Chicago, IL – 200 people filled up the main hall of the Chicago Teachers Union headquarters on January 22 for a political forum in preparation for the local police District Council elections. There were over 50 District Council candidates in attendance, and other participants included alderpersons, union leaders and community organizers. Over 40 people of various ages, genders, and nationalities spoke at the forum, and they were all united behind the need to use the February 28 elections to create a base of power from which the working and oppressed people of Chicago can hold the police accountable.
Chicago, IL – On January 22, the United Faculty Union of the University of Illinois at Chicago ended a four-day strike, winning major improvements for the 1500 full time, tenured and non-tenured faculty represented by the union. The strike has brought more than 300 days of negotiations to a close.
Chicago IL -The United Faculty union at the University of Illinois at Chicago went out on strike, January 17. United Faculty (UF) represents the 1500 full-time tenured and non-tenured faculty at the university. The strike announcement comes after nearly 300 days of negotiations between the administration and UF.
Chicago, IL- 2022 was a banner year for the Venezuelan economy. The Venezuelan Central Bank recorded a 19% growth rate, while the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America put it at 12%. While inflation of food and gas prices ate at workers' income in the U.S. and much of the world this past year, Venezuela inflation was low compared with previous years. This is due to booms in both food and oil sectors in Venezuela owing to the ability of the Bolivarian Revolution to overcome U.S. sanctions.
Chicago, IL – This is the first day of 2023, after a year that has tested our movement like nothing in the last half century. We have a tradition to ring in the New Year with a review of what we accomplished in 2022.
I want all the revolutionaries and young freedom fighters who are members of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression to join us as we dip our banners of struggle for our dear comrade, Charlene Alexander Mitchell, who was born June 8, 1930, and died on December 14.
Chicago, IL – Chicago lost a well-known fighter for immigrant rights on December 11. José Sigfredo Landaverde was a priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe Anglican Catholic Church in Little Village. Padre Landaverde was also a friend of Freedom Road Socialist Organization. He died after a long battle with illness.
Chicago IL – On November 7, more than 30 activists from Students for a Democratic Society and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization gathered for a march at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Students demanded the administration open a reproductive health clinic on campus and provide free birth control for all students. The protest is part of an ongoing campaign by Students for a Democratic Society to demand the university do more to defend women’s and reproductive rights in the face of the mounting Republican attacks.
Chicago, IL – On October 31, a student at Jones College Prep (JCP) in Chicago dressed up in Nazi uniform and was allowed to walk across a stage during a “Halloween Costume Showcase.” The video exposing this incident has amassed over 158,000 views. In it, booing can be heard while the student goose steps across the stage and salutes, further solidifying this overt act of antisemitism and white supremacy.
Chicago, IL – The November 8 midterm election is important around the country, as the seemingly formidable reactionary wave in electoral politics continues. In general, the task in most states is to defeat the most reactionary and backwards candidates.
Chicago, IL – On Monday, October 24 more than a dozen activists from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); Anakbayan, a patriotic Filipino youth organization, and Young Democratic Socialists of America joined together for a demonstration. Students marched on the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) ROTC building to denounce the Biden administration’s intervention in Haiti and demand an end to the 12-year long UN occupation of the island. The protest was planned in connection with the United National Anti-War Coalition’s week of action.
Chicago, IL – The first meeting of the Interim Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) took place on the evening of Thursday September 29 at Malcolm X College. The meeting was attended by almost 200 people, most of who were members or supporters of the Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) coalition. The CCPSA introduced itself to the community, set up committees to do its work, and elected Anthony Driver and Oswaldo Gomez as its president and vice president. The public comments were filled with support for the CCPSA and demands that the mayor and city council give the Interim Commission the staff and budget necessary to transform the city’s public safety system.
Chicago, IL – Using the tag line, “Going to the Heart of the People’s Struggle,” our podcast has quickly spread across the country. Fight Back! Radio host Richard Berg noted, “We do interviews with the real leaders of the people’s struggles. We go past the bourgeois think tanks by talking to activists that are organizing workers, oppressed nationality peoples, students and other fighters.”
Chicago, IL – On September 7, 30 students marched at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) to demand the administration open a reproductive health clinic on campus that is free for students and the community.
Chicago, IL – Chicago saw two developments this past week in the struggle for democratic control of the police by the Black and Latino communities in Chicago. First, after a long delay, Mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed the interim Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA). This was created out of the passage of historic legislation in 2021, Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS), the most democratic legislation for police accountability in the country.
Chicago, IL – The Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) Coalition held a press conference on Tuesday morning, August 30, in response to Mayor Lightfoot's Monday appointment of the citywide Interim Commission for Public Safety. According to the ECPS ordinance, the commission should have been appointed in January. The coalition held a press conference on July 20 demanding that the mayor end the delays and appoint the Interim Commission. With the appointments made, the coalition set its eyes towards the local District Council elections coming up in February 2023.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Campaign to Free Incarcerated Survivors of Police Torture (CFIST) of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.
Chicago, IL – On August 1, Teamster locals across the country kicked off their 2023 contract campaign under the slogan, “UPS Teamsters United for a Strong Contract!” Members participated in rallies, parking lot meetings and t-shirt distributions throughout the week to show the company that Teamsters are ready to fight for a contract that includes part-time raises, an end to the two-tier 22.4 classification, an end to harassment, and safer working conditions. The current contract, which represents around 350,000 UPS workers, expires July 31, 2023.
