a joint statement with the youth section of SYRIZA, the “Coalition of the Radical Left.”
Riverside Community Hospital nurses strike in California
By Kevin Martinez, 26 June 2020
Nurses in the SEIU have launched a 10-day strike to protest staffing cuts while their for-profit hospital chain has received government bailouts.
US Supreme Court rules recent asylum seekers have no right to habeas corpus or due process
By Eric London, 26 June 2020
As in Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Supreme Court made the most sweeping anti-democratic ruling possible.
Coronavirus spreads across US, surging to highest single-day count of new cases
By Kevin Reed, 26 June 2020
The number of newly confirmed coronavirus cases across the US set a one-day record on Thursday as the pandemic spread and surged in states in the South and West.
COVID-19 ravages southeastern United States
By Cordell Gascoigne, 26 June 2020
Nine states are facing rising infection and death rates due to the criminal negligence of governments from the Texas state line on the west to the Atlantic Ocean.
Another 1.5 million US workers file for jobless benefits
By Jerry White, 26 June 2020
The US Labor Department recorded a record fourteenth week in a row in which the number applying for unemployment aid topped one million.
Nurses and support staff at HCA Healthcare set to strike California hospital over cuts and PPE shortages
By Benjamin Mateus, 26 June 2020
One thousand nurses and support staff at HCA Healthcare are set to strike over concessions the hospital chain is demanding from frontline health care workers as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the US.
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