Global class struggle
Casualties of “herd immunity”: Three new teacher deaths in one week as US schools reopen
By Genevieve Leigh, 19 September 2020
The deaths are a direct result of the criminal actions by Democratic and Republican governors, as well as the Trump administration.
As American Federation of Teachers shuts down UM graduate student strike
Campuses across Michigan see dramatic spike in cases
By Joseph Lorenz, 19 September 2020
The decision to open campuses is part of the drive by governments everywhere in line with so-called "herd immunity" policies.
SUNY-Oswego forced into temporary shutdown of in-person instruction after spike in COVID-19 cases
By Alex Findijs, 19 September 2020
The campus in upstate New York is the second state university to be forced into a temporary shutdown this month due to the spread of COVID-19 cases.
Ford Kansas City Assembly workers launch Rank-and-File Safety Committee to save lives
By the Ford Kansas City Assembly Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 19 September 2020
Neither the UAW nor Ford has addressed any of the safety issues inside the Kansas City Assembly plant since production restarted in May.
“This district is not ready at all”
Teacher in Vancouver, Washington speaks out on school reopenings amid wildfires
By Evan Winters, 19 September 2020
Despite weeks of unhealthy wildfire-fueled air quality, the Evergreen School District is preparing to reopen elementary schools for partial in-person learning.
Union shuts down nurses strike at University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago
By George Gallanis and Fabian Salgado, 19 September 2020
The Illinois Nurses Association ended the strike without a new contract and isolating 4,000 staffers on the picket line.
New York yellow cab drivers block bridges to demand debt relief
By Shuvu Batta, 19 September 2020
Battered by crippling debt and collapsing demand for taxis, drivers staged a protest Thursday calling for relief from their enormous debt burden.
Build an independent action committee to defend jobs and wages!
Union suppresses criticism of job cuts at German steel producer ThyssenKrupp
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 19 September 2020
Major corporations, banks and hedge funds are using the pandemic to launch attacks on wages and jobs worked out long before the crisis.
Dominion grocery workers in Newfoundland in fourth week of strike for higher pay
By Carl Bronski, 19 September 2020
The 1,400 low-paid workers remain on strike against the Newfoundland subsidiary of Loblaws, Canada’s largest supermarket chain.
Australia: Ovato printing company demands more cuts to jobs and conditions
By Noel Holt, 19 September 2020
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union has “bent over backwards” to assist Ovato restructure its operations.
India: Chennai garbage workers strike; Sri Lankan bank workers protest over contracts; Australian waterfront workers walkout
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
19 September 2020
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Brazilian teachers call strikes against back-to-school drive
By Tomas Castanheira, 18 September 2020
Brazil’s fascistic President Bolsonaro declared: “We are the country with the highest number of days of lockdown of schools. This is absurd.”
New York yellow cab drivers block bridges to demand debt relief
By Shuvu Batta, 18 September 2020
Battered by crippling debt and collapsing demand for taxis, drivers staged a protest Thursday calling for relief from their enormous debt burden
Unite US, Canadian, and Mexican workers against all concessions and job cuts!
A call to action to Canadian Detroit Three autoworkers: Oppose Unifor’s nationalist pro-company strategy!
By WSWS Autoworker Newsletter, 18 September 2020
With their contracts set to expire next Monday, the urgent task before the 17,000 workers employed by the Detroit Three in Canada is to take the struggle into their own hands by building rank-and-file committees independent of the pro-company Unifor.
Network of Action Committees for Safe Education holds first online meeting
Stop the dangerous “routine operation” of schools in Germany! Prepare a nationwide general strike!
By our reporters, 18 September 2020
In his report to the meeting, SGP deputy leader Christoph Vandreier noted that infections have already been reported at over 1,000 schools and 300 childcare facilities across Germany.
Reject the AFT’s rush to vote on sellout contract at University of Michigan!
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality at UM, 17 September 2020
Now is not the time to back down! The struggle must be broadened to include undergraduates, staff, faculty and workers in a common struggle.
American Federation of Teachers shuts down University of Michigan graduate student strike
By our reporters, 17 September 2020
The end of the strike occurred less than 24 hours after the American Federation of Teachers assumed control of negotiations and produced an agreement that was virtually identical to the one overwhelmingly rejected just a week ago.
“We’re going to keep fighting”
Opposition mounts as thousands of University of Illinois at Chicago nurses and workers continue strike
By Kylie Rose, 17 September 2020
The university administration and the Democratic Party are increasingly nervous over the support striking workers have elicited.
Manchester Go North West bus drivers vote overwhelmingly to strike
By Dennis Moore and Robert Stevens, 17 September 2020
Workers in Manchester should emulate the move by London bus drivers at a number of garages, who this week set up the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee.
Faurecia Gladstone Rank-and-File Safety Committee calls for plantwide shutdown to guarantee safety during pandemic
By Faurecia Gladstone Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 17 September 2020
The Faurecia Gladstone Rank-and-File Safety Committee has issued a statement calling for equal treatment to protect against COVID-19.
University of Michigan graduate student workers’ strike at critical turning point
By Matthew Brennan, 16 September 2020
With threats of a court injunction and the taking over negotiations by the American Federation of Teachers, the strike by more than 1,200 graduate students is in danger.
Defying injunction threats, striking University of Michigan grad students call for “larger mobilization of working people”
By our reporters, 16 September 2020
Striking graduate students at the University of Michigan are continuing their walkout in defiance of the strikebreaking threats by top administrators.
Strike by University of Illinois at Chicago nurses and workers continues, as Illinois Democratic governor threatens to decimate state budget
By James Martin and Kristina Betinis, 16 September 2020
A virtual blackout of the strikes at UIC and its hospital in the national press indicates the growing fear in ruling circles over the development of working class opposition.
The political significance of the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee: “Change is coming in the working class”
By our reporters, 16 September 2020
The formation of the committee shows that bus workers are starting to draw a balance sheet from their experiences over the past six months and are ready to fight back.
London bus drivers launch rank-and-file safety committee to fight renewed threat from COVID-19
By the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 16 September 2020
“We are not cattle and will not be sacrificed to protect the profits of the corporations and banks who have made a financial killing during the pandemic,” states the resolution passed by the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee.
London bus drivers resolve to fight for Assange’s freedom
By the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 16 September 2020
The first action of the newly formed London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee was to pass a resolution calling for the defence of imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
999 Faurecia Gladstone coronavirus outbreak
16 September 2020
University of Michigan president seeks court injunction to force graduate student instructors back to work
By Sam Wayne and Genevieve Leigh, 15 September 2020
The University of Michigan is responding with a new round of threats and intimidation to the overwhelming vote Sunday by graduate students to extend their strike.
Four thousand University of Illinois at Chicago staff join striking nurses
By Kristina Betinis and Marcus Day, 15 September 2020
The now nearly 5,000 university health and staff workers are locked in a battle against the Democratic state leadership and must expand their struggle for health and safety.
Mounting opposition to school reopenings as 55 New York City teachers test positive for COVID-19
By Alberto Escalera, 15 September 2020
Public school educators in New York City have conducted protests and written petitions in the last several days to oppose the reckless reopening of schools by Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Protests continue against Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov
By Markus Salzmann, 15 September 2020
For over two months, thousands of people have been marching in the streets of Bulgaria almost every day in opposition to Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.
Working-class resistance mounts to back-to-work campaign
By Jerry White, 15 September 2020
On Monday, nearly 4,000 service workers at the University of Illinois walked out, joining strikes by 800 nurses at a UI hospital in Chicago and nearly 2,000 grad student instructors at the University of Michigan.
“In the end, it is all about profit"
University of Illinois Hospital nurses strike over staff shortages, unsafe conditions
By Benjamin Mateus and George Gallanis, 14 September 2020
UIH nurses in Chicago walked out Saturday to demand patient limits and safe work environments.
Wildcat strike over COVID-19 at Lear auto parts plant in Indiana
By Marcus Day, 14 September 2020
Lear workers refused to work for several hours Friday night after learning of potential COVID-19 cases in the facility, halting production also at the nearby Ford Chicago Assembly Plant.
Three postal workers test positive at UK Royal Mail’s Medway Mail Centre
By Paul Lee, 14 September 2020
The outbreak at the “state-of-the-art” delivery office demonstrates that workers’ health is being imperilled in an ongoing scramble for profit.
University of Michigan grad students set to extend strike as opposition grows to the US back-to-school drive
By Genevieve Leigh, 12 September 2020
Nineteen of the 25 hottest outbreaks in the US are in communities with colleges that have reopened for in-person learning, sparking growing anger over the homicidal back-to-school campaign.
University of Michigan strikers speak out: “We need to resist going back to normal. Normal no longer exists”
By our reporters, 12 September 2020
The strike is quickly turning into a focal point of a much broader opposition to the reckless reopening of both K-12 schools and college campuses everywhere.
“I don’t want to be a typhoid Mary!”
Jacksonville, Florida teacher speaks out against deadly school reopenings
By Nancy Hanover and Matthew MacEgan, 12 September 2020
A teacher in Jacksonville, Florida, reached out to the WSWS to speak about the spread of the coronavirus across the state just two weeks into the new school year.
Full classes, full buses—German schools are becoming a coronavirus trap
By Marianne Arens, 12 September 2020
With schools re-opening without social distancing and the wearing of masks, new infections are increasing. Throughout Germany, hundreds of facilities have been affected.
Mauritian cruise ship crews strike to demand repatriation
By Tom Casey, 12 September 2020
Mediterranean Shipping Company crews have been stranded on three ships near Santos port, Brazil since the industry’s COVID-19 shutdown in late March.
Infected students denounce administration guidelines, amidst rising COVID-19 cases at Southern California universities
By Melody Isley and Emiri Ochiai, 12 September 2020
Infected students report callous treatment from school administration, being thrown into isolation rooms without bed sheets, food or sanitizing equipment.
Amazon uses former government agents to spy on workers
By Shuvu Batta, 12 September 2020
A number of recent exposures confirm that Amazon has established its own secret internal intelligence agency to spy on its workforce.
University of Michigan graduate students take a stand for life against profit
By Joseph Kishore—Socialist Equality Party candidate for US president, 12 September 2020
Opposition to the resumption of classes at the University of Michigan is part of a broader struggle of workers against the homicidal policy of the ruling class related to the pandemic.
India: Petrol refinery and agricultural marketing workers strike against privatisation; Pakistani government workers strike against pay freeze
Workers Struggles: Asia and Australia
12 September 2020
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
University of Illinois Hospital nurses poised to strike over unsafe staffing conditions
By Benjamin Mateus, 9 September 2020
UIH nurses in Chicago are set to begin a week-long strike over unsafe staffing ratios, which have provoked several stoppages by nurses across the country during the pandemic.
Millions reject UK government’s return to work call as COVID-19 cases escalate
By Robert Stevens and Paul Bond, 5 September 2020
The response to the pandemic has been driven from day one by a “herd immunity” policy and indifference to the deaths of tens of thousands.
Germany is reopening all schools despite rising coronavirus infections
By Marianne Arens, 5 September 2020
The lockdown in the spring saved millions of lives throughout Europe, but now schools and day care centres are being reopened, despite the rising spread of infections.
Germany’s trade unions and municipalities prepare to slash wages of public service workers
By Peter Schwarz, 5 September 2020
The same politicians who were gushing in their praise for nurses, teachers, bus drivers and other public service employees who worked through the pandemic are now going to cut their already miserable wages.
“Workers must refuse to be sacrificed in the name of profits at the hands of the ruling class”
Florida parent denounces Osceola County public school system’s unsafe reopening
By the World Socialist Web Site Educators Newsletter, 5 September 2020
This letter was sent to the WSWS Educators Newsletter to expose the atrocious conditions facing educators, students and parents in Ocseola County, which stands adjacent to Disney World but has the worst-funded education system in Florida.
Management seeks to impose gag order on US postal workers
By Shuvu Batta, 5 September 2020
A leaked memo reveals new guidelines imposed by US Postal Service management to suppress information about internal conditions at post offices.
Unions enforce takeover of Virgin Australia by private equity firm
By Martin Scott, 5 September 2020
The deal offers workers no guarantees but promises to further enshrine the unions’ role as enforcers of management dictates.
West Bengal administrative workers strike; Maharashtra nurses hold state-wide protests; private sector nurses strike in New Zealand
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
5 September 2020
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
The global campaign to reopen schools and the international strategy of the working class
By Evan Blake, 4 September 2020
In a growing number of countries around the world, the drive to reopen schools has become the focal point of the class struggle.
GE Appliances workers in Louisville, Kentucky vote overwhelmingly to strike
By Zac Thorton, 3 September 2020
The company, which has remained highly profitable throughout the pandemic, is demanding the elimination of pensions and the maintenance of the two-tier wage system.
Teachers union and Democrats agree to resume in-person learning in New York City schools
By Jerry White, 2 September 2020
The deal that delays the opening by a week is aimed at countering the growing demands by teachers in the city and around the country for a nationwide work stoppage.
Second call-in meeting of the Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee attracts large audience across the US
By Renae Cassimeda, 2 September 2020
Educators and workers from New York, Florida, Michigan, Indiana, Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas, Arizona, California, Hawaii, and many other states, as well as Britain, Germany, and South Korea participated in the meeting.
Hundreds at University of Iowa stage sickout as COVID-19 cases skyrocket
By E. Cohen and Andy Thompson, 2 September 2020
The number of new daily cases at the school—home to more than 30,000 students—has remained in triple digits but the university continues to hold 25 percent of classes face to face.
Canadian Detroit Big Three autoworkers give strong strike mandate for upcoming contract fight
By Carl Bronski, 2 September 2020
Autoworkers are ready to wage a militant struggle in defence of jobs, wages, and working conditions, but they will need to break organizationally and politically from Unifor.
Australian “assembly” of university workers seeks to head off rebellion against NTEU
By our correspondents, 2 September 2020
The online event was an attempt to divert the growing rank and file disgust over the union’s role in volunteering unprecedented sacrifices of jobs, pay and conditions.
Trotsky’s Last Year
Part Five
By David North, 2 September 2020
An appraisal, on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of Trotsky’s assassination, of the work of the great theoretician and strategist of World Socialist Revolution during the final year of his life.
GM workers in Silao, Mexico, report eighth death from COVID-19, as corporation fires vulnerable workers
By Andrea Lobo, 31 August 2020
GM and the corporate-controlled Confederation of Mexican Workers have refused to provide workers with any information about COVID-19 cases in the plant.
COVID-19 outbreaks continue unabated at US schools, putting millions at risk
By Renae Cassimeda, 29 August 2020
The past week has seen a deepening of the disastrous crisis surrounding the reopening of schools, with significant outbreaks occurring in schools across the country.
“They should shut everything down again until they get the virus under control”
Mississippi bus drivers walkout as schools push ahead with unsafe reopenings
By Emma Arceneaux, 29 August 2020
Deplorable working conditions and an immediate reduction of hours and pay impelled 45 percent of school bus drivers in Columbus, Mississippi to walk out on Monday.
Students, teachers, parents and nursery staff in Germany oppose school reopenings
By Gregor Link, 29 August 2020
As the country’s various state governments rush ahead with the policy of opening schools, growing numbers are expressing their opposition to the move.
Attend the UK online education forum Saturday September 5, 2pm
Form independent rank-and-file safety committees of teachers, educators, parents and students! For a general strike against the reopening of schools!
Statement of the Socialist Equality Party (UK), 29 August 2020
The reopening of schools is based solely on utilising the education system as a childminding service to force parents into unsafe workplaces.
Government agency minutes reveal at least 40 active COVID-19 outbreaks at UK food processing plants
By Robert Stevens, 29 August 2020
The information is not available in the news section of the Food Standards Agency’s website or its social media accounts.
Tate UK strikers: “COVID-19 is being used to inflict a jobs massacre”
By Paul Mitchell, 29 August 2020
Strikers warn that the pandemic is being used to enforce unprecedented job cuts and further privatise the arts and culture sector.
Volkswagen to slash 35 percent of Brazilian workforce as jobs bloodbath hits auto industry
By Miguel Andrade, 29 August 2020
Twenty-eight thousand jobs have been wiped out since 2013, when the unions began pushing for systematic contract suspensions and bailouts for automakers in Brazil.
Thousands of workers strike at Indian arms factories; Indonesian police attack paper mill workers; South Korean doctors continue strike
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
29 August 2020
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Former UAW President Dennis Williams charged with embezzlement
By Shannon Jones, 28 August 2020
The indictment of Williams follows the conviction of former UAW President Gary Jones for stealing over $1 million from the union treasury for his own personal use.
Full transparency on COVID-19! Hands off Florida educators! Close schools now!
By Duval County Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, 28 August 2020
The Florida Department of Health issued a mandate Tuesday censoring COVID-19 data within Duval public schools while state officials threatened the jobs of educators who oppose the deadly school openings.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
28 August 2020
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute http://www.wsws.org/wsws/dd-formmailer/dd-formmailer.php to this regular feature.
After receiving $5.8 billion through the CARES Act
American Airlines announces 19,000 to be laid off starting October 1
By Jacob Crosse, 26 August 2020
As temporary layoffs become permanent, airline executives and their stockholders, with the invaluable assistance of the trade unions, are consigning thousands to destitution.
New York City preparing to lay off 400 EMS workers in advance of looming second wave of pandemic
By Ali Elhassan, 26 August 2020
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, is preparing to place the burden of the pandemic-triggered budgetary crisis on workers, including frontline health care workers.
Bath shipyard workers return to work after 63-day strike
By Shannon Jones, 25 August 2020
The International Association of Machinists reported 87 percent of workers voted to accept a new three-year contract containing a minimal wage increase that permits management to keep scab subcontractors hired during the strike.
NTEU appeals for negotiations after Australia’s Macquarie University announces massive job cuts
By a correspondent, 25 August 2020
The trade union has signalled its willingness to enforce sweeping job destruction, in line with its role an industrial police force of management.
999 Report on Educators R&F meeting
24 August 2020
“They are killing people to save money”
Fiat Chrysler, UAW conspire to keep workers on the job after exposure to coronavirus
By Shannon Jones, 22 August 2020
In order to cut costs and boost profits, management and the UAW are seeking to eliminate the limited and inadequate safety protocols put in place in May.
European countries force children back to school amid resurgence of COVID-19
By Alejandro López, 22 August 2020
The drive to reopen schools after the summer break continues unabated throughout Europe as the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates across the continent.
Nearly 300 workers infected in COVID-19 outbreak at Northampton sandwich factory
By Paul Bond, 22 August 2020
Northampton, already on a coronavirus watchlist, has the highest rate of new cases in England and could be subjected to a local lockdown.
Spanish unions agree to shut down Barcelona Nissan plants
By Alice Summers, 22 August 2020
The deal adds a further year to the ticking time-bomb of mass firings, postponing the approximately 25,000 job losses from the end of 2020 to the end of 2021.
Cornell residential advisors hold one-day strike over coronavirus safety as school reopens
By James Mullan, 22 August 2020
The strike action was spontaneously organized in response to the university’s reckless reopening plans that left RAs with larger workloads than in pre-pandemic semesters.
Wayne State University administration announces pay freezes and layoffs
By Valery Tsekov, 22 August 2020
The Wayne State University administration is using the crisis to push through long sought after “cost-cutting” attacks on workers and students.
Australian union cancels Sydney bus drivers’ strike
By Oscar Grenfell, 22 August 2020
The calling off of the stoppage is in line with the role played by the unions throughout the pandemic, in seeking to suppress all working-class opposition.
German Socialist Equality Party campaign against reopening schools finds significant response
By our reporters, 22 August 2020
The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei’s call to build action committees to prepare a general strike in Germany against the reopening of schools has been shared hundreds of times on social media and found thousands of readers.
CUPE union shuts down 12-day strike at Port of Montreal
By Laurent Lafrance, 22 August 2020
Yesterday’s truce agreement marks the final stage in the union’s efforts to end the strike as quickly as possible and betray the legitimate demands of the rank and file.
Pakistani university workers oppose job cuts; Offshore gas platform workers strike in Western Australia; New Zealand health workers protest
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
22 August 2020
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Millions of Indian workers strike to protest attacks by Modi government amid COVID-19 pandemic
By Wasantha Rupasinghe, 21 August 2020
Millions of workers have joined strikes and protests opposing the government’s attacks on their wages and working conditions.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
21 August 2020
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
The UAW at the Democratic National Convention: Gangsters and warmongers lock arms
By Tom Hall, 20 August 2020
The prominent role of the United Auto Workers at the convention underscores the reliance of the Democratic Party on the gangster-ridden unions to suppress the resistance of the working class to wage and job cutting and the homicidal back-to-work campaign.
Rank-and-file safety committees at Fiat Chrysler and Ford support campaign to defend victimized parts worker
By the Autoworker Rank-and-File Safety Committee Network, 19 August 2020
Newly-formed committees at Fiat Chrysler, Ford and Faurecia plants issued statements supporting James Grady, who was set up by the IBEW union and management and fired in mid-May from the Faurecia Gladstone plant in Columbus, Indiana.
Germany’s IG Metall trade union preparing to enforce jobs massacre and deep wage cuts
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 19 August 2020
Big business and the trade unions are exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to secure the upper hand in the global trade war by imposing savage attacks on workers.
220 Pseudo-left and the Commitee of Essential workers
19 August 2020
As Bath shipyard workers poised to vote, machinists union, management and White House praise sellout deal
By Shannon Jones, 18 August 2020
After more than nine weeks on strike against Bath Iron Works, the International Association of Machinists is recommending a sellout deal that will retain scab subcontractors hired during the walkout while abandoning victimized workers.
Hawaii schools to reopen August 17 as opposition grows
By Renae Cassimeda, 15 August 2020
In a fight for their lives and those of thousands of students, educators and parents oppose the new reopening plan that has students and teachers reporting to school sites for in-person instruction for one week prior to full distance learning.
Brazilian teachers report 36 COVID-infected schools after one week of classes in Manaus
By Tomas Castanheira, 15 August 2020
Virtually all Brazilian states and capitals have ongoing plans to reproduce the homicidal model of school reopenings in Manaus.
Workers denounce cover-up and intimidation around COVID-19 infections at Fiat Chrysler Belvidere plant
By Kristina Betinis, 15 August 2020
Belvidere workers continue to speak out against management and UAW concealing information and shaming workers for stating concerns as Boone and Winnebago counties launch investigation into the spread of disease at the plant.
UAW announces COVID outbreak at the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville with 32 new cases
By Steve Filips, 15 August 2020
There were 32 new COVID-19 cases reported last week at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville.
The Democrats and Republicans: Two wolves hunting the United States Postal Service
By Shuvu Batta, 15 August 2020
While they posture as defenders of postal workers, the Democrats have played a critical role in the privatization of the USPS and the decay of American democracy.
Report highlights super-exploited conditions of Australia’s casual university staff
By John Harris, 15 August 2020
Agreements imposed by the trade unions have led to soaring casualisation, underpayment and unpaid work, now worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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