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Category: Strategize!

  • How Rank-And-File Democracy Transformed The Teamsters And UAW

    It’s well known in labor circles that the 2020’s opened with a tremendous resurgence of rank-and-file activism in the workplace. Beginning with 2021’s “Striketober” and sparked initially by the hardships of the pandemic and emboldened by the labor shortages that followed, that upsurge targeted union and nonunion workplaces alike. Among the collective bargaining breakthroughs in already unionized workplaces, two of the most important involved the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and the United Auto Workers (UAW). In 2023, the IBT won a historic contract with its largest employer, UPS, without having to follow through on its threat to strike.

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  • Speak, Claudia!

    Lago de Chapala, Mexico—Watching that procession of hapless European supplicants passing through the Oval Office this week, my mind wandered briefly and came back with an imaginary scene I found pleasurable and instructive all at once: What if Claudia Sheinbaum went to see President Trump right after Andrzej Duda, the ineffectual Polish president, Emmanuel Macron, the ineffectual French president, and Keir Starmer, the hopelessly ineffectual British prime minister?

    What a kick. The spirited, self-possessed Mexican president, who took office but five months ago, would have put on full display—I am sure of this—the dynamism of an emergent generation of non–Western leaders right next to three exemplars of the wilting, wandering West.

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  • ICE Reopens Detention Center As Part Of Trump’s War On Immigrants

    The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed the impending reopening of Delaney Hall, an ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey. The movement for immigrant rights had previously shut down the center. It will be the first expansion of ICE detention centers under the second Trump presidency. This comes after a high profile ICE raid in Newark. ICE has also been conducting raids throughout Hudson County. The fight against ICE in New Jersey is becoming more urgent.

    Delaney Hall has a capacity of 1,000 beds. Private prison company GEO Group signed a 15-year contract worth roughly $1 billion, to run the 1,000-bed detention center.

    The post ICE Reopens Detention Center As Part Of Trump’s War On Immigrants appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • I Am Seeking A Discharge From The US Military Over The Gaza Genocide

    My name is Joy Metzler, and I am an active duty Air Force lieutenant, looking to gain a conscientious objector discharge. This decision is largely due to my horror over the continued U.S. support of the genocide in Gaza in direct violation of many of the same laws and values I was taught about at the Air Force Academy.

    I am waiting for my package to be approved, but I have been vocal about my opposition to U.S. policy in Gaza. Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation a year ago started me on my journey, and on the anniversary of his death, I feel the weight of our country’s crimes more heavily than ever.

    The post I Am Seeking A Discharge From The US Military Over The Gaza Genocide appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Is Trump ‘Making America Affordable Again’?

    US President Trump ran his campaign on a pledge to “make America affordable again,” following the inflationary crisis during Biden’s administration. But since the beginning of his presidency, the cost of living crisis, including the cost of staple grocery items and rent, has persisted.

    Peoples Dispatch spoke to economist Richard Wolff, who outlined that “prices are shaped by many factors, and only a few of those are under the control of any president.”

    “Trump did what American politicians usually do, which is take a cheap shot at his political enemies by blaming them for something bad going on in this case, inflation,” Wolff said.

    The post Is Trump ‘Making America Affordable Again’? appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Targeted Postal Workers Are A Bellwether For All US Unions

    The Trump administration has set its sights on the U.S. Postal Service and its 600,000 workers, 91 percent of whom are union members. The USPS is the nation’s largest unionized employer.

    Postal workers like me are raising the alarm. If any agency should be immune to political meddling, it’s the USPS. The Postal Service’s role is outlined in the U.S. Constitution. The 1970 Postal Reform Act establishes postal workers’ right to collective bargaining and to filing with the NLRB. If the Trump administration thinks it can interfere in this unionized workplace, no worker is safe.

    The post Targeted Postal Workers Are A Bellwether For All US Unions appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • International Solidarity Is The Union Answer To Tariffs And Deportations

    United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain has recently expressed the UAW’s readiness to “work with Trump on trade.” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien spoke on a podcast against “illegal immigrants that come into our country to commit crimes and steal jobs.”

    But based on my experience, in the long run, international solidarity is the only way we can build working-class power.

    Demagogues like Trump have often exploited the protectionist and anti-immigrant sentiments that have been widespread in American labor for generations. A working class that is divided, both within the U.S. and across North America, is easier to exploit. Corporations have greatly profited from our divisions over the three decades since NAFTA was enacted.

    The post International Solidarity Is The Union Answer To Tariffs And Deportations appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Action On Climate Change May Look Different Than You Expect

    Talk a walk through the Los Angeles’ Arts District, and you’ll learn that there’s nothing contradictory about trying to save the world and living a luxury lifestyle. Start your tour with the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), which proudly displays a banner stating: “the future begins here.”

    LACI is “a non- profit organization creating an inclusive green economy” and run “by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs.” They are also supported by a “community” that includes not only the City of Los Angeles but also BMW, Wells Fargo, United Airlines, and JPMorgan Chase.

    The post Action On Climate Change May Look Different Than You Expect appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • For Workers, There’s Nowhere To Go

    When Connor Hovey began talking to his co-workers at Trader Joe’s in Louisville about forming a union, he knew it wouldn’t be easy. What he didn’t expect was that the campaign would transform from a marathon into a race without a finish line.

    Two years after Hovey and his co-workers won a union election in Louisville, their fight for union representation remains in limbo. The grocery chain with a progressive reputation filed six objections with the National Labor Relations Board after workers voted 48 to 36 to join Trader Joe’s United, an independent union.

    The post For Workers, There’s Nowhere To Go appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • How Movements Can Make Courts Play A Role In Defending Democracy

    Courts are often seen as a last line of defense for democracy. In the month since Donald Trump took office, over 60 legal challenges have been filed against his administration’s executive actions. Yet many Americans are concerned with how U.S. courts will fare in the new tests to their role as defenders of democracy. What if the courts are compromised or politicized? Do they still have a role and can they still be influenced?

    In my country, Zimbabwe, our parliament is gearing up to change the Constitution to extend the president’s term of office (and its own term) indefinitely, effectively abolishing the need for future elections.

    The post How Movements Can Make Courts Play A Role In Defending Democracy appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • We Want To Build Communities Of Readers

    There are days when the dusk of events settles heavily on me, and I try to find a way to retreat into a quiet corner and throw myself into the world of a book. It does not matter if it is a novel or a history book, as long as the author is able to conjure up a world that transports me from the flood of brutalities to an island of imagination. In recent months, I have been reading more and more novels – including Japanese crime fiction, a notable favourite – and finding in them characters with whom I can sometimes laugh and sometimes frown in bewilderment. Madness is not new to our world. It has been there before.

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  • China’s AI Breakthroughs Show It Is Outcompeting Monopoly Capitalism

    The Chinese company DeepSeek has made a major breakthrough in the development of artificial intelligence (AI), with the release of its deep learning model R1. As the Financial Times put it, “With DeepSeek, China innovates and the US imitates”.

    Until now, the West had deemed China incapable of innovation, and Western monopoly capitalism was considered the summit of technological development. China has quietly and gradually overcome not only crucial internal contradictions but, above all, impediments imposed by the West that sought to curb its development.

    The post China’s AI Breakthroughs Show It Is Outcompeting Monopoly Capitalism appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Trump Or Not, Africa Must Take Charge Of Its Future

    For decades, Africa’s relationship with the US has been shaped largely by foreign aid, security partnerships, and economic ties that have fostered dependence rather than mutual benefit. Now, under Trump’s “renewed” leadership, this dynamic is being called into question, especially as his policies begin to impact critical sectors such as health, education, and security, causing unease across the continent.

    On January 20, Trump announced a 90-day freeze on USAID funding, halting essential services and sparking outrage across the world.

    The post Trump Or Not, Africa Must Take Charge Of Its Future appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Malcolm X, Black Nationalism And The Cold War

    During his stay in prison in the state of Massachusetts between 1946-1952, Malcolm X began to reflect seriously on his life’s mission.

    He would join the Nation of Islam (NOI) after being urged to do so by four siblings, a fact documented in a series of letters archived in his Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) files which contained tens of thousands of pages.

    In extensive letters written to his brothers he strongly stated that his future career would be preaching the religious beliefs enunciated by Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam.

    The post Malcolm X, Black Nationalism And The Cold War appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • The US Can Learn From South Koreans Who Stopped An Authoritarian

    As Elon Musk and his DOGE team set about dismantling government agencies, many Americans expected a strong response from Congressional Democrats. Instead, party leaders offered weak statements and little resistance to being refused entry to the very agencies they are tasked with overseeing.

    This lack of urgency amid what’s being called an administrative coup stoked a wave of angry calls to “do more.” In their outrage on social media, many pointed to decisive action taken by politicians in other countries facing crisis. For example, someone on BlueSky noted that “South Korean politicians were literally scaling fences to protect their government,” while “our senators are sending out pre-scheduled tweets about the Super Bowl.”

    The post The US Can Learn From South Koreans Who Stopped An Authoritarian appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Trump’s Threats Expose Canada’s Utter Dependency On The US

    United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs against Canada are understandably causing much consternation and debate. Some business leaders are forecasting dire warnings, union officials are calling for retaliation and relief while also sidling up with their corporate counterparts to present a united front. But these developments are about much more than tariffs. Trump’s tariff plan exposes the perils of Canada’s dependency on the US and the price of integration within the American Empire.

    To discuss these issues, last week I sat down with Sam Gindin. For more than 25 years, Sam was research director of the Canadian Auto Workers union.

    The post Trump’s Threats Expose Canada’s Utter Dependency On The US appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • The Power Of Black Self-Defense In Lincoln Heights

    While there are endless think pieces written on the phenomenon of Donald Trump’s second ascendancy to the white house, working class Black people in a town near Cincinnati, Ohio took matters into their own hands and faced down a group of white supremacists. On February 7, 2025, a group of white men waving flags adorned with swastikas hung a banner from an interstate overpass between the towns of Evendale and Lincoln Heights which proclaimed, “America for the White Man.”

    It must be pointed out that the statement, while quite racist, is an accurate description of United States history and politics.

    The post The Power Of Black Self-Defense In Lincoln Heights appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • A Return To Basics: Rasmus, The ‘Neoliberal’ Turn, And Exploitation

    Instead of the conservative motto, ‘A fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work!’ they ought to inscribe on their banner the revolutionary watchword: ‘Abolition of the wage system!’ Karl Marx, Value, Price, and Profit

    Today, the point that Marx made in his 1865 address to the First International Working Men’s Association is largely lost on the trade unions and even with many self-styled Marxists. The distinction between the goal of “a fair day’s wage” and the goal of eliminating exploitation– the wage system embedded in capitalism– is lost before a common, but unfocused revulsion to the exploding growth of inequality. It is one thing to deplore the growth of inequality, it is quite another to establish what would replace the logic of unfettered accumulation.

    The post A Return To Basics: Rasmus, The ‘Neoliberal’ Turn, And Exploitation appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • A Return To Basics: Rasmus, The ‘Neoliberal’ Turn, And Exploitation

    Instead of the conservative motto, ‘A fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work!’ they ought to inscribe on their banner the revolutionary watchword: ‘Abolition of the wage system!’ Karl Marx, Value, Price, and Profit

    Today, the point that Marx made in his 1865 address to the First International Working Men’s Association is largely lost on the trade unions and even with many self-styled Marxists. The distinction between the goal of “a fair day’s wage” and the goal of eliminating exploitation– the wage system embedded in capitalism– is lost before a common, but unfocused revulsion to the exploding growth of inequality. It is one thing to deplore the growth of inequality, it is quite another to establish what would replace the logic of unfettered accumulation.

    The post A Return To Basics: Rasmus, The ‘Neoliberal’ Turn, And Exploitation appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • After Resounding ‘No’ Vote, Letter Carriers Should Go On Offense

    Members of the National Association of Letter Carriers have rejected a sellout tentative agreement by 71 percent, in a 63,680 to 26,304 vote.

    That’s a turnout of 48.4 percent—and more “no” votes than the total turnout of 63,452 votes for the last contract. This result is a rejection of the current national leadership and its approach.

    Hundreds of letter carriers joined the new network Build a Fighting NALC (BFN) in organizing the first real vote-no campaign in the NALC since 1978, working alongside the Concerned Letter Carriers and the Mike Caref for President campaign in a broad reform movement.

    The post After Resounding ‘No’ Vote, Letter Carriers Should Go On Offense appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Leveraging Public Funding To Strengthen Worker Protections

    Weeks into President Trump’s second term, everyday working people are already suffering the brunt of conservative attacks, from ICE raids and mass arrests to unlawful cuts to the federal workforce and the elimination of programs that expand and ensure equity of opportunity, bar discrimination, and reduce racial disparities. Most recently, the Trump administration has unleashed a broadside of attacks on federal workers and the agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board that protect them.

    Unions are one of the most effective institutions for reducing racial and economic inequality, protecting immigrant communities, and building worker power.

    The post Leveraging Public Funding To Strengthen Worker Protections appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • It’s Time For A United Front To Take On Billionaire Rule

    President Donald Trump relishes deploying the ​“weave,” his vulgar stream-of-consciousness spiels in which his vengeful fantasies and antipathy towards a cast of enemies become punchlines in an insult-comic routine. His far-right former adviser Steve Bannon has termed the Trump administration’s psychological warfare approach ​“flooding the zone.”

    ​“Every day we hit them with three things,” Bannon told PBS’s Frontline in 2019. ​“They’ll bite on one, and we’ll get all of our stuff done. Bang, bang, bang. These guys will never — will never be able to recover. But we’ve got to start with muzzle velocity.”

    The post It’s Time For A United Front To Take On Billionaire Rule appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • When They Tell You About Their Own, Believe Them

    There are periods in history… epochs, distinctive periods in time marked by notable events, that in many instances signal change. Columbus stumbling upon the Americas where Indigenous peoples had been living for thousands of years. The French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the invention of the semiconductor, WWII, the Civil Rights era, etc.

    In many instances, one may not realize that they’re living in the historic moment. It’s only upon reflection that you realize the significance of the time. There are other periods, I call them Oppenheimer moments, where you know that you are in the moment.

    The post When They Tell You About Their Own, Believe Them appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Federal Workers Can Defeat Musk’s Coup

    Who can stop Elon Musk? Even though it’s illegal for him to seize control of federal agency finances to slash the workforce, a Republican Congress is unlikely to assert its legally mandated prerogatives. Nor has any serious opposition emerged from the Democratic Party. And while the courts have paused some of this power grab, there’s no guarantee that our hyper-conservative Supreme Court will seriously oppose it. Moreover, Musk’s wrecking crew can impose a huge number of cuts while legal proceedings wind their way through the courts.

    The post Federal Workers Can Defeat Musk’s Coup appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • South Africa’s Long Road To Land Reform

    On January 23, 2025, South Africa enacted an Expropriation Act, updating the methods for land expropriation for the first time in fifty years.

    The new Act allows for land expropriation for public purposes and interests whilst introducing the possibility of zero compensation for expropriated land. Consequently, the Act’s scope has been broadened since its 1975 version. Land can still be expropriated for public purposes, such as constructing roads, an uncontroversial and universally accepted practice.

    The expansion of the scope to include public interest, however, also enables the Act to address a long-standing issue of land reform.

    The post South Africa’s Long Road To Land Reform appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • The United Kingdom Must Push Back Against Trump’s ICC Plan

    Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC), placing financial and visa sanctions on individuals and their immediate family who assist ICC investigations against Israelis and Americans.

    The Executive Order comes after last week’s efforts to pass a bill entitled the ‘Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act’ in Congress. The bill hit a stumbling block when it received 54 votes in favour and 45 against, falling short of the 60 votes required for it to go ahead to a final vote.

    Instead, Trump has issued an Executive Order to implement the sanctions.

    The post The United Kingdom Must Push Back Against Trump’s ICC Plan appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Unionized Grocery Workers Are A Sleeping Giant

    In the first six months of 2025, grocery contracts covering over 130,000 union workers are set to expire. The contracts span five states, a dozen local unions, and several employers — namely the grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons.

    Kroger’s last, best, and final offer included abysmal wage increases, with thousands of workers offered $0.25 or less in the first year of the contract. It failed to address worker concerns over understaffing, low wages, two-tier discrimination, shorter wage steps, and protections from automation.

    Grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons’ $24.6 billion mega-merger was blocked in court after a coalition of UFCW and Teamster locals, including UFCW Locals 7, 324, 770, and 3000, organized a powerful “Stop the Merger” campaign.

    The post Unionized Grocery Workers Are A Sleeping Giant appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Socialism Or Barbarism: A Statement Of Fact

    Engels once said that capitalist society “stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism.”

    Commenting on these remarks during World War I, the great socialist Rosa Luxemburg said: “What does ‘regression into barbarism’ mean to our lofty European civilisation? Until now, we have all probably read and repeated these words thoughtlessly, without suspecting their fearsome seriousness. A look around us at this moment shows what the regression of bourgeois society into barbarism means. This world war is a regression into barbarism. The triumph of imperialism leads to the annihilation of civilisation.”

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  • We Are Stronger Than We Think

    The Trump-Musk administration has moved rapidly, ruthlessly and often illegally to consolidate authoritarian control and empower billionaires at the expense of ordinary people. In an administrative coup guided by Project 2025, the White House has sought to dismantle the separation of powers and deny critical services, punishing working people at home and abroad.

    Making good on his promises of revenge and retribution, Trump has sicced the Justice Department and IRS on perceived enemies, notably those who believe in a more diverse, equitable and inclusive America.

    The post We Are Stronger Than We Think appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Healthcare Workers Must Organize Collectively To Fight Trump’s Attacks

    We are a little over a week into the second Trump presidency, and it is clear: his administration’s policies are a direct assault on health and well-being. From freezing critical research funding and blocking access to Medicaid, to expanding ICE’s reach into hospitals and rolling back environmental protections, these attacks will cost lives.

    As we have discussed, trans and nonbinary people will face increased barriers to care, immigrants will be deterred from seeking medical attention, and entire communities will be left at risk of untreated illnesses and potentially preventable outbreaks.

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