Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

People's Struggles

By Jose Maria Sison

Jose Maria Sison and Ramsey Clark

I wish to convey my sincerest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of my friend and legal counsel William Ramsey Clark who passed away last April 9, 2021. I have the highest regard for him as a champion of human rights, a staunch defender of the people’s right to national and social liberation, a fierce advocate of just peace and a resolute opponent to the imperialist policies and wars of aggression of the US.

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By Jose Maria Sison

Jose Maria Sison and Ramsey Clark

I wish to convey my sincerest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of my friend and legal counsel William Ramsey Clark who passed away last April 9, 2021. I have the highest regard for him as a champion of human rights, a staunch defender of the people’s right to national and social liberation, a fierce advocate of just peace and a resolute opponent to the imperialist policies and wars of aggression of the US.

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By staff

Chicago, IL – Over the weekend of April 11, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) was in bargaining with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) over the reopening of high schools in Chicago. The areas of disagreement revolve around accommodations for vulnerable teachers, scheduling to keep staff and students safe, remote work, and access to vaccines for students and family.

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By staff

On March 30 voting ended for Amazon workers who were hoping to join the Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union (RWDSU) at the Bessemer Alabama Distribution Center. While the mail-in vote ended on March 30, the vote count took over a week to complete, and included hundreds of challenged ballots, mostly from Amazon challenging the vote. In the end, the union lost the vote by more than a two-to-one margin, with 738 workers voting to unionize and 1798 voting not to.

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By staff

Chicago, IL – Last week, Black labor leaders representing seven unions with a combined membership of 126,000 members, most of whom live in the city of Chicago, published a statement, “Community and Faith Leaders Support the Empowering Communities for Public Safety Ordinance (ECPS).”

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By staff

Oshkosh, WI – On April 12, people from the city of Oshkosh came out in outrage against the murder of 20-year-old Daunte Wright at the hands of Kim Potter, a police officer from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. The shooting that occurred took place less than ten miles from the location where Derek Chauvin, a police officer from Minneapolis, murdered George Floyd. Chauvin’s trial is ongoing.

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By staff

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Brooklyn Center, MN – More than 1500 rallied in front of the police station on the evening of April 12, demanding justice for Daunte Wright, a young Black man murdered by police. Authorities, fearing another rebellion, have deployed the National Guard to the area, declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in three Twin Cities metro area counties.

#BrooklynCenterMN #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #DaunteWright

By staff

Tampa FL – On Saturday April 10, a crowd of 40 people gathered at Curtis Hixon Park to fight back against the Florida anti-protest bill (HB1/SB484). The bill bypassed one state senate sub-committee hearing and it passed the Appropriations Committee on Friday.

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By Redacción

Elvira Arellano

Los Angeles, CA – El 8 de abril, se llevó a cabo una conferencia de prensa con familias inmigrantes y Centro CSO pidiendo al presidente Joe Biden que avance con un plan para otorgar estatus legal a a los más de 12 millones de indocumentados que viven y trabajan en los Estados Unidos. Residentes indocumentados con miembros del Centro CSO se les unió Tanya Lozano, con la delegación del Derecho a la Familia de Chicago. Es hija de Emma Lozano, quien lanzó las mega marchas de 2006. También habló en la conferencia de prensa la activista por los derechos de los inmigrantes de Chicago, Elvira Arellano. Hace años, Arellano se refugió en una iglesia de Chicago para oponerse a su deportación y ayudó a iniciar el movimiento santuario en los Estados Unidos. Carlos Montes, un activista de derechos humanos Chicano local de Boyle Heights, habló y pidió marchas masivas y unidad para exigir la legalización para todos. Montes también denunció los homicidios policiales de Afro-Americanos  y Chicanos, especialmente por parte del departamento del alguacil de Los Ángeles con sus letales pandillas de agentes.

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By staff

Elvira Arellano, immigration advocate joined Centro CSO members and Boyle Height

Los Angeles, CA – On April 8, a press conference was held with immigrant families and Centro CSO calling on President Joe Biden to move forward with a plan to grant legal status to the over 12 million undocumented living and working in the U.S.

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By Rory Donovan

![Milwaukee SDS demands community control of police.](https://i.snap.as/IvyYrvWt.jpg “Milwaukee SDS demands community control of police. Milwaukee SDS demands community control of police.

(Fight Back! News/staff)”)

Milwaukee, WI – On the evening of April 9, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally at Spaights Plaza at UW-Milwaukee to call for a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) in Milwaukee and renew their demands to defund campus police and refund programs that support students.

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By staff

Workers picket at Allina in run up to possible strike.

Minneapolis, MN – On April 7 in Minneapolis, around 500 SEIU Healthcare Minnesota members who work at Allina’s Abbott Northwestern Hospital picketed for around three hours. They have been bargaining for their next contract and have now authorized a strike across all eight Allina Hospitals by an overwhelming majority. The union members are demanding pay increases and financial recognition for working as essential workers through a global pandemic.

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By staff

Chicago, IL – Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has acknowledged that cases on COVID-19 are on the rise again in Chicago, yet she is sticking to her plan to reopen Chicago high schools in two weeks, without addressing ongoing safety concerns from teachers and from the community.

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By staff

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Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by the #ByeBrannigan campaign. On Tuesday, April 6th, 2021, the #ByeBrannigan campaign, led by Arab community organizers of the southwest suburbs of Chicago, mobilized hundreds of Palestinians, Yemenis, and other Arabs to the polls to defeat the racist Sharon Brannigan, who lost the race for Palos Township Assessor in a landslide to incumbent Robert Maloney.

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By staff

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San Jose, CA – On Sunday, April 11, at 2 p.m. Pacific / 5 p.m. Eastern, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization is hosting an online program about the wave of violence against Asian Americans; violence which led to the recent massacre of eight people, six of whom were Asian American women near Atlanta, Georgia.

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By mick

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Minneapolis, MN – In just a few weeks, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) Spring Fundraising campaign has netted more than $20,000. FRSO has grown rapidly in this past year and will use the funds to establish a national office.

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By staff

Tuscaloosa, AL – On April 2 around 10 p.m., more than 1100 workers at the Warrior Met Coal mine in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, who are members of the United Mine Workers of America, walked off the job and began an ongoing strike. The strike includes workers from all of the plant’s areas of operation, which include the #4 mine, the #5 preparation plant, the #7 mine as well as its central shop.

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By Eric Struch

Chicago protest against anti-Asian attacks.

Chicago, IL – The racist March 16 murders of Soon Chung Park, Juncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Paul Andre Michels, Hyun Jung Grant, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng and Delaina Ashley Yaun in Atlanta, Georgia have caused a wave of revulsion and anger among the people, especially in the Asian community. The mainstreaming of extreme right-wing politics in the past decade, as the crisis of monopoly capitalism has continued to unfold, coupled with the bipartisan attacks against socialist China and People’s Korea set the stage for this deadly attack.

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By staff

Chicago, IL – On April 2, Illinois Governor Jay Pritzker signed a bill, in opposition of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, that restores bargaining rights for Chicago teachers over a wide variety of issues that affect teachers and students in Illinois. This bill repeals a previous law from 1995 that limited the teachers’ rights to bargain over things like class size, layoffs, the timing of the school year, and other things. The previous bill had given power over the school district over to the mayor and ultimately was part of setting up disputes between the Chicago teachers Union (CTU) and previous Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, as well as current Mayor Lori Lightfoot, that led to multiple teachers strikes in Chicago.

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By Communist Party of the Philippines

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following April 1 statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines.

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