By JULIUS ARSCOTT The Ontario Federation of Labour convention, held in Toronto, Nov. 20 to 24, saw several large affiliates that had withheld dues for four years rejoin the House of Labour in Canada’s most populous province. The dues strike by OPSEU, SEIU, and ONA, actuated by a factional battle between conservative union bureaucrats and … Continue reading Ontario Federation of Labour opts for political action
By CLIFF CONNER Nancy MacLean, “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America.” Viking, 2017. Who is James McGill Buchanan? He was a Nobel laureate in “economic sciences,” but if his name is unfamiliar to you, you are not alone. He was not a publicity hound. He didn’t broadcast … Continue reading The Lenin of libertarianism
By JUAN CRUZ FERRE On Dec. 19, Argentina’s congress passed a drastic pension reform bill in a 128-116 vote. As debate on the vote was proceeding, the country’s largest union federation, the CGT, engaged in a 24-hour general strike, which closed down large sections of Buenos Aires. Below, we reprint an earlier article from the … Continue reading Pension reform bill greeted by mass protests in Argentina
By JEFF MACKLER This is the second part of a series of articles. Part I appeared in the October 2017 issue of Socialist Action. The Russian Revolution of Oct. 25, 1917 (Nov. 7 in the new calendar) remains the seminal event in modern human history, if for no other reason that it marked the first … Continue reading The relevance of the Russian Revolution, Part II
By JOHN WILSON — TORONTO — Some (mostly) good news for a change! Arising out of the effective resistance to a police campaign of anti-queer harassment, and arrests in Toronto’s Marie Curtis Park, all contested charges have been dropped. [In 2016, at least 78 people were entrapped by plainclothes officers, who tried to lure LGBTQ … Continue reading Trudeau’s defective apology to LGBTQ people
By MARTY GOODMAN On Nov. 20, the Trump administration, after an election campaign based on anti-immigrant hate, ordered the expulsion of 60,000 Haitians living in the U.S. who arrived after the devastation of Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, which killed over 200,000. Haitians who arrived by Jan. 2011 received Temporary Protective Status (TPS) under a 1990 law … Continue reading Donald Trump to 60,000 Haitians: ‘Get out!’
By JOHN LESLIE In mid-November, federal agents arrested a Philadelphia police officer, Eric Snell, for allegedly acting as a middleman for a drug ring run by a Baltimore police firearms task force. In addition to the drug charges, Snell is accused of possession of illegal firearms and threatening the children of one of the accused … Continue reading Police corruption is rife from Baltimore to Philadelphia
By WAYNE DELUCA Credit agency Standard & Poor has ruled Venezuela in default after the country missed $237 million in scheduled bond payments. This comes amidst an economic crisis with official inflation around 4000% and price increases well over 1000%. President Nicolás Maduro’s attempt to restructure is hindered by sanctions that stop U.S. banks from … Continue reading Venezuela crisis intensifies with default
By ERNIE GOTTA (Socialist Action) and WILLIAM LEWIS (Left Voice) On Monday, Dec. 4, workers at the Hilton Stamford Hotel voted overwhelmingly in favor of forming a union. With 110 for and only five against, it was a great victory for workers’ power and promises a better future for over 120 workers. The workers decided … Continue reading Victory! Hilton workers in Stamford, Conn., vote “yes,” form union
By NICK BAKER Massive tax cuts for the wealthy are moving forward in Congress, with the Senate passing its own version on Dec. 1. All that is left now is for the House and Senate to combine their two very similar bills and smooth out the minor differences. Once that is done, the plan will … Continue reading Congress pushes through new tax cuts for the super-rich
By UCONN YOUTH FOR SOCIALIST ACTION On Dec. 1, University of Connecticut (UConn) students organized a march and rally in response to their perception of the university administration’s inadequate action in relation to a white nationalist speaker on campus four days earlier. That night, Nov. 28, the UConn College Republicans hosted alt-right spokesperson Lucian Wintrich. … Continue reading UConn students respond to alt-right speech on campus
By WAYNE DELUCA On Nov. 14, the Zimbabwe Defense Forces took control of the capital city, Harare. A week later, Robert Mugabe—the only leader Zimbabwe has had since independence in 1980—resigned. On the 24th, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s former right-hand man and until Nov. 6 the vice president, became the new president. The coup was brewing … Continue reading Mugabe resigns after military takeover in Zimbabwe
By CONNECTICUT STUDENTS — STAMFORD, Conn. — On Nov. 27, a delegation of students from across Connecticut arrived to tell management at the Hilton Hotel in Stamford that they stand in solidarity with the workers organizing a union. The union vote will take place Dec. 4 after three weeks of management’s anti-union intimidation campaign. We … Continue reading Students confront Stamford hotel management
