Maternidad y racismo Mueller y Trump 12

Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite! workers.org Vol. 60, No. 10 March 8, 2018 $1 School workers strike and win raise Class war in

By Martha Grevatt attacks. West Virginia ranks 48th in the and Minnie Bruce Pratt U.S. for teacher wages — teachers earn less in only two other states. Starting pay International UPDATE, MARCH 6: After nine con- is around $32,000 a year, and teachers secutive work days out on strike, West with families must often apply for food Working Women’s Day: Virginia’s militant teachers and school assistance. DPRK women • Trans lives • Black maternity staff faced down a right-wing governor The strike in all 55 counties, which be- and legislature to win a 5 percent pay gan Feb. 22, will continue indefinitely un- Women, struggle, solidarity 6-7, 10 raise, not just for themselves, but for all til the state Senate passes a bill granting state workers. They had vowed to stay state education workers a 5 percent raise. Women lead the way in out until they won. The bill authorizing On Feb. 28, the House approved the 5 workers’ rights struggles the raise passed the House and Senate percent pay raise, which billionaire Re- around the world. and was signed by the governor this af- publican Gov. Jim Justice approved in ternoon. Teachers and staff are likely to talks with the three unions the day before. CWA worker and striking return to work March 7 but the possibili- But on March 1, the right-wing Senate public school teachers and ty of renewed action remains, especially proposed taking away the pay raise and staff in West Virginia; below, in relation to health insurance funding. diverting it toward supposedly “fixing” To continue to follow workers’ struggles the health insurance plan. The legislature striking graduate school in the state, including Frontier workers must believe the workers will fall for this workers in Illinois. represented by CWA, still out on strike, as if it’s a magic trick. This capitalist fak- go to FB: WWP West Virginia - Strike ery only made the workers angrier. West Virginia Support. Members of both the House and Senate March 5 — In West Virginia, famous are heavily influenced by the coal, oil and for pitched battles between union miners gas company owners of West Virginia. and the coal barons, class war is raging. For three days, including a Saturday This time it’s teachers and all school em- when a special session was called, the ployees on one side and right-wing cap- Senate failed to pass the 5 percent raise. italist politicians on the other. To quote Then they tried to substitute a 4 percent the old labor song, “Which Side Are You raise under the cover of giving it to all On?” — “there are no neutrals.” state workers. Education workers were still out on A joint statement from the striking the picket lines at the end of the day, con- unions explained why that was unac- tinuing their historic statewide strike for ceptable: “You do not equalize pay for better wages, as well as blocking health different groups by simply taking from care takeaways and other union-busting Continued on page 5 An open letter from a teacher to West Virginia educators

Dear education workers You have shown that this strike is not of West Virginia, just a fight for educators. This is a fight for students, communities and all work- Your militancy is phenomenal. Your ers to have these same basic rights. courage to stand up and fight back is in- I am a social studies teacher in a neigh- spiring. Your bravery is powerful. Your borhood high school in Philadelphia, and 55-county-strong strike is historic. You your action has caught the attention of are what we all need. me and my co-workers. While we have You have stood in defiance of billion- collective bargaining for public employ- WW PHOTOS aire Gov. Jim Justice and the anti-work- ees (a right won through a strike similar er West Virginia Legislature in order to Continued on page 5 Illinois WW PHOTO: KAITLYN GRIFFITH fight for decent family-supporting wages, for access to affordable health care and in defense of your union rights. You have Basketball and slave labor 2 A tax in sheep’s clothing 8 inspired by showing us a militant strike led overwhelmingly by women.

#DefeatAusterity & ‘Hands off Korea!’ 9 Subscribe to Workers World 3 4 weeks trial $4 1 year subscription $30 #CrushICE Sign me up for the WWP Supporter Program: EDITORIAL workers.org/donate

Name ______The anti-worker Teaching how to fight in

Email ______Phone ______face of Janus 4 W.Va. 10

Street ______City / State / Zip ______Workers World Weekly Newspaper workers.org YEMEN 11 11 ZIMBABWE 11 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl, NY, NY 10011 212.627.2994 Page 2 March 8, 2018 workers.org

MARCH MADNESS, NCAA & slave labor  In the U.S. By Monica Moorehead Jay Williams as a student Class war in West Virginia ...... 1 March 5 — The FBI announced Feb. 23 it had obtained athlete From a teacher to West Virginia educators: A letter . . . 1 evidence the National Collegiate Athletic Association playing March madness, NCAA & slave labor ...... 1 violated various codes of ethics regarding its Division I for Duke #DefeatAusterity: Activists to gather in Detroit . . . . . 2 basketball programs. The FBI got the evidence through University. emails, financial records and an estimated 4,000 wire- Bay Resistance says ‘Crush ICE’ ...... 3 tapped conversations. failures that must be fixed and fixed .... Simply put, peo- Rent strike wins in East LA ...... 3 This investigation ran from 2015 until 2017 and in- ple who engage in this kind of behavior have no place in Janus v. ASCME -- racist history of ‘right to work’ slogan 4 volved agents and financial managers from ASM Sports. college sports. They are an affront to all those who play Grad workers and teachers strike in Illinois ...... 4 That agency established relationships with high school by the rules.” (espn.com, Feb. 25) basketball players and families to lure them with incen- Philly workers fight bigotry at nonprofit agency . . . . 6 tives to commit to college and university athletics pro- Student-athletes treated as slave labor A tax in sheep’s clothing ...... 8 grams ASM contracted with. The incentives included But as well-known Black journalist, , point- Actions demand ‘U.S. hands off Korea!’ ...... 9 sums of money, large and small, along with food and ed out in the headline for his online Feb. 22 Intercept ar- Speakout against war on Korea in Philly ...... 9 travel expenses. The incriminating records were mainly ticle: “The NCAA says student-athletes shouldn’t be paid those of Andy Miller, until recently a high-profile agent because the 13th Amendment allows unpaid prison labor.” Forum on Zimbabwe’s struggle for sovereignty . . . . 11 for National Basketball Association stars. Miller is presi- King reminded readers that the NCAA hierarchy had Marching for Dreamers in L.A., ‘Fighting to stay home’ 11 dent of ASM Sports. challenged lawsuits in 2016 and 2017 advocating for stu- At least three dozen schools famous for their sports dent-athletes to be treated like other workers by paying  International Working Women’s day programs have been named in this probe. These include them for their labor. Lawsuits filed for the college players North Korean women thrive despite imperialist threats 6 Alabama, Duke, Kentucky, Louisiana State University, rightfully stated that student-athletes were being treated Racism’s impact on maternity ...... 7 Maryland, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Univer- the same as prisoners, who are exploited as slave labor. Defending trans lives from violence ...... 7 sity of North Carolina, Seton Hall, Texas, University of The NCAA justified no payment for student-athletes Southern California and Washington. Players from these by basing its legal argument on a horrifying clause in  Around the world schools who could be connected to the probe include the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Adopted U.S. denial of visa to world union leader protested . . . . 8 some currently in the NBA. after the U.S. Civil War in 1865, that amendment abol- Will U.S. agree to Korea talks? ...... 9 ished the unpaid labor of slavery except during involun- Once the FBI decides to publicly release the documents, U.N. ignores genocidal war on Yemen ...... 11 the information potentially could lead to sanctions against tary servitude in prison because of a criminal conviction. Venezuela, the shadow agenda ...... 11 the named schools and the suspension of players, the vast The NCAA’s legal argument racially stereotypes Afri- majority of them African-American men whose families can-American athletes in disproportionate numbers, but  Editorial struggle financially to make ends meet. Besides sanctions, generally exploits all student-athletes, regardless of na- West Virginia education workers, teaching how to fight . 10 tionality and economic backgrounds. criminal charges could conceivably be brought by the FBI Women, solidarity and struggle ...... 10 against the players or even some of the coaches. The implications of not paying student-athletes go to Some student-athletes accused of associating with the heart of the recent NCAA scandal. The NCAA is first  Noticias en Español ASM Sports were not allowed to play in college games and foremost a multibillion-dollar enterprise, seeking to Impacto del racismo en la maternidad ...... 12 over the Feb. 23-24 weekend. Those who did play were make profits under capitalism. In 2006, CBS and Time Editorial: No confiar en que Mueller deponga a Trump 12 taunted as “cheaters” in chants from fans. Warner signed a 14-year contract with the NCAA to air The NCAA and individual schools plan to carry out its three-week March Madness basketball tournament, their own investigations into yet another scandal coming online and on TV, for $10.6 billion. on the heels of the Larry Nassar sexual assaults on over None of the student-athletes on the 68 teams selected Workers World 160 gymnasts and other women athletes. yearly in the tournament brackets receive one dime from 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl. NCAA President Mark Emmert, whose annual salary the NCAA. It is illegal for student-athletes to receive any New York, NY 10011 is close to $2 million not including perks, hypocritical- kind of financial compensation, even if their likeness ap- Phone: 212.627.2994 ly stated, “These allegations, if true, point to systematic Continued on page 10 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.workers.org Vol. 60, No. 10 • March 8, 2018 Closing date: March 6, 2018 Join us in the fight Editor: Deirdre Griswold Managing Editors: John Catalinotto, LeiLani Dowell, for socialism! Kris Balderas Hamel, Monica Moorehead, Workers World Party is a revolutionary Marxist-­ Wages are lower than ever, and youth are saddled with Minnie Bruce Pratt; Web Editor Gary Wilson Leninist party inside the belly of the imperialist beast. seemingly insurmountable student debt, if they even make Production & Design Editors: Coordinator Lal Roohk; We are a multinational, multigenerational and multigen- it to college. Black and Brown youth and trans people are Andy Katz, Cheryl LaBash dered organization that not only aims to abolish capital- gunned down by cops and bigots on a regular basis. Copyediting and Proofreading: Sue Davis, ism, but to build a socialist society because it’s the only WWP fights for socialism because the working class Bob McCubbin, Jeff Sorel way forward! produces all wealth in society, and this wealth should re- Contributing Editors: Abayomi Azikiwe, Capitalism and imperialism threaten the peoples of main in their hands, not be stolen in the form of capital- Greg Butterfield, G. Dunkel, K. Durkin, the world and the planet itself in the never-ending quest ist profits. The wealth workers create should be socially Fred Goldstein, Martha Grevatt, Teresa Gutierrez, for ever-greater profits. Capitalism means war and aus- owned and its distribution planned to satisfy and guar- Berta Joubert-Ceci, Terri Kay, Cheryl LaBash, terity, racism and repression, joblessness and lack of antee basic human needs. Milt Neidenberg, John Parker, Bryan G. Pfeifer, hope for the future. No social problems can be solved Since 1959, Workers World Party has been out in the Betsey Piette, Gloria Rubac under capitalism. streets defending the workers and oppressed here and Mundo Obero: Redactora Berta Joubert-Ceci; The U.S. is the richest country in the world, yet no one worldwide. If you’re interested in Marxism, socialism Andrea Bañuelos, Alberto García, Teresa Gutierrez, has a guaranteed right to shelter, food, water, health care, and fighting for a socialist future, please contact a WWP Carlos Vargas education or anything else — unless they can pay for it. branch near you. Supporter Program: Coordinator Sue Davis Contact a Workers World Party branch near you: workers.org/wwp Copyright © 2018 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of articles is permitted in any medium National Office Boston Detroit Los Angeles Rockford, Ill. without royalty provided this notice is preserved. 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl. 284 Amory St. 5920 Second Ave. 5278 W Pico Blvd. [email protected] Workers World (ISSN-1070-4205) is published weekly New York, NY 10011 Boston, MA 02130 Detroit, MI 48202 Los Angeles, CA 90019 Salt Lake City except the first week of January by WW Publishers, 212.627.2994 617.286.6574 313.459.0777 [email protected] 801.750.0248 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10011. Phone: 323.306.6240 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 212.627.2994. Subscriptions: One year: $30; institu- Madison Atlanta Buffalo, N.Y. Durham, N.C. San Antonio, Texas tions: $35. 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By Workers World Detroit bureau Santos Ramos, former president of the Electrical Industry and Irrigation Workers Organizing is in high gear for the Na- Union (UTIER) of Puerto Rico. The pan- tional Conference to Defeat Austerity el will also include talks on austerity and taking place March 24 in Detroit. the struggle in Lebanon and Palestine, the Youth organizer Mond Jones told Philippines and a report from Venezuela. Workers World some of the perspective Presentations will explain how auster- behind this important gathering, which ity reflects the direct imposition of rule will have an international focus: “Auster- by finance capital to ensure its profits at ity is one of the concrete ways capitalism the expense of wages, pensions and ben- and white supremacy manifest them- efits for the working class. An analysis selves against the people. Austerity is a of the Trump tax plan and Pentagon war term used to describe policies that aim buildup, which will lead to the virtual to reduce government deficits by budget destruction of what little remains of the cuts and tax hikes on the poor. These social safety net, will be discussed. budget cuts attack things like education Workshops will be held on fighting wa- Joseph’s Episcopal Church, 8850 Wood- org. For more information, see the Face- and public health first and foremost. ter shutoffs; stopping foreclosures; edu- ward Ave. Following that, there will be book event at tinyurl.com/ycx68v2s; on “Every day in Detroit we see the effects cation cuts; the Poor People’s Campaign; dinner and an evening of cultural presen- @DefeatAusterity; or contact de- of austerity in practice. We see it in the and the mass incarceration of youth tations. To register go to moratorium-mi. [email protected]. mass water shutoffs that have swept the and proliferation of prison labor. The city for years. Thousands of families lose Southern Workers Assembly will lead water over petty delinquencies, while cor- a workshop on the growing strikes and porations rack up hundreds of thousands fightback by public workers, especially in Bay Resistance says in unpaid water bills without penalty. the South, as witnessed in West Virginia “Detroit is under attack. But not just with the teachers’ strike. Detroit. We see the same austerity in A special workshop on understanding ‘Crush ICE’ Puerto Rico and all over the world. We and reading financial instruments will be see it anywhere there are oppressed peo- led by Maurice B.P. Drew, co-executive By San Francisco Bay Area WW bureau ple, anywhere the banks and the billion- director of the Refund America Project, aires work together to line their pockets the preeminent organization studying Hundreds of mostly young people shut and keep workers under.” Wall Street bond refinancing and extor- down the San Francisco headquarters of The conference will include a panel on tion against the working class. RAP re- the Immigration and Customs Enforce- the history of the deliberate targeting of search has been used by organizations ment department gates and blocked the Detroit by the banks and corporations be- fighting the banks’ robbery in Detroit, intersection of Sansome and Washington cause of its leading role in the Black liber- Puerto Rico, Chicago and elsewhere. streets on Feb. 28 to protest the gesta- ation struggle as a result of the concentra- Action proposals will be on the agen- po-like roundup of alleged undocument- tion of revolutionary African-American da, including participation in the Poor ed immigrants in the Bay Area. workers in the auto industry. People’s Campaign, May Day and demon- Activist youths, labor union members, PHOTO: INDYBAY strations against the ongoing tax foreclo- church-affiliated people and anyone op- Downtown San Francisco, Feb. 28. A fightback agenda sures and water shutoffs in Detroit. posing the ICE attacks that break up im- A highlight of the conference will be The conference will start March 24 migrant families and disrupt the lives of arms — sometimes using lengthy exten- an international panel featuring Ricardo at 10 a.m. at historic St. Matthew’s-St. millions joined the action. They joined sions — and chanted against ICE while blocking ICE entrances and traffic in downtown San Francisco. One group of marchers arrived fol- Rent strike wins in East LA lowing a large banner that read, “Crush ICE.” Other protesters painted an enor- mous sign on the street with the message By Scott Scheffer Gentrification and spiking that the Bay Area was protesting ICE and Los Angeles rents are plaguing all of LA, demanding to “Keep families together.” and working-class people have ICE’s assaults on various communi- Residents of the East Los Angeles been fighting back. In 2015 the ties in the Bay Area from San Jose to neighborhood of Boyle Heights are sa- Los Angeles Tenants Union was Oakland to San Francisco had led to the voring a rent-strike victory organized formed and began opening chap- arrests of 150 people. According to ICE by a group of tenants. The Mariachi rent ters in different neighborhoods. spokespeople, another 864 people had strike forced a rich real estate developer Unión de Vecinos founded the been targeted but escaped. For this slip- to sign the first-ever collective bargaining Boyle Heights LA Tenants Union. up, ICE officials attempted to blame local agreement between tenants and a land- The seven tenants who were sud- elected politicians like Oakland Mayor lord in Los Angeles. denly facing unaffordable rent Libby Schaaf, who warned people of the About half the tenants in the 24-unit PHOTO: BOYLEHEIGHTSBEAT.COM increases in early 2017 contacted upcoming raids. Many of the local elect- Artists and community fight evictions. building are Mariachi entertainers. They the union. ed officials in California oppose the bla- moved there to be near Mariachi Plaza, More mothers joined and they became Their outreach emphasized tant repression of the raids and say they where these traditional performers gath- “Unión de Vecinos,” Union of Neighbors. their connection to Mariachis, the be- won’t cooperate with ICE. er to get paid gigs. They have been fighting for the rights of loved icon in this Mexican community, According to Indybay.org on March Real estate developer Frank BJ Turn- Boyle Heights tenants ever since. and to expose the name and face of Frank 1, “Some protesters — yelling, ‘Shut ICE er purchased the building with a plan to Recently investors bought art galler- BJ Turner. Other tenants joined the cam- down!’ — locked themselves together in spike the rents of five to seven tenants at ies and apartment buildings in Boyle paign and posters appeared all over the human chains to block traffic well into a time, each step giving him more lever- Heights. Apartment rents are rising. building. Social media got the word out the afternoon.” Others blocked ICE gates age over the remaining tenants. Turner Low-income people are being forced out. widely. to prevent them from bringing more ar- quickly demanded rent increases of 60 Galleries that formerly featured local When Turner refused to meet, they restees in. to 80 percent on seven apartments. He artists are being replaced by showrooms kept up the pressure, calling a rent strike Protester Trilce Santana said, “What named the building “Mariachi Crossing” selling artwork for sometimes tens of that lasted nine months. Each month we want is for the folks who have been de- to exploit the culture even as he aimed to thousands of dollars. they paid their pre-increase rent to Turn- tained in this round of raids to be set free drive people out. Activists have disrupted “art tours” er and put the increase in an escrow ac- and to be able to have due process if they and protested gentrification. Unión de count. After returning the checks for two are still detained.” Santana said raids “de- Boyle Heights fights gentrification Vecinos has gained community esteem. months, Turner began accepting them, stroy families, they spread terror, they During the Bill Clinton administration Fernando Ramirez, an East L.A. resident, while still demanding increases. make communities unsafe because [im- a plan was initiated to demolish federal staff organizer for the United Electrical migrants] are not able to reach out for housing projects and build smaller, sin- Workers and a tenant rights organizer, ‘See you at your house’ services out of fear.” (Indybay, March 1) gle-family dwellings. A group of Boyle told Workers World: “We don’t want cor- Some 75 to 100 tenants demonstrated The Feb. 28 Mercury News reported Heights women known as “Mothers of porate art, we have our own art. None of at Turner’s Beverly Hills office and then Anand Singh’s comments: “We’re here the Projects” blocked the bulldozers at these galleries has connections with our at his home in the lavish Rancho Park to stand for justice and due process for three different housing projects. They de- community. And there’s nothing wrong neighborhood. Clearly rattled, Turner’s all people.” Singh is president of UNITE manded that the replacement housing be with homes being fixed and updated. But office finally agreed to a meeting — if HERE Local 2, a union representing provided to neighborhood residents — at there’s a saying in the struggle: Your lux- the tenants would just call off a planned thousands of workers in the service affordable rents — and they won. ury won’t be our displacement!” Continued on page 8 ­industry. Page 4 March 8, 2018 workers.org Behind Janus v. AFSCME A racist, sexist threat to all union labor By Edward Yudelovich rights in this case. “Right to work” is a Big Lie, made in the U.S., with its roots in The U.S. Supreme Court heard argu- the racial brutality of the Jim Crow South ments Feb. 26 on the Janus v. AFSCME, and a pretext to pass off anti-union legis- Council 31 case. A decision, expected by lation as free speech. June, threatens to overturn a 1977 SCO- TUS decision that defended the right of Workers resist ‘right-to-work’ Big Lie public sector unions, such as the Ameri- But workers’ leaders have answered can Federation of State, County and Mu- this Big Lie. On Dec. 8, Lee Saunders, nicipal Employees, to collect dues from the first African-American president of nonmembers represented by the unions. AFSCME, representing 1.6 million pub- These nonmembers receive the same lic sector workers, pointed out in a state- collective bargaining, economic and ment titled “The False Slogan of Right to medical benefits as dues-paying mem- Work: An Attack on Worker Freedom”: bers. Thus a decision against automatic “More than half of African Americans collection of dues from all workers weak- make less than $15 per hour. But belong- ens the ability of public worker unions to ing to a union is likely to lead to a sub- do their job. stantial pay raise and superior benefits. Since 7.2 million, or nearly half the African-American union members earn 14.8 million union members in the Unit- 14.7 percent more than their non-union ed States, are public sector workers, the peers. The union advantage for Latinx is Janus case represents a potential blow to even greater: 21.8 percent.” union membership density and the fis- There are two important reasons for cal survival of many unions. The union this gain in wages. The civil service merit PHOTO: CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL New York City workers march on Working People’s Day, Feb. 24. membership rate of public sector workers system, used to attain public sector em- is 34.4 percent, while that of private sec- ployment by examination based on one’s stration against “right to work” now is the racist, pro-lynching movie glorifying the tor workers is 6.5 percent. (U.S. Bureau of ability to perform on a test, makes dis- continuing strike of public school teach- Ku Klux Klan, “The Birth of a Nation.” Labor and Statistics, Jan. 19) crimination more difficult for the bosses. ers in West Virginia. The overwhelming Prior to Wilson’s inauguration in 1913, In addition, because of the makeup of Furthermore, specific civil rights statutes majority of the strike leaders are women. African Americans had been making slow public sector workers, the Janus case is a in many state and local governments pro- but steady progress in federal employ- special threat to the rights of women and tecting women workers and workers of col- Racist invented ‘right-to-work’ slogan ment and were about 5 percent of all fed- of African-American workers. Women or from discrimination, won from decades The Big Lie of so-called right-to-work eral civil servants nationwide, working made up 57 percent of the public sector of labor and civil rights struggles, have — that is, the so-called “right” to not be in side-by-side with whites. Then Wilson workforce in 2012. As of 2015, one in five many more protections than similar feder- a union — was coined by Texas oil lobbyist segregated federal workplaces, including African Americans works for the govern- al and local laws for private sector workers. Vance Muse in the 1930s. He opposed the the railway mail service, which mandat- ment in a public sector job. Black wom- The weekend before the court heard unionization of U.S. workers and helped ed curtains be installed to separate Black en make up 17.7 percent of public sector the Janus case, many thousands of work- pass the first anti-union laws in Texas. and white clerical workers and required workers. ers organized Working People’s Day of Muse was editor of The Christian Amer- segregated lunchrooms and restrooms. Action protests in more than 25 cities ican and worked for the anti-Semitic and On May 27, 1914, Wilson’s Civil Service #45 backs attack on unions on Feb. 24. Labor and civil rights groups anti-Black Southern Committee to Uphold Commission issued a new order requir- Since the Janus case is an attack held a protest in front of the Supreme the Constitution. He also used his segre- ing that applicants for federal jobs submit on labor, Black people, women and all Court during the hearing on Feb. 26. gationist views as an argument against a photograph — so African-American ap- workers, it should be no surprise that Many of the rallies commemorated unions, stating that with unions: “White plicants could be excluded. The NAACP Trump — the racist bigot and misogynist the 50th anniversary of the historic 1968 women and white men will be forced into and the historically Black National Al- in chief, called “45” in disgust by many Memphis, Tenn., sanitation strike. At that organizations with [racist slur] ... or lose liance of Postal Employees (NAPE was union members — is supporting Mark Ja- time the predominantly African-Amer- their jobs.” (Labor Notes, Aug. 3, 2017) formed in 1913 after Black people were nus, the public employee in Illinois who ican sanitation workers, represented by Muse also fought against against the excluded from the Railway Mail Associa- brought the suit against the union. The AFSCME Local 1733, walked out on strike Adamson Act, which gave an eight-hour tion) campaigned for many years against Trump administration’s Department of for more than two months. This was the workday to railroad workers. Instrumen- the racist use of the application photo- Justice filed a brief in support of Janus, famous “I Am a Man” strike, which the tal in passing a number of anti-union laws graph. The National Association of Letter alleging that Janus’ First Amendment Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was sup- in the South, he proposed and campaigned Carriers, while battling to keep Jim Crow free speech rights were violated. porting when he was assassinated. for a right-to-work amendment to the U.S. branches out of its organization, voted at Trump’s appointment of reactionary The Memphis workers were fighting to Constitution. While Muse failed then to its 1939 convention to support abolition justice Neil Gorsuch to the court was improve wages of 65 cents an hour and get the amendment passed, 28 states now of the discriminatory photograph, which aimed at establishing a reactionary ma- life-threatening work conditions. Their have anti-union right-to-work laws. was finally abolished on Nov. 7, 1940. jority. This majority can override the strike began two days after a nine-day It is in the interest of all public sector, March 29, 2016, Friedrichs v. California sanitation workers’ strike in New York NAACP fought Woodrow Wilson’s civil private sector, organized and unorga- Teachers Association 4-4 deadlocked City. In the next two years sanitation service racism nized labor, and precarious workers to SCOTUS decision, an earlier version of workers struck in Baltimore; Washing- The roots of right-to-work go further collaborate, unite and invoke the great the case on the same issues. ton, D.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Atlanta; Mi- back — to #28, Democratic Party Pres- labor slogans: “An injury to one is an in- #45 is joined by the National Right to ami; St. Petersburg, Fla.; and Corpus ident Woodrow Wilson, from Virginia. jury to all.” That echoes the refrain from Work Movement, which stepped up its Christi, Texas. Wilson’s racism is obvious given the 1915 the great labor song, “Solidarity forever, campaign to turn back the clock on labor One could say that the biggest demon- film showing at the White House of the for the union makes us strong!” Grad workers and teachers strike in Illinois By Kaitlyn Griffith The GEO first secured full tuition waiv- ers in their first collective bargaining agree- Graduate workers at the University of Il- ment ratified in 2009. But the UIUC ad- linois at Urbana-Champaign entered their ministration has refused to guarantee the third day of striking on Feb. 28. Workers waivers, potentially forcing graduate work- demonstrated, using empty buckets and ers to pay $30,000 in tuition, when many trash cans as drums. The grad workers are live on annual stipends of $16,000. represented by the Graduate Employees’ Or- Hundreds of graduate workers rallied ganization (GEO). with faculty and undergraduate supporters At 8 a.m., grad workers formed five pick- on the main quad. The UIUC administra- et lines outside of each entrance to Lincoln tion is refusing to come to the table to bar- Hall, which houses the College of Liberal gain in good faith, so the strike will contin- Arts and Sciences. As the day progressed, ue into March. the picket lines grew until they combined into one that circled the entire building. This WW PHOTO: KAITLYN GRIFFITH was the third consecutive day that all classes Grad workers strike at University of Illinois in Lincoln Hall had to be canceled or moved. at Urbana-Champaign, Feb. 28. workers.org March 8, 2018 Page 5

Class war in West Virginia School workers strike win raise Continued from page 1 The governor’s offer did not create a ‘em pay in May!” when election primaries one group and passing it to another. The permanent fix for the Public Employees are held. (USA Today, March 1) purpose of this is clear — to divide us and Insurance Agency, only proposing a tem- Under state law, public sector strikes to pit us against each other.” porary “freeze” on health care insurance are illegal, but West Virginia workers The three unions are the American premiums and a “task force” to find more know labor history. The Battle of Blair Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, funding sources. However, the worst leg- Mountain in 1921 in Logan County was the West Virginia Education Association islative changes to PEIA, mostly various the largest labor uprising in U.S. histo- and the West Virginia School Service excuses to raise premiums, are paused ry, with 10,000 armed coal miners con- Personnel Association. for the time being. fronting 3,000 police and strikebreakers. A Senate clerical error actually en- The strength of what is essentially a Throughout the 20th century the United dorsed the 5 percent increase briefly general strike of education workers was Mine Workers was a mighty force, with WW PHOTOS before pro-business senators rushed to demonstrated March 2 when 45 county wildcat strikes common, including thou- Above, Charleston, W.Va., March 5. erase the raise. One striker’s social media sands during the 1970s. Some strikers school superintendents told Republican Below, inspired by teachers, CWA workers comment was that the legislators seemed legislators that schools would stay closed are wearing the red neckerchiefs that strike Frontiers Communication in W.Va. to need a teacher to help them check their until the 5 percent increase passed. Now miners wore during the 1921 revolt. and Va., March 5. figures and their draft language. all 55 superintendents have taken that On Thursday, March 1, the workers de- The strikers’ impact was felt early position. fiantly began their second week on strike. when the governor approved, and the One union member told WW that most Republican-majority House passed, the Statewide wildcat strike strikers want big businesses, especially pay hike. The governor had to back away Strikers have rallied around the slogan Big Oil, taxed at a higher rate so the state from pushing bills that gutted seniori- #55Strong. The multinational, majori- can pay education workers better wages ty, promoted charter schools, prevented ty-women, rank and file set in motion and and benefits. unions from deducting union dues from unsatisfied by the governor’s proposal, On March 2, 3 and 5, militant ral- members’ paychecks, and would ex- stated strongly they deserved a bigger say lies drew thousands to the state capital, pand “Teach for America” — a program in the deal’s content. So on Wednesday, Charleston. On March 2, hundreds of stu- that hires new college graduates without Feb. 28, workers continued to picket, with dents marched to support their teachers, teaching degrees at a lower rate of pay. shouts of “We’re not letting anybody cross holding signs and chanting, “Teachers These types of bills are part of a national this line!” Some who voted for Trump and stand for us, we stand for teachers.” They anti-union campaign funded in part by Republicans in the last election now point have joined teachers in occupying the the far-right billionaire Koch brothers. to betrayal by the rich, shouting, “Make Capitol building interior for multiple days. companies and private capital. Mond Jones, an organizer of the Work- “The struggle of education workers WW PHOTO ers World “Defeat Austerity” conference and teachers is a class struggle for social Striking teachers, education workers and in Detroit on March 24, described his justice, a social struggle against racism supporters on the picket line, Bluefield, day in West Virginia: “On the morning and capitalism and against austerity. We W.Va., Feb. 26. of March 5 we had breakfast just inside hope to build the idea of class conscious- West Virginia. The teachers at nearby ness through the participation of local tables had on strike T-shirts. They said unions. When people drop out of unions, it’s easier to organize a strike now with we don’t build class consciousness. Hope- social media. At the Capitol there were fully, after this struggle, people will con- about 10,000 people — 4,000 occupy- tinue to participate and strengthen and ing inside and 6,000 outside. They were radicalize their unions.” mostly women, all very militant. Our lit- Despite failings in upper-level leader- erature was well-received. All the unions ship, the union is not the enemy. The ene- had a strong presence, along with the Re- my is the billionaire capitalist class! tired Teachers Association.” Jerry Goldberg, of the Moratorium NOW! Solidarity multiplies Coalition in Detroit, told the rallying Tremendous solidarity has come from strikers: “We are with you 100 percent.” other unions: Teamsters, Mine Work- This historic struggle is not just be- ers, Communication Workers and even An open letter from a teacher tween pro-union workers and anti-union unions in other countries. politicians. It’s labor vs. capital. All West The Southern Workers Assembly is- Virginia workers face dangers to their sued a solidarity message: “In the days as to West Virginia educators health and livelihoods from the preda- we await the Supreme Court decision on tions of Big Oil and Big Banking. The the Janus case, which would effectively state’s 2018 Executive Budget Report make public sector workers in all states Continued from page 1 states: “The percentage of each citizen’s right-to-work, we are reminded that even to yours), we still went over four years pay and benefits, along with building income allocated to payment of state debt workers in the RTW states, concentrated without a contract, losing hundreds of your union, connects with teachers in to the banks and financial institutions is in the U.S. South, can build their unions, millions of dollars in wages. While we Oklahoma, who are planning to strike 2.8 percent or $1,020 per citizen.” fight back and win. The type of mass are not “Right-to-Starve,” we have lost for the same reasons. We hope you con- rank-n-file action displayed by WV edu- 30 schools to closure and over 60,000 nect with educators in Detroit fighting Fighting for the union cators is an example for us all to follow.” students to privatized charters, as well to defeat austerity attacks and with edu- Unions benefit everyone. Their struc- More solidarity messages have flowed as over 6,000 union members in the past cators in Puerto Rico, where U.S. banks ture offers combat assistance, resourc- in, including from the Boston School Bus few years. Your struggle is ours. set up financial dictators to try to close es and organizational communication. Drivers Union, United Steelworkers Lo- We know that we, as teachers and 300 schools and bring in charters to bust Unions enable members to connect and cal 8751; Harvard TPS Coalition, a group education workers, are the most union- unions, using Hurricane María as a bat- build militancy from the ground up. of union cooks, custodians and clerical ized sector of the economy. While the tering ram of austerity. We hope you con- While worker anger has been wide- workers at Harvard University supporting Supreme Court threatens to destroy our nect with the movement that rose up af- spread at top union leaders, who appeared immigrant workers losing temporary pro- organizations, encouraging the decline of ter the death of cafeteria worker Philando ready to end the strike prematurely, strik- tective status; and New York-based Par- unions to lower our wages and benefits, Castile, a Black school worker and union ers are reacting positively to the unions’ ents for Improved School Transportation. they will not stop us from struggling for member killed by Minnesota police. official announcement that the walkout The West Virginia example is already our rights. Solidarity wins! Let’s continue to build would continue until the 5 percent raise being followed. About 1,400 members While your strike was not “legal,” you solidarity with our students’ lives who becomes law. They fought to have unions of the Communication Workers in West have shown that legality is nothing com- are under attack and with our communi- and they are fighting to make them fight. Virginia and Ashburn, Va., walked out pared to people’s power. ties facing crisis after crisis. This means Teacher and union activist Phil, March 4 at midnight and are striking Every day, we teachers have a tremen- fighting racism, fighting violence against demonstrating at the Capitol building on Frontier Communications. Many of them dous responsibility to our students and women and LGBTQ people, fighting for March 1, told WW: “There’s been lots of were learning about strikes by picketing our communities. Every day that you are health care for all and more, in order to anti-union talk from ultra-left and con- alongside teachers. They are fighting for on strike you are showing you take this unite all people in a struggle for dignity, servatives. Folks need to fight within job security as Frontier has eliminated responsibility seriously. West Virginia respect and equality. their unions, to make them more pro- 500 jobs since acquiring Verizon land- educators have shown that you are ready In honor of the Battle of Blair Mountain gressive and class conscious. We need lines in 2010. to take the responsibility to fight for our and the many militant workers’ strikes in to radicalize and transform unions from The world is watching the class war in entire class and to galvanize us in the the history of West Virginia, let’s contin- within at the local level. West Virginia. Power to the rank-and-file first major workers’ struggle since the ue to build solidarity and union power! “Some believe the association leaders union members directing their burning last election. Solidarity Forever! are negotiating directly with the gover- anger against the viciousness of the cap- Let this be a lesson for workers across Scott Michael nor. It’s really the legislators striking the italist system! the U.S. to “Strike for our rights!” American Federation of Teachers Local deals and selling out the workers. These Otis Grotewohl contributed to this We hope your struggle to win better 3, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers politicians have the interests of energy ­article. Page 6 March 8, 2018 workers.org

This is an edited version of a talk given at the Feb. 3 “Women and the Fight for Socialism” forum hosted by Workers World Party in New York City. MARCH 8: INTERNATIONAL WORKING WOMEN’S DAY North Korean women thrive despite imperialist threats

By Julie Varughese More women than men exist in North Korea. Women live to an average of 74 The Institute of International Studies years old, which competes with the U.S. in the Democratic People’s Republic of average of 79 years. Korea released a study on Jan. 30 titled According to the Library of Congress, “White Paper on Human Rights Viola- “The social status and roles of women tions in U.S. in 2017.” were radically changed on July 30, 1946, When I read it, I burst out in laughter. when authorities north of the 38th paral- The DPRK (also known as north Korea) lel passed a Sex Equality Law. The 1972 DPRK team ­defeats the U.S. to win the women’s World Cup for soccer youth in was mocking the for mak- constitution asserted that women hold Papua, New Guinea, November 2016. ing claims about the status of people in equal social status and rights with men. the DPRK. The 1990 constitution stipulates that the about the U.S., where it’s 86 percent. Ev- the world is at the bottom. The white paper pointed out all the state create various conditions for the ad- eryone in north Korea goes to school WHO criticized an earlier Amnesty ways people in the U.S. are being exploit- vancement of women in society.” through the end of high school, and that’s ­International report on north Korea for ed and attacked by the racist, patriarchal, According to the CIA Factbook, women ­mandatory. That’s not the case here in the an outdated and factually inaccurate capitalist, settler-colonial state founded make up 47 percent of the DPRK’s labor U.S. But North Korea makes it easy for ­report that described “barely functioning on genocide and slavery. force. Women are obligated to serve in people to go to school. hospitals.” As a relatively isolated nation, the the military from age 17 to age 23. Wom- Pyongyang Maternity Hospital and DPRK is constantly attacked by outright en who have three or more children are After 1950-53, North Pyongan Provincial Maternity lies in the Western media and by sanc- permitted to work only 6 hours a day and DPRK emphasized health care Hospital were awarded plaques declaring tions on what it can import and export, still receive an 8-hour-a-day salary. After losing 20 percent of its popula- them Baby-Friendly Hospitals in 2009 by which limit its ability to take care of its tion and seeing its landscape decimated the UNICEF Thailand office for attain- DPRK has better health care, education own people. It also faces a constant threat during the 1950-53 war when the U.S. ing all 10 targets of breastfeeding set by of a nuclear attack by the U.S., which North Korea is considered a low-income attempted to destroy the people’s repub- WHO and the United Nation’s Children’s keeps a large military presence in south country, but it is on a par with or better than lic, the DPRK emphasized health care. Fund. Mothers typically stay in the hos- Korea and Okinawa and on its ships. Fol- developed countries like the U.S. when it Between 1955 and 1986, the number of pital for 10 days after giving birth, and lowing north Korea’s recent move to co- comes to health care and education. hospitals grew from 285 to 2,401, and the those who give birth through Caesarean operate with south Korea, the U.S. has For example, the “contraceptive prev- number of clinics from 1,020 to 5,644. section stay for 15 days. Mothers of trip- only ramped up its aggressive language alence rate” for women between the ages There are even hospitals attached to fac- lets are hospitalized until the smallest against the DPRK. In fact, the U.S. war of 20 and 49 is 78.2 percent. In the U.S., tories and mines. child weighs at least 13 pounds. against north Korea has never ended. that number is 74 percent. Women here In spite of all the sanctions and the The late President Kim Jong Il decided In November, a United Nations hu- pay for contraception. In north Korea, it’s constant threat of nuclear war, north Ko- to build the Pyongyang Maternity Hos- man rights panel claimed north Korean free. The fertility rate is 1.95 children per rea has built and provided a health care pital in 1978 because he wished no more women are deprived of education and job woman in north Korea, which is about the system that benefits women. North Ko- women would die because of pregnancy opportunities and are often subjected to same as in the U.S. rea has even been described as having a complications, which is how his mother violence at home and sexual assault in the The obesity rate in north Korea is 6.8 health care system that is the envy of the died. Current President Kim Jong Un workplace. Recent pieces have come out percent. In the U.S., it’s 35 percent among developing world. added the breast cancer treatment wing saying that women and children are being men and 40.4 percent among women, ac- According to World Health Organiza- in 2012 because his mother had died of raped and sex trafficked. cording to the Journal of the American tion Director-General Margaret Chan, breast cancer. This is the kind of news that tugs on Medical Association. the DPRK has “no lack of doctors and We defend the Korean people’s right the heartstrings of liberals and encour- North Korea has more hospital beds nurses.” North Korea’s government pro- to determine the fate of their peninsula, ages so-called humanitarian interven- per capita than the U.S., putting the vides universal health care for all citi- because a threat of invasion by the U.S. tion — the same humanitarian interven- DPRK on par with south Korea, Japan zens. In 2001, north Korea spent 3 per- military and its allies on behalf of the tion that destroyed Afghanistan, and Monaco. North Korea has 13.2 beds cent of its gross domestic product on global ruling class anywhere in the world and Libya. But how many more times for every 1,000 people, while the U.S. has health care. Despite the U.S. spending against oppressed peoples is a threat of will we here in the U.S. tolerate hearing only 2.9 beds per 1,000. (Clearly, patients close to 18 percent of its gross domestic invasion and exploitation everywhere. these lies being told about countries the are given more time to recover.) product on health care — more than any Julie Varughese, a candidate member ruling class needs to invade to maintain The DPRK is about on par with the U.S. country in the world — it does not have of Workers World Party, is communica- full spectrum dominance? in the number of doctors for every 1,000 the best health outcomes. It ranks 12th tions advisor at the Black Alliance for Let me tell you about what the CIA — people. In north Korea, it’s 2.78; in the in life expectancy among the 12 wealth- Peace, an organizer with The People’s the surveillance and terror arm of the U.S., it’s 2.55. iest industrialized countries, according MTA and co-founder of Antiwar Future, U.S. government — reported about north The literacy rate for people ages 15 and to the Kaiser Family Foundation. That a campaign to build a youth-driven Korean women in their CIA Factbook. older is 100 percent. You can’t say that means the so-called greatest country in ­anti-war movement in the United States. Philly workers fight bigotry at nonprofit agency

By Joe Piette countless voices of Black and BBWC co-founder Shani Akilah add- Brown LGBTQIA folks heard ed: “An organization is not communi- The Black and Brown Workers Co- during the historical Racism ty-based if the leadership does not reflect operative organized a press confer- in the Gayborhood hearing those most impacted. We declare that the ence outside the office of Philadelphia which took place on Oct. 25, days of people in power getting govern- FIGHT on March 1 to denounce rac- 2016. This [request] directly ment money to profit off of Black illness ist, sexist and anti-labor practices at undermines Black and Brown while not actually delivering services ... the agency, which provides services LGBTQIA folks who are most in the way that our communities require to people living with HIV/AIDS. vulnerable to HIV/AIDS.” [are over]. ... We demand that commu- BBWC Co-Founder Abdul-Aliy Mu- BBWC demanded a work- nity-based organizations become actual hammad read a list of 10 demands, er-led selection and hiring community-based organizations through including the immediate resignation process for the next executive internal workers democratically electing of Executive Director Jane Shull and director: “Should the select- who leads that organization. ... If you are Medical Director Karam Mounzer. ed ED abuse their power, the calling yourself community based, you WW PHOTO: JOE PIETTE A year ago, a scathing report by Members of The Womanist Working Collective and the Black workers retain the right to vote must be controlled by the community, not the Philadelphia Commission on and Brown Workers Cooperative in front of the Philadelphia the ED out and restart the hir- by government money, not by quotas, not Human Relations on racism in the Muses mural. ing process.” by CDC [Centers for Disease Control and city’s historic LGBTQIA-populated Mandatory anti-oppression Prevention] reports.” neighborhood, known as the Gaybor- portunity requirements. (tinyurl.com/ trainings for staff and board members Philadelphia Councilmember Helen hood, cited discrimination patterns in y8jsqrjo) and implementation of a grievance pro- Gym, ACT UP Philadelphia, the Wom- FIGHT’s workplace culture, policies and FIGHT officials have failed to make cedure involving third-party mediation anist Working Collective and workers practices. The report recommended that adequate corrections and now want the were other demands. The BBWC gave the from West Philadelphia Federally Quali- bars and FIGHT officials and staff receive link to the report taken off PCHR’s web- board “until the end of the business day fied Health Centers all made statements anti-discrimination training and abide site. BBWC’s press release explained on March 14 to respond.” (Look for March supporting BBWC’s call for institutional by the city’s fair practices and equal op- that the report “was informed by the 1 post on tinyurl.com/fb-bbwc/.) change at the nonprofit. workers.org March 8, 2018 Page 7 MARCH 8: INTERNATIONAL WORKING WOMEN’S DAY

Racism’s impact on maternity Commentary

By Mikisa Thompson blood clots. After giving infant health, the infant mortality rate is birth via C-section, she an important marker of the overall health Women’s History Month is an had a hard time breath- of a society.” annual U.S. event that highlights ing. In a Jan. 10 article The Department of Health and Human the contributions of women to in Vogue titled “Sere- Services reports that African Americans historical events and contempo- na Williams on Moth- have 2.2 times the infant mortality rate as rary society. As a Black woman in erhood, Marriage and non-Hispanic whites and African-Ameri- contemporary society, there are Making her Comeback,” can infants are 3.2 times as likely to die many issues that affect me and she explains that she from complications related to low birth- my community at large. Racism knew that she needed a weight as compared to non-Hispanic and the ways in which white su- “CT scan with contrast white infants. In 2014, African Americans premacy rears its ugly head are and IV heparin (a blood had over twice the sudden infant death woven into our lives on a daily ba- thinner) right away. The syndrome mortality rate as non-Hispanic sis — especially when we are most nurse thought her pain whites, and African-American mothers vulnerable. Erica Garner medicine might be making her confused. were 2.2 times more likely than non-His- As Black women, during pregnancy and But Serena insisted, and soon enough a panic white mothers to receive late or no One is Erica Garner, who died of a bro- childbirth, we are at the most vulnerable doctor was performing an ultrasound of prenatal care. ken heart on Dec. 30 after her father, to systemic racism. Black women are dis- her legs. ‘I was like, a Doppler? I told you, Dr. Joia Adele Crear-Perry, founder of Eric Garner, was murdered in 2014 by proportionately affected by police brutal- I need a CT scan and a heparin drip,’ she the National Birth Equity Collaborative, the state in Staten Island, N.Y. The oth- ity, low wages, homelessness and the vio- remembers telling the team. The ultra- says: “The United States is the only devel- er is the number one athlete in the world: lence of racism and genocide. sound revealed nothing, so they sent her oped country in the world where maternal ­Serena Williams. for the CT, and sure enough, several small mortality is on the rise. Black women in Erica Garner experienced a side effect Black mothers die of heart failure blood clots had settled in her lungs. Min- the U.S. die at 3 to 4 times the rate of white of living while Black when her father was According to a Dec. 7 article in ProPubli- utes later she was on the drip. ‘I was like, women. Black babies die at 2 times the rate murdered. This trauma led to a heart at- ca, “In recent years, as high rates of mater- listen to Dr. Williams!’” of their white counterparts. With clear ev- tack after the birth of her son last August. nal mortality in the U.S. have alarmed re- idence of this inequity, this is an urgent This is an all too common occurrence af- searchers, one statistic has been especially Infant mortality among African Americans public health and human rights issue. ter a Black woman births a baby. concerning. According to the [Centers for Williams, who has unlimited funds, “As a black woman from the Deep The American Heart Association says, Disease Control and Prevention], black was not initially heard by the medical South who is an obstetrician and a moth- “Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM), mothers in the U.S. die at three to four staff. Imagine the situation facing a wom- er, my strong desire to end this inequity is also known as postpartum cardiomyop- times the rate of white mothers, one of the an living in a poor neighborhood going to amplified every time I look into the faces athy, is an uncommon form of heart fail- widest of all racial disparities in women’s a hospital with a biased staff. It most cer- of my daughter and my patients. It was ure that happens during the last month of health. Put another way, a black woman is tainly would have led to a different out- with this understanding that I created pregnancy or up to five months after giv- 243 percent more likely to die from preg- come. This is good information to know. the National Birth Equity Collaborative ing birth.” (Dec. 12) nancy- or childbirth-related causes.” What do we do with this informed knowl- in 2015.” (The Renewal Project, Nov. 30) However, the AHA also says this is “a That number — 243 percent — is a heavy edge? Who takes up our cause? Also, with Black women will continue to do the rare occurrence” — because it isn’t check- one to take in. The way racism shows up in the high rate of Black mothers dying, it work so that the least of these can flour- ing for PPCM among Black women. If the those blessed to be Black women is espe- leads to the topic of infant mortality rates ish. The statistics brought up in this ar- organization was doing that, everyone in cially blatant when it comes to health care. among Black children. ticle should lead to a major uprising be- the U.S. would or should be outraged. The bias toward Black women and chil- When I was pregnant with my son, I cause white supremacy is dismantling our Megan Brooks, in an article titled “Peri- dren is the crux of the problem. Women of heard a statistic that Black boys had the homes by way of harming Black women partum Cardiomyopathy More Severe for most races aren’t heard when they speak highest infant mortality rate up until the and our children. This is genocide — the Black Women,” writes: “African Amer- up about pain management or just a gener- age of five! I couldn’t stop worrying about deliberate killing of a large group of peo- ican women with PPCM are diagnosed al feeling of not feeling well. Imagine being my son until he was five. I still worry ple, especially those of a particular ethnic later postpartum, they present with more a Black woman and experiencing tremen- ­because he can get shot while at school group or nation. severe systolic dysfunction, their cardiac dous pain during and after childbirth, and or while being a Black male anywhere in Wake up people! The effects of racism function worsens after diagnosis more you are not given the basic care — which the U.S. are literally and figuratively killing us. often and recovers less frequently, and, is adequate pain management — like your According to the CDC: “Infant mortal- Let us continue to pull down monuments when cardiac function does recover, it female counterparts who are enduring the ity is the death of an infant before his or to white supremacy. Eventually, that will takes much longer to do so.” (posted on same process of trying to bring forth life. their first birthday. The infant mortality cause real change when it comes to one Medscape, Oct. 13) Two women who have recently expe- rate is the number of infant deaths for ev- day erasing the systemic causes of rac- Serena Williams gave birth to her baby rienced childbirth, along with a serious ery 1,000 live births. In addition to giving ism and its impact on the health of Black daughter on Sept. 1. She has a history of health crisis or death, come to mind. us key information about maternal and women and our children. Defending trans lives from violence WW PHOTO: SAMUEL ORDÓÑEZ By Workers World Boston bureau many women, including trans women. Philly workers fight bigotry at nonprofit agency Steele-Knudslien’s husband was arrested Dozens of queer, trans, intersex, in January and charged with her . two-spirit, nonbinary people and their This connection was echoed by Jahai- supporters gathered Feb. 24 at City Hall ra DeAlto of the Berkshire LGBTQ Pride in North Adams, Mass., to speak out committee, who explained to the crowd about the wave of trans reported that, as “an out, proud and alive trans in the early weeks of 2018 in the U.S. woman of color, I am twice as likely to Demonstrators waved trans liberation become a victim of intimate partner vi- flags and carried signs made in memo- olence in my lifetime; I am also twice as ry of fallen trans women: Christa Leigh likely to experience sexual assault in my Steele-Knudslien of North Adams; Vic- lifetime; and as I turn 39 years old, I will Kenneth Mercure, co-founder of Berkshire Pride, speaking in front of the North Adams, cky Gutierrez of Honduras and Los An- be four years past my life expectancy.” Mass., town hall. geles; Celine Walker in Jacksonville, Fla.; Nat Heathman, a Narragansett two- and Tonya “Kita” Harvey of Buffalo, N.Y. spirit activist and member of Workers Time to take action change that. We won’t end transphobic Demonstrators also gathered in Buffalo, World Party, spoke from an Indigenous Queer organizer and member of the murders unless we fight just as fiercely N.Y., and outside an LGBTQ conference in peoples’ perspective on the abuse and Boston WWP trans caucus Gery Arms- against racism and police brutality with Amherst, Mass. murder of trans people. “I just want to by told the crowd and passersby, “We are the same breath. We won’t stop getting Ben Power — director of the Holyoke, say that we are standing on stolen land. demanding that all people of conscience harassed about the gender markers on our Mass., Sexual Minorities Archive, one of This land belonged to my ancestors. And take action to defend trans lives, especial- documents unless we fight for all undocu- the event’s organizers and a close friend one of the great things about this land ly the lives of trans women of color, who mented people at the same time! We won’t of Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien — be- is that before the colonialists came here face transphobia at the intersection of get quality trans-competent health care gan the rally with touching recollections and stole it and ruined it, trans and non- racism and sexism.” unless we fight for health care as a right of Christa’s life and her role in organiz- binary people lived here. So we are not a Armsby continued, “We live in a racist, for all people at the same time. We won’t ing the local trans community. Power new thing. ... We’re not abnormal, this is woman-hating society … so every time we have better jobs and wages for trans peo- also drew links between anti-trans vi- not an illness, this is not a fad and it’s not set out to speak truth to power we should ple until we win the right of every person olence and harassment and the deadly an anomaly. If humanity matters to you, think about building the broadest possible to a job and a living wage and a union.” toll of intimate partner violence upon so then this should matter to you as well.” solidarity to show that we can and must Continued on page 8 Page 8 March 8, 2018 workers.org A tax in sheep’s clothing

By Deirdre Griswold him. But he didn’t say that. He said he will raise the prices of goods made from The national debt has now exceeded 20 was protecting jobs. them. It is also likely to set off a global TRILLION dollars. Paying just the inter- Taxes paid to the federal government Most of the media commentary on the trade war as other countries impose tar- est on the debt is now the fourth-largest will go up this week, by a yearly total of president’s announcement concerned iffs on U.S. goods — and that could lead to item in the federal budget. The financial about $6 billion, if Trump goes ahead and whether or not raising the prices of these an actual loss of jobs here. institutions are laughing all the way to signs an order imposing tariffs on im- imported commodities would encourage So why is Trump imposing this hidden the bank, even as payments on this huge ported steel and aluminum. That comes more production here. The consensus tax on the people? debt eat up any useful social programs. to an average of about $78 per year for a was that it won’t. Steel and aluminum Is he scraping the bottom of the barrel We can’t know exactly what Trump’s family of four. It’s not a huge amount, but plants have been shedding workers main- for government revenue so as to make a lit- motives are (assuming that he knows it adds up. ly because of changes in technology that tle dent in the huge budget deficit? It has himself) without getting into the mind of If Trump had said, “I’m raising your eliminate jobs, not foreign competition. really ballooned since the capitalist po- this scheming billionaire, and who wants taxes,” he might have been denounced But imposing import tariffs of 25 per- litical establishment cut taxes on the rich to go there? even by many of those who supported cent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum while raising the military budget sky high. U.S. denial of visa to world union

WFTU General Secretary leader protested George Mavrikos at an event honoring comrade In early February, the U.S. State the United Nations, where he is a perma- Eric Mtshali, one of the Department denied a travel visa to nent representative of the WFTU, which stalwarts of the South George Mavrikos, the general secre- has had a U.N. presence since its found- African tary of the World Federation of Trade ing in 1945. ­movement and a cadre Unions. Workers World Party issued the Workers here can learn a great deal of the WFTU. following statement in protest of the U.S from the class struggle-orientated government’s action. WFTU, which is growing all over the Workers World Party strongly protests world, especially in Africa, Asia and the U.S. government’s decision to deny a . We can learn from the visa to World Federation of Trade Unions workers of Greece, Mavrikos’ homeland, General Secretary George Mavrikos. As whose resistance to capitalist austerity is leader of a world labor federation with an inspiration to workers and oppressed 92 million members, brother Mavrikos people everywhere. has every right to travel to this country. We demand the U.S. government issue World union leaders have every right to the visa that Mavrikos applied for and exchange ideas, information and solidar- cease its efforts to prevent U.S. unionists ity with U.S. workers — workers whose from learning about the anti-imperialist, rights are being eroded as we speak by the anti-capitalist fighting unions that com- Rent strike wins in East LA union-busting administration in Wash- prise the WFTU. Continued from page 3 six months. The rent would increase by ington and by profit-driven capitalists. The WFTU sent the following mes- 14 percent, but each year after, the in- This case is particularly outrageous, sage to Workers World Party after demonstration. Although he wanted to crease can only be 3.5 percent. When given that Secretary Mavrikos was ex- receiving our message: meet only one tenant at a time, he final- the agreement expires, Turner is legally pected to participate in a March event at ly agreed to meet a committee. After his lawyers offered practically nothing, the obligated to negotiate again, which was Dear comrades, organizers walked out, saying, “See you something his lawyers opposed from We acknowledge receipt of your statement. at your house!” which they did. the beginning. And maintenance of the building is in the contract.” We thank you for the solidarity and we ensure you that the Turner’s lawyers asked the tenants Ramirez added: “We try to always WFTU will firmly continue its internationalist and anti-imperialist to stop protesting at his house, but still link the immigration struggle with our action in favor of the world’s working class. wouldn’t offer anything. A second demon- stration at his home was larger and drew tenants’ rights struggle, because Im- Fraternal regards, other chapters of the LA Tenants Union. migration and Customs Enforcement is WFTU HQ Even some of Turner’s wealthy neigh- driving people out and that makes the bors brought food to the picketers, and neighborhood even more vulnerable to the local media again covered the story these corporate thieves. extensively. Turner’s office offered deals to “When they knock down a building and individual tenants, but no one broke their put up a new one, we want the rents to be Fight for women’s liberation unity. Later in November, activists showed appropriate for the median income of the up at his home a third time — but this time people who live in the neighborhood so they pitched tents on the sidewalk, and the same kind of tenants can move back with Workers World Mariachis performed late into the night. in. We want to negotiate five-year con- In early December, Turner’s office tracts that spell out the limits on rent in- Marxists strive not just to honor histo- oppression. Women are powering the came to the bargaining table and the ten- creases and to always have maintenance ry, but to help make it — to promote major fight for $15 an hour and a union. Two- ants won. as part of the agreement.” changes needed to put the workers and thirds of low-wage workers are women, Ramirez explained the agreement that Currently rent strikes are happening the oppressed first instead of last. Work- often women of color and mothers solely Turner was forced to sign: “Of the nine or being planned in four more Los An- ers World always commemorates the so- responsible for their families. Inspired months of extra rent withheld during the geles neighborhoods, with a combined cialist holiday of International Working by the #MeToo and #TimesUp move- strike, the tenants were allowed to keep count of about 400 rentals. Women’s Day, March 8, with a roundup ment, women are speaking up on the job of women’s protests for freedom, justice against harassment and for respect. and equality the world over. If you appreciate WW’s year-round While all issues are women’s issues, coverage of struggles that advance the Defending trans lives from violence WW focuses in 2018 on women in the rights of women, it’s time to join the U.S. who bear the brunt of Trump’s rac- Workers World Supporter Program and Continued from page 7 ist, sexist, bigoted, xenophobic agenda help build the newspaper. Armsby reminded the group: “The After the rally concluded, there was — working-class immigrant women who For a donation of at least $75 a year — Stonewall Rebellion of 1969 was ignit- a march to Christa Leigh Steele-Knud- are being detained and deported for the and much more if you’re able — members ed by queer and trans youth of color slien’s home in a nearby working-class “crime” of crossing borders to find work receive a year’s subscription to Workers who were already active in the struggles neighborhood. This allowed participants so they can provide for their families, and World, a monthly letter about timely is- against racism, war and economic injus- to bear witness to the site of her murder the “Dreamers,” whose Deferred Action sues and five free subscriptions to give tice that were raging in the late 1960s. and to share memories about her life. for Childhood Arrivals status is still in to friends. Write checks (either month- So, in truth, this is what the struggle Along the way, marchers were heckled limbo as both parties in Congress ignore ly or once a year) to Workers World and for trans liberation is all about: fighting by some who shouted, “Trump! Trump! their demands. mail them, with your name and address, shoulder-to-shoulder to bring about real Trump!” WWP members helped keep Struggle is the only way to bring about to 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Floor, New York, change. Let’s revive the spirit of Stone- the march secure, upbeat and strong, ex- change. The move- NY 10011. Or sign up to donate online at wall, and with the memory of our fallen plaining over a bullhorn to residents on ment, started by women and transgen- workers.org/donate/; it’s easy to set up comrades in our hearts, let’s fight like porches what the march was about and der activists, boldly countered racism monthly deductions. And thank you for hell for real, lasting justice, solidarity chanting, “Trans lives matter” and “The and demanded redress for centuries of your help in building Workers World. and power for all the people.” people united will never be defeated!” workers.org March 8, 2018 Page 9

Actions demand ‘U.S. hands off Korea!’

By Workers World staff Bev Tang spoke about the frustration patriots. Griswold stressed that the un- of the U.S. at the Winter Olympics and the ending spirit of refusal to accept foreign Meetings, literature distributions and answer to it: “Immediately after the clos- domination continues to this day against demonstrations occurred around the ing of the Olympics, Trump announced Trump’s aggression. U.S. to protest the continuing escalation ‘the heaviest sanctions ever imposed on The event was organized by the Phila- of war threats by the Trump administra- a country.’” delphia International Action Center and tion against the Democratic People’s Re- Organizations participating in the Workers World and was endorsed by In- public of Korea. Here are reports about march included the Korean American ternational Concerned Family & Friends some of them. National Coordinating Council; Los An- of Mumia Abu-Jamal; Comité Boricua WW PHOTO geles Corean Progressive JINBO Net- Filadelfia-Camden; and Philadelphia Detroit work; Nanum Corean Cultural Center; Committee for Peace and Justice in Asia. Demonstrators gathered in downtown Korea Peace Alliance; Answer; Kore- Detroit during the busy 5 p.m. rush atown Immigrant Workers Alliance; hour on March 2. An activist distributed Workers World Party; International Workers World newspapers to passersby League of Peoples’ Struggle; Internation- while saying, “The people of Korea are al Action Center; and BAYAN SoCal. marching together for peace, but Trump wants a nuclear war. We don’t need an- other war!” He reported that 90 percent of the people responded with “That’s WW PHOTO: RASIKA RUWANPATHIRANA right,” “No, we don’t” or “I agree.” Not Los Angeles one person said they supported a war Organizations in Los Angeles gath- with the DPRK. ered at a military recruiting station on March 4 to protest U.S. threats against the DPRK and demand no new U.S. war WW PHOTO: JOE PIETTE games on the Korean peninsula. Philadelphia WW PHOTO: BRENDA RYAN The protest began at the CNN build- Soobok Kim, Vets for Peace, speaks in New ing, with chants demanding the with- Resisting criminal sanctions York City, March 2. drawal of all U.S. troops in south Korea A Philadelphia meeting Feb. 27 fea- Activists in New York City went along with U.S. THAAD (Terminal High tured Hyun Lee, editor of Zoom in Korea, to Pennsylvania Station the evening of Altitude Area Defense) missiles. and Deirdre Griswold, editor of Workers March 2 to give out factsheets on Korea Activists spoke about the Olympics World newspaper. and issues of Workers World with the held in south Korea as showcasing the Lee gave a remarkable PowerPoint headline “Unite to say ‘No war on Korea.’” desire for peace by the people of north presentation on economic and scientif- They began to give out materials inside and south Korea, while exposing the bel- ic developments in the DPRK that allow the station, but the cops pushed them ligerence of the U.S. in trying to sabotage its population to withstand criminal outside. There, they braved strong winds WW PHOTO Chicago peace prospects. U.S. sanctions. After a massive project to and snow to reach out to workers. “We gather in the wake of the Olym- build tunnels, dams and canals to control At the Solidarity Center that night, a WWP members in Chicago did street pics, which coincided with calls of sup- waterways in the country’s mountainous meeting featured Soobok Kim from Vet- outreach on March 4 at the landmark port for the Korean women’s joint ice terrain, the DPRK is now able to grow erans For Peace, New Jersey. Soobok, “Bean” sculpture and at public transit hockey team, a united Korea marching enough food for its people and does so who has been to the DPRK five times, stations, giving people facts about Korea under a united Korean flag, and recon- with much lower electrical usage. showed photos and videos of everyday and opposing Trump’s dangerous drive to vening of high-level talks between dele- Combined with military advances in life, from parks to impressive architec- nuclear war. gations from the divided peninsula,” said nuclear weapons that act as a necessary tural structures. Activists contributing to this article William Ree from the Korean Peace Alli- deterrent and allow the DPRK to defend The presentation also covered the in- included Christian Cobb, Kris Balderas ance who, along with Bev Tang from the itself from U.S. attack, the DPRK leader- spirational ways in which the DPRK has Hamel, Andy Katz, John Parker and Joe International League of Peoples’ Strug- ship is directing more attention to reuni- been able to apply science and technolo- Piette. gle, emceed the event. fication with south Korea. gy to create solutions and alternatives in Rebecka Jackson of the International Griswold gave a historical overview order to work around the unjust sanc- Action Center said, “These recent attacks of the 150-year attempt by U.S. impe- tions placed on them. The audience was by the U.S. are part of a long history of rialists to control and exploit Korea. In captivated by the strength of the Korean destabilization. This is a struggle of In- July 1866, the General Sherman, a U.S. people and the possibilities they present Speakout digenous people resisting U.S. imperial- Merchant Marine ship, was stopped and of what a better world holds in store for ism and exploitation.” burned in the Taedong River by Korean us all. against Will U.S. agree to Korea talks? war on

By Deirdre Griswold This paper reported on demonstra- nuclear program is meant to defend the Korea tions, meetings and leafleting in five country, as a deterrent against a U.S. at- After two days of direct talks in Pyong- cities last week on the theme “Hands off tack. As long as the U.S. claims it needs yang between representatives of both Korea!” in which Workers World Party to keep — and now upgrade — its nuclear north and south Korea, the south issued participated. These were modest events, arsenal of 7,000 warheads for “defense,” a statement on March 6: “The North Ko- but they had an impact and showed it is then the DPRK is a thousand times more rean side clearly stated its willingness to possible to get out publicly and defend justified in having its own deterrent of a denuclearize. It made it clear that it would the DPRK despite the avalanche of vi- few dozen bombs. have no reason to keep nuclear weapons cious attacks by the entire establishment However, it is now being reported that if the military threat to the North was media. the DPRK is willing to discuss with the eliminated and its security guaranteed. But considering the open threats of U.S. how to defuse the tense situation “The North expressed its willingness nuclear war coming from both the White that exists, including the issue of denu- to hold a heartfelt dialogue with the Unit- House and the Pentagon in the last year, clearization. ed States on the issues of denucleariza- it is astonishing that there has been no But such talks will only be possible if tion and normalizing relations with the larger response by anti-war forces. the U.S. is willing to discuss ending its United States. It made it clear that while Hopefully, this will change. It should “war games,” signing a peace treaty and dialogue is continuing, it will not attempt now be very clear that the war dan- bringing its troops home from south Ko- any strategic provocations, such as nucle- ger does not come from the DPRK. For rea. Activists held a rush hour “Speakout ar and ballistic missile tests.” three-quarters of a century, the U.S. has The ball is now in the court of the U.S. Against War in Korea” in Philadelphia on As of this writing, there has been no claimed that its military occupation of The movement here needs to take this March 5 in front of City Hall. As speakers public comment yet from the Democratic south Korea and its huge war “games” situation very, very seriously. Every effort explained, a war against Korea would not People’s Republic of Korea in the north every year, simulating an invasion of the will be made by the war hawks in Wash- benefit either the Korean people or the confirming or denying this view of the north, were meant to “protect” the peo- ington to ratchet up sanctions and threats workers and oppressed in the U.S. Only talks. Therefore, what we say here is only ple of the south. This fiction was explod- against the north in order to block north- the corporations and the 1% would profit. preliminary. ed when athletes from north and south south efforts at reconciliation. Participants also held signs and hand- Let us assume that the statement from marched together under one flag and “Hands off Korea” should be a top ed out 500 fliers to passersby, eliciting the south is generally correct. What does were wildly cheered at the PyeongChang priority in the growing struggle against a number of positive conversations with this mean for the anti-war movement in Olympics last month. imperialist wars, being waged aroundthe those who stopped. the U.S.? All along, the DPRK has said that its globe. — Photo and report by Joe Piette Page 10 March 8, 2018 workers.org

editorials Women, solidarity West Virginia education workers, and struggle International Working Women’s Day, grants have organized against deporta- teaching how to fight March 8, is a time to hail the struggles of tions. African-American mothers of slain women in the U.S. and worldwide. This children and their communities have special day was founded by European opposed racist police violence. Teachers When people familiar with U.S. labor crisis of the economic system. women socialists in 1910, who sought to and other workers have gone on strike to history hear about a strike in West Vir- They have little to lose, many say. They honor women workers worldwide and demand higher wages and their rights. ginia, what is their first thought? It’s about know they need unity to win and the sup- who called for global unity and solidarity And people with disabilities have occu- armed miners battling mercenaries, about port of their students and communities. among them. pied government offices to protest cuts in open class warfare, about the They have made sure to provide food for Today, it is crucial to stress the “in- vital government health care programs. Massacre in 1920 and the Battle of Blair their students, a majority of whom depend ternational” essence of this day — to ex- Millions of women and supporters Mountain in 1921. They think about how on school breakfasts and lunches. When press solidarity with our sisters around marched in January 2017 and again this physically courageous the miners were. the leaders of their unions agreed to a deal the globe who are living under the rav- year to object to the misogyny spewed by They think about how the women and men they found wanting, they rejected it and ages of impoverishment, workplace ex- #45 and the administration’s attacks on in miners’ families picked up arms. They have tenaciously continued the strike. ploitation, racism and war caused by U.S. their reproductive and other rights. remember how important it was to build As of Monday, March 5, they have built ­imperialism. The #MeToo Movement, initiated by unity in struggle among ­African-American unity among themselves. They carry plac- The call for solidarity is ever more im- African-American activist Tarana Burke, miners, Italian-immigrant miners and ards citing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther portant as the Trump administration as- has exposed and denounced workplace others who had been born in the region. King Jr. They have shown the courage to sails with racist vitriol our sisters in Haiti sexual misconduct and inequity. Now It was vital for each section of workers confront the repressive state apparatus — and Africa, bans our Muslim sisters and with the Time’s Up campaign, this strug- to have leadership in the union. It was headed by a right-wing billionaire gover- their families from entering the U.S., and gle extends from Hollywood to hotels, vital for the leadership to reflect the mil- nor named Jim Justice who dishes out in- viciously rounds up and deports Latin restaurants, fields, offices and factories. itancy of the union rank and file. Or to justice. They are facing down the oil and American immigrants, brutally separat- The #MeToo Movement emboldened step aside. gas bosses and their legislative lackeys in ing families. the young women athletes who spoke out Only by battles to the end could unions the state’s House and Senate. Congress members, Republicans and about years of sexual abuse while train- grow and strikes win a living wage for The workers are facing down any- Democrats, have voted another $700 bil- ing for the Olympics. But much more the miners and other union workers of one trying to sell them a bad contract. lion for the Pentagon to “modernize” its action is needed, especially reparations mountainous West Virginia. They are setting an example for workers weaponry and armies for expanding U.S. for the centuries of sexual abuse expe- Fast forward 97 years since the Battle around the country, who are inspired to military operations in the Middle East, rienced by Indigenous, Latinx and Afri- of Blair Mountain. There have been ups see the West Virginia struggle unfold. Africa, East Asia and elsewhere. The can-American women due to coloniza- and some very big downs for union work- In nearby Pittsburgh, the threat of a worst impact of these wars falls on wom- tion, enslavement and Jim Crow racism. ers in the United States, including West teachers’ strike brought an immediate en and children — a crisis which cries out When Trump’s armed neo-Nazi and Virginia. That state is now the site of an- better offer. In West Virginia and Virgin- for opposition and solidarity from wom- Klan supporters spewed white suprema- other historic confrontation. ia, Communications Workers members at en in the U.S. cy and anti-Semitism in Charlottesville, It involves not just miners — whose Frontier Communications are beginning Meanwhile, at home, the white su- Va., last August, young women, people of work force has shrunk due to changes in a strike with many of the same issues as premacist, misogynist in the White color, workers and gender nonconform- technology like “mountaintop removal” the teachers and other education work- House has declared war on the hard-won ing individuals stood up to them in a — but education workers. Many of these ers. Oklahoma teachers are organizing to rights and gains of women, workers, op- strong, united counterdemonstration. teachers and other school staff, mostly strike. pressed communities, students, retirees, Two days after a neo-Nazi fatally women, are children and grandchildren The bosses fear that the West Virginia and LGBTQ people, including trans wom- mowed down 32-year-old anti-racist of the miners who built the United Mine mood might “go viral.” Yes! Bring it on! en. As a member of the super-rich capi- Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, coura- Workers union. They learned early in life What those on strike need is the active talists, billionaire Trump has carried out geous activists, led by young women of that unity and militancy were needed solidarity of all other unions and work- their program of corporate tax cuts. He color and trans activists, toppled a Con- in any strike. That only by fighting and ers around the country. Speak up and and his right-wing political cronies are federate statue in Durham, N.C. This act fighting could they win. express your solidarity with and admi- determined to gut essential federal pro- sparked similar actions in other cities. Teachers’ pay in West Virginia is 22 ration for their struggle. Ask them what grams to further enrich their coffers and Now a militant wildcat strike of educa- percent lower than the national average. they need — people, funds, local actions transfer billions more to the military-in- tion workers is underway in West Virgin- They have inadequate medical coverage — and come through. dustrial complex. The potential harm to ia — almost 95 percent of them women. — and even that is under attack. Like all The outcome of this struggle in West children, women, low-income workers, They are defying their state government teachers, they have been the target of the Virginia is vital to building the strength people of color, disabled individuals and and the coal, oil and gas bosses. bosses’ lies, blamed for all the failures of of workers and the labor movement seniors is enormous. This is what is needed: Bold, coura- an underfunded school system and the throughout the country. geous struggles, which must deepen, grow Build protests, solidarity and join forces to oppose the Trump-Wall Yet, there has been active opposition Street-Pentagon triumvirate. Foremost to Trump’s program throughout the 404 in our priorities, we must show solidar- Teachers and days of his presidency. Protests have been ity with our sisters at home, especially school workers led by women, workers, African-Ameri- the most oppressed, and with our sisters on the picket line in Beckley, W.Va., can and Latinx people, LGBTQ and dis- abroad, who are hit hard by imperialism. March 6, the day abled individuals, and youth. Solidarity is the essence of Interna- their nine-day Young “Dreamers” and other immi- tional Working Women’s Day. strike was won.

WW PHOTO least one year in college, or sit out one out of high school and make millions — year after high school, before they can en- that’s a bad decision?” ter the NBA or National Football League Lonzo Ball, a celebrated rookie on the draft. The rule does not apply to hockey Los Angeles Lakers, stated that all NCAA MARCH MADNESS, or baseball players, the majority of whom players — in all sports — should be paid. are white, who can bypass college to be- (Sports Nation, Feb. 26) come professional players, starting in the On a Feb. 27 Twitter video, Jay Wil- NCAA & slave labor minor leagues. liams, an African-American analyst for Gundy stated, “I’ve always been in fa- ESPN, and a former Duke University and Continued from page 2 NCAA is one of the worst organizations vor of [players] going straight to the NBA. NBA basketball player, called for a player pears on T-shirts or other merchandise — maybe the worst organization — in I don’t understand why, as an indus- boycott by Final Four teams during the that makes profits for others. sports. They certainly don’t care about try, basketball or any other professional upcoming March Madness tournament. Is it any surprise that agents like Andy the athletes. They’re going to act now like sport, we’re able to limit somebody’s abil- Williams said, “Imagine how quickly the Miller, who represent the interests of cor- they’re just appalled by all these things ity to make money.... I think personally... NCAA would realize it’s not just a busi- porate sports giants like Nike, take ad- going on in college basketball? Please. It’s the people who were against them com- ness for [itself], but also a business for vantage of student-athletes who dream ridiculous.” (Detroit News, Feb. 25) ing out made a lot of excuses but a lot of the athletes as well.” (msn.com, Feb. 28) of being drafted by the NBA in order to It is important to emphasize that it was racist.” In whatever way the latest scandal financially support their economically 75 percent of NBA players are African Gundy continued, “I’ve never heard plays out, Black student-athletes will challenged families? American. Gundy exposed the wide- anybody go up in arms” about letting publicly bear the brunt as scapegoats for spread hypocrisy toward Black football kids go out and play minor-league base- the corruption built into capitalism. The The racist NCAA and basketball players. These are the ball or hockey. They’re not making big hope is there will be more and more pres- In response to the latest NCAA scan- student-athletes most victimized by the money and they’re white kids and no- sure from players and fans to compensate dal, Stan Van Gundy, the white coach of NCAA’s “one and done” rule that high body has a problem. But all of a sudden, these athletes, whose skills, talents and the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, stated: “The school players are obligated to spend at you’ve got a black kid who wants to come work make college sports so profitable. workers.org March 8, 2018 Page 11 U.N. ignores genocidal war on Yemen

By Randi Nord These airstrike terror attacks in var- sanctions against Yemen but removes any Editor, Geopolitics Alert ious Yemeni provinces killed dozens — mention of Iran. The U.N. Security Coun- nearly 40 — just during two days. cil approved that measure unanimously. Saudi Arabia carried out so many ter- Disturbingly (although not shocking- ror attacks with Washington’s support Silence from U.N. Security Council ly), the Security Council did not address the last few days in February that this The timing of these attacks is partic- Saudi Arabia’s war crimes and genocid- A home in Sana’a destroyed by Saudi air- writer had trouble tallying all the inci- ularly heinous. On Feb. 26, Britain pro- al actions in Yemen. Nor did it mention strike, killing an entire family, July 2017. dents. A U.N. Security Council meeting posed a resolution in the U.N. Security the six-point reconciliation plan that lance crews entering bomb sites. This af- did not address these genocidal attacks Council blaming Iran for supporting so- Ansarullah — which the Western media firms Washington’s direct participation and instead chose to focus on rallying called “terror activities” in Yemen. Al- reduce to simply “the Houthis” — submit- in gruesome war crimes and arguably support for a war against Iran. though the measure did not pass due to ted to the council. genocide against the Yemeni people. Five young girls between the ages of a veto from Russia, 11 out of 15 members U.S. Navy ships enforce the siege and 7 and 15 died after airstrikes targeted supported its content. China and Ka- Covering up war crimes blockade throughout the Red Sea by pro- a farm in a village north of Hays in Ho- zakhstan abstained while Bolivia voted The British resolution was a clear at- hibiting aid and cargo ships from docking deidah province on Feb. 28. The day be- against the resolution. tempt to skirt the West’s own war crimes in resistance-held territory, such as the fore, terror strikes killed another four If passed, this resolution could open in Yemen. Hodeidah port, where Saudi airstrikes civilians in Hodeidah. In Nehm, U.S.- the door to a NATO-led war against Iran. Far from a mere passive observer, the destroyed the port’s cranes. backed airstrikes murdered a mother U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Ha- United States provides both military Over 8 million Yemenis face direct and her two sons in their home. ley backed up this possibility, threaten- and intelligence support to Emirati and famine due to the land, air and sea block- A total of six died and four were in- ing “unilateral action” against the Islamic Saudi-backed forces. Saudi airstrikes ade, which severely restricts food, aid, jured in an attack in Saada, including Republic. “If Russia is going to continue and ground operations have killed and salaries, flow of movement and vital women and children. In a separate Saada to cover for Iran, then the U.S. and our injured more than 35,000 people in the medical supplies. Saudi Arabia demand- attack, paramedics and news reporters partners need to take action on our own. If past three years. ed the closure of Yemen’s main airport in had to flee as Riyadh carried out dou- we’re not going to get action on the council, U.S. forces provide intelligence sup- Sana’a and subsequently destroyed its in- ble-tap strikes on a civilian home while then we have to take our own actions,” Ha- port for selecting airstrike targets. Ri- frastructure. A resultant cholera epidem- rescuers and news personnel entered the ley told reporters. (reuters.com, Feb. 26) yadh’s airstrike campaign frequently tar- ic affecting 1 million people may soon scene. This raid left 19 people dead and Russia instead proposed a counter res- gets markets, homes, cars, media crews, be exacerbated during the rainy season, wounded, including one paramedic. olution which upholds the devastating farms, factories, prisons and even ambu- which starts in April.

REVIEW Venezuela, la oscura causa

Venezuela, the shadow agenda By Cheryl LaBash

In the August 2017 documentary, York & Bermudez Company, which had U.S. invasion of Iraq, the false, calculated 80 percent who were poor, the 40 percent “Venezuela, the Shadow Agenda,” direc- been exporting Venezuelan asphalt since images of instability and shortages be- who lived in extreme poverty. Chavez tor Hernando Calvo Ospina challenges 1885 without any significant payment to come an excuse for political and military gave voice, vote and power to the people.” prevailing corporate media storylines at- the country. This president was deposed, intervention or for potential secession of Has the mutlifaceted media campaign tacking Bolivarian Venezuela and Nicolás with the support of the U.S. Navy, as were the oil-rich Maracaibo region. against Venezuela made you wonder Maduro, its president. numerous later presidents who chal- Latin America and the Caribbean are what is going on there? The documen- Oil is the root and prized goal of the lenged the imperialists or the Venezuelan pushing back against imperialism’s offen- tary, “Venezuela, the Shadow Agenda,” U.S. effort to destabilize Venezuela today. oligarchy. sive to overturn popular advances in what exposes imperialist machinations and So says Calvo Ospina through interviews This history is key to understanding the the U.S. considers its “backyard” — Boli- arms us with facts and history to defend with historians, economists, journalists current so-called “humanitarian” crisis in varian Venezuela, Bolivia, and President Maduro and Venezuela. USA/ and an oil expert. Venezuela, manufactured by Washington. . Also targeted are the Community CIA, hands off Venezuela! How much oil? U.S. Geological Sur- The addition of that seemingly minor of Latin American and Caribbean States “Venezuela, the Shadow Agenda” vey says Venezuela has 28 percent of word lays the basis for military interven- as a Zone of Peace, the People’s Trade (“Venezuela, la oscura causa”) the world’s recoverable oil reserves. Ac- tion by the U.S. The intervention could Treaty of the Bolivarian Alliance for the 38 min., Spanish with English subtitles: cording to Carlos Mendoza, Venezuelan be direct. Or it could be through the U.S. People of Our America, and Petro Caribe. youtu.be/acZjQ1t9MXg. oil expert, only 4 percent of the reserves regional surrogate regime in Colombia, These initiatives and experiments in have been developed. Venezuelan oil Venezuela’s neighbor and home to seven cooperative development and trade have fields established as long ago as 1913 are U.S. bases. inspired hope around the world by spread- still producing half a million barrels of oil The collusion of the capitalist cor- ing literacy, health care and the uplift of per day. Other fields have produced since porate media in manufacturing the lie the disenfranchised, Indigenous, African 1925, 1930 and 1956. has been denounced by the president of descendants, women, LGBTQ (GBTQi) The late President Hugo Chávez Frias ­TeleSUR, who points out U.S. reporters and gender nonconforming people. Impacto del racismo and his successor Nicolás Maduro Moro are assigned to cover lines outside stores Paul Gillman, a rock musician, ex- en la maternidad are not the first Venezuelan leaders to and shortages, not the people’s power plained that the Venezuelan rulers hated attempt to use Venezuelan resources for growing in the country. Chávez because he was Black, without a Continúa de página 12 national development. In 1904 President Like the lies about weapons of mass degree and not part of the bourgeoisie: “Como mujer negra del sur profundo Cipriano Castro expropriated the New destruction that preceded the disastrous “He made visible the invisible people, that que es obstetra y madre, mi gran deseo de poner fin a esta injusticia se amplifica cada vez que miro las caras de mi hija y mis pacientes. Fue con este entendimiento NYC Forum que creé el National Birth Equity Collabo- rative en 2015”. (The Renewal Project, 30 de noviembre) Zimbabwe’s struggle Las mujeres afroamericanas continu- arán haciendo el trabajo para que la menor de ellas pueda florecer. Las estadísticas for sovereignty presentadas en este artículo deberían conducir a un levantamiento importante The New York branch of Workers World of President Robert Mugabe porque la supremacía blanca está desman- Party held a Black Liberation forum Feb. in December. He went on to telando nuestros hogares a través del daño 25 on “Zimbabwe: ZANU-PF moving for- say how the new ZANU-PF a las mujeres negras y nuestras/os hijos. ward” with guest speaker Omowale Clay, leadership, with grassroots Esto es genocidio: la matanza deliberada a founding member of the December 12th support, has pledged itself WW PHOTO: BRENDA RYAN de un gran grupo de personas, especial- Movement, a Black organization based in to continue the decades-long Kayla Popuchet, Omowale Clay, Monica Moorehead. mente las de un grupo étnico o nación en , N.Y. Members of D12 have trav- struggle to return land seized particular. eled on numerous occasions to the south- by white colonial farmers to its rightful demeanor charges were dropped against Pueblo, ¡despierta! Los efectos del rac- ern African country to extend solidarity owners, the Zimbabwean people. all the defendants due to the power of the ismo nos están matando literal y figu- to the anti-neocolonial struggle there and Kayla Popuchet spoke of her recent mass movement, Popuchet stated. Moni- rativamente. Continuemos derribando against attacks by U.S. and British impe- trip to Durham, N.C., along with other ca Moorehead chaired the forum. monumentos a la supremacía blanca. Even- rialism on Zimbabwe’s sovereignty. New York WWP members, to show soli- To view both of these talks, go to you- tualmente, eso causará un cambio real Clay provided an extensive explanation darity with defendants who were on trial tu.be/pmsQElqtpL8 and youtu.be/t5Ps_ cuando se trate de borrar las causas sistémi- of the internal situation within the ruling for taking down a racist Confederate stat- KnYubg. cas del racismo y su impacto en la salud de ZANU-PF party that led to the resignation ue this past August. Both felony and mis- — Workers World staff las mujeres negras y nuestras/os niños. Correspondencia sobre artículos en Workers World/Mundo Obrero pueden ser enviadas a: [email protected]

¡Proletarios y oprimidos de todos los paises unios! workers.org Vol. 60 Núm. 10 10 de marzo 2018 $1 Impacto del racismo No confiar en que Mueller en la maternidad deponga a Trump Por Mikisa Thompson cuente de insuficiencia cardíaca que ocurre WW/MO Editorial: El abogado especial contra Corea del norte, detener los viles durante el último mes de embarazo o hasta Robert Mueller acusó a 13 ciudadanos comentarios de Trump menosprecian- do a las mujeres y atacando a los atle- El Mes de la Historia de la Mujer es cinco meses después del parto”. (12 de dic- rusos y tres compañías el 16 de febrero, tas afroamericanos que toman posturas un evento anual que destaca las contri- iembre) supuestamente por conducir un esque- políticas. buciones de las mujeres en los eventos Sin embargo, la AAC también dice que ma para interferir criminalmente con Enfocándose en Rusia también desvía históricos y la sociedad contemporánea. esto es “una ocurrencia rara”, porque no las elecciones presidenciales del 2016 la atención del apoyo total que la clase Como mujer negra en la sociedad contem- monitorea la enfermedad en las mujeres en EUA. Cuatro días más tarde, Mueller dominante, desde Wall Street hasta el poránea, hay muchos problemas que nos negras. Si la organización hiciera eso, toda forzó una declaración de culpabilidad de Valle de Silicón, está dando al programa afectan a mí y a mi comunidad en gener- persona en EUA debería indignarse. un abogado holandés que trabajaba con de recortes de impuestos y “desregu- al. El racismo y las formas en que la su- Megan Brooks, en un artículo titulado los gerentes de la campaña de Trump, Paul lación” de Trump. Los bancos no se deten- premacía blanca muestra su fea cabeza “Cardiomiopatía posparto más severa para Manafort y Rick Gates, por mentirle a los drán hasta garantizar que el programa de se entrelazan en nuestras vidas a diario, mujeres negras”, escribe: “Las mujeres investigadores. Luego, Mueller agregó robo de Trump de los pobres continúe, ya especialmente cuando estamos más vul- afroamericanas con PPCM son diagnos- nuevos cargos contra Manafort y Gates, esté o no Trump en su puesto. nerables. ticadas después del parto, presentan una incluyendo fraude y lavado de dinero. Esto El magnate Warren Buffet declaró ab- Como mujeres negras, durante el em- disfunción sistólica más grave, con mayor forzó a Gates a declararse culpable el 23 iertamente su alegría en una carta a los barazo y el parto, somos las más vulner- frecuencia su función cardíaca empeora de febrero por hacer declaraciones falsas. accionistas de su conglomerado Berk- ables al racismo sistémico. Las mujeres después del diagnóstico y se recupera con Los medios corporativos que se oponen shire, que ganó alrededor de $29,1 mil negras están desproporcionadamente menos frecuencia y, cuando la función a Donald Trump y el liderazgo del Parti- millones por el recorte de impuestos: afectadas por la brutalidad policial, los cardíaca se recupera, lleva mucho más ti- do Demócrata han usado estos eventos “Nuestra sonrisa se ampliará cuando ha- bajos salarios, la falta de vivienda y la vio- empo hacerlo”. (Medscape, 13 de octubre) para proclamar afanosamente que Trump yamos redistribuido el exceso de fondos lencia del racismo y el genocidio. debe ser expulsado por cargos penales. Serena Williams Pero, ¿deberían las/os trabajadores y las Berkshire en activos más productivos”, prometiendo más fusiones. (msn.com, 23 Madres negras mueren Serena Williams parió a su hija el 1 de personas oprimidas estar satisfechas con de febrero) de insuficiencia cardíaca septiembre. Tiene antecedentes de coágu- que el FBI y Mueller estén tomando medi- Nada fue mencionado sobre la con- Según un artículo del 7 de diciembre en los sanguíneos. Después de parir por das contra la pandilla racista, misógina, tratación de trabajadoras/es para em- ProPublica, “En los últimos años, mien- cesárea, le costó respirar. En un artículo anti-inmigrante y pro-ricos de Trump pleos bien remunerados. A raíz de la tras las altas tasas de mortalidad materna del 10 de enero de Vogue titulado “Serena atacando la supuesta conexión con Rusia? catástrofe financiera del 2008, el Con- en EUA han alarmado a los investigadores, Williams sobre la maternidad, el matri- No. Eso sería retroceder al papel de es- greso aprobó una ley que prohibió a los una estadística ha sido especialmente monio y su vuelta”, explica que ella sabía pectador. Implicaría que podríamos con- bancos con activos de más de $50 mil preocupante. Según los [Centros para que necesitaba una “tomografía compu- fiar en el Departamento de Justicia del millones, fusionarse o adquirir otros el Control y la Prevención de Enferme- tarizada con contraste y heparina IV (un Fiscal General racista Jeff Sessions para bancos. Ahora, impulsado por Trump, dades, CDC], las madres negras en EUA anticoagulante) de inmediato. La enfer- luchar contra el racismo. un proyecto de ley favorecido por ambos mueren entre tres y cuatro veces más que mera pensó que su analgésico podría es- E implicaría que podríamos confiar en partidos políticos aumentaría ese umbral las madres blancas, una de las más ampli- tar confundiéndola. Pero Serena insistió, el mismo FBI que espía a los partidos de a $250 mil millones. as disparidades raciales en la salud de las y pronto un doctor estaba haciendo un las/os trabajadores y ataca a las organi- Y no queda ahí. La Reserva Federal mujeres. Dicho de otra manera, una mu- ultrasonido de sus piernas. ‘Yo pensaba, zaciones de liberación negra. También co- con su nuevo jefe designado por Trump jer negra tiene un 243 por ciento más de un Doppler? Le había dicho que necesit- locaría al gobierno ruso como chivo expi- está ocupado “ablandando” las reglas so- probabilidades de morir por causas rela- aba una tomografía computarizada y un atorio por la victoria electoral de Trump, bre fusión que penalizan las violaciones cionadas con el embarazo o el parto”. gotero de heparina’. La ecografía no rev- cuando el Colegio Electoral antidemo- de los bancos sobre préstamos justos, la- Ese número, 243 por ciento, es muy eló nada, por lo que la enviaron a la TC, y crático fue quien lo hizo; las leyes para vado de dinero y leyes de mercadeo. Unos difícil de asimilar. La forma en que apa- efectivamente, varios pequeños coágulos detener el voto de las/os pobres y negras/ 370 bancos están actualmente en la lla- rece el racismo en las mujeres bendecidas de sangre se habían asentado en sus pul- os y ex prisioneras/os lo hizo, y el fracaso mada “Caja de penalización” por presun- por ser negras, es especialmente flagrante mones. Minutos después ella estaba bajo del Partido Demócrata en luchar por los tas violaciones. en lo que respecta a la atención médica. El el tratamiento adecuado. ‘¡Yo me decía, derechos de las/os trabajadores lo hizo. Como toda/o trabajador sabe, las fu- prejuicio hacia las mujeres y las/os niños “escuchen a la Dra. Williams!’” Ignorando la agenda de Trump y la siones generalmente significan muchos negros es la clave del problema. Las mu- derecha y mirando en cambio al fiscal es- despidos. Y esto incluso si las reglas lax- jeres de casi todas las razas no son oídas Mortalidad infantil e pecial, los Demócratas y los expertos in- as no conducen rápidamente a otra crisis cuando hablan sobre el manejo del dolor ntre afroamericanas/os tentan desarmar la capacidad de nuestra cuando explote la próxima burbuja. o simplemente cuando no se sienten bien. Williams, quien tiene fondos ilimita- clase para luchar y formar un movimien- Las/os trabajadores y las comunidades Imagínese que será para una mujer negra dos, inicialmente no fue escuchada por el to independiente de masas. oprimidas no pueden confiar en Mueller o que experimenta un tremendo dolor du- personal médico. Imagine la situación que Podemos movilizarnos para detener en el Partido Demócrata para detener los rante y después del parto, y no se le brinda enfrenta una mujer que vive en un barrio las escandalosas redadas de la Migra. Po- regalos del régimen de Trump a los ricos el cuidado básico, que es un tratamiento pobre que va a un hospital con un personal demos protestar la entrega del desierto y el programa de austeridad para las/os adecuado del dolor, como a sus contra- prejuiciado. Sin duda, el resultado habría y la tierra indígena a la minería y com- pobres. Solo una poderosa lucha puede partes femeninas que están soportando el sido diferente. Esta es una buena infor- pañías petroleras. Podemos exponer la hacer eso, independientemente del Parti- mismo proceso de tratar de traer una vida. mación para saber. ¿Qué hacemos con este política de inmigración de “solo blancos”. do Demócrata - uniendo a la clase trabaja- conocimiento? ¿Quién toma nuestra cau- Y podemos y debemos organizar para dora de todas las nacionalidades y géneros Erica Garner sa? Además, con la alta tasa de muertes de detener las guerras de drones, deten- para luchar no solo contra Trump el indi- Dos mujeres que recientemente han ex- madres afroamericanas, esto lleva al tema er los intentos de “cambio de régimen”, viduo, sino su programa completo. perimentado un parto, junto a una grave de la tasa de mortalidad infantil entre las/ “detener la amenaza de la guerra nuclear crisis de salud o la muerte, vienen a la os niños afroamericanos. mente. Una es Erica Garner, que murió por Cuando estaba embarazada de mi hijo, corazón partido el 30 de diciembre después escuché la estadística de que los niños materna e infantil es un marcador impor- probabilidades que las madres blancas de que su padre, Eric Garner, fuera asesina- afroamericanos tenían la tasa más alta de tante de la salud general de una sociedad”. no-hispanas de no recibir atención prena- do por el estado en el 2014 en Staten Island, mortalidad infantil hasta la edad de cinco El Departamento de Salud y Servicios tal o tardía. Nueva York. La otra es la atleta número uno años. No pude dejar de preocuparme por Humanos informa que las/os afroamerica- La Dra. Joia Adele Crear-Perry, funda- en el mundo: Serena Williams. mi hijo hasta que tuvo cinco años. Aún me nos tienen 2,2 veces la tasa de mortalidad dora de National Birth Equity Collabora- Erica Garner experimentó el efecto se- preocupo porque puede recibir un dispa- infantil que las/os blancos no-hispanos y tive, dice: “Estados Unidos es el único país cundario de vivir siendo negra cuando su ro mientras está en la escuela o mientras los bebés afroamericanos tienen 3,2 veces desarrollado del mundo donde la mortali- padre fue asesinado. Este trauma provocó sea un hombre negro en cualquier parte más probabilidades de morir por compli- dad materna está en aumento. Las mujeres un ataque al corazón después del nacimien- de EUA. caciones relacionadas con el bajo peso al negras en EUA mueren entre 3 y 4 veces más to de su hijo en agosto pasado. Esta es una Según el CDC: “La mortalidad infantil nacer que los bebés blancos no-hispanos. que las mujeres blancas. Los bebés negros ocurrencia muy común después de que una es la muerte de un bebé antes de su prim- En 2014, las/os afroamericanos tenían mueren a un ritmo 2 veces mayor que sus mujer negra da a luz a un bebé. er cumpleaños. La tasa de mortalidad in- más del doble de la tasa de mortalidad por homólogos blancos. Con esta clara evidencia La Asociación Americana del Corazón fantil es la cantidad de muertes infantiles síndrome de muerte súbita infantil que de inequidad, esta es una cuestión urgente dice: “La miocardiopatía posparto (PPCM por cada 1,000 nacidos vivos. Además de las/os blancos no-hispanos, y las madres de salud pública y derechos humanos”. por siglas en inglés) es una forma poco fre- brindarnos información clave sobre la salud afroamericanas tenían 2,2 veces más Continúa a página 11