Fight Back News Service is circulating the following June 4 statement from the militant trade union Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU).

To mark May Day last month, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) dropped a new pamphlet aimed at the hundreds of thousands of people embracing socialism across the country. Titled Class Struggle on the Shop Floor: A Strategy for a New Generation of Socialists, the 24-page paper outlines the FRSO’s approach to unions, the labor movement and the fight for socialism in the United States.

Washington DC – On May 31, the United Steelworkers (USW) said that members of local unions representing more than 1,500 Alcoa (NYSE: AA) workers have granted their negotiating committee the authority to implement a strike if necessary at the company’s facilities in Warrick, Ind.; Massena, N.Y.; Gum Springs, Ark.; Point Comfort, Texas; and Wenatchee, Wash.

Minneapolis, MN – Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association held informational pickets, May 29, in their fight for a decent contact. Hundreds gathered at Fairview-Riverside and other hospitals to participate in huge picket lines, demanding that the issues of safety, benefits and wages are addressed. The existing contact will expire May 31.

Washington, DC – The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) filed election interference charges with the National Mediation Board (NMB) against Delta Air Lines, May 15.

Fight Back! Interviewed Ed Cubelo, the chairman of the Kilusang Mayo Uno, or May 1st Movement in Metro Manila, while he was in the U.S. on a speaking tour. The KMU is one the largest trade union federations in the Philippines.

Washington D.C. – An administrative law judge ordered a new union vote at a Kumho Tire factory in Macon, Georgia, after finding that company officials violated workers’ rights during the first election in October 2017.

Jacksonville, FL – The outcome of Jacksonville’s 2019 runoff elections looked remarkably like the general election back in March. Even fewer people participated in the runoff, which saw voter turnout sink from an already dismal 24% in March to just 14.35% two months later. By all accounts, Republicans came out on top. Dixie money ruled the day again, with the candidate who raised and spent the most money winning every single runoff.

Chicago, IL – Members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted May 19 to re-elect the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE) leadership slate, headed by President Jesse Sharkey, Vice President Stacy Davis Gates, Financial Secretary Maria Moreno, and Recording Secretary Christel Williams Hayes. The result was 66% for CORE, 34% for the challengers.

Chicago, IL – Members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted May 19 to re-elect the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE) leadership slate, headed by President Jesse Sharkey, Vice President Stacy Davis Gates, Financial Secretary Maria Moreno, and Recording Secretary Christel Williams Hayes. The result was 66% for CORE, 34% for the challengers.

Milwaukee, WI – For the past several months, non-tenured faculty and graduate students at Marquette University have been organizing to form a union. They held rallies, distributed petitions and returned to administration demanding to be recognized and negotiated with as equals. In response, Marquette's administration has offered empty promises to “follow the law,” and refuses anything further.

Chicago, IL – Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) members at charter schools are reforming the industry one charter operator at a time and that campaign won better working conditions for educators and better learning conditions for students at two charter schools run by Instituto del Progresso Latino. Teachers and support staff from two schools, Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy and Instituto Justice Leadership Academy, had been on strike against the charter operator since the end of the day on May 1. The tentative agreement was finalized just before 11 p.m. on May 6.

Jacksonville, FL – About 35 people gathered on May 1 to celebrate International Workers’ Day in Jacksonville. The rally was held in front of the Duval County Courthouse. Members of several local trade unions were present, including Letter Carriers, Teamsters, SEIU, Teachers, and IATSE. Other local activist groups included the Community Action Committee, Students for a Democratic Society, Progressive Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Network, the Northside Coalition, and the local Democratic Black Caucus.

Tampa, FL – Over 30 young workers, trade unionists and community members rallied May 3 to demand an end to attacks on public school employees in Hillsborough County and the state of Florida. The rally was organized by West Central Florida Future Labor Leaders.

Caracas, Venezuela – The delegation from Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) met with Jacobo Torres, May 6, the international relations coordinator for the Central of Bolivarian Socialist Workers (CBST) and a member of the international relations commission of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). He also is a delegate for the working class in the Constituent National Assembly (ANC).

Richardson, TX – About 60 people came together at Faith United Methodist Church here, May 3, for a community forum on the trafficking of Filipino teachers in the nearby suburb of Garland. The forum was hosted by Migrante USA, Malaya Movement Texas, United Federation of Fil-Am Educators Texas, National Alliance for Filipino Concerns, North Texas Dream Team, Pilipino American Unity for Progress, and RAICES.

To mark the May 5, 1818 birthday of Karl Marx, Fight Back News Service is circulating a work he authored in 1864, a statement of congratulations to President Lincoln upon his reelection.

New York, NY – On May 1, hundreds of people in New York City celebrated on International Workers’ Day. The day was kicked off in Harlem, where a rally for the laundry workers was held as they demanded better working conditions. The day continued at a Trump Tower on Wall Street. Hundreds gathered near the Stock Exchange under the banner “No walls in the workers struggle.”

Saint Paul, MN – Hundreds of immigrants, union members and activists marched to the Minnesota State Capitol on May 1, International Workers Day. They demanded that the state legislature pass a bill to give immigrants access to drivers licenses, without adding amendments to further criminalize immigrants. They also raised other demands for immigrant and workers’ rights while commemorating the workers who lost their lives in 1886 in the struggle for an eight-hour workday.