Sindicatos de Puerto Rico cierran filas contra LUMA Energy Struggle-La-Lucha.org Vol. 4, No. 12 · June 14, 2021 Suggested donation: $1 Socialist Unity Party Partido de Socialismo Unido Twitter: @StruggleLaLucha Facebook.com/strugglelalucha email: [email protected] From Stonewall to Palestine, RESISTANCE IS JUSTIFIED!

The Socialist Unity Party/Partido por el Socialismo Unido stands in solidarity with the Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans/Queer/ Two-Spirit (LGBTQ2S) community, not only as we celebrate Pride Month, but also as queer people continue to fight back against the systemic oppression imposed on us by capitalism. We are encouraged by the growing number of Pride marches around the Liberation for Palestine and LGBTQ2S country that are now demanding that Today the fightback against re- police not be allowed to participate pression is strongest in those due to continued arrests and harrass- communities that have come un- ment of the queer community. der tremendous attack. Just as the The clarion call to reclaim Pride Stonewall Rebellion was a commu- has been heard in all corners of nity united against years of beatings the country. It reminds people that and disrespect, so too are our Pales- Stonewall was a rebellion sparked by tinian siblings united as they con- the frustration of repeated humili- tinue their decades-long resistance ation and violence by the New York to Israeli occupation and life under Police Department. apartheid conditions. That three-day rebellion grew into We condemn the recent U.S.- a movement of resistance — not just armed-and-funded Israeli bomb- Black and Brown solidarity with Palestine against police terror, but one that ings in Gaza that killed at least 260 opened up the fight for respect for Palestinians and left thousands the queer community. It demanded homeless. We condemn the actions NYC metro area: Palestine solidarity spreads an end to discriminatory firings and of racist Israeli settlers evicting res- been banned from the NYC Heritage being kicked out of apartments, as idents who have lived for decades in of Pride march, that event continues well as out of families. The move- the East Jerusalem area of Sheik Jar- to pander to corporate interests. ment worked hard to show the world rah. This ethnic cleansing is deplor- The Queer Liberation March, that “Gay is Good.” able and a crime against humanity. which is also held on the last Sunday Over the past year, the queer com- We call on the queer community of June, lifts up the original, radical munity has come out in large num- to resist the attempts at “pinkwash- politics of the movement that be- bers as part of the Black Lives Matter ing” by the state of Israel, which gan that summer night in 1969 — for movement, calling for justice for the tries to paint itself as the perfect those who have forgotten or are so many Black and Latinx people who tourist destination. This only uses young they may not have been aware. have been murdered by police. There the queer community as a pawn as #215Children is a natural link between these com- the U.S. and Israel try to justify the Unite to fight ongoing attacks Indigenous grief munities, as both movements began theft of Palestinian land. Although many gains have been as rebellions against police brutali- We have nothing to gain in sup- won over the 52 years since Stone- ty and killings. It is well known that porting Israeli atrocities committed wall, the struggle is not over. Juneteenth & TULSA oppression breeds resistance. against our Palestinian siblings. The right wing continues to use our This natural alliance defies the We stand with the Reclaim Pride rights as a galvanizing tool at elec- Biden’s broken promises wishes of the capitalist class, which Coalition marchers and other queer tion time. Same-sex marriage rights only seeks to break down the mu- activists who were brutally attacked are constantly under attack. There is Unemployed Workers tual support and solidarity which by the NYPD during the past year. It’s still not a federal law prohibiting dis- UNION strengthens these two work- said that a leopard never changes its crimination in employment, housing ing-class movements. spots. While it is good that police have Continued on page 7 Why lie about a labor shortage? GLOBAL WORKER SOLIDARITY: Marx on Unemployment  ‘In Our Own Name’ Unions mobilize to fight Israeli apartheid Germany’s role in NAMIBIA By Lallan Schoenstein • Demonstrate and put the state of Israel on trial for war crimes; FREE ALEX SAAB! On May 18, in response to Isra- • A¥rm Palestinians’ right to el’s attempted expulsion of Pales- freedom and independence, the Syringes for CUBA tinian families from their homes establishment of an independent in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood Palestinian state with Jerusalem  in Jerusalem, the continued attacks as its capital, and the right of Pal- CHINA attacks created on the Aqsa Mosque as well as Isra- estinians to return to their homes in a Trump lab? el’s bombing of the Gaza Strip with and villages. more than 1,050 air raids, the Pales- The appeal was answered forceful- COLOMBIA’s nat’l strike tinian General Federation of Trade PHOTO: AROC ly in the Port of Oakland, Calif., site Unions - Gaza Strip (PGFTU) urged The PGFTU appeal called for labor of the most successful labor action to CLIMATE & capitalism the global trade union movement unions to: date against the atrocities in Gaza. to support Palestinians and the • Boycott Israel’s racist occupation, The Israel-based ZIM ship Volans PUERTO RICO UNIONS Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions including a refusal to unload its left the Port of Oakland on June 5 (BDS) movement. ships; Continued on page 6 close ranks Page 2 June 14, 2021 STRUGGLE H LA LUCHA #215Children Indigenous peoples grieve after mass grave found at residential school

By M. Tiahui

On May 27, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation said that preliminary findings from a survey of the grounds at the former Kam- loops Indian Residential School in British Columbia uncovered the re- mains of 215 children. This news has Left: Indigenous children in residential been met by a massive outpouring of school classroom. Above: Tiny handcuffs grief in Indigenous communities. used on children. Indigenous people have created memorials to the children, with 215 pairs of children’s shoes, toys and flowers appearing on the steps of government build- ings, churches and residential school buildings across Canada. Statues of prominent Canadian historical figures who bear re- sponsibility for the residential school system, such as John A. Macdonald and Egerton Ryer- son, are being covered with red paint and pulled down. Memorials to the 215 children buried at Kamloops Residential The confirmation of the School have been put up all over Canada. remains of the 215 children at Kamloops is only a beginning; your community is after the children pated in the painful six-year pro- patriation to the children’s tribes. there are many more unmarked have been snatched away. cess of the national Truth & Recon- Researchers say that most of the gravesites to be found and analyzed. Your child may return home bro- ciliation Commission (TRC), which more than 350 U.S. Indian boarding While hundreds of graves had already ken, or may never return at all. issued reports in 2015 detailing schools have cemeteries associated been identified, residential school many of the abuses at the residential with them. survivors have said for years that ad- Not ancient history schools with 94 Calls to Action. The U.S. has never had an accurate ditional children are buried in many Catholic missionary residen- The government has failed to re- accounting of the Indian boarding di®erent areas, and asked Canada tial schools began in “New France” spond to many of the calls, includ- schools, the number of children who for years to fund searches at all res- (French colonies in North America). ing refusing to fund the requests to attended or those who died at the idential school properties. Thou- Residential schools became part of identify missing children and their schools. By 1900, there were about sands of families seek to know who Canadian government and church marked and unmarked burial sites. 20,000 children in boarding schools; is buried there and what happened policy from the 1830s on with the Often the schools and authorities by 1925, that number had more than to their children. creation of Anglican, Roman Catho- failed to tell families what happened tripled. Kamloops was one school from lic and Methodist schools in Ontario. to the children at the schools and Even with the closure of residen- more than a century of govern- These colonial experiments set refused to return the bodies home tial schools, the mistreatment and ment-sanctioned Indian residential the pattern for post-Confederation because they did not want to pay for removal of Indigenous children schools in Canada. Abuse of every policies from 1867 on. Approximate- transportation or have the families continued. In all too many coun- kind at these schools was the norm. ly 150,000 Indigenous children in know how abused the child had been. tries, foster care became the “new At St. Anne’s residential school in Canada experienced that era of res- This information was widely residential school” – meaning that Ontario, survivors described whip- idential schools. available and publicized, and mul- many Indigenous children are put pings, beatings, widespread sexu- The last residential school in Can- tiple calls to action were included in into care rather than their families al abuse and punishment by shocks ada closed in 1996, so this is not an- the TRC report. Yet all too many set- receiving the support needed to be delivered in an on-site electric chair. cient history. tlers continued to profess ignorance able to keep their children. In Can- Medical experiments were permit- Some children also were forced to or disbelief about residential schools ada, Indigenous children comprise ted to be conducted on the children. attend government-run day schools, even though information has long 7.7% of all children under age 14, but Diseases such as tuberculosis and in- where abuse and cultural genocide been available. 55.2% of children in foster care. fluenza swept through the schools, were also common. There are still Canada’s white ruling class has Land-back beats reconciliation with the children’s malnourished many school survivors and even benefited immensely from the de- bodies often too weak to survive. more families descended from those struction of Native families and The Canadian Parliament has now Some Indigenous (First Nations, who su®ered at the schools. communities. As Indigenous people acted to designate Sept. 30 as a na- Metis and Inuit) children died from Indigenous people certainly never were violently forced onto reserves tional day of truth and reconciliation tuberculosis or malnutrition. Some forgot about the residential schools. and often denied the ability to hunt, to learn about and honor Indige- died of a broken heart. Some died What occurred in these schools farm and fish to support themselves, nous people who attended residen- trying to run away and return home. has also caused intergenerational vast tracts of land were renamed, di- tial schools, those who survived and Some died from beatings and some trauma, impacting families for gen- vided, and handed out by the Cana- those who never came home. from suicide. erations. dian government to railroads, set- It is always important for the sur- No one knows how many children Chief Clarence Louie of the Syilx tlers, logging and other interests. vivors and their families to be able died nationally in Canada, but esti- Okanagan Nation in British Colum- to speak the truth about the harm mates range from 6,000 to as high as bia said that Indigenous people still Attacks not limited to Canada they experienced that continues 25,000. feel the impact of the schools today. In the U.S., an estimated 500 gov- to reverberate through Indigenous The children had their hair cut, “The level of inhumane and criminal ernment-funded Indian boarding communities. They have worked so were beaten for speaking their treatment of First Nations children and day schools operated in the 19th hard to improve conditions for these mother tongue, were told that their at the hands of colonial governments and 20th centuries. NABS (Nation- communities. It’s important for set- families and spiritual beliefs were and organized religion is deeply dis- al Native American Board School tlers to commit to knowing the truth evil, were subjected to physical, turbing,” he said in a statement. Healing Coalition) has identified 357 about residential schools. emotional and sexual abuse. “We are calling on the Province of boarding schools alone. But there can be no reconciliation Imagine living in a community British Columbia and Government The first federally-run Indian without reparations, justice and the where outside authorities such as of Canada to directly address these boarding school was the Carlisle In- return of land to Indigenous nations. priests and Mounties swoop in to atrocities.” dian Industrial School in Pennsylva- Apologies and holidays are useless if grab your children and carry them Settlers in Canada are now paying nia, in operation from 1879 to 1918, people from the oppressor nation are o® to a residential school. Imagine more attention to the issue, yet some which used harsh military discipline not taking immediate and decisive that you are told you cannot even see of them dare to deny that the resi- to force Native children from all over steps to undo the toxic settler-co- your children unless you behave, or dential schools were so horrific. This the U.S. to assimilate. lonial systems and anti-Indigenous that you will not receive your mea- modern amnesia and denial by the At many of the schools, unmarked racism that continue to exist. ger rations if your child does not go oppressor nation ignores thousands graves exist and remains of children Read full article at tinyurl.com to the school. Imagine how quiet of Indigenous people who partici- are still undergoing a process of re- /y9pc3mz5. STRUGGLE H LA LUCHA June 14, 2021 Page 3

By John Parker looted by the white terrorists and the youth had attacked and possibly the reality of imperialism and capi- corporate and government institu- raped a white woman. An editorial talism, its racist and violent nature, On June 19, 1865, the Union Army tions that facilitated the riot. promoted a group that was actively just as it exposes those who perpet- arrived in Galveston, Texas, to end In the audience for the Tulsa com- planning to take the youth from po- uate that system. slavery there. It has become the memoration, there were three peo- lice custody and lynch him. Let’s commemorate Juneteenth by symbolic date for the ending of slav- ple listening to Biden who made a The white woman who was the drawing the conclusion, if you ha- ery in the United States. special e®ort to attend, who had alleged victim said it didn’t happen ven’t already, that these good-for- After the Emancipation Procla- given congressional testimony for and was adamant in her denial of nothing politicians from Biden on mation o¥cially abolished legal the case for reparations, and whose any wrongdoing by the youth. She down, either Democrat or Republi- slavery on Jan. 1, 1863, some African time was running out. refused to press any charges against can, who enable systemic racism, le- people were still forced to work as Those three were surviving vic- him. But the paper’s owner, Richard gitimize inaction and actively block slaves until freedom was enforced by tims of the Tulsa massacre. All were Lloyd Jones, wasn’t interested in the any real attempts at attacking the the U.S. government in those loca- over 100 years old and desperately truth. That lie helped continue the systemic causes, are an integral part tions — two-and-a-half years, and hoped to see some type of remedy profitability of the paper and would of this anti-human system. in some cases up to six years, later. for the victims’ descendants and the be passed on down the line. They can’t be trusted to make any Like all historical achievements Black community of Tulsa, still af- Richard Lloyd Jones passed on real change — that’s not what they regarding African people in this fected by the massacre and stripping control of the newspaper to his sons, were given millions of dollars in country, Juneteenth has two sides of their relatives’ wealth. Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. and Jenkin campaign funds by the corporations — one for celebration, and one that And they all witnessed how U.S. Lloyd Jones Sr. In 1984, the Tribune’s and monopolies that run this coun- painfully shows how systemic rac- educational and financial institu- corporate owner merged with Swab- try to do. ism endures in this capitalist and tions continue to deny the pursuit of Fox Companies Inc., a diversified en- But there is something very pow- imperialist country. For those who life and liberty for their community ergy and real estate firm, and the pa- erful that we can do and have done. want to change the world, it is al- — something the reparations pro- per finally ceased publication in 1992. Black people have forced great ways important to appreciate both posal they and many others advocate The initial wealth, compounded by achievements in the struggle for sides of that coin, in order to remain would address. Imagine their disap- its sale and diversification into real liberation and social justice in gen- realistic and optimistic in preparing pointment when Biden methodically estate and energy, undoubtedly lined eral – and that’s a testament to our other possible victories. avoided using the word. the family’s pockets for generations. strength and determination. The other aspect of our historical Another victim from Tulsa, Olivia Not so for Olivia Hooker. Her fa- Those strides allowed us a great- achievements is that, when they be- Hooker, who died in 2018 at the age ther’s department store was de- er ability to e®ect change. We must come too visible to ignore, the ruling of 103, was 99 when she shared her stroyed, and her family never re- continue to do what works — build class sends in its political lackeys to story with Al Jazeera. ceived a penny. the power of the movements for lib- defang its most potent e®ects. Pres- Olivia witnessed the Tulsa mas- In fact, none of the victims, as of eration and self-determination that ident Joe Biden, who just sent a sol- sacre when she was just 6 years old. this writing, have ever received re- empower our working class, both id endorsement of white supremacy Her parents hid her while white thugs payment of the wealth that was here and abroad. and genocide with his $735-million rampaged through her home and stripped from them and transferred Defend the right of Black and Brown gift to the racist Israeli government, poured gas inside. She recalled seeing to those responsible for the terror- people and all oppressed peoples to continues to echo his inaction and those same men set fire to dolls made ism they survived. And, although live free from the terror of the police enabling of systemic racism here in for her by her mother as a testament they had insurance, the state of and ICE! Continue to call for those this country, especially in regards to to their hatred for Black children. Oklahoma helped insurance compa- police and ICE entities to be abolished police terror and mass incarceration During her rich and successful nies avoid paying out for the damage and replaced by the community. of Black people. life, Hooker spent much of her time and loss of homes and businesses to We must defend the right of every Biden has a history of passing leg- fighting for reparations and hoped the property owners. person to a job or income. We must islation encouraging racist incar- to see that happen before she died. Not one person was held account- join the local tenant rights organi- ceration and the prison-industrial She rightly called the massacre able for this racist murder and ter- zations fighting homelessness, and complex, and his public statements a “catastrophe” – reminding us rorism. As Donald Glover’s Childish join the struggle for health care for refusing to hold police accountable of another “race” massacre, when Gambino character says: “This is all, especially for Black and Brown or even approach the subject with white Western colonialists drove America.” people still dying from COVID-19. any seriousness make that clear. Arab people out of their homes to Let’s build on our unity and soli- The case for reparations Biden also recently addressed a create the state of Israel. The Pales- darity, so that the next time a white 100-year commemoration of what is tinian word for it is al-Nakba, and it Tulsa shines a light on the expe- supremacist mob comes to a Black now o¥cially called the Tulsa Race continues today. rience of African people and the ar- or Brown neighborhood, they will Massacre of 1921, when a terrorist, Like in Tulsa, aerial bombings are guments for reparations in general. be met with a righteous wrath that racist white mob destroyed the en- used, with thugs and murderers all After all, it was African slaves who spares not a one. Those capitalists tire Greenwood neighborhood in a blessed in their evil by the Israe- created the foundation of wealth and politicians who enable them and day and took the lives of hundreds of li government – which, in addition that U.S. capitalism rests upon. the system they protect must be dis- Black people, with cooperation from to the recent $735-million gift from As we commemorate Juneteenth, mantled through the building of a the police and Oklahoma National Biden, gets $3.8 billion and weapons we should also understand that Tul- movement that cannot be ignored. Guard. every year from the U.S. to target sa provides an excellent example of Let’s get to it.. ₪ However, Biden refused to men- Palestinian children en masse. tion the demand that survivors, It’s a catastrophe of stolen homes their descendants and people around and property and land, just like Tul- the world have endorsed, and that sa. And like what’s going on in Pal- members of the Congressional Black estine, the theft continues here too. Caucus put before Congress year af- In Tulsa, the property that was ter year – reparations for the vic- destroyed or seized along with the tims and community institutions to land was never given back to its help rectify and reverse some of the owners, who still hold the deeds to damage that was done. the property. They were robbed and left with nothing to pass on to their Biden spurns Tulsa survivors descendants. The massacre saw the first ever use of aerial bombings in the U.S. Tulsa Tribune’s racist role and the burning of homes and build- That is a very di®erent reality from ings while Black people were burned that of the Jones family, the white alive. Like the many white mob riots owners of a conservative newspa- that occurred before and after Tul- per, the Tulsa Tribune, whose claim sa, including in Rosewood, Fla., that to fame today is its responsibility damage destroyed lives and wealth for setting o® the 1921 riot by white for future generations. terrorists. Millions of dollars of property were The Tulsa Tribune headline and destroyed and hundreds of millions article that sparked the riot incor- A truck filled with Black prisoners during the 1921 Tulsa massacre. An armed of dollars of potential wealth were rectly stated that a 19-year-old Black white man rides on the running board guarding the prisoners. Page 4 June 14, 2021 STRUGGLE H LA LUCHA An open letter to President Joe Biden, as his broken promises pile up

By Greg Butterfield super-rich campaign donors in 2019, publicans and Democrats alike. when you said that if elected, “Noth- And the job you were hired for Dear President Biden, ing would fundamentally change.” by the super-rich, as their political Your broken promises are piling Now I think we’re on to something. CEO, is to continue those anti-peo- up. I took note of these headlines in ple policies — only with a little more just the last couple of weeks: “Joe The ugly truth tact and skillful deception. Biden Surrenders On Federal Unem- Elections under the U.S. two-par- But there’s a problem with this ployment Benefits,” “Biden Drops ty monopoly are all about money well-worn scheme. U.S. imperial- Student Loan Forgiveness From Lat- first, and personality second. First ism is no longer a rising system, and est Budget,” “Biden o®ers to keep get the money from Wall Street and world capitalism is in an ever-deep- 2017 Trump tax cuts intact in infra- PHOTO: MOVIMIENTO COSECHA Big Business — your real employers ening crisis. Your bosses are no lon- structure countero®er to GOP,” “U.S. On May Day, immigrants and supporters — to fund your campaign. Then sell ger willing to trim their profit mar- Says It Will Not Rejoin Open Skies protested in Washington, D.C., against a personality and some promises to gins to buy a little class peace. Treaty With Russia.” new “Deporter-In-Chief” Joe Biden. get people to vote for you, usually You can only sell empty promises Whew! Your haste to screw over against their own interests. for so long. the people who voted for you is You twiddle your thumbs and release You’ve been part of that system for You’re joining the Republican breathtaking, I’ll give you that. nicely-crafted statements while the a long, long time, President Biden. campaign to cut o® pandemic un- It seems like your Democrat- right-wing continues its attacks on Here’s the part you and your col- employment benefits. That’s meant ic White House hasn’t met a Trump Black voting rights, trans youth’s leagues, Democrats and Republi- to force more unemployed workers policy it didn’t like. health care and education, and cans, White House and Congress, to compete for the relatively few jobs And that’s just the tip of the ice- women’s reproductive rights. don’t want people to know: available, driving down wages and berg. You’ve continued deporting George Floyd’s family came to the Your loyalty is to the profit system benefits for everyone. migrants and refugees and refused White House on the anniversary of and its super-wealthy owners. It’s The pandemic ban on evictions to defund ICE; you’ve upped the his murder by the Minneapolis po- not to any principles, much less to will end soon, with no plan in place Pentagon’s war budget yet again; lice. All they got was another load of the voters. to wipe out the billions of dollars of you’re planning to give more money vague, empty platitudes with noth- This explains your actions in o¥ce. owed back rent. Food prices are rap- to Israel after it carried out its brutal ing to back it up. (Shoot ‘em “in the A substantial part of the capital- idly rising as money gets harder to May assault on the Palestinian peo- leg instead of the heart” was your ist ruling class — the owners of the come by. ple; and you decided to keep the U.S. campaign’s solution to racist police banks, online stores, shopping cen- I do want to thank you for one Embassy in Jerusalem, where Trump terror, right?) ters, factories, real estate, Big Oil, thing. Your shallow veneer of being moved it despite an international You won election as the an- the military-industrial complex — something other than a Trump clone outcry — an added slap in the face to ti-Trump. You said you were going to got tired of the racist bluster and is quickly melting away. the Palestinians. reverse his bad policies. open thievery of Trump and his en- Last Election Day, millions of The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Despite grave doubts among the tourage. They felt it was a danger to working-class people were already Action, which you said you wanted masses, the Democratic Party lead- their rule, especially after the mas- aware that they were being sold a bill to revive, has gone nowhere, since ership pushed you forward as the sive uprising for Black Lives in the of goods when they voted for you. But you refuse to drop the illegal sanc- “more electable” alternative to Ber- summer of 2020. they felt they had no choice but to get tions on Iran. Nothing has been done nie Sanders. Remember? But here’s the thing — they liked Trump out. Those numbers are only to relieve Trump’s tightened block- And the publicity hacks at the New his policies. going to grow as your broken prom- ade on Cuba. You’ve even picked up York Times, Washington Post, NPR, They liked his war on immigrants ises — and the system’s inability to Trump’s bogus “Wuhan lab leak” CNN et. al. have been trying to paint and poor communities. They liked provide even the most basic needs of story, blaming China for COVID-19, your administration as the second his war-mongering abroad and re- the masses — pile up. to further the new Cold War. No coming of the New Deal. pression at home. They liked his pri- The working class will have no points for originality there. So what happened? One might say, vatization of public resources, and choice but to learn to organize inde- You’ve continued to let Louis DeJoy based on your record thus far, that especially his tax cuts for the rich. pendently to abolish this awful, rac- wreak havoc on the Postal Service you’re just trying to put a human All of those policies were picked ist, anti-people system that breeds and threaten the very existence of face on Trump’s inhumane program. up and extended by Trump from monsters like Trump — and you. one of the few major unionized em- It seems like the only promise earlier presidential administrations And there’s nothing you can do to ployers of Black and Brown workers. you’ve kept is the one you made to — Obama, Bush, Clinton, etc. — Re- stop it. ₪ Unemployed Workers Union condemns halt of federal benefits

By Unemployed Workers Union that will push wages and benefits Unemployed Workers Union weekly clinic in Baltimore, May 27. down for all workers. June 2 — We condemn Maryland It is the responsibility of the gov- Gov. Larry Hogan’s abrupt decision ernment to protect and defend all of To date, we have heard to curtail federal pandemic unem- its people. It is reprehensible for the from no one who has re- ployment benefits early, giving the state government to leave workers ceived the state benefit. unemployed just one month’s no- at the mercy of the so-called “mar- Instead, we have heard tice. Just weeks earlier, the State La- ket” rather than planning for de- horror stories from people bor Department said that Maryland cent-paying jobs, dignity and eco- who have not received a would not be joining states that re- nomic stability for everyone. dime of their benefits, de- turned federal benefits. Where is the “Public Works Pro- spite applying a year ago. Looking beyond the false rheto- gram’’? Is the Labor Department The Peoples Power As- ric that “benefits are keeping people opening up its doors and providing sembly has launched SLL PHOTO from taking jobs” are the facts. The training and job placement? the Maryland Unemployed Workers April jobs figures were deeply disap- Union to help fight for our rights and 2011 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, pointing. Dow Jones estimated one Insult to injury: obtain our state and CARES Act bene- MD 21218. We assemble outdoors, in million new jobs; instead, new jobs People have not received benefits fits. Together and united, we can win! front of the o¥ce, and masked for totaled only 266,000. The Peoples Power Assembly has We want jobs or income now! Halt everyone’s comfort and safety. The The national unemployment rate filed two separate “Freedom of In- evictions, foreclosures and reposses- clinic takes place rain or shine. If our inched up to 6.1%; Maryland’s is formation Requests” with the state. sions for all unemployed workers. tents are not adequate, we will meet slightly higher at 6.2%. Baltimore The first is to provide our organiza- Every Thursday, from 6 p.m. to 8 inside and maintain social distance. City is 7.6% and Prince George’s tion with the number of people who p.m., we hold a clinic for unemployed We realize that people who live County is 8%. have yet to receive unemployment workers to file formal grievanc- outside the Baltimore metropolitan We assert that the motive for re- benefits through the Beacon system, es and appeals. A pro bono attorney area cannot make it in person. Please moving the meager federal safety whether state or federal, and the and assistants are present to fill out let us know, and we will arrange a net (which costs the state nothing) second is to give the number of peo- grievances and execute letters to the zoom call. Text (410) 218-4835 with is to create an ever-larger and des- ple who received the one-time grant labor secretary and governor. your email, telephone number and perate group of unemployed workers while their benefits were delayed. Join us in front of our o¥ce at information. ₪ STRUGGLE H LA LUCHA June 14, 2021 Page 5 Bosses lie about ‘labor shortage’ to keep wages low

By Gary Wilson employed workers, blaming the unemployed for the lack The May unemployment report of available jobs. It’s being wasn’t much better than the April used to cut the meager feder- disaster. al supplemental unemploy- Business news site CNBC summed ment benefits of $300 per it up: “Job creation disappointed week for those who lost their again in May, with nonfarm payrolls jobs because of the pandemic. up what normally would be consid- Twenty-five states are end- ered a solid 559,000 but still short ing the $300 federal supple- of lofty expectations, the Labor De- ment and also the Pandemic partment reported Friday. ... May’s Unemployment Assistance letdown came after April sharply (PUA) for the self-employed undershot expectations.” and gig workers. The “jobs gap” remains more than The PUA is a program that 9 million down from pre-pandemic should never be cut, but rath- levels. “We are now short between er should become a perma- 9.1 million and 11.0 million jobs since nent program. A growing Everyone needs a job at a living wage to survive. It’s a basic human right. February 2020,” said Elise Gould of number of businesses like Uber and the Economic Policy Institute. At Lyft now call their workforce “inde- the rate of about 550,000 new jobs pendent contractors.” These work- job, pay has not been rising over the lion tenants are behind on their rent a month, the number of jobs won’t ers are not covered by traditional past year, but the consumer infla- and face eviction once this morato- reach the level of February 2020 un- unemployment insurance. They are tion rate has been steadily rising. In rium is dropped. til the end of the year in 2022. That’s covered by the PUA, which is actu- April, the consumer inflation rate A job is required in order to have not a booming economy. ally paying benefits to more jobless reached 4.2%. housing, food and transportation. Unemployment plagues capital- workers than the regular state un- That’s a backhanded cut in wag- Everyone needs a job at a living wage ism and has been a constant since employment programs. es, so that workers are really getting to survive. It’s a basic human right. the beginning of wage labor. Prior As for so-called labor shortages, paid less than they were a year ago. The right to a job is even backed up there is only one measure of a labor by federal law. The 1946 Employment to the capitalist era, structural un- Food, housing, jobs employment on a mass scale never shortage — wages. In a real labor Act and the 1978 Full Employment existed, other than that caused by shortage, wages start rising. Capi- Most significant has been the and Balanced Growth Act legally ob- natural disasters. talists who face a shortage of qual- continuous inflationary rise of food ligate the president and Congress to While the current high level of ified workers respond by o®ering prices, actually double the overall use all available means to achieve unemployment — 23.1% according higher wages and/or benefits, while rate of inflation in 2020. For the un- full employment. to the Ludwig Institute’s True Rate capitalists who risk losing workers employed and low-wage workers, Also adopted in 1946, the United of Unemployment — is in part the will raise wages to retain workers. more than a third of their income is Nations Charter on Human Rights result of the pandemic response, But wages are not rising and, for being spent on food, leaving most of declares, “Everyone has the right to the underlying reason remains the some, are now lower than they were them short of funds for housing or work ... and to protection against un- same: to protect profits. before the pandemic. If wages aren’t transportation. employment,” as well as the right to rising, it is certain that there is no This is the crisis for jobless work- housing, education and health care. The reserve army of labor labor shortage. ers. What is going to happen when Now more than ever, the gov- As Karl Marx detailed in “Capi- This was even admitted by Feder- the federal eviction moratorium ernment should be made to enforce tal,” capitalism constantly produces al Reserve Chairman Jerome Pow- ends on June 30? More than 10 mil- these laws.. ₪ a pool of unemployed workers. Cap- ell, who dismissed claims of labor italists refer to this as “surplus pop- shortages, saying, “We don’t see ulation” or “the unemployables.” wages moving up yet. And presum- MARX: Marx called this a “reserve army of ably we would see that in a really labor.” tight labor market.” Marx said that in the drive to in- For the mass of unemployed — Capitalism produces crease profits, capitalists try to re- and a quarter of the workforce is duce their costs by increasing pro- without a full-time, living-wage job, ductivity through the replacement according to the Ludwig Institute — unemployment of labor with machinery and new the jobs are gone; there is no return- technology. This, in turn, creates an ing to the old job. New jobs won’t In “Capital,” Karl Marx wrote artificial surplus population of the be the same. Most may require new about the laws of capitalism and unemployed. skills along with new transportation the ruthless capitalist competi- This “reserve army of labor” in- needs, housing locations, childcare tion for greater profits. In the drive fluences wage rates. The larger the requirements, etc. to increase profits, capitalists try unemployed workforce grows, the Even with restaurant jobs, to reduce their costs by increasing more this forces down wages. On the where “tipped” workers often get productivity through the replace- other hand, if there is low unem- sub-minimum-wage pay, the jobs ment of labor with machinery, new ployment and plenty of jobs avail- are changed. While pay hasn’t gone technology, robotics. This, in turn, able, this tends to raise the average up, these jobs are now more stressful creates an “artificial surplus popu- level of wages, as workers are able to and potentially dangerous as work- lation” of the unemployed: created, and continuously create, a change jobs easily to get better pay. ers have to deal with anti-maskers “The fall in prices and the com- relative overpopulation, an over- In recent years, part of the reserve and ongoing health concerns. The petitive struggle would have driven population of laborers not employed army of labor in the U.S. has been wages for a harder, riskier job should every capitalist to lower the individ- by the surplus-capital owing to the identified as “the precariat.” That is be higher. ual value of his total product below low degree of exploitation at which the growing number of temporary, In the “leisure and hospitality” its general value by means of new alone they could be employed, or at contract and part-time workers sector, average weekly earnings machines, new and improved work- least owing to the low rate of profit (part of the proletariat) with precar- have not gone up, remaining at a ing methods, new combinations, which they would yield at the given ious status. level of about $19,651 per year for i.e., to increase the productivity of a degree of exploitation.” (“Capital,” Precarious workers are part-time full-time employment. given quantity of labor, to lower the Volume III, Chapter 15) or full-time in temporary jobs, but proportion of variable to constant The technology itself does not lead don’t earn enough to live on. The Far more unemployed than jobs available capital, and thereby to release some to unemployment. Instead, as Marx Bureau of Labor Statistics does not laborers; in short, to create an artifi- indicates, it is the use of technology There are far more unemployed count them as unemployed, but they cial overpopulation. ... under capitalism, implemented in people than available jobs. do not receive a living wage. “The circumstances which in- an anarchic and unplanned way for In the latest data on job openings, creased the productiveness of labor, the sole purpose of increasing prof- Labor shortage? there were nearly 40% more unem- augmented the mass of produced it, that leads to mass unemployment In the media there have been ployed workers than job openings commodities, expanded markets, and places pressure on those still claims that the depressing monthly overall, and more than 80% more accelerated accumulation of capital working to accept lower wages, as employment reports are caused by unemployed workers than job open- both in terms of its mass and its val- competition for the remaining jobs a so-called “labor shortage.” This is ings in “leisure and hospitality.” ue, and lowered the rate of profit – increases. political propaganda attacking un- For low-income workers with a these same circumstances have also — Gary Wilson Page 6 June 14, 2021 STRUGGLE H LA LUCHA Los Angeles rally declares: Black and Brown solidarity with Palestine!

By John Parker tinian lives and the lives of used to send precision-guided mis- all oppressed peoples sub- siles and high-tech bombers target- Los Angeles — On May 22, ject to racism and genocide ing civilians.” Black and Brown organiza- matter. Ron Gochez of Unión del Barrio, tions joined forces with the addressing the rally participants Palestinian movement across Uplifting show of unity and the Palestinian people, de- the world, demanding that At MacArthur Park in clared: “The leftist movements of Israel end the seige of Gaza down town LA — in a com- Latin America, of Nuestra America, and Sheikh Jarrah, an end to munity predominantly the movements in Africa, the move- the illegal occupation of Pal- made up of oppressed peo- ments all over Asia and all over the estine and to all U.S. funding ple of color — a large rally world, are with you. The only peo- and arming of Israel. drew at least six television ple that side with Israel are those Palestinian organizations, crews covering the event. aligned with the colonial imperialist including Al-Awda: The Pal- It began with many U.S. government.” estine Right to Return Co- speakers addressing the Speakers from Al-Awda and the alition and the Palestinian need to highlight the his- PYM conveyed the reality of the con- Youth Movement (PYM), PHOTO: INSOOK LEE toric bond between Black tinued siege in Gaza and Jerusalem’s which led massive demonstrations organizations and the Palestinian Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and in the city a week prior, were invited felt the need to highlight and ac- right to self-determination, and pledged their support to fight racism to speak at the action. tivate the power coming from the their dedication to continue to call here against Black and Brown peoples. Initiators of the rally, march and fundamental role historically played out and fight against racism and im- This action also had a very natu- car caravan included the Harriet by Black and Brown organizations in perialism there and here. ral feel with speakers whose expe- Tubman Center for Social Justice, the U.S. in fighting injustice, racism Many rally participants were up- riences paralleled the situation of Unión del Barrio, Southern Chris- and white supremacy, with an un- lifted by the show of unity between Palestinian people. Xochilt Sanchez, tian Leadership Conference, Black derstanding of the potential power the many Black and Brown orga- organizer with the Central American August Los Angeles, American Indi- those battles can have in building nizations that came together and Resource Center, said: “As a Salva- an Movement Southern California, solidarity with other victims of U.S. spoke in one united voice of support. doran American, I empathize with Central American Resource Center, imperialism abroad. Regarding the horror of the most the pain and loss of the Palestinian All-African People’s Revolutionary Many in the Palestine movement recent Israeli war crimes, Harold people. I see my own family’s pain Party, Puerto Rican Alliance, Na- note that the current shift towards Welton, former Black Panther and reflected in their struggle against tional Young Lords Organization and solidarity with the Palestinian people member of Black August Los Ange- land occupation, state violence and members of the Socialist Unity Party is partly a result of the recent strug- les, said: “Over 60 Palestinian chil- forced displacement. Black Caucus. gles for Black lives here in the U.S., dren have been killed and the cor- “I stand in solidarity with the Pal- These organizations, responding helping to build the consciousness porate news seems to dance around estinian people because, as a Central to Israel’s catastrophic war crimes, necessary to emphasize that Pales- that fact. Our tax dollars are being American, my people have also been GLOBAL WORKER SOLIDARITY: Unions mobilize to fight Israeli apartheid

Continued from page 1 International solidarity A gigantic ZIM ship left the Bay Workers’ organizations responded Area of California unworked at that unworked after reportedly “me- to the appeal of the Palestinian union time. Rank-and-file members of andering in circles, outside of the federation as news of the horrendous Local 10 honored community pick- port,” reports an Arab Resource and Israeli massacre and courageous Pal- et lines for four days. Other ports Organizing Center (AROC) press estinian defense circled the globe. from Los Angeles to Tacoma joined statement. The ZIM ship was unable Protests took place in Italy, Greece, the “Block the Boat Movement.” to navigate through the united pro- Ireland, Canada and South Africa. At the June 4 mass picket in Oak- test of community and labor. Over 100 labor and community orga- land, Local 10 President Trent Willis ZIM is the world’s 10th largest nizations nationally and internation- discussed the history of the ILWU in shipping company. ZIM is a major ally endorsed #BlockTheBoat actions! terms of fighting racism against the transporter of weapons to and from The International Dockworkers Palestinians as well as against Afri- Israel. Council issued a statement strongly can Americans. The International Longshore and condemning the massacre of civil- Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10 Call for the MWM ians and children in Palestine. history of racism and police violence and the ship’s clerks in ILWU Lo- Recognizing apartheid in Israel, When it initiated the Million against Black people.” cal 34, as well as the Port Truckers, South African dockworkers heeded Worker March in 2004, ILWU Lo- Last week the AFL-CIO quietly re- honored picket lines coordinated by the PGFTU call and refused to o¼oad cal 10 called on rank-and-file union leased its report, calling for police the Block the Boat Coalition, at times ZIM cargo. members to “Mobilize in Our Own unions themselves to be the prima- numbering over a thousand protest- Italian dockworkers in Livorno re- Name,” the title of Clarence Thomas’ ry mechanism for reforming police ers. ZIM ships left the port unloaded fused to load an arms shipment onto new anthology. practices. As spokespeople for the after 16 days of picket lines. a ZIM ship. African American union leaders police unions often voice the loud- “We are sending a strong mes- The Doro-Chiba rail workers union from Local 10, joined by others in the est support for racist killer cops, the sage that profiteering from Isra- of Japan wrote, “We full-heartedly Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, AFL-CIO report amounts to a hostile el’s apartheid and ongoing violence salute Local 10 for refusing to handle organized the MWM with demands rejection of calls from progressive against the Palestinian people will the freight from the ZIM ship Volans.” to fight racism, sexism, economic members for the federation to kick not be welcome in the Bay Area,” injustice and war. out police unions. said Lara Kiswani, executive direc- Local 10 and Black union leadership They said that the only way work- The progressive demand to ex- tor of AROC. Speaking on the Local 10 action, ers can successfully struggle for their clude police organizations from #BlockTheBoat actions protest- retired ILWU leader Clarence Thomas democratic rights is to organize in- the AFL-CIO rightfully asserts that ing various Israeli ZIM ships have said, “We a®ect the global economy.” dependently from political organi- workers’ unions must be organized been planned in numerous other He said, “It was the longest action zations controlled by the bosses. independently from the bosses and cities, including Los Angeles, Seat- taken against an Israeli vessel using In 2004, the AFL-CIO leadership, in the repressive forces of the state tle, Houston, New York, Detroit and community blockades at the Port of collusion with the Democratic Party, that represent them. After all, who Philadelphia. Oakland. took national measures to sabotage are the ones to bust workers’ heads One labor statement at the end “The first Local 10 action was in re- the MWM by dishonestly claiming when they protest for a living wage? of May read, “The ILWU Northern sponse to the killing of unarmed peo- that it would interfere with union The call to “Mobilize in Our Own California District Council stands ple in international waters on board support for John Kerry’s presidential Name” is the only way that work- in solidarity with Palestine and Pal- the ship Mavi Marmara, which was election campaign. ers can unite internationally against estinian communities across the attemp ting to bring humanitarian aid In July 2020, the country erupt- capitalist exploitation and U.S. im- world who are fighting for justice.” to the Palestinian people in 2010.” ed with protests, labor strikes and perialist aggression in support of Is- On June 6, in Elizabeth, N.J., hun- In August 2016, an action to stop shutdowns against the police mur- raeli apartheid. dreds defied heavy police pressure ZIM ships from unloading at the Port ders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor Block the Boat actions hit U.S./Is- and joined a community picket of Oakland was organized by Block and numerous others. raeli interests at the “point of pro- and blocked the gate leading to the the Boat for Gaza, a coalition of about The AFL-CIO “Racial Justice Task duction” and prove that workers are termi nal where the ZIM ship Tarra- 70 organi zations led by AROC. Force” announced a plan for “taking in the most powerful position to en- gona docked. The action became a movement. concrete action to address the long act change. ₪ STRUGGLE H LA LUCHA June 14, 2021 Page 7 Los Angeles rally declares: Black and Brown solidarity with Palestine!

massacred and driven o® their lands. “Why do we love Palestine, why do Historically and throughout mod- we fight for Palestine? When we are ern history, Central Americans have united in struggle we beat with the su®ered bombardments and mass same heart and fight with the same killings by the hand of the police and fist. If we can free Palestine, we can military, backed and funded by the free us all. United States.” “From Mandela to the Black Pan- Palestine and Black liberation ther Party to Che Guevara — we are all revolutionary socialists dedi- That sentiment was reinforced by cated to smashing imperialism and Rebecka Jackson of the Socialist Unity capitalism and liberating the world. Party Black Caucus, who had visited None of us are free until we all are occupied Palestine: “The struggle of free,” she concluded. ₪ Palestine is the struggle for Black PHOTO: MELIS BUG liber ation. Occupied Palestine is a place where Afro-Palestinians are treated as FROM STONEWALL TO PALESTINE second-class citizens or subjected to apartheid. Our struggles are inextrica- bly linked. We are being systematically for laws that deny gender-a¥rming exterminated by the same poison of RESISTANCE IS JUSTIFIED! healthcare to youth and allow legal white supremacy and capitalism. Continued from page 1 been used by capitalism and imperi- molestation of transgirls in school “As Palestine has always supported alism to justify the genocide of In- sports by checking to see which gen- our liberation struggles, as they sent and public accommodations. digenous people. Religion has been itals they have. us solidarity to Ferguson and Minne- Trump is gone, but his followers in used to justify murder, rape, pillag- We reject these attempts to mis- apolis and Louisville, let us send the legislatures around the country have ing, robbing our communities of re- gender and repress our transgender same support back,” said Jackson. introduced one bill after another try- sources, sexism, and now homopho- sisters. We assert that transwomen “As people around the globe have ing to undo the gains we have made. bia and transphobia. are women. lifted up the names of Michael The right-wing packed U.S. Supreme The most vulnerable segment of Capitalism has only misery to o®er Brown, George Floyd and Breonna Court has agreed to hear cases that the queer community — transgender the queer community. It will take the Taylor, let us today lift up the names may grant the right to discriminate individuals — live with day-to-day socialist reorganization of society to of Haftom Zarhum and Babikir Ali based on religious beliefs, as well fear of physical as well as political ensure that LGBTQ2S people are able Adham- Abdo, who were beaten to denying same-sex couples the right attacks. The number of transwom- to live in dignity. death by racist Zionists. And Solo- to be foster parents or to adopt. en murdered so far this year has al- Stonewall still means fightback — mon Teka and Yehuda Biadga, who But using religion as a tool of op- ready surpassed last year’s number. for our liberation, and for the entire were murdered by Israeli police. pression is nothing new. Religion has The right wing is strongly pressing working class! ₪ Palestine solidarity spreads across New York metro area

By Struggle-La Lucha SLL PHOTO: ANDRE POWELL New York bureau May 29 National March for Palestine in Washington, D.C.

The long war between the native people of Palestine and the brutal Western co- lonial-settler project called Israel is more than a local battle. Like the Black Lives Matter uprising that swept the U.S. and the world after

the murder of George Floyd, SLL PHOTO: BILL DORES it is part of the global strug- Brooklyn, May 15. Bronx, May 31. Elizabeth, N.J., June 6. gle between oppressor and oppressed, exploiter and exploited, Those who marched were over- ond-largest borough, from Sunny side and Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner colonizer and colonized. whelmingly young. Many were Pal- through Astoria to Jackson Heights. Solidarity Network. Within Our Life- Pentagon brass routinely refer to estinian or from other Arab commu- On May 29, thousands traveled time has taken the lead in organizing the Israeli occupation regime as “our nities. But the crowds reflected the to Washington, D.C., for a rally and protests in every borough. unsinkable aircraft carrier,” a term diversity of New York City’s working march called by American Muslims Early on Sunday, June 6, several Israeli leaders embrace. To Wall Street class and oppressed communities. for Palestine. hundred people blocked the gate of bankers and their military and politi- The December 12 Movement and On Memorial Day, May 31, thou- Maher Terminal in Elizabeth, N.J., cal servants, the Zionist state is a vital other Black liberation organizations sands marched through the streets where an Israeli ship, ZIM Tarrag- weapon in their long war to monop- mobilized in solidarity. Flags of of the Bronx. While cops in riot gear ona, was being unloaded. Two days olize the world’s energy reserves and Bangla desh, Colombia, Haiti, Mex- tried to intimidate the marchers, earlier, Port Authority police de- keep the world’s petrodollars flowing ico, Morocco, Pakistan, the Philip- the people of the borough greeted tained two activists for giving flyers into their co®ers. Control of the re- pines, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Yemen the marchers with cheers and horns to workers at the port. gion they call the Middle East is key to and the Black liberation flag were honked in solidarity. Black Liberation It was the first action of the newly their wealth and power. among those that flew alongside the Army veteran and 33-year political formed NY-NJ Block the Boat Coali- While the corporate agents in Wash- red, black, green and white colors of prisoner Sekou Odinga was among tion as part of the International Week ington pour arms and money into the Palestine. those who addressed the crowd. of Action to Block the Boat called by Israeli war machine, oppressed peo- On May 4 and May 11, protesters Police arrested three young people the Arab Resource and Organizing ple around the world stand with the took over the streets of midtown for the “crime” of raising the Pal- Center in the Bay Area. people of Palestine. That solidarity Manhattan. On May 15, Nakba Day, estinian flag atop a railroad bridge. Members of the International has been loud and clear in cities across 50,000 people packed the streets of Cops later attacked a crowd that had Long shore and Warehouse Union re- the United States in the weeks since Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, home to New gathered outside the 41st precinct to fused to cross AROC-led picket lines Israel’s latest assault on the impris- York’s largest Arab community. On await their release and arrested and in Oakland, Calif., forcing the Israeli oned people of Gaza. May 20, young people confronted a brutalized three more people. ship ZIM Voltan to leave without un- In the New York metropolitan area, Zionist hate rally in Times Square. Most of the protests were organized loading. tens of thousands have taken to the Police attacked and arrested several by NY4Palestine, a coalition compris- Later that day hundreds of com- streets of every borough and such people when they defended them- ing Al-Awda NY: The Palestine Right munity members confronted a “sa- neighboring cities as Paterson and selves against anti-Arab bigots. to Return Coalition, Within Our Life- lute to Israel” anti-Palestinian hate Teaneck, N.J., and Yonkers and White The following Saturday, May 22, time-United for Palestine, American parade in Teaneck, N.J. Plains, N.Y., to support Palestinian 20,000 people shut down Queens Muslims for Palestine, Existence is On June 9, a WOL-led car caravan resistance and demand an end to U.S. Boulevard and marched for hours Resistance, Jews for the Palestinian started at the ZIM shipping o¥ces aid to the occupation regime. through the streets of the city’s sec- Right to Return, Labor for Palestine and drove across Staten Island. ₪ Page 8 June 14, 2021 STRUGGLE H LA LUCHA AT LAST! The Million Worker March Movement in print

Mobilizing in Our Own Name: Million Worker March An anthology by Clarence Thomas DeClare Publishing MillionWorkerMarch.com Available at most booksellers By Cheryl LaBash Clarence Thomas Movement support for ILWU. 1934 General Strike

lthough I began to write a review of this remarkable Aanthology as a literary and historical assessment, it is much more than that to me. It is personal. Clarence Thomas — the “real” Clarence Thomas, labor leader and author — tells an amusing story The Million Worker March at the Lincoln of his conflicted reaction when he Memorial in Washington, D.C., Oct. 17, 2004. heard some Detroiter appropriated the Million Worker March (MWM) lent of a Midwestern spring crocus and MWM organizing and leader- the presidential lectern. T-shirt design and made T-shirts! pushing through the snow of the ship in action against police brutal- The centrality of Black workers is That was me. Just weeks away remnants of the Cold War, McCarthy ity and murders foreshadowed this one of two historical components from the Million Worker March on red-scare and post-9/11 Patriot Act. development, too. of the ILWU that made the MWM Oct. 17, 2004, the Detroit Labor Day In 2010, ILWU Local 10 shut down possible. The other is the rank- Parade and Labor Fest gathered A harbinger of upsurge Bay Area ports for justice for Oscar and-file character of the ILWU. The hundreds of workers — our audi- I think we can say MWM’s inde- Grant, and on May Day 2015 with the ILWU survived the McCarthy era, ence — in one place. But the o¥cial pendent voice was a harbinger of the union action to stop police killings refused anti-communism and the T-shirts couldn’t get here in time to upsurge reflected in the electoral of Black and Brown people. Taft-Hartley “loyalty” oaths to deck out the distribution team. In arena through the wide, unexpect- For me, the example of ILWU capitalism. the spirit of MWM, we forged ahead. ed enthusiasm for Bernie Sanders’ founder and leader Harry Bridges Today Black workers, Latinx and No T-shirts, no problem — we made unapologetically socialist campaign uniting with the San Francisco Black Indigenous peoples and women lead a few to wear for the day. in 2016. When the facade of U.S. community to take control of the the pivotal working-class social What drew me so intensely to the democracy overrode the desire for waterfront jobs echoes October 10, justice movements of our time. The MWM? Only when I was present at progressive change, the imperialist 1868, in Cuba, when Carlos Manuel de Bessemer, Ala., organizing drive at the Lincoln Memorial on that day did business-as-usual Democratic Party Céspedes freed enslaved Black work- Amazon; fast food workers fight- I understand. It was the only time pro-war corporate candidates were ers, asking them to join in the fight ing for $15 and a union; nurses and since my first national march in rejected, saddling the world with for Cuban independence. More than a health-care workers demand- Washington, D.C. — against the Viet- wannabe-fascistic emperor Trump. winning strategy, it is fundamental. ing COVID-19 personal protec- nam War in 1967 — that the hardhat, The striving for progressive This was the key to winning the tive equipment and safe sta¥ng, overalls and work boots I wore meant change thwarted in 2016 was re- 1934 San Francisco General Strike, challenging the corporate sick- something more than a way to earn newed in the unprecedented mass forging the ILWU with Black work- ness-for-profit health industry. a paycheck, to pay the bills so I could movement throughout pandemic ers at its militant core, and Local Workers and social movements do political organizing. summer 2020. Justice was demanded 10 where the Million Worker March are pressing against systemic Being a worker counted; our inde- for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, was born. boundaries as the MWM showed us pendent voice, unfiltered through Ahmaud Arbery and so many more, in 2004. capitalist party politicians, counted but also deeper systemic justice. It Centrality of Black workers in the Million Worker March burst through in over 2,000 cities The settler-colonial crimes Million Worker March’s influence Movement. and towns in all 50 states with as underpinning the United States of Although this book is about one Looking back now, through these many as 26 million U.S. participants. America can no longer be denied. initiative, one time in history, it pages, pictures and documents, the International Longshore and The false concept of white suprema- Continued on page 9 MWM was our movement’s equiva- Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10 cy is condemned publicly even from Germany must pay reparations to Africa

By Stephen Millies devastation of white-supremacist genocidal government action. May 31 — Members of the Decem- “Ironically, today, May 31, marks ber 12th Movement held a news con- the 100th anniversary of the exter- ference today in front of the German mination of the Black community mission to the United Nations in New in Tulsa, Okla., which was popularly York City to demand reparations for known as ‘Black Wall Street,’” noted Namibia. Wareham. “From 1904 to 1908, the German Also speaking was Bill Dores, from colonial army murdered 75,000 of Struggle for Socialism-La Lucha por the Herrero and Nama inhabitants el Socialismo newspaper. He said of what is present-day Namibia in that he was honored to be there and South West Africa,” declared Roger PHOTO: OMOWALE CLAY / DECEMBER 12TH MOVEMENT demanded that Germany and all the Wareham, a member of the D12 In- er of the December 12th Movement, “We also must note that the genocide other colonial powers must pay rep- ternational Secretariat. worked closely with SWAPO leader which the Germans had perfected arations. “Last week, after over a century of Sam Nujoma. by the Holocaust had its beginnings Dores pointed out that Germa- denial, Germany formally admited While South Africa took over Na- in South West Africa, where they ny’s Deutsche Bank that plundered its genocide,” said Wareham. “We mibia following World War I, the hanged and shot thousands of Af- Namibia also helped finance Don- are here today, as Malcolm X often German colonists remained. Some ricans, forced thousands more into ald Trump. “If debts are supposed to said, to ‘make it plain.’ Germany white shopkeepers in Namibia’s cap- the desert without supplies while be sacred,” said Dores, “then repa- must pay reparations.” ital of Windhoek would close their poisoning the existing waterholes, rations have to be paid for Namib- The people of Namibia fought for stores on April 20, Hitler’s birthday. and made thousands die in concen- ia, Tulsa and all the other crimes. decades to win independence from One of the German colonial gov- tration camps. There’s no justice without debts be- the apartheid regime then existing ernors of Namibia was Heinrich “The Germans admit that they ing paid.” in South Africa. The South West Af- Göring, whose son Hermann Göring drew on the United States’ histor- The rally ended with the chant, rican People’s Organization — now was the No. 2 Nazi and the No. 1 war ically criminal mistreatment of its “Germany must pay! Reparations known as the SWAPO Party — led criminal at the Nuremberg trials. Indigenous peoples and its enslaved now!” this heroic armed struggle. Roger Wareham, who as a lawyer Africans in developing their geno- As the December 12th Movement The late Pan-African teacher and has initiated several suits for repa- cide campaigns. Africans on both says, “They stole us, they sold us, organizer Elombe Brath, a co-found- rations, pointed out the connection: sides of the Atlantic have faced the they owe us!” ₪ STRUGGLE H LA LUCHA June 14, 2021 Page 9

Free Alex Saab!

By Stephen Millies Saab was Venezuela’s ambassa- dor to the African Union when he For thousands of years human was arrested in Cabo Verde on June societies have protected diplomats 12, 2020. The African country seized from harm, even during wartime. Saab on the demand of the United That hasn’t stopped the U.S. capital- States and has kept him in jail since ist government from trying to seize then. The diplomat was traveling to the Venezuelan envoy Alex Saab. Iran to help arrange food shipments for Venezuela when he was taken from his aircraft during a fuel stop. So what does that have to do with Million Worker the United States? For 20 years the U.S. ruling class has been trying March to overthrow the elected govern- ment of the Bolivarian Republic of Continued from page 8 Venezuela. has influenced or been part of all Wall Street wants to return Ven- Protesters in Caracas demand release of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, February 2021. the major struggles in the nearly 20 ezuela to the days when then-New years since MWM organizing began: York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller had Six million families were provid- which it also imposes on the rest of from advances in understanding a 100,000 acre ranch there. The ed with food by Local Supply and the world — were violated by Am- gender, to migrant and immigrant Rockefellers considered the oil-rich Production Committees, which Alex bassador Saab, even though he never struggles, to solidarity with Pales- country to be their private property. Saab was trying to help. visited the United States. tine, international solidarity against Venezuela’s poor people meant as The response of both Republican Cabo Verde is a country of islands war from Venezuela to Iraq, to the much to Rockefeller as the 33 At- and Democratic presidents has been o® the west coast of Africa. It waged pandemic. tica prisoners that he had his state to issue cruel sanctions on Venezu- a liberation struggle along with oth- “Mobilizing in Our Own Name” troopers murder in 1971. ela, which strangled the country’s er Portuguese colonies. is the story of the Million Worker That changed in 1999 when the economy. These sanctions have cut The U.S. supplied the Portuguese March, but it is also very much the late Hugo Chávez was elected Vene- Venezuela o® from most of the world government, then a fascist regime, reflection of the life of a third-gen- zuela’s president and the Bolivarian economy. with napalm to burn Africans alive. eration longshoreman and his Revolution began. Poor and working The White House even had the Amilcar Cabral, who led the free- family that is intertwined with the people took back their country from Bank of England seize a billion dol- dom struggle in both Cabo Verde and struggles, social fabric and political Big Oil. lars of gold belonging to Venezuela. Guinea-Bissau, was assassinated history of Oakland, Calif., and the Over 3 million homes have been The British capitalist government with the CIA’s approval. Black freedom movement. built. While over 20,000 children refused Venezuela’s plea to use some Now the CIA wants Ambassador We thank the REAL Clarence in New York City are homeless and of the gold to pay for needed medi- Alex Saab to be turned over to the Thomas for sharing with new and 100,000 lack permanent housing, cal supplies during the coronavirus U.S. Alex Saab deserves freedom and old generations this remarkable not a single child in Venezuela is pandemic. Cabo Verde, and all Africans, deserve history and labor of love. ₪ homeless. The U.S. claims its sanctions — reparations. ₪ World mobilizes to send syringes to Cuba

By Alejandra Garcia of Medicine (ELAM) rollout, when Cuba needs it most. and other univer- Health authorities have already be- In March, social organiza- sities in Cuba also gun immunizing residents in Hava- tions, political leaders and sol- joined the call, and na, the Cuban city most impacted by idarity movements launched a are asking the Cu- the pandemic. fundraising campaign to send ban community liv- The government expects to vac- syringes to Cuba. The world ing in Honduras to cinate the country’s entire popula- wants to support the vaccina- collaborate in the tion as early as August. The dona- tion process of this small na- fundraising e®ort. tion of syringes will be essential for tion, which has done so much “People have this purpose. Why? Because the over to fight COVID-19 beyond its responded, even 200 restrictions imposed during own borders. though the eco- the Trump era are threatening to The campaign has gained nomic situation in squeeze the Cuban economy even momentum and size as the Honduras is adverse harder. days have gone by. The initia- because unemploy- Besides the global shortage of sy- tive began in Europe, thanks to ment has increased ringes and rising prices, Cuba faces the Cuba Linda and France-Cu- and salary pay- another equally complex challenge. ba Associations, and today it PHOTO: MIGUEL RUBIERA JUSTIZ /ACN ments have been The island can purchase health – is spreading throughout the delayed due to the and any other – supplies from a very Americas. “Blockade Kills, Solidar- being a blockaded country with no pandemic,” explained Elena Flores, short list of countries. ity Saves Lives” is the slogan of the resources that nevertheless has cre- president of the Honduras-Cuba As- Due to the blockade, few nations cause that is taking everyone’s at- ated its own vaccines. sociation (AHC). are willing to sell products directly tention in Honduras, Nicaragua, Ar- “In light of Cuba’s extraordinary Given the lack of air connection to Cuba because of the million-dol- gentina, Canada, the U.S. and other commitment and response to the from the Central American country lar fines the U.S imposes on any- countries in the region. fight against COVID-19, not only at to Havana, a situation that prevents one who dares to do so. The island “In France, we have raised 30,000 home but in 52 nations around the the syringes from being sent to the is forced to buy everything through euros to date, equivalent to 374,000 world, it is the least we can do. We see island, the Honduran doctors opted third countries, which makes each needles and syringes,” Cuba Linda it as a solidarity project,” said Bob to send the funds raised to Panama. product more expensive, causes reported. The group explained that Schwartz, CEO of U.S. Global Health There, several solidarity groups will delays in shipments and generates it is looking forward to collecting 10 Partners, an organization that re- buy and transfer the supplies to the shortages. million syringes, which will allow cently joined the campaign. Caribbean country through Cubana Although Cuba has the best re- the Cuban authorities to immunize In the U.S., several Cuban soli- Airlines. cord in Latin America in controlling their entire population in record darity groups have set out to raise Cubans living in Nicaragua are do- COVID-19, the disease is reaching its time, as planned. The UK Cuba Soli- funds to buy even more of the sy- ing the same operation. According to peak and vaccination is key to stop- darity Campaign has also launched a ringes proposed by Cuba Lin- Prensa Latina, up to 130,000 syring- ping it. As U.S. President Joe Biden campaign to raise funds for syring- da and France-Cuba. According to es have been collected in Managua. looks on motionless at Cuba’s e®orts es, vials and other medical supplies. Schwartz, “Global Health Partners, “We have already made two bank to pull its economy forward and pro- The world knows about Cuba’s ef- Code Pink, MEDICC, and the Center transfers to Panama for the amount tect its people from the deadly vi- forts to face the pandemic. Amid the for Cuban Studies plan to send five of US$4,479,” Rafael Ruiz of the Au- rus, the rest of the world is rallying most di¥cult economic situation, shipping containers with over 10 gusto C. Sandino Anti-imperialist around this tiny island. the country set out to leave no one million syringes to Havana.” Solidarity Network confirmed. Cuba is not alone, it never was, it unprotected, and it has done so in Honduran doctors who graduat- The solidarity campaign comes will never be. the most challenging way possible, ed from the Latin American School at a critical moment of the vaccine Source: Resumen Page 10 June 14, 2021 STRUGGLE H LA LUCHA Were new attacks on China

The Wuhan Institute of created in a Trump lab? Virology has been a global leader in research on coronaviruses. By Scott Scheffer China to try to distract from the fact that his administration allowed the By late May the level of attacks on pandemic to take hundreds of thou- outbreak in 2003, it has China regarding its success against sands of lives in the U.S. collected hundreds of COVID-19 reached a fever pitch. The The conspiratorial “lab leak” the- viral samples from bats Biden administration has all the ory that became a central part of to further the study of major U.S. media in tow. Trump’s narrative has now been re- how viruses mutate and A pack of Cold War-style lies tar- vived with the support of Joe Biden’s what mutations may geting a laboratory in Wuhan, China, White House. The theory goes that create a higher possi- has been picked up and made “cred- the origin of the virus that causes bility of transfer to hu- mans. The hope is that ible” by the Wall Street Journal, the COVID-19 was not natural but creat- from bats to an intermediary animal the research could help in the devel- New York Times, National Public ed by researchers in the Wuhan In- and then to humans, and that the lab opment of vaccines and allow scien- Radio and others. Headlines across stitute for Virology (WIV) laboratory leak theory was “highly unlikely.” tists to gain an edge in fighting fu- the internet refer to a previously and then leaked in an accident. In During the Trump administration, ture pandemics. discredited theory conjured up by some versions it was unleashed in a major media had to some extent The lead scientist at the WIV is the Trump administration as having purposeful germ warfare attack. been dismissive of the slanderous Zhengli Shi, famously known as the “gone mainstream.” attacks and had treated its propaga- No one in Wuhan lab had COVID Bat Woman for her devotion to this When viewed in the context of the tors as peddlers of a precarious con- field of study. growing U.S. military presence near All of the recent hype is anchored spiracy theory. But the tone began to The New York Times’ contribution China’s territorial waters, the ratch- on a “fact sheet” penned by Trump’s change as Biden’s new Secretary of to the slander includes an excep- eting up of propaganda is ominous. vile neo-Cold Warrior, former Sec- State Antony Blinken signaled that tionally long article written by its Until recently, the anti-China retary of State Pompeo. Pompeo the diplomatic assaults on China disgraced former science reporter slanders about the Wuhan lab and referenced U.S. intelligence “in- would continue unchanged from the Nicholas Wade. Wade was the subject other lies and attacks have been kept formation” that claimed WIV sta® previous Trump administration. of an anti-racist outcry over his 2014 alive by an exclusively right-wing were sickened and hospitalized in This week the floodgates opened, book that drew on the white-su- cast of characters led by Trump’s November 2019, a month before the and it was an all-out media assault premacist Bell Curve theory. That Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and earliest known case of COVID-19. on China. On May 27, Biden ordered hasn’t stopped the Times from trot- including the likes of Senator Tom The story isn’t substantiated in further “investigation” into the or- ting him out from time to time, and Cotton of Arkansas — who had also any way. All of the sta® at the Wuhan igin of the virus — not by scientists they tapped him to help push the called for sending in troops to put Institute were tested and there was but by the same spy agencies that current attacks on China. down and “quarter” [kill] Black Lives no presence of COVID antibodies in fabricated the infamous “weapons Wade accuses National Institutes Matter protesters — and others. anyone. This simple fact shows the of mass destruction” story used to of Health (NIH) Director Anthony China, with four times the popu- lab leak hypothesis to be a sham. justify the horrible U.S. war against Fauci of helping China in a supposed lation of the U.S., held its death toll There have been two delegations Iraq in the George W. Bush era. from the coronavirus to less than sent to Wuhan by the World Health coverup of a lab leak. He hangs his 5,000 through a “people’s war” Organization (WHO) to research the Wuhan lab leading virus research hat on the fact that the intermedi- against the virus that showcased origin of the virus. The first was ear- globally ate animal that is crucial to the nat- the superiority of socialist plan- ly in the pandemic and the second The WIV lab has been a global ural origin hypothesis hasn’t been ning over the anarchy of capitalism. was in March of this year. Both con- leader in research on coronavirus- Continued on page 11 Trump and his team used attacks on cluded that the virus likely jumped es. Since the first SARS coronavirus Colombia’s blood on U.S. hands: National strike marches on

By Greg Butterfield In Cali, the epicenter of state vi- disappeared more than PHOTO: MISIÓN VERDAD olence, a warehouse owned by the 600 people,” Resu- ‘Colombia cries Jhon Erik Larrahondo, 21, of Cali. Éxito Supermarket chain stands re- men reported. “Some but does not Alison Meléndez, 17, of Popayán. vealed as a bloody torture center. of them have appeared surrender.’ Camilo Arango, 19, of Tuluá. “When human rights organiza- floating in the Cauca These are but a few of more than tions were finally able to enter to River, others buried. In 60 victims confirmed dead of gov- do oversight, they found pools of recent days the police ernment terrorism against protest- blood in the underground parking have been increasing ers by the U.S.-armed and funded lots, blood even on electrical appli- the practice of enforced disappear- But so far the protesters show no Colombian Armed Forces, police and ances in the warehouse, a nause- ance, taking away protesters who signs of slowing down, only drawing death squads since the national up- ating smell. And they were totally then do not reappear.” more and more layers of the popu- rising against the regime of Presi- prevented from visiting one of the And yet, amidst the terror, the lace into the streets. dent Ivan Duque began on April 28. floors of the parking lot,” accord- people fight on. Whatever happens next, it’s clear Thousands have been arrested. ing to reports compiled by Resumen that a new generation of activists has Victories won in the streets Hundreds more have “disappeared” Latinamericano. taken the stage in Colombia. Many of — and bodies have begun to turn up, “For two days, live protesters What began April 28 as a protest them are not content with piecemeal washed up on the banks of rivers and were brought to this shopping cen- against the president’s proposed tax reforms, but want to see Duque’s buried in hastily-dug mass graves. ter, families and the community hike on the populace, despite wide- government — and those pulling the Colombia is called the Israel of Lat- denounced in anguish, shouts were spread unemployment caused by the strings — toppled for good. in America, and like its counterpart heard, repressive forces and garbage pandemic and the global capitalist They have seen their rulers’ be- in West Asia, the country’s brutal trucks circulated incessantly.” As of crisis, has mushroomed in the past trayal of the 2016 Havana Peace Ac- capitalist rulers loyally serve their May 23, more than 200 people have six weeks into a national uprising cords and subsequent slayings of masters in Washington, D.C. Colom- disappeared in Cali alone. that has left no city, town or village hundreds of former guerrillas, ac- bia is a member of the U.S.-domi- In a statement demanding an end in this diverse country untouched. tivists and community leaders by nated NATO military alliance — the to the disappearances, the Legal The movement first forced the right-wing death squads. They see only one in Latin America. and Humanitarian Team of the In- government to withdraw its “tax clearly the bloody hand of U.S. im- The elite Mobile Anti-Riot Squad ter-Church Justice and Peace Com- reform.” Then, on May 19, it forced perialism directing, arming and fi- (ESMAD) of the Colombian National mission reported: “Since May 14, Congress to vote down a plan to fur- nancing their oppressors. Police — established on the initia- the first reports of the existence of ther privatize the health care sys- They are learning invaluable les- tive of U.S. President Bill Clinton in mass graves were known in the ru- tem. Now the national strike move- sons, and many of those who survive 1999 to repress leftist movements ral area of the municipalities of Buga ment demands the firing of Defense will bring fresh energy and hard- — is carrying out murders, police and Yumbo, where [the police] would Minister Diego Molano, who com- won experience to Colombia’s revo- brutality, sexual assaults, and, in take the bodies of many young peo- mands the National Police. lutionary struggle for national lib- the style of its Israeli Defense Force ple from Cali.” O¥cials in Washington and Bo- eration and socialism. trainers, has blinded numerous pro- “Since the start of the strike, the gotá are betting on exhausting the Read full article at tinyurl.com testers with shots to the eyes. Colombian State has kidnapped and people with merciless repression. /8kbwkw9w. STRUGGLE H LA LUCHA June 14, 2021 Page 11 Attack on China Climate change and capitalism Continued from page 10 found, citing the quick success in By Scott Scheffer doing so only in the SARS and MERS outbreaks, even though it took much As ice weighing more than 20 mil- longer to trace that pathway and lion Empire State Buildings melt- identify the intermediary animal in ed from Greenland during the 20th many other viral outbreaks. In his century — and even faster in the claim that WIV researchers creat- last 25 years — the redistribution of ed the virus, he attributes scientific mass has caused the earth to drift abilities to the researchers that just o® its axis. don’t exist. The near future holds rising sea The journal Science published a levels that threaten coastal cities letter by a group of 18 scientists also and island nations. Droughts, mas- trying to give credibility to the lab sive fires and super-storms are fea- leak theory. All of the scientists are tured in the media so often they now from imperialist countries or oth- seem almost commonplace. er countries that have already been Activists around the world are taking part in the U.S.-led hostility calling for serious action. Measures toward China. that the Biden administration is The Chinese Embassy in Washing- aiming for are designed to placate ton posted a response to Biden’s call the growing anger, but everything for investigation that said: “Some proposed by the White House so far political forces have been fixated falls short of the dramatic changes on political manipulation and the needed even to limit the worst con- blame game.” sequences of global warming.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokes- In big capitalist countries, par- SLL PHOTO: SHARON BLACK person Zhao Lijian has demanded an ticularly the U.S., powerful corpo- Global climate strike in New York City, Sept. 20, 2019. investigation into the work conduct- rations dominate policies no matter ed at the U.S. biolab in Ft. Detrick, who gets elected. Imperialism – an CO2 emissions of U.S. military equip- nomical fuel usage of USAF fight- Md., which is surrounded by secrecy. inherent feature of late-stage cap- ment and the more than 800 bases it er planes: the F-4 Phantom Fighter Zhao said that Biden’s order showed italism – is far and away the big- operates globally, the Pentagon is burns more than 1,600 gallons of jet that the U.S. “does not care about gest cause of climate change and the the worst polluter in the world. That fuel per hour and peaks at 14,400 gal- facts and truth, nor is it interested in greatest obstacle to solving it. doesn’t even count the emissions lons per hour at supersonic speeds. serious scientific origin tracing.” ₪ U.S. military forces have killed of military-industrial corporations The B-52 Stratocruiser, with eight millions of people in direct warfare. that make billions of dollars building jet engines, guzzles 500 gallons per The Pentagon is also the biggest this death-dealing equipment. minute; ten minutes of flight uses as polluter on the planet, and brutal- Emissions by military forces were much fuel as the average driver does Puerto Rico unions ly enforces underdevelopment the excluded from participating coun- in one year of driving! world over, which exacerbates CO2 tries’ reports during the 1997 Kyoto “A quarter of the world’s jet fuel close ranks emissions. Protocol on global warming. A study feeds the USAF fleet of flying killing called “U.S. Military Pollution,” machines; in 2006, they consumed Continued from page 12 As the U.S. reenters the Paris Cli- mate Agreement and world leaders published on TheEcologist.org, used as much fuel as U.S. planes did during fective response from the working are setting goals to try to collective- multiple Freedom Of Information the Second World War (1941-1945) — people. We are not sitting by, nor are ly limit the rise in global tempera- Act (FOIA) requests to uncover the an astounding 2.6 billion gallons,” we going to do so. tures, that issue is not even part of role of the Department of Defense in Hynes reported. “You, arbitrarily, have closed the the conversation. bringing that about: “It’s no coinci- Since the first U.S. invasion of Iraq doors to dialogue, you have closed dence that U.S. military emissions in 1990, the majority of U.S. military the doors to the search for equitable Reversing Trump not enough tend to be overlooked in climate activity has been to maintain con- solutions in the courts of justice, you After an April international sum- change studies… In fact, the United trol over oil markets. According to have legislated to undermine our mit called for by the White House States insisted on an exemption for PressTV, U.S. troops are stationed in rights, you have done everything and a series of executive orders to reporting military emissions in the 14 countries in the Middle East and you can to guarantee their domi- try to undo the multitude of attacks 1997 Kyoto Protocol.” North Africa. nation. Now, face the consequenc- on environmental policies from the The exemption that allows the U.S. There is a huge U.S. base in Qa- es. You drew the line. We know how Trump era, the U.S. media are heap- to exclude military emissions was tar, the Fifth Fleet is stationed in to cross it,” said Lizbeth Mercado, ing praise on President Joe Biden. supposed to be done away with in Bahrain, and there is a U.S. military president of the Unión de Empleados In the days leading up to the sum- the Paris Climate Agreement, but the airport in Oman. We can now add Al- de la Corporación del Fondo del Se- mit, Biden called for a series of ac- decision to either include or with- Tanf in Syria, illegally occupied by guro del Estado (Union of the State tions that are by and large defensive hold that information is voluntary. the U.S. There may also be secret and Insurance Fund Corporation). measures against the attacks on en- illegal bases in occupied Palestine. Signing organizations: Unión vironmental laws set in motion by Abolish the Pentagon! In the western Pacific, three of the General de Trabajadores (UGT), Trump, but nothing that resembles A June 2019 Brown University eleven U.S. aircraft carrier groups pa- UNETE, Central Puertorriqueña de the changes that are urgently need- study calculates that between 2001 trol oil supply routes used by China. Trabajadores, Movimiento Soli- ed to deal with the crisis. and 2017, all branches of the U.S. The U.S. military has killed over dario Sindical, Federación Central Climate activists and scientists military emitted 1.2 billion metric 500,000 people since the downfall of de Trabajadores Local 481/UFCW, know that what Biden is calling for tons of greenhouse gases – more the USSR, destroyed access to clean Prosol-UTIER, Asociación Puer- so far just isn’t enough. Even Biden’s than Denmark and Sweden. That water, bombed hospitals and infra- torriqueña de Profesores Univer- U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry is amount included 400 million metric structure, and left behind huge ar- sitarios, Sindicato Puertorriqueño sounding the alarm over inaction. tons from the U.S. wars against Af- eas so contaminated with depleted de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras, There is another huge step that ghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, as uranium as to be uninhabitable. This EDUCAMOS, Frente Amplio de Ca- should be done first and foremost – well as attacks in Pakistan. has all been done to maintain con- mioneros, Hermandad de Emplea- abolish the Pentagon. In an article on Pentagon pollu- trol of oil profits, by the single larg- dos Exentos no Docentes (Heend), The U.S. military is spewing more tion posted on ClimateAndCapital- est consumer of oil. Federación Puertorriqueña de Tra- CO2 and other contaminants into the ism.com, H. Patricia Hynes describes The fight to end capitalist ex- bajadores, UIASAL, UITA, Unión de air than all of the cars and trucks in consumption of fuel by the air force ploitation, stop climate change and Empleados de la Corporación del the United States. In fact, 45 coun- alone: “The U.S. Air Force (USAF) is stop endless imperialist wars are all Fondo del Seguro del Estado, UASAL, tries pollute less than the U.S. Armed the single largest consumer of jet the same struggle, and it is a race UAASL, USW and HEOAMA. ₪ Forces. fuel in the world. against time. Abolish the Pentagon As a single entity, measuring the “Fathom, if you can, the astro- and save the planet! ₪

Paperback or Kindle At: tinyurl.com/vwarcv7 McCubbin is the author of ’Roots of The Social Evolution of Humanity Lesbian and Gay Oppression: A Marxist View.’ First published in 1976, during the Marx and Engels were right! Bob McCubbin first flush of the modern LGBTQ2S move- This study of the evolution of humanity focuses on human social/sexual relations and, ment, McCubbin’s unparalleled achieve- in particular, the changing social status of women. It offers a selection of scientific evidence ment was to offer a historical analysis that updates and augments the viewpoint expressed in Frederick Engels’ masterful work, of when, where, why and how LGBTQ2S ’Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State.’ oppression developed. Sindicatos de Puerto Rico cierran filas contra LUMA Energy

Por Wilmarilis Sánchez-Romeu trada de los parásitos de LUMA, sino y Edwin Ocasio Feliciano que seguiremos convocando activi- dades que desembocarán en un Paro Organizaciones sindicales ad- Nacional si el intransigente de Pier- virtieron hoy al gobernador Pedro luisi no detiene el contrato. La bola Pierluisi y a la Junta de Control Fiscal está en su cancha”, subrayó, María que paralizarán el país si no se can- del Mar Rosa, coordinadora organi- cela el contrato de LUMA Energy que zacional APPU. aumenta las tarifas, permite al con- Los portavoces de insistieron en sorcio irse de Puerto Rico si azota un que el Gobernador quiere despojar al huracán y que desplaza a miles de pueblo de Puerto Rico de su principal trabajadores. recurso de desarrollo económico, la “Le estamos advirtiendo al abo- Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica (AEE), gado de la Junta de Control Fiscal, para entregarla gratuitamente y sin Pedro Pierluisi, que no habrá paz en garantía alguna para el país a LUMA Puerto Rico si no se deroga el contra- Energy y que no lo permitirán. to y se escucha a un pueblo que exige, “No vamos a permitir que nos ar- no solo una AEE pública y más eficaz rebaten nuestra primera industria y FOTO: FEDERACIÓN DE MAESTROS DE PUERTO RICO sino, también libre de combustibles más sabiendo que el pueblo será qui- Conferencia de prensa movimiento obrero, 1 de junio. fósiles. En estos momentos existe en pague las consecuencias. A esto el ambiente para paralizar el país y hay que añadirle también la forma puede tener la voluntad de sacar a to- dominio. Ahora aténganse a las con- si el gobernador sigue sin escuchar humillante y abusiva como han trat- dos los buitres que invaden nuestro secuencias. Ustedes tiraron la raya al pueblo, eso haremos. Ya hemos ado a los trabajadores y trabajadoras país. Desde aquí les reiteramos nues- en el piso. Nosotros sabemos cómo sostenido varias reuniones para co- de esa corporación, despojándolos tro apoyo, solidaridad y comprom- cruzarla”, sentenció Lizbeth Mer- ordinar logística y fechas y esta se- de sus plazas y derechos y hasta de iso de que LUMA tiene los días con- cado, presidenta la Unión de la Cor- mana nos volveremos a reunir para la posibilidad de atender las necesi- tados”, puntualizó Antonio Cabán, poración del Fondo del Seguro del ultimar detalles, tengan por sentado dades de servicio de los ciudadanos. presidente de la Federación Central Estado. que este verano será uno muy pare- De igual manera expresamos nues- de Trabajadores, Local 481/UFCW. Las organizaciones que suscriben cido al del 2019”, Carlos Rodríguez, tro total e incondicional solidaridad Los líderes sindicales insistieron son las siguientes Unión General de coordinador del Frente Amplio de a la Alianza de Empleados Activos en que lucharán junto a la Alianza de Trabajadores (UGT), UNETE, Cen- Camioneros. y Jubilados de la que han sido atro- Empleados Activos y el pueblo para tral Puertorriqueña de Trabajadores, “Hoy, le decimos a LUMA que ni se pellados, abusados, humillados y sacar a LUMA Energy del país. Movimiento Solidario Sindical, Fed- preocupen por acomodarse en nues- burlados por el Gobierno de Pedro “No tengan la menor duda los lla- eración Central de Trabajadores Local tro país porque no les vamos a dejar Pierluisi y la dictadura que gobierna mados gobernantes de que tendrán 481/UFCW, Prosol-UTIER, Asociación tranquilos hasta que se larguen de el País”, añadió. una efectiva respuesta del pueblo Puertorriqueña de Profesores Uni- Puerto Rico. Y a los trabajadores que El grupo reiteró su apoyo y soli- trabajador. No estamos, ni vamos a versitarios, Sindicato Puerto rriqueño pretendan traer de afuera que sepan daridad a los empleados de la AEE quedarnos cruzados de brazos. Ust- de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras, EDU- que si cruzan la línea de piquete se que han sido traslados a quienes pi- edes, arbitrariamente, le han cerra- CAMOS, Frente Amplio de Camioner- encontrarán con un pueblo dispues- dieron calma. do las puertas al diálogo, ustedes le os, Hermandad de Empleados Exen- to a defender su soberanía energéti- “Esto será algo temporero, hemos han cerrado las puertas a la búsque- tos no Docentes (Heend), Federación ca y su acceso al agua. ¡Sin agua y luz vivido tiempos muy difíciles, pero da de soluciones equitativas en los Puertorriqueña de Trabajadores, no hay vida! En los próximos días no también hemos demostrado que la tribunales de justicia, ustedes han UIASAL, UITA, Unión de Empleados solo estaremos en los portones jun- lucha del pueblo de Puerto Rico es legislado para menoscabar nuestros de la Corporación del Fondo del Se- to con nuestros compañeras y com- nuestra herramienta más efectiva, si derechos, ustedes han hecho todo lo guro del Estado, UASAL, UAASL, USW pañeros de lucha para evitar la en- como el pueblo sacó a un gobernador, que han podido para garantizar su y HEOAMA. ₪ Puerto Rico unions close ranks against LUMA Energy Photo above, Labor movement press conference, June 1.

By Wilmarilis Sánchez-Romeu and this summer will be one very simi- the governor wants to deprive the The group reiterated its support and Edwin Ocasio Feliciano lar to that of 2019,” said Carlos Ro- people of Puerto Rico of their main solidarity with the PREPA employees dríguez, coordinator of the Frente resource for economic development, who have been transferred, to whom June 1 — Union organizations to- Amplio de Camioneros (Broad Front the Electric Power Authority, to give they advised to keep their calm. day warned Gov. Pedro Pierluisi and of Truckers). it up to LUMA Energy for nothing “This will be something tempo- the Financial Oversight and Man- “Today, we tell LUMA not to both- and without any guarantee for the rary. We have lived through very dif- agement Board that they will para- er settling in our country since we country, and they will not allow it. ficult times, but we have also shown lyze the country if the LUMA Energy will not leave them alone until they “We are not going to allow our that the struggle of the people of contract that increases rates, allows leave Puerto Rico. And the workers main industry to be taken from us Puerto Rico is our most e®ective tool; the consortium to leave Puerto Rico who they intend to bring in from and even more so, knowing that the if the people removed a governor, if a hurricane strikes, and displaces abroad should know that if they people will be the ones who will pay they may have the will to remove all thousands of workers, is not canceled. cross the picket line, they will face the consequences. To this must also the vultures that invade our country. “We are warning the advocate for a people willing to defend their en- be added the humiliating and abusive “We reiterate our support, soli- the Financial Oversight and Man- ergy sovereignty and their access to way in which they have treated the darity and the commitment to make agement Board, Pedro Pierluisi, that water. There is no life without water workers of the corporation, stripping sure that LUMA’s days are num- there will be no peace in Puerto Rico and electricity! them of their positions and rights bered,” stated Antonio Cabán, pres- if the contract is not repealed and “In the next few days we will not and even the possibility of attending ident of the Federación Central de they listen to the people who de- only be in front of the gates together to the service needs of citizens. Trabajadores (Central Federation of mand, not only a public and more with our comrades in struggle to pre- “In the same way, we express our Workers), Local 481/UFCW. e¥cient Puerto Rico Electric Power vent the entry of the LUMA parasites, total and unconditional solidarity to Union leaders maintained that Authority (PREPA), but also one free but we will continue calling for activ- the Alliance of Active Employees and they will fight alongside the Active of fossil fuels. ities that will lead to a National Strike Retirees, who have been bulldozed, Employees Alliance and the people to “Right now there is a favorable at- if the intransigent Pierluisi does not abused, humiliated, and belittled oust LUMA Energy from the country. mosphere for paralyzing the coun- stop the contract. The ball is in their by the government of Pedro Pierlu- “The so-called rulers should have try and if the governor continues to court,” stressed María del Mar Rosa, isi and the dictatorship that governs no doubt that they will have an ef- ignore the people, we will do so. We organizational coordinator of the the country,” she added. Continued on page 11 have already held several meetings Asociación Puertorriqueña de Pro- to coordinate logistics and dates, fesores Universitarios (Puerto Rican and this week we will meet again to University Professors Association). finalize details. Make no mistake, The spokespersons insisted that

Struggle-La-Lucha.org @StruggleLaLucha /strugglelalucha [email protected] Vol. 4, No. 12 June 14, 2021 Vol. 4, Núm. 12 junio 14 de 2021