The Independent Socialist Group (ISG) supports the 10,000+ members of the Boston Teachers Union (BTU) in their fight for a contract to improve staffing and pay. The union wants a $4/hr increase for paraprofessionals, who make under $30,000/year yet are required to live in Boston, where median rent is almost $4,000/month. Inflation has gone upContinue reading “Support A Strong Contract for the Boston Teachers Union!”
Category Archives: Issues & Struggles
No Summer Breaks for the Palestine Solidarity Movement
by Ben Desjarlais & Jacob BielskiSpringfield, MA Organize Protests to Pick Up Where the Campus Encampments Left Off! On April 17, hundreds of Columbia University students started a Gaza solidarity encampment after efforts to force divestment were answered by a crackdown on pro-Palestinian activity across the campus. University president Minouche Shafik called in New YorkContinue reading “No Summer Breaks for the Palestine Solidarity Movement “
Why Labor Unions and the Working Class Need a Workers’ Party
by Peggy WangMassachusetts Teachers Association/Association of Professional Administrators (personal capacity)Boston, MA Workers have been making headlines by unionizing, striking, and making militant demands. But winning first contract agreements is taking longer, corporations like Amazon refuse to negotiate at all, and only one in ten US workers are in unions. Corporations use their vast amounts ofContinue reading “Why Labor Unions and the Working Class Need a Workers’ Party”
Why We Need Public Ownership of the Railroads
Originally published April 2023. Updated April 2024. by Nicholas Wurst & Claire BaylerSMART-TD Local 1473 (personal capacity) & Railroad Workers United (personal capacities)Worcester, MA Check out publicrailnow.org and railroadworkersunited.org/support-public-ownership for more info. In October of 2022, amid the highly contentious battle over the Class 1 freight railroad workers’ contract, Railroad Workers United (RWU) adopted aContinue reading “Why We Need Public Ownership of the Railroads”
May Day 2024: The Labor Movement Needs Socialism
This article was originally published in Issue 17 (April-May) of Socialism Today. Pick up a copy today! International Workers Day is a socialist holiday started by US unions during the struggle for the eight-hour workday in the late 1800s. It was adopted by the socialist Second International in 1904 as a day to “demonstrate energetically…forContinue reading “May Day 2024: The Labor Movement Needs Socialism”
Freighter Collision Collapses Francis Scott Key Bridge, Fight for Workers Safety and Job Security
By Jacob Bielski & Claire Bayler (former Baltimore dockhand)Springfield & Worcester, MA On Tuesday, March 26th, the Dali, a 985-foot-long cargo ship, collided with and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which spans the outer Baltimore Harbor in Maryland. Authorities shut down traffic after hearing the ship’s mayday calls, but eight maintenance workers on breakContinue reading “Freighter Collision Collapses Francis Scott Key Bridge, Fight for Workers Safety and Job Security”
Government Shutdown and Debt Ceiling: What Workers Need to Know
B.W. Sculos & Ashley RogersRio Grande Valley United Faculty, TFA, NEA member (personal capacity)Edinburg, TX / Philadelphia, PA On March 8, the Senate postponed a partial government shutdown by passing another temporary funding bill continuing the 2023 budget. The threat of a government shutdown, including furloughs of many government employees and the closure of vital services, isContinue reading “Government Shutdown and Debt Ceiling: What Workers Need to Know”
Hundreds of Thousands Vote Against Gaza War in Democratic Primaries: A First Step Toward Breaking with Pro-War, Capitalist Parties?
by Jacob BielskiSpringfield, MA In protest of the Biden Administration’s support for the Israeli state’s invasion, bombardment, and starvation of Gaza, 101,067 voters cast “uncommitted” ballots in the Michigan Democratic Primary on February 27th. The campaign sparked a grassroots movement on Super Tuesday when 16 states and the US territory of American Samoa held theirContinue reading “Hundreds of Thousands Vote Against Gaza War in Democratic Primaries: A First Step Toward Breaking with Pro-War, Capitalist Parties?”
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2024: Solidarity with Gaza and all victims of war!
The potential power of working-class women in the US is huge. In the last 10 years we have seen mass demonstrations against Donald Trump, in defense of women’s and abortion rights, and opposing violence against women. Working-class women are playing major roles in recent strikes and unionization battles in the education, healthcare, service, entertainment, andContinue reading “INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2024: Solidarity with Gaza and all victims of war! “
2024 Elections: Any Way Out of Two Evils?
by Peggy WangMassachusetts Teachers Association (personal capacity)Boston, MA American workers face a rotten “choice” this November in the presidential elections. The majority of voters don’t want either a Trump or Biden presidency. Biden, Trump, and their corporate parties don’t represent a real choice for working-class people. Biden faithfully supports imperialist policies like sending billions ofContinue reading ” 2024 Elections: Any Way Out of Two Evils?”
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