Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

ChicagoIL

By Joe Iosbaker

Frank Chapman

Chicago, IL – The strains of the civil rights anthem, Oh, Freedom, rang out in Trinity Episcopal Church on Chicago’s South Side, Feb. 12, sung by Evangeline Jackson. Jackson, a registered nurse, is a leader in her union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1216. As a young woman in the South in the 1980s, her hospital was unionized with the help of Frank Chapman, a veteran of the Black liberation movement.

Read more...

By staff

Another legal defeat was handed to Donald Trump, Feb. 9, as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his administration's request for the reinstatement of the executive order banning immigrants from seven Arab, African, or Muslim-majority countries. Late last week, a Seattle judge had instituted a nationwide restraining order against the Muslim ban, which halted its implementation across the entire U.S.

Read more...

By staff

“No wall no registry, no white supremacy”

Enter a descriptive sentence about the photo here.

Activists in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago, rallied 400 people today, Feb. 4, to make their village a strong sanctuary. They urged the village trustees and mayor to keep their word and adopt a Welcoming Village Ordinance that would protect immigrants. The organizers opposed a previous proposal with deportation loopholes.

Read more...

By staff

Enter a descriptive sentence about the photo here.

Chicago, IL – For the second night in a row, protesters converged at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Jan. 29, to say no to President Trump’s Muslim ban. The protest was called by the Arab American Action Network.

Read more...

By Eric Struch

Enter a descriptive sentence about the photo here.

As Chicago Transit Authority president Dorval Carter continues the undeclared war against bus operators, train operators and mechanics that his predecessor Forrest Claypool started, Amalgamated Transit Union Locals 241 and 308 have begun to unite to fight back. According to a statement from the unions, “ATU Locals 241 and 308 represent the vast majority of CTA employees (almost 10,000), working without a contract since December 2015. The CTA refuses to take the vast majority of its workforce seriously. It wants to strip them of their hard-earned benefits and deny them wage increases. The CTA wants to continue with the insults and abuses.”

Read more...

By J Burger

Enter a descriptive sentence about the photo here.

On a bright, warm day, an estimated 250,000 people turned out for the Chicago Women's March. As supporters of the Women's March Chicago filled the streets, their number grew so large that event organizers canceled a planned march to the Federal Plaza. Thousands took to the streets anyway, raising their voices and chants for women's rights, immigrant rights, and against Trumps’ destructive agenda. Chants could be heard that women will not “go back,” they will fight back.

#ChicagoIL #LGBTQ #US #PeoplesStruggles #Elections #DonaldTrump #WomensMarch

By Joe Iosbaker

Palestinians joined with Black Lives Matter activists in the march against Trump

Chicago, IL – After a day of protests and walkouts on the campuses of DePaul, Loyola and the University of Illinois at Chicago, 5000 people rallied and marched back and forth across Chicago’s Loop, Jan. 20, in opposition to the racist agenda of President Trump.

Read more...

By staff

Enter a descriptive sentence about the photo here.

Black Students for Revolution (BSFR) led a student walkout from classes at the University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign (UIUC) in late October. They demanded an end to tuition hikes, increased retention and scholarships for Black, Latino and Indigenous students, and other progressive changes. They demanded the UIUC administration schedule a public town hall style meeting to discuss their demands, which Chancellor Robert Jones rejects.

Read more...

By Joe Iosbaker

Shutdown of store on Magnificent Mile protest police crimes

Chicago, IL – On Black Friday, Nov. 25, the busiest shopping day of the year, 500 people marched on the Magnificent Mile, Chicago’s upscale retail district, calling for a boycott.

Read more...

By Frank Chapman

“Trump is the way backward. We are the way forward”

Enter a descriptive sentence about the photo here.

We are circulating the text of Frank Chapman’s Nov. 19 speech at Chicago’s 25th annual People’s Thanksgiving event, hosted Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Frank Chapman is a veteran of the Black Liberation Movement. He was a victim of wrongful imprisonment as a young man, and then, like Malcolm X, George Jackson and others, became politicized in prison. His release was won through a political struggle led Angela Davis. From 1981 through 1989, Frank was the executive director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. In the past five years, he’s returned to that work, leading the campaign of the Chicago Alliance to win an elected, civilian police accountability council.

Read more...

By staff

Ninoshka Lozano

Chicago, IL – 130 activists from all the people’s movements gathered for the annual People’s Thanksgiving awards dinner, Nov. 19, hosted by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). The event is a fundraiser for Fight Back News and for Rasmea Odeh.

Read more...

By Eric Struch

Kenneth Franklin, 308 president  speaking at press conference

Chicago, IL – The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is sharpening its knives, ready to come after mechanics, bus and train operators in Amalgamated Transit Union Locals 241 and 308. According to 308 President and Business Agent Kenneth Franklin, there has been no contract since Dec. 31, 2015. CTA has been pushing for takebacks in every area in negotiations, and according to Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 241, the CTA “has evidenced no intention of reaching a fair agreement voluntarily.”

Read more...

By staff

Enter a descriptive sentence about the photo here.

Thousands of people are taking to the streets of Chicago tonight, Nov. 9, to express their outrage with president-elect Donald Trump. Trump is promoting racist anti-immigrant, misogynist and anti-Muslim attacks. Other protests are being planned across the country.

#ChicagoIL #US #PeoplesStruggles #Elections #2016Elections #DumpTrump

By Joe Iosbaker

Chicago marches on second anniversary of Laquan McDonald killing

Chicago, IL – 500 people marched on the Magnificent Mile the night of Oct. 22, to send a message to the 1% that backs Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Two years ago, racist cop Jason Van Dyke murdered 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. The protest was held to mark that anniversary. The marchers demanded “Justice for Laquan” and community control of the police through an elected, civilian police accountability council (CPAC).

Read more...

By Joe Iosbaker

Frank Chapman speaking at ILPS conference

Chicago, IL – “Right to Exist, Right to Resist” was the theme of the national political conference called by the International League of People’s Struggles (ILPS) – U.S. Chapter, held in Chicago, Oct. 22. ILPS is an anti-imperialist and democratic formation, which promotes anti-imperialist and democratic struggles of the peoples of the world. “We mobilized over 160 people from around the U.S. and Canada to discuss how to build the struggle against U.S. wars abroad and war on the workers and oppressed people at home,” said Bernadette Ellorin, national chairperson of BAYAN USA, an alliance of progressive Filipino organizations.

Read more...

By Joe Iosbaker

Enter a descriptive sentence about the photo here.

Chicago, IL – On Monday night, Oct. 10, just before the midnight deadline, the bargaining committee of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) tentatively accepted a new contract offer from management.

Read more...

By Chicago Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression (CAARPR)

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Oct. 6 statement from the Chicago Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression (CAARPR). Shame on City Hall as COPA Passes – Movement for CPAC Grows as Justice is Denied

Read more...

By Daniel Ginsberg

Chicago, IL – Workers fighting back against economic inequality have something to be hopeful about. One of the largest and most powerful unions in the country, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, will begin mailing ballots early October for members to decide the next general president. Those fighting against concessions to employers and looking for a stronger worker movement are uniting behind Fred Zuckerman and the Teamsters United slate, hoping to unseat long-standing General President James P. Hoffa, Jr.

Read more...

By Daniel Ginsberg

Teachers and supporters rally at Saucedo School during one day CTU walk out.

Chicago, IL – Reminiscent of four years ago, the streets of Chicago may again turn red as tens of thousands of Chicago teachers prepare to strike over a concessionary contract when negotiations end on Oct. 11.

Read more...

By Daniel Ginsberg

Chicago, IL – Los trabajadores que luchan contra la desigualdad económica pueden tener esperanza. Uno de los sindicatos más grandes y más poderosos del país, los Teamsters, comenzarán a enviar por correo las papeletas a principios de octubre a sus miembros para que voten por el próximo presidente del sindicato. Los que luchan contra las concesiones de los empresarios y que quieren un movimiento obrero más fuerte están uniéndose junto a Fred Zuckerman y la lista de los Teamsters Unidos, con la esperanza de desbancar al actual presidente del sindicato James P. Hoffa, Jr.

Leer más...