Unidad de clase 12 Salario mínimo 12

Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite! workers.org Vol. 63, No. 10 March 11, 2021 $1

COVID, health crisis Release Mumia now! By Betsey Piette Initially SCI Mahanoy officials said Abu-Jamal’s Philadelphia COVID-19 tests were negative. His supporters, however, aware of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections’ Word has come that Pennsylvania political prisoner historic neglect of serious health conditions for Mumia Mumia Abu-Jamal has tested positive for COVID‑19. and other incarcerated people, posted an alert calling on Supporters learned of the diagnosis March 3, as they prison officials to seek additional health treatment. It were gathered in front of the office of Philadelphia appears that this international pressure campaign made District Attorney Larry Krasner to call for Abu-Jamal’s a difference. release and that of all incarcerated people over 50, who Fernandez reported that 66-year-old Abu-Jamal has are vulnerable to premature death from COVID-19 and severe liver damage, because in the past the PA DOC had other illnesses. delayed treatment for his hepatitis C. “Prisons in the U.S. Johanna Fernandez, with the Campaign to Bring are a death trap. U.S. prisons have resisted decarceration Mumia Home, received word from Abu-Jamal’s medi- under COVID-19, yet countries around the world, includ- Johanna Fernandez speaks outside the WW PHOTO: JOE PIETTE cal attorney Robert Boyle confirming a diagnosis all had ing Iran and Italy, have had mass release of prisoners. Philadelphia DA’s office, March 3. feared. Abu-Jamal, who had been hospitalized to remove “There were over 500,000 unnecessary deaths in the excessive fluid from his lungs, was also diagnosed with U.S. because of COVID-19. Who are we as a society—​ congestive heart disease. described as ‘having a little elephant on my chest.’ willing to allow elderly people, disproportionately Black Fernandez described speaking with Abu-Jamal on Mumia rarely complains about his health. We immedi- and Latinx, to die prematurely and unnecessarily because Feb. 26, noticing his speech was altered. “He reported ately mobilized to put pressure on the prison system to of the vindictiveness of the criminal justice system? having labored breathing and feeling a weight he test him for COVID-19.” Continued on page 6 Workers are not robots Racism, high-tech speedup and the Amazon union drive

By Minnie Bruce Pratt labor struggle. They are part of the proud history of the Bessemer-Birmingham A historic organizing drive is under- area’s Black community, from the inde- way in Bessemer, Ala., at the Amazon pendent, interracial unionism of the BHM1 warehouse. Almost 6,000 majori- International Union of Mine, Mill and ty-Black workers—almost​ half women—​ Smelter Workers in the 1930s and 40s to are deciding whether to unionize with the the 1963 Children’s March against racist Retail, Wholesale and Department Store segregation. Union (RWDSU). Voting is continuing Amazon’s system is entrenched in rac- until March 29. ism, as revealed Feb. 26 by Vox/Recode. If the workers succeed, they will form Review of internal data and interviews the first-ever union inside Amazon in the with workers and diversity managers U.S.—a​ huge victory against the interna- showed that Black Amazon employees tional capitalist behemoth. are underrepresented in decision teams, According to BAmazonUnion.org, promoted less frequently and assessed workers are fighting for “dignity and more harshly than non-Black peers. respect” along with safer working condi- (tinyurl.com/kjuvs9k6) tions. Theirs is both a civil rights and a Continued on page 7

Breonna Taylor 3 Khalida Jarrar 3 On the picket line 2 Warehouse memoir 7 Where has all the soil gone? 3 Editorial Book ban challenged 6 The true Amazons 10 Support for #BAmazon grows 7 Vaccine racism 8 Bay Area: Prison profits out! Buffalo antiwar action 9 Jailhouse Lawyers Speak They’re capitalists, not Neanderthals 10 Free Palestinian students! COVID lockdown in prison 4-5 Editorial The REAL culprit 10

Palestine pandemic crisis 9 Haiti struggle continues 11 Page 2 March 11, 2021 workers.org

Other workers were brought back and forced to work at different jobs for less pay. The company also removed when we safety barriers that had protected disabled workers from fight areas where heavy machinery is used. Dave Perry, a visu- On the we win! ally impaired member of Teamster Local 100 and factory this week worker, referenced Teamster organizers of the 1930s who preferred a short, page-long union contract. He said, “the ◆ In the U.S. bosses clearly seem to have more difficulty sticking to picket line Release Mumia Now! ...... 1 By Marie Kelly even that length of a contract without us making them do it.” (The Militant, March 8) Workers are not robots ...... 1 On the picket line ...... 2 Bosses retaliate against Remembering Breonna Taylor ...... 3 Teachers union ties Hunts Point workers Depletion of fertile soil ...... 3 to Women’s History Rally demands: Prison profiteers out! . . . . . 4 Business retaliation against union organizing is noth- Jailhouse Lawyers Speak: ‘Shut ’em down!’ . . .4 ing new. Weak laws and minimal fines embolden corpo- Prior to the industrial revolution, teaching was a job Mental health and COVID lockdown in prisons . 5 rations like Amazon to hire strikebreaking law firms to for men. There was no public education system, and Free Palestinian students ...... 5 intimidate workers into voting down attempts to unionize teaching was nothing like the profession it is today. their workplace. Workers who strike or successfully orga- Industrialization provided more work opportunities, and Mass pressure stops Amazon Censorship . . . .6 nize face the threat of losing their jobs. men moved on to better and higher paying jobs and away Remembrances of a warehouse order picker . . .7 Teamsters Local 202 reports that at least 26 union from teaching. Young women were tapped to become Philadelphia: Protests outside Whole Foods . . .7 members from Hunts Point Produce Market in New York teachers to fill the gap, because of the expanding popula- Vaccines: China vs. Western imperialism . . . 8 City have been laid off since work resumed following tion in the late 19th century and the development of the the strike for a $1 an hour pay increase. These essential public school system. Texas governor, Neanderthals and COVID-19 . 10 workers continued to work 12-hour shifts throughout the Patriarchy still defined the field. Women were paid less Haitians community denounces coup regime . .11 pandemic. Hunts Point Market is a vital link in the food than their male counterparts and were forced to leave distribution system for this country. their positions when they married. Men were the admin- ◆ Around the world Proving that the layoffs are retaliatory is difficult and istrators of the public school system. Women responded Free Khalida Jarrar! ...... 3 labor laws don’t go far enough to protect workers’ orga- to this exploitation by demanding better conditions and Israel’s denial of vaccines to Palestinians . . . 8 nizing efforts. (tinyurl.com/87776sh8) equal pay. The Chicago Teachers Federation was formed in 1897 by teachers Catherine Coggin and Margaret Haley. Haiti protests: ‘Moïse, U.S., U.N. out . . . . . 11 It grew into what is today the American Federation of Editorial Workers with disabilities Teachers, one of the most powerful unions in the coun- ◆ try. By the 1940s, the AFT was collectively bargaining with The true Amazons of the working class . . . . 10 fight in Cincinnati school boards. Migrant deaths: Who’s the REAL culprit? . . . 10 Today, AFT and other teacher union locals in major Visually impaired and blind workers, who are two- cities across the country are fighting for the safety of ◆ Noticias en Español thirds of the workforce at a factory run by the Cincinnati their members. They are defying mayors and board of Aumentar el salario mínimo a $15, ¡al menos! . 12 Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired, have peti- education officials by refusing to return to in-person Todo el mundo está mirando ...... 12 tioned management to address unfair labor and safety classrooms until it is safe for both teachers and their stu- concerns. After the factory reopened following a pandem- dents. They continue the legacy of the women who defied ic-related shutdown, management failed to follow senior- the patriarchal norms of the 19th and 20th centuries. ity rehiring rules. The complaint states several blind (tinyurl.com/rnh957nw) ☐ workers have been unfairly targeted and not reinstated.

Workers World 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl. Join us in the fight New York, NY 10011 Phone: 212.627.2994 for socialism! E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.workers.org Workers World Party is a revolutionary Marxist-Leninist and trans people are gunned down by cops and bigots on Vol. 63, No. 10 • March 11, 2021 party inside the belly of the imperialist beast. We are a mul- a regular basis. Closing date: March 10, 2021 tinational, multigenerational and multigendered organiza- The ruthless ruling class today seeks to wipe out tion that not only aims to abolish capitalism, but to build a decades of gains and benefits won by hard-fought strug- Editors: John Catalinotto, Martha Grevatt, Deirdre socialist society because it’s the only way forward! gles by people’s movements. The super-rich and their Griswold, Monica Moorehead, Betsey Piette, Minnie Capitalism and imperialism threaten the peoples of the political representatives have intensified their attacks on Bruce Pratt world and the planet itself in the neverending quest for the multinational, multigender and multigenerational Web Editors: ABear, Harvey Markowitz, Janet Mayes ever-greater profits. working class. It is time to point the blame at—​and chal- Prisoners Page Editors: Mirinda Crissman, Ted Kelly Capitalism means war and austerity, racism and repres- lenge—the​ capitalist system. sion, attacks on im/migrants, misogyny, LGBTQ2S+ WWP fights for socialism because the working class Production & Design Editors: Gery Armsby, Mirinda oppression and mistreatment of people with disabili- produces all wealth in society, and this wealth should Crissman, Sasha Mazumder, Scott Williams ties. It means joblessness, increasing homelessness and remain in their hands, not be stolen in the form of capi- Copyediting and Proofreading: Paddy Colligan, impoverishment and lack of hope for the future. No social talist profits. The wealth workers create should be socially S. Hedgecoke problems can be solved under capitalism. owned and its distribution planned to satisfy and guaran- Contributing Editors: LeiLani Dowell, G. Dunkel, The U.S. is the richest country in the world, yet no one tee basic human needs. K. Durkin, Sara Flounders, Teresa Gutierrez, Joshua has a guaranteed right to shelter, food, water, health care, Since 1959, Workers World Party has been out in the Hanks, Makasi Motema, Gloria Rubac education or anything else—​unless they can pay for it. streets defending the workers and oppressed here and Wages are lower than ever, and youth are saddled with worldwide. If you’re interested in Marxism, socialism Mundo Obero: Teresa Gutierrez, Carlos Vargas seemingly insurmountable student debt, if they even and fighting for a socialist future, please contact a WWP Copyright © 2021 Workers World. Verbatim copying make it to college. Black, Brown and Indigenous youth branch near you. ☐ and distribution of articles is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved. Workers World (ISSN-1070-4205) is published If you are interested in joining Workers World Party contact: 212.627.2994 monthly by WW Publishers, 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10011. Phone: 212.627.2994. Subscrip- National Office Bay Area Central Gulf Coast Philadelphia 147 W. 24th St., 2nd floor P.O. Box 22947 (Alabama, Florida, Mississippi) P.O. Box 34249 tions: One year: $36; institutions: $50. Letters to the New York, NY 10011 Oakland, CA 94609 [email protected] Philadelphia, PA 19101 editor may be condensed and edited. Articles can be 212.627.2994 510.394.2207 610.931.2615 freely reprinted, with credit to Workers World, 147 Cleveland [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] W. 24th St. 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10011. Back issues 216.738.0320 and individual articles are available on microfilm and/ Atlanta Boston [email protected] Portland, Ore. or photocopy from NA Publishing, Inc, P.O. Box 998, PO Box 18123 284 Amory St. [email protected] Durham, N.C. Ann Arbor, MI 48106-0998. Atlanta, GA 30316 Boston, MA 02130 804 Old Fayetteville St. Salt Lake City 404.627.0185 617.522.6626 A searchable archive is available on the Web at Durham, NC 27701 801.750.0248 [email protected] [email protected] www.workers.org. 919.322.9 970 [email protected] Austin Buffalo, N.Y. [email protected] A headline digest is available via e-mail subscription. San Antonio [email protected] 335 Richmond Ave. Subscription information is at workers.org. Houston [email protected] Buffalo, NY 14222 P.O. Box 3454 Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. 716.883.2534 West Virginia Houston, TX 77253-3454 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to [email protected] [email protected] 713.503.2633 Workers World, 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl. [email protected] New York, N.Y. 10011. workers.org March 11, 2021 Page 3 One year after her death Remembering Breonna Taylor By Monica Moorehead Taylor lost her life exactly two months a main focal case for the Black Lives and two weeks before a 46-year-old Black Matter movement around the country. At first, few people knew of the hei- man, George Floyd, was publicly lynched National Basketball Association players, nous crime carried out by three white by a white cop who applied pressure on both women and men, wore warm-up Louisville, Ky., police officers responsible his neck for almost nine minutes, until he T-shirts and sneakers with portraits for the murder of a 26-year-old African lost consciousness and died for the entire of Breonna Taylor, demanding justice American emergency medical technician, world to see. during their playoffs. NBA coaches wore Breonna Taylor, on March 13, 2020. Millions of people inside the U.S. and similar shirts featuring her name. Taylor was shot multiple times while worldwide organized daily rebellions and Tennis champion, Naomi Osaka, wore laying in her bed, when the police protests, including burning down a police a different mask for every match she Breonna Taylor was honored with a attempted to conduct a “no-knock” war- station in Minneapolis to express their played during the U.S. Open. Each mask 7,000-square-foot mural in Annapolis, Md. rant for a phony drug bust at Taylor’s outrage over the systemic racism, espe- included the name of someone who lost house. None of the police, including cially the police terror that runs rampant their lives like Taylor to help bring aware- and other women of color who bear the the one who fired the bullets that took in Black and Brown communities. ness that Black and Brown women are brunt of systemic racism and gender Taylor’s life, were arrested or indicted for It was in the summer of 2020 during also victims of racist police violence. oppression of all forms, not only in the murder—​not even manslaughter—​by a the upsurge in protests that activists out- It is important to use the occasion of past but in the present. Breonna Taylor—​ Kentucky grand jury last September for side the Louisville community learned Women’s History Month to keep in the #SayHerName. ☐ this despicable act. about Taylor’s death, which then became forefront of the struggle names of Black Free Khalida Jarrar! By Susan Abulhawa organization, was arrested in her home in when she was arrested long-awaited national October 2019. Israel has imprisoned her in October 2019, she elections, which have not The author of this essay is a Palestinian since then without charge or trial, under had only been out of taken place since 2006. writer, whose latest novel is “Against the their “administrative detention” protocols, administrative deten- Prisoner rights organi- Loveless World,” Atria, 2020. which are reserved only for Palestinians, tion for nine months. zation Addameer reports part of a legal apartheid system in which Prior to that, she was at least 440 Palestinians In advance of International Women’s multiple tiers of law apply to citizens based jailed without charge or have been detained Day on March 8, Israel sentenced one of on their religion and location. trial for 20 months. Khalida Jarrar, senior leader in the since January, of whom Palestine’s most prominent women to two Administrative detention allows Israel Women in Israeli Popular Front for the Liberation 140 are children; 37 years in prison, in a military court wherein to imprison whomever it wants for three-to prisons often report of Palestine. are women; and 9 are no evidence could be presented against six-month periods, which can be renewed persistent humiliation elected legislative mem- her except her affiliation with an outlawed indefinitely. Detainees do not have a right and sexual abuse, typically by female bers, bringing the total number of politi- political organization. to know the accusations or evidence lev- Israeli guards, as well as other physical cal prisoners to 4,500. Khalida Jarrar, a senior leader in eled against them, nor can they appeal. and psychological abuse and neglect. Without a hint of irony, Israel has crit- the Popular Front for the Liberation of Israel has repeatedly imprisoned Jarrar The latest arrest comes just icized Saudi Arabia’s arrest of women Palestine (PFLP), a Marxist-Leninist through this apartheid system. In fact, as Palestinians are preparing for political activists. ☐

Depletion of fertile soil Could it trigger a bigger U.S. food crisis? by Ted Kelly is a serious problem because the World University of Texas at Austin, found The “Special Period” in the history of Health Organization reports that more “‘reliable declines’ in the amount of pro- revolutionary Cuba refers to the great U.S. farmland in the Midwest has lost than 3.7 billion people are malnourished tein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, ribo- upheaval immediately after the dissolu- over one-third of the soil necessary to in the world. Overall soil is being lost flavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin C” in tion of the Soviet Union, which socialist sustain crop production, according to from land areas 10 to 40 times faster than dozens of fruits and vegetables since states around the world had depended on scientists at University of Massachusetts, the rate of soil renewal imperiling future 1950. (tinyurl.com/3nhwhzza) for economic support. Amherst. The study concluded that fertile human food security and environmental Corporate genetic modification of plant In 1993, the Cuban Communist Party soil has been destroyed—not​ as a result quality.” (tinyurl.com/cpav2xj9) [One species, like corn, is aimed at making more formed agricultural cooperatives to man- of natural wind and water erosion, but by hectare is the equivalent of 100 acres.] profitable—​not healthier—​produce. age hundreds of state-owned farms. The a century of overplowing. (tinyurl.com/ This follows a global trend that has “Efforts to breed new varieties of crops that goal was to increase domestic food pro- wps8c99c) caused a drastic reduction in fertile farm- provide greater yield, pest resistance and duction, while providing jobs and hous- Topsoil is the “black, organic, [carbon land due to capitalist overdevelopment. climate adaptability have allowed crops to ing to Cuban workers, and to rely less on and mineral] rich soil that’s really good Almost all food production—​99.7%, grow bigger and more rapidly, but their imported chemical pesticides and other for growing crops,” said Evan Thaler, according to the Cornell study—​depends ability to manufacture or uptake nutrients synthetic farming techniques. Ph.D. student at UMass. Topsoil accumu- on healthy topsoil. But half of it has been has not kept pace with their rapid growth,” “The land redistribution program has lates over centuries and is teeming with destroyed in the last 150 years according the UT study claimed. been supported by solid research-exten- microorganisms. to the World Wildlife Federation. (tinyurl. sion systems that have played key roles in The healthy and fertile soil was effectively com/pxkcx37b) Cuba shows the way the expansion of organic and urban agri- managed and stewarded by Indigenous An impending food crisis is not the only There is a model, however, for soil culture, and the massive artisanal produc- peoples of the region for centuries, if not issue at stake. Low-nutrient soil produces replenishment and food production that tion and deployment of biological inputs millennia. But after a few hundred years low-nutrient crops. Food today simply could point to a way forward that would for soil and pest management,” writes of hyperexploitation, first by European does not have as many vitamins and min- avoid famine and nutritional starvation. Miguel Altieri, one of the founders of the colonial settlers and later big agribusiness, erals as it did a few decades ago. And it comes, unsurprisingly, from the Cuban Association of Organic Agriculture. a third of all the topsoil across Illinois, Another study, conducted by the socialist world. (Monthly Review, “The Paradox of Cuban Iowa, Indiana and Minnesota is now Agriculture,” Jan. 1, 2012) gone according to a study reported in the Even more impressive is the growth Proceedings of the National Academy of of food production on urban farms, or Sciences. (tinyurl.com/3yxy4v9d) This fig- organopónicos. “Cuba’s achievements in ure is much higher than has been reported urban agriculture are truly remarkable—​ by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. there are 383,000 urban farms, covering Lead researcher Thaler said, “I think the 50,000 hectares of otherwise unused land USDA is dramatically underestimating the and producing more than 1.5 million tons amount of loss.” (NPR) of vegetables … using no synthetic chemi- This assessment is corroborated by cals. … Urban farms supply 70% or more of a 2006 study from Cornell University all the fresh vegetables consumed in cities which found fertile soil is disappearing such as Havana and Villa Clara.” faster than it’s being replaced, stating: Capitalism is at a dead-end by every “Each year about 10 million hectares conceivable metric. Socialist societ- of cropland are lost due to soil erosion, ies point the way forward to providing thus reducing the cropland available for healthy, nutritious foods for all without a food production. The loss of cropland Organic urban farm in Havana, Cuba. profit motive.☐ Page 4 March 11, 2021 workers.org Rally demands: ‘Prison profiteers out of California!’ Judy Greenspan Washington and his strong opposition Group’s occupation of this building.” (the that the fight continue for Washington, San Francisco to GEO. Speakers included Nube Brown, Guardian, June 21, 2019) and for the closure of companies like managing editor of the SF Bay View; In August 1966, three years before the GEO. She asked everyone to virtually March 7—​Streets and sidewalks Matt Haney, San Francisco Supervisor Stonewall Rebellion, drag queens, trans pack the courtroom for Washington at around 111 Taylor Street, a semi-lock- for District 6; Sandy Valenciano of women and sex workers rose up and fought the March 10 hearing on his case. To give down halfway house run by the for-profit Immigrant Legal Resource Center/ the police in this downtown Tenderloin support, go to linktr.ee/freemalik. GEO Group, shook today with resounding Dignity Not Detention; Jeremy Miller neighborhood in the Compton’s Cafeteria chants: “What’s the call? Free Malik, and with Poor Magazine; Pierre Laboissiere Riot. Victor Silverman and Stryker docu- Prisons for profit free them all!” Over 200 protesters car- of the Haiti Action Committee; and Susan mented this history in “Screaming Queens: Malik Washington filed a lawsuit rying brightly colored banners took over Stryker, trans activist and historian. The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria.” (imdb. against the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons the streets to demand Malik Washington Stryker pointed to the first floor of the com/title/tt0464189/) Feb. 1 to oppose the gag rule placed on him be released from custody and allowed to Taylor facility and said, “That used to be Stryker added, “We are here today to by the BOP. The activist journalist was go home. support Malik. … We the first person to expose GEO’s cover-up Washington is a for- think it is an obscenity of COVID. The company’s mishandling of merly incarcerated fed- that this historic site the virus has become public knowledge eral prisoner held at of trans resistance to and the subject of a short video produced Taylor, and he is also police repression, and by the San Francisco Public Defender’s the new editor-in-chief to the carceral system, Office, “111 Taylor (During a Pandemic).” of the San Francisco is occupied for profit by (wearedefender.com/111-taylor) Bay View National Black a group like GEO.” GEO Group is one of the largest man- Newspaper. He recently Jeremy Miller said, agers of private prisons in the U.S., and it broke the silence around “We are here today, controls a number of ICE (Immigration GEO’s mishandling of a because Malik was and Customs Enforcement) detention COVID outbreak at the standing up for the peo- centers. Multiple lawsuits have been filed lock-up. For exercising ple,” ending with the against the company for inhumane treat- his First Amendment chant, “Free Malik, but ment. ICE prisoners have organized hun- rights as a Black jour- that’s not all! Keep on ger strikes and other actions to protest nalist, he is threatened pushing! Free them all!” dangerous conditions faced in its facilities with immediate return A letter of support during the pandemic. to federal prison. from San Francisco Though President Biden issued an Demonstrators in front of Taylor Street facility, March 7. WW PHOTO: JUDY GREENSPAN When GEO officials District Attorney, Chesa executive order that the federal govern- realized Washington Boudin, was read: “It is ment will stop using private prisons, that was communicating with people outside Compton’s Cafeteria. It was where [trans] deeply concerning when people like Malik order did not include privately held ICE the Taylor facility, they placed him in people used to come at night to get out Washington, who are devoted to truth detention centers like those run by GEO. house arrest in his room and confiscated of the cold … to show that they survived telling, are targeted precisely for trying to (US News and World Report, Jan. 26) At his phone. Public pressure eventually won their night. The cops would come in and ensure that critical information is made the rally many speakers from immigrant him a return to work. Only recently was his harass them repeatedly. Then one night public. We must ensure that the truth be rights groups exposed the atrocities suf- phone returned. (Workers World, Jan. 19) [the people] stood up and pushed back told to protect the vulnerable.” fered by incarcerated migrants in GEO- Today’s rally showed the depth and and made history. Just like we are mak- Editor Nube Brown, who is also a run ICE detention centers. ☐ breadth of support in the Bay Area for ing history and pushing back against GEO leader of California Prison Focus, urged Jailhouse Lawyers Speak: ‘Shut ’em down!’ Jailhouse Lawyers Speak is a collec- hundreds of thousands who have become pointing towards learning institutions specific state-related campaigns. These tive of radical incarcerated activists. ill or the thousands killed by COVID. with connections to prison labor. Shut ’em Down demonstrations should In a March 1 press release, they have Incarcerated people know that every A few states may already have specific serve as a wake-up call to every person in called for national demonstrations to time a prison official comes to work, our ongoing campaigns that directly speak to the U.S. that the current jailing path does shut down jails, prisons and ICE deten- lives are in jeopardy because they may be decarceration or closing down a prison or not work. It’s time to end it! tion centers on Aug. 21 and Sept. 9 infected. The same is true regarding pris- jail. Efforts should be made to network to In the days leading up to the Shut ’em (#shutemdown2021). These dates were oner deaths: We attribute every death boost those campaigns on these dates at Down demonstrations, we will post loca- selected to commemorate the 50th to prison officials infecting the prison the recommended locations. tions of planned Abolition demonstra- anniversaries of the assassination of population. With everyone working across the U.S. tions and endorsements of these events imprisoned Black revolutionary George Take a moment to think on how over on the same days, this would magnify on our website: iamweubuntu.com/ Jackson and the Attica prison uprising. capacity U.S. prisons and jails are. People our struggle for humanity and highlight shutemdown. ☐ In a March 1 press release, JLS are stacked on top of each other. announced “In the spirit of Abolition, let’s Lives could have been saved if the U.S. shut ’em down!” a call that the Prisoners was on the path of Abolition. We must Solidarity Committee of Workers World struggle harder to close prisons and Party proudly endorses: jails and to free people from the grips of prison slavery. This is stated while Since the beginning of the pandemic in recognizing we must develop effective 2020, incarcerated people across the U.S. strategies to have the billions of taxpayer have been holding long and spontaneous dollars used to grow the prison-indus- demonstrations to respond to COVID‑19 trial slave complex (PISC) redirected to in the prisons. With at least 300,000 the communities. and possibly as many as 800,000 peo- Without going into recent political ple in prison infected by COVID, prison- presidential acrobatics, we do want to ers have demanded basic human rights acknowledge we feel a stronger need than protections. ever to make it known that the struggles These demonstrations have been of people in prison will not be pushed largely ignored by the public as incar- to the back burner or lost in the muddy cerated people and supporters have water of trying to make people feel good demanded COVID safety precautions be about their party politics. enacted in prisons. In a number of states, In the spirit of Abolition, on the histor- these COVID demonstrations have turned ical dates of Aug. 21 and Sept. 9, 2021, into widespread and hard-fought success- organizers must highlight prisoners’ his- ful court battles to accomplish release of toric struggles and the current political some prisoners. struggles to dismantle the prison-indus- North Carolina is set to release approx- trial slave complex. imately 3,000 prisoners during the next Jailhouse Lawyers Speak is calling for six months due to a COVID lawsuit mass outside demonstrations. Specific settlement. locations: ICE, jails, prisons and higher Even with releases and policy changes learning institutions. With regards to won, the U.S. cannot make up for the higher learning institutions, we are workers.org March 11, 2021 Page 5 Mental health effects of COVID lockdown Part 2 in prison: Interview from inside SCI Albion By Joe Piette WW: They stopped all that, but their knowing how this situation affects that doesn’t have to be there? What is COVID-19 has not stopped, and the people’s mental and physical health! your endgame? This Part 2 of a telephone interview restrictions are still going strong. A lot of these prisoners are not going It’s an abuse of power. When you abuse with Demitrius Grant, imprisoned at SCI to be locked up in prison for the rest of people needlessly, it causes a worse sit- Albion near Erie, Pa., was conducted by Specter of no-contact visits their lives. They’re going to go home, but uation. I don’t want to be here, but I’m Joe Piette for Workers World newspaper DJ: Exactly. COVID-19 is still going the psychological and physical damage of thankful that I have the spirit of my on Feb. 16. even stronger! They are telling us to expect what they’ve had to endure is something mother to stand up for what’s right. As this lockdown to continue. Captain Skinner society will have to deal with. It’s not just long as I’m alive, I’m going to do that. Workers World: What condi- told us contact visits are not coming back. a jail issue, but it’s society’s problem. A WW: Your voice can play an important tions are especially aggravating under So if you’re spending the rest of your life guy or woman who is mentally and phys- role. What would you say to other incar- COVID‑19 restrictions? in prison, and there’s the prospect that you ically damaged can’t work. They will be a cerated people who read this interview? Demetrius Grant: The isolation. can’t hug your mother or loved ones ever strain on the system, because they need What would your message be to them? Perpetual isolation is deadly. People are again, can you imagine how that plays on medical and mental health care. DJ: Together we can get things done. locked up in cells with no interrelation- someone’s mind? WW: Instead of having someone My message would be: Don’t give up hope, ships, not knowing when it will end. It You’re trying to deal day-to-day, to spend time behind bars, giving them because if you give up hope that means just drives you crazy. better yourself and get into skills and training and helping them to you’ve given up on yourself. You have to WW: And there’s no programs, but now you can’t get better, they’re doing the opposite and find something outside of yourself to keep person-to-person con- get into any educational pro- harming the person. hopeful—to​ see a family member, to talk tact with your relatives grams or attend any religious DJ: When the person gets out, their to a friend, to reach out. Instead of look- anymore? services. If you want to work chances of being successful are slim-to- ing at the dire situation that I’m in, I try DJ: None. You can’t on your legal case to give your- none. Guys who were in bad shape before to look at other people’s problems, and I hug your loved ones. self some hope to get out of COVID-19 are worse now. The public says try to help them out. That way I’m helping Officials are now trying jail, that’s gone. You are in an that’s just the jailhouse situation, and myself. So they have to try to look beyond to limit contact to eight endless cycle of hopelessness. officials have to deal with it. But no—​it their own hopelessness and look at other or nine cohorts, so you If you could accumulate funds will be a neighborhood problem. people to get the strength to go on. only come in contact from working during incar- One of my buddies left last week. He with seven other guys ceration at decent wages, you was snapping at the slightest reason. He Unity and solidarity are key! you may not even know Demetrius Grant would have a nest egg when wasn’t always like that, but by locking WW: So solidarity is the answer—and​ or like. But you can’t you get out, which would be a him in a cell and not letting him speak to not just for people behind the bars, but in come into contact with your friends, who big help to start a new life. But they don’t anyone, with no one addressing his prob- society in general? are on the block with you a couple of cells give you that opportunity. lems and concerns—​means he’s been DJ: Unity and solidarity! That’s what down. You’re not even allowed to stand WW: People on the outside have to learn marginalized. They’re being radicalized I preach to these younger guys. We must at their cell doors to talk to them. It’s all this. We have to expose these conditions. in a different way, and then some come come together. We must stay strong maddening! DJ: The conditions are horrible. People home and harm someone. Then what? regardless of our petty differences. WW: What about phone calls and think there are COVID-19 restrictions on Whatever the situation is, we’re all in the video conference calls? the outside, but it’s nothing like those in Empathetic treatment needed same circumstances. We suffer the same DJ: Don’t get me wrong. Talking on here. They have been getting away with WW: We don’t want that. We need things. The only way we’re going to deal the phone with family or friends is okay, this since last March. They started out compassionate treatment—​not only with this is if we stick together. Some peo- but there is nothing like human contact. slow, so we wouldn’t rebel. They tried on the inside, but afterwards when they ple think this way. Some do not. WW: When COVID-19 started, you to make it tolerable, but as time went on return to society. I choose to speak to the people who were allowed free video conferencing they just implemented some really dra- DJ: It’s just a matter of piecing it think that way. I show others by example and free phone calls. Is that not happen- conian stuff. together. I have to play hardball with what I do, and I encourage them. There ing anymore? these mental health people, because are people on the street who want to help, DJ: No. They gave you free emails, and Build a campaign against lockdowns! they only understand if you go after their but we have to help ourselves. We are they brought video games to us, which we And the DOC knows this. They’re going license, their livelihood. Otherwise, we’re fighting a battle, but it’s harder to battle shared cell-to-cell for 24-hour use. They to keep on doing it until the fire is lit under just complaining, and they’re just saying alone. Either people will succumb to the would give you free cable, special meals them to stop doing what they’re doing. It things like they really don’t care. situation, or together we’ll overcome it. and snacks every now and then. They has to be a national campaign, not just in I try to keep myself mentally and phys- Even though I have my moments, I had games and puzzles on the TVs from Pennsylvania. I wouldn’t be surprised if all ically sound, because I’ve found myself overcome the situation because I have a the Activities Department. Maybe some these DOCs have gotten together and col- teetering on the edge. They have guards sense of purpose: That is to help others. people could make some money because laborated and come up with the approach nitpicking. I ask: Why are you nitpicking? I realize by helping others, I help myself. they weren’t working anymore, but they to use COVID-19 as a means to keep these We’re in a bad situation already. Why are One’s actions speak louder than any- stopped all that. control lockdowns in place. This is despite you constantly trying to create a situation thing one says. ☐ International solidarity in fight to free Palestinian students By Mirinda Crissman The solidarity movement is challenging from other anti-racist, anti-colonial free and have the right to determine the programs that aim to justify or normal- struggles—​it is powerful to see growing conditions of their own lives. Over 320 organizations have signed ize Israeli occupation, which essentially international fightback. Israel detains these colonized stu- onto the international Palestinian criminalizes the work of student organiz- Taking the lead from these coura- dents with aid from countries like the Students Solidarity Campaign to free ing. The movement is organizing direct geous Palestinian students, over 300 U.S., with its own long history of repres- Palestinian Students. Hundreds of uni- links of solidarity with Palestinian stu- active divestment campaigns on U.S. sion against anti-racist and anti-colonial versity and high school students are dents and their movement, so that they campuses and a growing number of com- movements. The International Jewish routinely abducted, jailed or detained will not be isolated from their global munity groups and unions, including the Anti-Zionist Network states: “Since the indefinitely on political grounds for cou- community of support. (freepalestinian- University of California Student Worker late 1960s, U.S.-based Zionist institu- rageously speaking out against Israel’s students.org) Union and International Longshore and tions have collaborated in attacks on brutal occupation and theft of land in Whether it’s fighting the capitalist-im- Warehouse Union Local 10, have shown movements for justice, because they Palestine. posed isolation of prisons, jails and deten- their solidarity. International fightback is have seen their interests as aligned with They are held in horrid and tortur- tion centers in the U.S. or Israeli-imposed inspired by the Palestinian student resis- those of the U.S. state. Zionist institu- ous conditions and put through courts isolation of imprisonment—​interna- tance, and it will not stop until they are tions have played a prominent role in which have a 99% conviction rate against tional solidarity is the best rem- supporting the U.S. government’s Palestinians, who fight for their self deter- edy to break down those barriers. campaigns to undermine and dis- mination and right to live. As people are increasingly coming credit radical Black, Chicano and The organizations in support of these to criticize brutal settler-colonial Indigenous people’s movements.” political-prisoner students are specif- regimes like Israel and their set- (tinyurl.com/7y8dfswy) ically calling for the boycott of, divest- tler-colonial allies like the U.S. and Daring to imagine and fight for ment from and sanctions against Israel, Canada, they are coming to under- a world free from destructive col- including Israeli academic institutions. stand how our enemies use similar onization, apartheid and occupa- They call for the end of all military and tactics against us. tion—we​ will not stop in our fight economic aid, military transactions, Whether those oppressive tac- to free Palestinian students and to joint projects and direct funding to the tics include criminalizing crit- free all political prisoners! ☐ occupying regime of Israel. icism, surveillance or isolation Page 6 March 11, 2021 workers.org Mass pressure stops Amazon censorship By Sara Flounders Blumenthal’s tweet and summarized people from looking further for the book number of COVID-19 infections and the the book’s contribution: “A book that on other distribution sites. largest number of deaths of any country Stopping Amazon censorship is news. surveyed and compared the U.S.’s and Although the book is now suddenly in the world and has unrolled a chaotic, Good news. China’s reaction to the COVID-19 pan- “available” for sale on Amazon, the mam- uncoordinated vaccination program. In The Amazon corporate conglomerate demic was recently removed from moth corporation’s management has this atmosphere, the book raises the sharp is notorious for using its power to surveil Amazon, the top ecommerce platform in yet to contact the book’s editors, Sara challenge: “It doesn’t have to be this way.” and control every minute of workers’ lives, the U.S., a move that again revealed the Flounders and Lee Siu Hin, or the book’s The controversial anthology exposes a to dominate labor rates, control local gov- U.S.’s biased attitude on the ‘freedom of publisher, World View Forum. criminal system based on private profit. ernments and demand huge tax rebates. speech’ it claims, observers said.” The book was a joint project of the While millions faced economic ruin Its management threatens to close facili- As suggested by its title, the book International Action Center and the China during this global pandemic Amazon’s ties if its demands remain unmet. compares the two countries’ different U.S. Solidarity Network. The two groups major owner, Jeff Bezos’ wealth skyrock- Amazon is arrogantly determined to approaches toward attempting to control were determined to get past Amazon’s eted by $70 billion. decide what information we hear, what the pandemic. It highlights U.S. capitalist censorship. To do that they spent two discussions we have, what books we read. society’s lack of infrastructure for social months in a public fund appeal and raised Flounders is a co-editor of “Capitalism As big as it is, Amazon is afraid. Right services, in contrast to its huge spending enough funds to print “Capitalism on a on a Ventilator—​The Impact of now its management fears its U.S. work- on infrastructure for military, police and Ventilator.” They arranged distribution COVID‑19 in China and the U.S.” and force is organizing. It fears challenges prisons. of the paperback through Shopify and urges readers to purchase the paperback to its censorship and control. And it World View Forum, the book’s pub- the epub file through Kobo, releasing the through Shopify at: bit.ly/CapVentBook has retreated before one challenge to its lisher, had received a message from book on these platforms last December. and the ePub through Kobo at: bit.ly/ power to censor. Amazon Sept. 24, the book’s scheduled The United States still faces the highest CapVentEBook. In question is Amazon’s attempt to ban debut day on the Amazon site. The mes- the book, “Capitalism on a Ventilator,” a sage read that the book “does not comply book of essays by prominent anti-impe- with [Amazon's] guideline” and delisted rialists, as investigative journalist Max it from the site. Capitalism on a Ventilator Blumenthal tweeted March 3. Blumenthal When the Global Times contacted The impact of COVID-19 in China & the U.S. added, “The book surveyed the role of cap- Amazon for comment March 4, an italism in exacerbating the pandemic and Amazon customer service representative contrasted China’s effective response with told them they were unclear about the Edited by Sara Flounders and Lee Siu Hin the U.S. failure—​too much for Amazon, delisting. “What one learns from Capitalism on a Ventilator is that apparently.” This challenging attention and the call the economic and human cost of the pandemic was far The tweet linked to a Nov. 2 article on from China’s Global Times, with 1.5 mil- from inevitable. An entire section of the book is devoted to workers.org, titled: “Amazon bans book lion readers in the print edition and many China’s solidarity with the rest of the world in the fight against exposing U.S. COVID chaos—a​ commen- more online readers, changed minds at COVID-19. After four months of difficult struggle, China suc- tary.” Blumenthal’s tweet was retweeted Amazon. Its management clicked a switch cessfully contained the pandemic and immediately diverted 1,480 times. and the book was listed as “available” for masks, testing kits, medical personnel, ventilators and other This broad diffusion of the truth appar- sale. forms of assistance to countries across Latin America, the ently led to the authoritative Global Times Middle East and Africa. The U.S. received generous donations Book on China and COVID unblocked of China running an article March 4 of medical equipment from China during the first wave of the highlighting Amazon’s censorship, When Amazon blocked “Capitalism on pandemic. China was also the first country to declare that its with the title in its English-language a Ventilator,” its publisher, World View COVID-19 vaccine would be a public good.” edition: “Amazon removes book on Forum, attempted to remove the book — Danny Haiphong in a review for Black Agenda Report epidemic response, ‘deprives U.S. poli- from Amazon’s site. In a double form of cymakers of self-reflection opportunity.’” censorship, Amazon kept the book listed Paperback from Shopify: bit.ly/CapVentBook (tinyurl.com/y5yty29s) on their site but marked as “Unavailable.” E-book from Kobo: bit.ly/CapVentEBook The article quoted from Max Listing it this way actively discouraged Release Mumia now! Continued from page 1 in Pennsylvania, have died since COVID about his health have gone out interna- Cindy Miller with Food Not Bombs began—​not as the result of an accident, tionally. Larry Krasner, John Wetzel, and Solidarity described Pennsylvania’s pris- “In the 1980s and ’90s, the U.S. nor the result of negligence—but​ from a Tom Wolf know it; their email boxes have ons as a cash cow for private corpora- mass-incarcerated Black and Latinx criminal policy to keep men and women been jammed full with messages pour- tions including Aramark, Securus, Well communities after industries abandoned behind bars, while the deadly pandemic ing in from all over the country, from Pass, Smart Communications, Global working-class cities like Philadelphia. The rips through these concentration camps of Germany, France, England, Spain, Africa, Powerlink and Polycom. system warehoused people they could not poor and working people. the Caribbean and more. Closing out the program, Gabriel Bryant employ, giving them 40-years-to-life sen- “The virus is coming into prisons “I sent out health alerts yesterday to the with Black Philly Radical Collective chal- tences often related to drug use—​crimes from the guards and staff. Pennsylvania U.N. Human Rights Council and the U.N. lenged Krasner’s supporters and staff, which today are not prosecuted. Gov. Tom Wolf and DOC Secretary John Special Rapporteur Against Racism, follow- who say they support justice, to not fall in “If we say ‘Black lives matter,’ then Wetzel have the legal ability to release ing my February 18th testimony for Mumia line with the prison system against their imprisoned people—​poor, Black, Latinx thousands of prisoners to save lives.” and our elderly political prisoners. A mem- own consciences. “This is the third time and victims of white supremacy and rac- A statement from international activ- ber of the Rapporteur’s staff responded in a week and a half we’ve been out here. ism—must​ also matter.” ist Julia Wright was read in which she to say that the state of Pennsylvania had For many of us, we’ve seen the truth and said: “Since Mumia let us know about already been under scrutiny by the U.N. we refuse to fall in line.” ☐ Racism—a​ public health crisis his alarming symptoms, serious alerts Human Rights Council.” Calling in from California, Dr. Ricardo Alvarez, who has served as a medical con- sultant for Abu-Jamal, said, “Racism has A message on Mumia’s health condition been identified as a public health crisis. Prisons are the physical manifestation of Workers World received the follow- must not forget that Mumia has suffered We all know these conditions—​poverty, racism. Not only Mumia, but all impris- ing message from Dr. Ricardo Alvarez, for years from a serious skin condition lack of access to health, poor education, oned elders are endangered by COVID-19. who is serving as a medical consultant that has never been resolved and causes and now we are appreciating that Racism His treatment must be his freedom.” for Mumia Abu-Jamal. Earlier in March great suffering. Mumia's body is com- is a public health crisis. Pastor Keith Collin, a prison minister Abu-Jamal tested positive for COVID‑19 pletely covered with lesions and has been The American Public Health for 30 years, called on DA Krasner to do and was treated for congestive heart worse in COVID. Association has declared Racism as a the right thing and release Abu-Jamal. disease. Mumia can’t get access to the loving public health crisis, as have cities and “You ran for office as a reformer, but support of healers in our community, counties across the nation, as well as the now, Mr. Krasner, you are walking in the Mumia is suffering from multiple who could use different types of balms prestigious medical faculty at UPENN. footsteps and following the same path as diseases of the stress of incarceration. and traditional medical treatments Mumia’s condition is very serious, and former District Attorneys Ed Rendell and The only treatment for Mumia now is because they are denied in the prison. prison medicine can’t provide him what Lynne Abraham. Trafficking in Black bod- FREEDOM. He is precisely the high- Only medications that are approved by he needs, even with the newest and fan- ies has got to stop.” risk category patient for complications the FDA are allowed. There is only so ciest of medicines. He needs to be freed Speaking for the Prisoners Solidarity for COVID. His age, his underlying liver much prison medicine can do. from the conditions of State-Sanctioned Committee of Workers World Party, Ted damage, his hypertension and now his Prison itself is the cause of his illness. murder. Kelly stated: “Nelson Mandela taught us congestive heart failure require constant It is what the CDC calls a “social deter- FREE MUMIA. FREE ALL POLITICAL that you can tell the character of a country monitoring. minant” of his health, which refers to PRISONERS. FREE ALL OUR ELDERS by how it treats its prisoners. Thousands His heart is suffering the strain of the the conditions of the built environment IN COVID PRISONS. ☐ of prisoners in the U.S., including over 100 State’s relentless efforts to kill him. We where people live that affect their health. workers.org March 11, 2021 Page 7 Remembrances of a warehouse order picker By Deirdre Griswold we went to union meetings, all the women shelves, you’d often see him stooped over, dressed to the nines. “adjusting” his socks. He had a buyer Think 1956. That’s 65 A bad flu epidemic started in the fall of somewhere on the outside.) years ago—the​ year this 1957. For months, we worked our asses What really enraged the workers was writer dropped out of off trying to fill all the orders before going what occurred after a leak developed college and took a full- home. The workers started talking about in the roof, damaging the packaging on time job in a warehouse how we would certainly get a Christmas many items. The women told manage- to get a more import- bonus. (Starting pay was just a dollar an ment they would like to buy some of ant education: learn- hour.) We knew the company was rolling the expensive beauty items at cost, but ing what it was to be a in dough, because of the extra business instead the bosses had all the jars and worker. due to the flu. tubes destroyed. In these intervening In all that period, we got only two hours All this happened even in a place where years, millionaires have of overtime. And there was no bonus—​ we had a union. Nonunion workplaces gone on to become mul- just a tender thank-you card from the were much worse. timillionaires to now management. It was after this insult that The class war will continue until this Warehouse pickers. become centibillion- pilfering started. (We all knew that one rotten capitalist system is brought down. aires. Many warehouse of the foremen wore elastic stockings so In the meantime, fight to get a union—​ workers still barely survive on the mini- job. But it also required an encyclopedic he could stuff expensive pill bottles into and if you already have one, fight to make mum wage. knowledge of the warehouse, knowing the them. If you looked down the rows of it fight! ☐ Learning about the struggles of today’s proper section letters for 10,000 different Amazon workers for better wages and stocked items. working conditions brings up dusty mem- Order pickers never got to sit. We ories of those days. looked for carts showing our section (I still MLBPA supports Amazon I worked as an order picker in a drug remember; ours was section H), pulled warehouse in Buffalo, N.Y. Anything that the cart off the moving track and walked could be sold in a drugstore was kept through the shelving to fill our part of the workers voting union “YES” there. It was a huge place, the ceiling way order. It just so happened that I had been above the cold concrete floor where we put in a section that had more teeny, tiny The following statement was issued by the Major League Baseball Players filled the orders. That allowed the fore- bottles in it than any other, so remem- Association on their Twitter feed, March 2. (tinyurl.com/sfzwz2ub) There are 1,200 men and the superintendent to keep an bering where they were was mind-rack- members of the MLBPA, with only 7.7% African American. In late January, the ing. I had anxiety dreams for weeks about eye on us from their heated offices high National Football League Players Association—with​ over 2,000 members and 70% up at one end. looking for items. But my fellow workers Black—​released a video in solidarity with the Bessemer workers organizing efforts. On the warehouse floor there were rows kindly helped me out. The vast majority of the 5,800 Bessemer Amazon workers are Black. and rows of steel shelving where the mer- It wasn’t as dangerous as working in a chandise—ranging​ from heavy cartons of steel mill or a chemical plant, but we had Amazon workers in Bessemer, Ala., and across America deserve a meaningful gallon jugs to teeny, tiny pill bottles—was​ casualties—​heavy carts tipping over or voice in determining their working conditions in a company whose value has risen housed. In the center of this huge space straining our abdominal muscles lifting to $1.6 trillion in recent years, due in large part to a dedicated workforce that has was an oval moving track on which carts heavy boxes off high shelves. Almost all helped it become the world’s leading retailer. carried the orders. The whole area was the order pickers were women, and we felt Collective bargaining results in improved levels of pay, benefits and workplace divided into ten sections, A to J. A team it especially on days we had our period. gains that we can never achieve negotiating individually. We wore pants, not skirts. I liked that, of workers examined the orders for each The MLBPA encourages you to vote “YES” and work together in a union to create cart and flipped down the letters of the but the reason we were ordered not to better lives for yourselves, your families, your co-workers and future generations sections where the items could be found. wear skirts was so we wouldn’t acciden- of workers. ☐ This team of workers had a nice sitting tally knock a little bottle off a shelf. When Workers are not robots Continued from page 1 back to the “reorganization” of worker jobs at Bethlehem Steel in Pennsylvania, With Alabama’s history of enslavement introduced in 1898. That’s when Frederick of Black people, and legal segregation a Taylor used a stopwatch, time studies and living memory, it’s guaranteed that racist his “Principles of Scientific Management” discrimination is present inside Amazon’s to “improve efficiency” and increase con- BHM1 warehouse. The warehouse opened trol over workers. Henry Ford improved in March 2020; by May, workers were so on Taylorism with the introduction of the outraged at their treatment they sought moving assembly line. out RWDSU, beginning the fight for Now Bessemer workers—​some of them union representation. children and grandchildren of unionized steel and mine workers—​are in a strug- ‘Ruthless quotas maiming employees’ gle against the exploitation of their labor, As at all Amazon “fulfillment centers,” fighting the same “speedup-and-die-for BHM1 working conditions are brutal—​ profit” principles from the 19th century. with speedups, arbitrary scheduling, When Amazon workers pick, pack and inadequate break times, virtually no stow orders in seconds and take minimal accommodation for pregnancy, disability Time Off Task for a break, it gives the tech or injury, and more. The National Council giant an edge over online competitors—​ for Occupational Safety and Health generating trillions in profits. Protest outside has named Amazon on its list of “Dirty Amazon boasts it pays workers $15 Dozen” employers twice. The Atlantic an hour—​but during the pandemic magazine even headlined: “Ruthless quo- the wealth of its owner, Jeff Bezos, has Bezos-owned Whole Foods tas at Amazon are maiming employees.” increased by $72 billion. The profits for (tinyurl.com/4zneyh8c) that megacapitalist came directly out of Demonstrators supporting union For over an hour, speakers described Amazon claims that increased robotiza- the sweat and blood of every Amazon rights for workers at the Bessemer, Ala., Bezos’ efforts to prevent workers from tion and surveillance of workers’ motion worker. (tinyurl.com/kpset8w) Amazon warehouse picketed outside unionizing, including employing the and location make for a “safer workplace.” Profit is what a company pockets after the South Street Whole Foods market multibillion dollar legal firm Morgan Since 2012, when the retail giant bought costs of labor and overhead are sub- in Philadelphia March 5. They greeted Lewis, headquartered in Center City, Kiva Systems, a robotics company, Amazon tracted from sales revenue. In Marxist workers and shoppers with flyers, ban- Philadelphia. has added more automation to some exist- terms, profit is the value that workers ners and chants including “Union bust- Many customers waiting to get into ing and all new warehouses, including produce, but are not paid for in wages—​ ing is disgusting”—​indicating Amazon Whole Foods welcomed the flyers. A BHM1. (tinyurl.com/arjnnxnd) our unpaid labor. The lower the workers’ and Whole Foods are not welcome in few commented that they would shop But internal records show Amazon’s wages, the more profit capitalists keep for our city, a union town. elsewhere, except that COVID had lim- deception about rising injury rates. In fact, themselves. The protesters brought a 10-foot pup- ited their access to other options. One automation has made jobs more stressful The injustice is obvious. The Bessemer pet of Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, cour- woman ran up to ask for multiple fly- and dangerous. Reveal, a publication of workers are rising up to take back their tesy of Spiral Q puppet theater. Speakers ers. Her sister, employed at an Amazon The Center for Investigative Reporting, health, the fruit of their labor and their commented that Bezos, a centibillion- warehouse in New Jersey, was dealing found Amazon internal data showed that dignity. Join them! aire, is spending millions of dollars to with company harassment because of counter the union drive of workers who her disabilities. worker injury rates since 2016 were often are simply seeking humane working Report by Betsey Piette, worse in Amazon’s robotic warehouses. March 20 is a Global Day of Solidarity conditions and benefits. Photo by Joe Piette (Reveal, Sept. 29, 2020) with the BAmazon Union. Information at Amazon is following a tradition going supportamazonworkers.org. Page 8 March 11, 2021 workers.org Vaccines: China vs. Western imperialism By Lee Siu Hin ordering the vaccines. The overwhelm- but they are not concerned with how to countries. ing majority (approximately 85 coun- deliver their products or the quality of Illegal U.S. sanctions against Iran have Feb. 23­— ​China and Russia are among tries/regions) ordered Western-made them. With a billion doses ordered, the prevented the Iranians from purchasing the first countries in the world to vacci- vaccines (Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/ first batch of Western vaccines is only life-saving PPE, medical equipment and nate people [against COVID-19], accord- BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson&Johnson). guaranteed for the Western world. The now vaccines, because they do not have ing to the website Our World in Data. By Approximately 16 countries were order- rest of the world, sorry! They’ll need to access to U.S. dollars (the common cur- Dec. 15, 2020, at least 1.5 million Chinese ing Chinese vaccines (Sinopharm/Beijing, wait months, even a year before receiving rency for international trade) or inter- had taken a jab. The U.S. and U.K. had Sinopharm/Wuhan, Sinovac) while nine their products. national wire transfer service. Basically, also begun their vaccination campaigns countries were ordering a Russian vaccine Besides the ongoing vaccine wars international wire transfer needs a SWIFT in early December; by Dec. 15 they had (Sputnik V). between the U.K. and the EU over Oxford/ code, which is controlled by the U.S. vaccinated around half a million people. However, “ordered” doesn’t mean they AstraZeneca supplies, hardly any vaccines Israel has much-hyped that it fully vac- So far, China is leading the world in the have received the vaccines, or even will have been sent to other countries. cinated its citizens in a very short time, number of people who are fully vaccinated receive them soon. At the Feb. 19 United According to research by Duke but in Palestine, across the nearby apart- or have at least received the heid wall, people are not getting life-­ first jab. According to the How wealthy nations saving vaccines. Chinese media, as of Jan. 23, stockpile life-saving vaccines Vaccine community distribution nearly 16 million had taken racism in the U.S. a jab, closely followed by the while poor countries and number of people vaccinated poor people within these As of mid-February, the U.S. has been in the U.S. As of Feb. 9, China administering approximately 1.5 million had administered 40.52 mil- countries are ignored. doses of vaccine daily, yet vaccine dis- lion doses and the U.S. had How Western countries tribution inequality is very much in evi- given 43.2 million. dence in the inner-city communities of It was just like a neck-to- criticize China, despite poor people of color. It can be traced back neck race. The Chinese vac- China’s success in containing to the historical roots of racism and eco- cination campaign slowed nomic oppression. down over the Chinese New the virus and providing In Los Angeles County in mid-Febru- Year holiday (Feb. 11-17). By vaccines to the world. ary, for example, according to L.A. County Feb. 21 some 63 million peo- data, the rate of vaccination among white ple in the U.S. had taken the and Asian residents continues to be signifi- shot, compared with China’s estimated 53 Nations meeting on COVID-19 vaccines, University’s Global Health Innovation cantly higher than among Black/African million. But with the holiday now over, UN Secretary General António Guterres Center, as of Jan. 19 high-income countries American and Latino/Latinx residents: China is expected to increase the speed and sharply criticized the “wildly uneven and had ordered nearly 4.2 billion doses, while ● Black/African Americans are 9 per- catch up again quickly. unfair” distribution of COVID vaccines, lower-middle and low-income countries cent of the 16-and-older county China and the U.S. face very differ- in which only ten countries in the world, have ordered less than 700 million. One population, but they have received ent situations. At the current rate, the notably the U.S., Canada and eight western can argue a country should preorder at only 5.2 percent of the vaccinations U.S. could vaccinate its population in six European countries, have taken 75 percent least 1-2 year supplies, but many wealthy to date. months; many estimate that China, with of all vaccine doses, while 130 other coun- nations have preordered far more vaccine ● Latinx residents are 46 percent of 1.4 billion people, will take up to two years tries have received not a single dose. then they will need. For example: the 16-and-older county population to fully vaccinate its population. However, ● The European Union with a pop- but represent only 23 percent of because of its very effective anti-pan- Imperialism and vaccine apartheid ulation of 450 million has ordered those vaccinated. demic strategy, with its very low COVID Wealthy nations are hoarding most vac- 1.85 billion doses, enough for infection rate, experts believe that, unlike cines and denying them to poor nations. The main reason for this discrepancy everyone to be vaccinated four the U.S., China does not need to rush for It is the U.S./U.K against Europe, rich is that the poor communities continue times. full vaccination in order to achieve the people against poor people, white against to lack convenient access to vaccination ● The United States with a popu- goal of “herd immunity.” people of color—a​ racist vaccine pyramid facilities, which is not the case in affluent lation of 331 million has ordered China has already won the epidemic where wealthy Western whites are at the white communities. 1.21 billion doses, also enough for war, and now is acting to prevent any new top of the food chain and the non-white It’s the same dire situation in Chicago. everyone to be vaccinated four outbreaks of the virus. poor, developing countries are always at Non-white Chicagoans, who make up a times. Its first vaccination priorities, after the bottom. majority of COVID-19 cases, have faced ● Australia, population of 25.5 mil- medical workers, are workers who face the So far very few Western-made vaccines enormous difficulties in signing up for lion, has ordered 115 million doses, public or handle imported goods. These have been delivered to the Global South. vaccine appointments because of tech- enough for everyone to be vacci- include logistics workers, bus drivers, hos- The terms “vaccine imperialism” and nology barriers and “pharmacy deserts.” nated 4.5 times. pitality workers and so on. Seniors in China “distribution racism” are based on rich According to the Guardian newspaper: ● An extreme example is Canada, are less likely to become infected with the countries buying up most Western-made “Despite Black people only accounting with a population of 37.7 million virus, so the priority for vaccinating them vaccines—far​ more than they need, leav- for 30% of Chicago’s population, Black people. Canada has ordered 362 comes after these public workers – unlike ing very few for developing countries. Chicagoans make up 60% of all COVID-19 million doses, a whopping big in the Western world, where public work- For fair global vaccine distribution, cases. And lack of hospitals, prominence number enabling everyone to be ers are often at the bottom of the list. That’s the World Health Organization (WHO), of food deserts, and other inequalities vaccinated nine times! one of the reasons China can vaccinate its along with the Global Vaccine Alliance has turned COVID-19 into an even more citizens at a comfortable rate and be able to (GAVI) and the Coalition for Epidemic By comparison, the vaccine “have-nots” lethal health crisis for these communities. allocate enough vaccines to ship to the rest Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), cre- of the Global South are in a dire situation: But even during Chicago’s Phase 1A, when of the world—​and the strategy is working. ated COVAX. It hopes to deliver more only healthcare workers and long-term ● El Salvador, with 6.5 million peo- As for vaccine solidarity, China has than two billion doses of the vaccines to care facility residents and staff were eligi- ple, has ordered 2 million doses, become the world’s biggest vaccine-ex- people in 190 countries in less than a year. ble for vaccination, the majority of those only enough to vaccinate one out of porting country, especially of vaccines In particular, it wants to ensure 92 poorer vaccinated were from more affluent areas every three people. going to the developing countries of the countries will receive access to vaccines at such as downtown and the North Side. …” ● The African Union, with 1.32 bil- Global South. It must be pointed out that the same time as 98 wealthier countries. Furthermore, the Tuskegee experiment, lion people, has ordered 270 mil- while the U.S. and European countries COVAX has raised $6 billion, with an a notorious example of historical economic lion doses; just enough to vaccinate have made much of the billions of doses additional $2 billion neede for 2021.So and medical inequality, has meant that one out of every five people, or 20 of their vaccines that have been ordered, who’s funding COVAX and which coun- many African Americans remain hesitant percent of the population. in reality “ordered” is very different from tries might benefit most from the deal? about the new COVID-19 vaccine. ● Iraq, with a population of 40 mil- orders that have been shipped. Most From the birth of COVAX, it has been According to an October 2020 report lion, has ordered 1.5 million doses, Chinese orders are firm orders or orders working closely with Western countries published by the Public Policy Institute sadly only enough for 4 percent of that will be delivered soon. and their pharmaceutical companies, of California (PPIC), only 29 percent of the Iraqi population to get a jab. helping them to quickly dominate the African Americans in the state said they Who’s leading the global vaccine race? global vaccine market. The U.K. ($734 Why are Western countries overbuying would “definitely” or “probably” get a As of mid-February ten COVID-19 vac- million) and the U.S. ($4 billion) are some vaccines? Some activists suggest they’re COVID-19 vaccine. The low confidence cines had been approved for Emergency of the biggest donors for COVAX; these running a vaccine market monopoly among this racial group stands in stark Use Authorization (EUA) around the countries got their vaccines approved scheme—​where they control the mar- contrast to the 54 percent of Latinos, 60 world – and China leads the way, with four from the beginning, such as the U.K.’s ket, so they control the price. As with the percent of whites and 70 percent of Asian of them (Sinopharm/Beijing, Sinopharm/ Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID vaccine, futures trading market, they can sell their Californians who said they would defi- Wuhan, CanSino and Sinovac). The U.S. which helped them become the world’s “excess” vaccines to poor countries for nitely or probably get a vaccine. (On a has one (Moderna), U.S.-Germany have biggest vaccine providers. political ransom or a higher price. positive note, African Americans’ attitude one (Pfizer/BioNTech), the U.K.-Sweden But big orders don’t mean they’re able Besides vaccine nationalism, there is toward vaccination has slowly improved have one (Oxford/AstraZeneca), Russia to fulfill orders quickly. Just like a used also vaccine blockade, where Western over the past few months since the vac- has two (Sputnik V, EpiVacCorona), and car salesperson, they only push hard for economies prevent countries without cine campaign has been underway.) India has one (Covaxin). more orders, cutting the competition out U.S. dollars or bank wire transfer power With historical distrust from the According to Our World in Data, as of (in this case, Chinese and Russian vac- from buying vaccines. This has become community and inadequate access to Feb. 21 about 98 countries/regions were cines) in order to control the market, the new imperialist weapon against other Continued on page 9 workers.org March 11, 2021 Page 9 Israel’s denial of vaccines to Palestinians = genocide By Betsey Piette countless deaths. Currently, new COVID infections and death counts are on the Matthias Kennes is a registered rise in Palestine. (Worldometer, March 8) nurse who works with Doctors Without Even before the pandemic, health care Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was scarce in occupied Palestinian areas. COVID‑19 response in Hebron, in the Palestinians living in the West Bank must Israeli-occupied West Bank. He wrote on obtain travel permits to enter Israel for Feb. 22: “The internationally acclaimed medical care, but they are frequently COVID-19 vaccination success of Israel turned down. And the Israeli military has a dark side: the consequences of bars Gaza’s Palestinian residents from which are being felt cruelly in the West leaving for any reason. Bank Palestinian territory where I work According to the Borgon Project’s web- and the blockaded Gaza Strip where my site, 300,000 Palestinians lack access to MSF colleagues work.” (tinyurl.com/ adequate health care in the West Bank. y7tcyjxx) To treat their residents, Gaza and the As of the date of Kennes’ statement, West Bank together have only 375 ICU Israel had administered the first vaccine beds and 295 ventilators. Further, Israel dose to nearly 4.2 million people, some has denied construction permits needed 50% of Israel’s population, and had given to build medical facilities in Gaza. first and second doses to 2.8 million peo- Not only is the Israeli state denying PHOTO: ARAB NEWS ple, about 30% of its population. This COVID-19 awareness mural in Palestine. vaccines to Palestinians, its forces are includes 450,000 Israelis living in illegal deliberately sabotaging testing and treat- settlements in the West Bank. occupying power in the Palestinian ter- of the West Bank who work inside the ment programs for them. Israeli forces According to Kennes, about 35,000 ritories, to provide medical supplies, Zionist state. Due to this callous decision, destroyed a Palestinian COVID testing doses of Sputnik V and Moderna vaccines including preventative measures, to these unvaccinated workers are prohib- center in April of last year. Testing was have been made available to Palestinians stop the spread of contagious epidemics. ited from entering Israel to go to their halted in June due to lack of test kits. A in the West Bank and Gaza. There aren’t The Zionist state is overtly violating this workplaces. (Al Jazeera, March 6) month later, Israeli forces destroyed a even enough doses in the West Bank protocol. quarantine facility in the West Bank. for health care workers, the elderly and On March 6, one week after COGAT, Israel sabotages health care All supporters of the Palestinian people people with serious medical conditions. which is Israel’s military branch that Israel has blocked delivery of Russian and all who oppose Israel’s denial of life- Kennes says a person is “over 60 times oversees the Palestinian territories, Sputnik V vaccines, which were desig- saving health care to this besieged people more likely to have a vaccination in Israel agreed to vaccinate 100,000 workers, nated for prisoners in Gaza. Five million must raise their voices in a loud outcry! than in Palestine.” officials announced they were postponing Palestinians live in the West Bank and Article 56 of the Fourth Geneva the vaccinations until further notice. They Gaza. Israel’s denial of lifesaving vac- Kathy Durkin contributed to this Convention requires Israel, as the were intended for Palestinian residents cines to the vast majority will result in article. Vaccines: China vs. Western imperialism Continued from page 8 “Wuhan military lab leaked virus” hoax). Western countries’ vaccine racism, increasingly critical of the giant corporate However, for the past two months a imperialism and mismanagement have pharmaceutical companies in Western vaccination sites, the inner-city commu- dozen global leaders have taken the Chinese caused massive and chaotic vaccine devel- countries for engaging in racism and vac- nities of the poor and people of color will jab in front of cameras to show their sup- opment and distribution drama and a cine imperialism against communities definitely be losers in the vaccine fight. port for Chinese vaccines, including: vaccination logistics mess. of color within their countries and poor While pushing unfounded claims about countries across the globe. ● Seychelles President Wavel China global vaccine solidarity Chinese vaccine safety, Western main- Many are calling for a broad-based Ramkalawan While China was not on the initial stream media have mentioned little about vaccine justice campaign to hold wealthy ● Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan COVAX vaccine list, it has sent and/or the deaths of 23 elderly Norwegians after Western nations and their transnational ● Indonesian President Joko Widodo donated millions of vaccine doses around they took the Pfizer vaccine. pharmaceutical companies accountable ● Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid the world—​especially to the Global South. Nor are the media reporting critical sci- and for inviting communities, countries Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of According to Chinese Foreign Minister entific analyses. As of Feb. 12, with approx- from the Global South, and China to United Arab Emirates (UAE) Wang Yi, by mid-February China had imately 43 million people vaccinated, there actively participate in coming up with a ● Equatorial Guinea President donated vaccines to 53 developing coun- have been nearly 16,000 cases of adverse solution. DIVIDED WE FALL, UNITED Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo tries, including Somalia, Iraq, South effects (or 3 out of 10,000) reported after WE WIN! Together we build global sol- ● Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić Sudan and Palestine. It has also exported receiving the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. idarity for faster, more affordable and ● Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher vaccines to 22 countries. In addition, There have been 929 deaths in the U.S. more equitable distribution of vaccines Al-Khasawneh it launched research and development of people who have taken the vaccines, to all communities and around the world. ● Chilean President Sebastián Piñera cooperation projects with more than ten some of which could possibly be attributed countries. Also at the WHO’s request, and many other global leaders and top to the vaccines. Whatever their reasons, Lee Siu Hin is a national coordinator China will contribute 10 million doses of government officials. the silence of the Western media and the of the National Immigrant Solidarity vaccines to COVAX. Why? In addition to many countries corporate science community leaves a lot Network; the China-U.S. Solidarity As of Feb. 14, according to China Global resisting Western vaccine imperialism, of room for right-wing anti-Vaxxer move- Network (CUSN); and e-Medical Alliance, Times, at least 40 countries had ordered experts say Chinese vaccines are better ments to use the data to support their wild a network of academia and community or donated at least 561 million doses of suited for the Global South. Chinese vac- vaccine conspiracy theories. activists for both countries committed to Chinese vaccines; some of the main buy- cines cost less and have easier logistical grassroots dialogue. Lee can be reached ers include Peru (38 million), Mexico requirements, considering that Pfizer’s So, what should we do? at [email protected] and is cur- (35 million), Indonesia (122.8 million), mRNA vaccine needs ultra-cold freezers, Progressive activists from anti-rac- rently launching a community-based Philippines (25 million doses with an a technology and cost which many devel- ist, community, peace and social jus- global vaccine justice campaign. additional 0.6 million donation), Turkey oping countries cannot afford. tice movements around the world are (50 million), Brazil (120 million) and Chile (60 million). Other buyers include Colombia, Uruguay, Myanmar, Malaysia, Buffalo Activists chant: ‘No war on Syria or Iran!’ Thailand and Laos -- and Morocco, Egypt, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Senegal and Despite frigid temperatures, deter- Equatorial Guinea in Africa. mined activists here in Buffalo came out In Europe, Serbia received Chinese late Monday afternoon March 1 at a busy vaccines, making that country the second intersection with demands aimed at the most vaccinated in Europe, following Biden administration: U.S. Out of the the U.K. Hungary became the first EU Middle East! Stop Bombing Syria! U.S. member state to receive Chinese vaccines Out of Iraq and Syria and Yemen! No (which are not yet EU-approved for use). War on Syria or Iran! China’s vaccine success across the The action was called by Workers world shows the true meaning of global World Party-Buffalo branch and sup- solidarity. Not surprisingly, the Western ported by several organizations includ- countries are responding with non- ing the Western New York Peace Center. sense skepticism and jealous rage. They Many passing cars honked in agreement are spreading unfounded rumors about with the banner and signs. Chinese vaccine safety (just as the U.S. — Report and photo by Ezra Echo did last year, when it spread the so-called Page 10 March 11, 2021 workers.org editorials

International Working Women’s Day 2021 The true Amazons of the working class Today the name Amazon is synony- Women, most of them Black, comprise IWWD, which was introduced by German shouldering more than their share in the mous with capitalist greed and exploita- almost half of the 5,800-person work- socialists Clara Zetkin and Luise Zeitz. It class struggles bursting forth throughout tion. Outside Amazon facilities and Whole force trying to win a union at Amazon in was intended to build worldwide soli- the world. Foods stores across the country, activists Bessemer, Ala. Their struggle is inspira- darity and strengthen the fight against Zetkin wrote in 1921: “Even the most are chanting: “What’s disgusting? Union tional to all workers! capitalism. downtrodden of the downtrodden, women busting!” Their words are directed at Jeff Women— Black, Latinx, Indigenous, From the first celebration in 1911 until who have lived for centuries and millen- Bezos, owner of the Seattle-based com- im/migrants and trans—are leading the today, this day has honored the women nia under the spell of age-old religious pany and supermarket chain, who is the movement for “$15 and a union” and an and gender-oppressed warriors of the and social beliefs, rules, customs, and richest person in the world. end to sexual harassment. They have gone working class around the globe. practices, are entering the revolutionary When Amazon first started out, the on strike and carried out other job actions struggle.” obscenely wealthy company co-opted against multibillion dollar fast-food cor- ‘Capitalism creates its own gravediggers’ For women she stressed: “we who must a name that refers to women and gen- porations, such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s Capitalism remains the dominant mode surely harbor the strongest and most der-oppressed warriors of the ancient and Burger King. Nurses, teachers and of production. This system of exploita- implacable hatred for capitalism, we must world. Said to be skilled archers, horse other essential workers have struck for tion still imposes additional burdens of strive to combine sober assessment of riders and fighters, the Amazons were better wages and benefits and safe work- imperialism, patriarchy, racism, ableism, the situation before us with a bold wager depicted on pottery fighting soldiers of ing conditions during the pandemic. ageism, anti-LGBTQ+ and gender oppres- on the great goal of victory.” (Report on the Greek state. In India, women are leaders in the his- sion, xenophobia, Islamophobia and Communist Women’s Movement, July 8, Today’s Amazons are the working-class toric and prolonged farmers strike. more—​on the most oppressed members 1921) militants—​women, nonbinary, trans- These struggles carry on the 110-year- of the working class and the nations of the Today Bessemer is Ground Zero in the gender, agender, gender queer, gender old tradition of International Working Global South. class struggle. While they may not be say- fluid, gender-nonconforming, queer, Women’s Day. This special day was estab- But as Marxists have recognized for ing it explicitly, Black women there have Indigenous Two Spirits, and other iden- lished in 1910 at the Second International over 160 years, capitalism creates its begun digging the graves of Bezos and his tities of all nationalities, disabilities and Conference of Socialist Women in own gravediggers. The masses of workers whole greedy capitalist class. ages—who​ have aimed the arrow of class Copenhagen. Over 100 women delegates and oppressed people have no stake in Long live the spirit of International solidarity at the richest corporations in from 17 countries voted unanimously the perpetuity of wage slavery. Women Working Women’s Day! ☐ human history. for the resolution to declare an annual and gender-oppressed workers are Migrant deaths: Who’s the REAL culprit? It didn’t have to happen. But, tragi- to economic hardship and political repres- unaccompanied minors apprehended, is imperialism, the highest stage of cap- cally, it did. And most likely, it may not sion—across​ the border. One of the dead from 2,521 in 2019 to 2,641 in 2020, a 5% italist development. Whether through be the last time. On March 2, 12 people was a young Guatemalan woman hoping jump. (tinyurl.com/k73myj9c) Thousands wars and military strikes in the Middle were killed instantly when the SUV they to go to college. of migrants and their children have been East, far-right coups in Honduras in 2009 traveled in was hit broadside by a trac- But this accident is not an isolated inci- detained for months in the U.S. under and Brazil in 2016, or draining countries’ tor-trailer truck on a California highway. dent. It just made the major news due to unsanitary, inhumane conditions. The wealth so they are unable to respond to The accident happened on the outskirts the shocking loss of life. Car accidents Washington Post reports that the number natural disasters like the earthquake in of Holtville, about 40 miles west of the are reportedly commonplace at this bor- of detained migrant children has tripled Haiti, imperialism creates the conditions Arizona border and 12 miles from the bor- der crossing near the Imperial Valley. over the past two weeks to 3,250. (March 8, that im/migrants and refugees are flee- der with Mexico. This is a rich California agricultural area 2020) ing.” (tinyurl.com/5vjetu9x) Thirteen people died—​one of the trav- where thousands of migrants work for low So the tragic car accident near Holtville If the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border elers succumbed later from injuries. The wages, under terrible working conditions, was not an isolated incident. As a 2018 or the racist Border Patrol that protects it majority of those killed were from Mexico, picking lettuce, leafy greens and melons. statement by Fight for Im/migrants and did not exist, 25 people would not have while others were from Guatemala. The Many, many im/migrants continue to Refugees Everywhere (FIRE) said: “To made a choice to be packed into an SUV ages of the dead ranged from 20 to 55, with try to cross into the U.S., seeking survival. fight for im/migrants, we must get rid and make that dangerous journey. the youngest injured being 15 years old. According to the Oct. 14 Texas Tribune, of ICE entirely. It means dismantling No matter who occupies the White A SUV normally seats a maximum during the fiscal year of 2020 that ended concentration camps for immigrants House, U.S. immigration policy will not of seven people but this SUV carried an Sept. 30, the notorious U.S. Border Patrol and tearing down any racist border wall. fundamentally change as long as U.S. astounding 25 people! The main question apprehended over 400,000 people at the Fighting for refugees means understand- imperialism exists to superexploit the is not how this happened but why? southwest border of the U.S. and Mexico. ing that many im/migrants are fleeing peoples of the world and their resources. News reports stated that it is not Close to 58,000 additional Latinx people conditions at home created by the U.S. This murderous system took the lives of unusual for smugglers to be paid tens of were turned away at points of entry there. And we must understand the global char- those who died on a California highway on thousands of dollars to transport work- Along the Laredo, Texas, border, acter of this crisis. March 2—and​ is taking the lives of thou- ers—forced​ to leave their homelands due there was an increase in the number of “The root cause of migration in this age sands more. Open the borders! ☐

The governor of Texas, Neanderthals and COVID-19 By G. Dunkel afternoon of March 2. demonstrated that wearing masks is very It’s clear reading the statements of In Idaho, which has never had a mask effective in limiting the spread of COVID. Abbott and Reeves that a major motive The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, mandate, there were a number of mask A mandate to wear one is no more a limita- in their decisions was increasing busi- made a surprise announcement March 2 burnings March 5 and 6 throughout the tion on your individual freedom than being ness profits—a​ concept totally foreign to in Lubbock, a city of 200,000 people in state, apparently coordinated by spouses forbidden to urinate on a public sidewalk. Neanderthals. ☐ West Texas. All state mandates to com- of Republican lawmakers. Children and bat the spread of COVID-19 were being teenagers threw masks into bonfires, cry- lifted. Counties and municipalities can- ing “Liberty” and “Freedom.” not require basic public health policies to President Biden sharply criticized the limit the spread of disease after March 10. actions of Abbott and Reeves the next day, They can’t require masks, social distanc- calling the plans “a big mistake” which ing, limitations on the size of gatherings reflected “Neanderthal thinking.” or the capacities of businesses. Biden mischaracterized Neanderthals, Abbott’s position is that individ- a hominid species of hunters and gather- ual Texans have the ability to make ers who became extinct around 32,000 the choices that will limit the spread of years ago after surviving for hundreds of COVID. Texas will be the largest state thousands of years. Whatever tools they in the country without a mask mandate. developed—and​ theirs was indeed a tool- About 30 states still have some form of a making culture—they​ used to help them- mask mandate and other restrictions. selves survive. They certainly didn’t reject Tate Reeves, the governor of Mississippi, tools that improved chances of survival. made a similar announcement later in the Engineers and doctors have irrefutably Sign outside store in Texas. workers.org March 11, 2021 Page 11 Haiti protests: ‘Moïse, U.S., U.N. out!’ By G. Dunkel on strike for two weeks because the elec- tricity has been shut off, so that air condi- Hundreds of thousands of Haitians tioning doesn’t work. And the operating took to the streets of Port-au-Prince theater is dirty and unfit to use, so that Sunday, March 7, to demand the depar- effective care is severely hampered. ture of President Jovenel Moïse, whose Medical workers assisted a contingent term of office has expired. The protest- of visually impaired people in getting to ers raised the corruption under Moïse’s the protest. One of them explained why PHTK (Haitian Party of Tèt Kale), which he came, “I can’t see. But I can sense that has stolen or squandered billions of dol- this country is not functioning correctly.” lars of oil aid provided by Venezuela. A number of youth marchers made According to a leaflet posted online a point of telling videographers that by organizers, there were at least six they were in solidarity with the strug- gathering locations for protests in Port- gle of youth in Senegal, a former colony au-Prince. Tweets also came from other of France. Five young people died there Haitian cities such as Cap-Haïtien, in early March, during protests against Jeremie and Gonaïves. deepening poverty and lack of job pros- Another issue sharply raised at the pro- Signs at Haiti protest (left to right): No to U.S. imperialism, La Lime (U.N. Special pects for young people. test was that the Haitian government has Representative to Haiti) = corruption, and OAS + BINUM (Organization of American The protests emphasize that Moïse failed to confront the lawlessness of gangs States + U.N. Haiti project) = corruption. would be gone rather quickly if the U.S. who engage in massive kidnapping, often stopped supporting him. So far the U.S. is with the connivance of the cops. Health Feb. 28 in front of his hospital as he and his Haiti’s daily newspaper Le Novelliste only urging Moïse to hold parliamentary care workers took the lead on this because family were being kidnapped. A few days is reporting that workers at the coun- elections to reduce some of the pressure Dr. Ernst Paddy, a pediatrician, was killed later a nurse was kidnapped leaving a bank. try’s second largest hospital have been on him. ☐ Haitian community denounces murderous coup regime By Dave Welsh support for the brutal coup regime that and U.N. support for the dictatorship of stop funding of the criminal Haitian San Francisco has been imposed on the Haitian peo- Jovenel Moїse; end recognition of the police and security forces; and stop ICE ple. Haiti was a founding member of the Moїse government of Jovenel as of Feb.7, deportation of Haitians. ☐ ​Waving Haitian flags, a crowd of 80 United Nations. 2021, as required by Haiti’s constitution; demonstrated Mar. 1 to mark the anniver- The demonstration was called by the sary of the bloody U.S.-backed coup d’etat Haiti Action Committee, with support in 2004 that overthrew the popular gov- from many community organizations. ernment of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The Speakers and key supporters came from beloved former president was kidnapped Global Women’s Strike, Arab Resource and flown to Africa on a U.S. military and Organizing Center, Answer Coalition, plane, beginning a seven-year period of Foothill College Black Student Union, forced exile from Haiti. San Francisco Labor Council, Task Force Carrying hand-lettered signs, demon- on the Americas, Students for Haiti strators protested the serial massacres Solidarity, International Committee for in working-class neighborhoods in Haiti, Peace, Justice and Dignity, Nicaragua the arbitrary arrests, detentions of human Center for Community Action, NorCal rights defenders and the wave of kidnap- TPS Coalition, Black Alliance for Peace, pings for ransom connected to the current Justice Vanguard and the Prisoners coup regime of the dictatorial Jovenel Solidarity Committee of Workers World Moїse, backed by the U.S. government. Party. The protest began at the library across The San Francisco action is part of a from City Hall and marched to the Simón month-long campaign by Haiti Action Bolívar statue, highlighting the histor- Committee and allies to increase Haiti ical solidarity between Haiti and all visibility, including banner drops over the Americas. The closing rally was at freeways in Oakland, San Francisco, United Nations Plaza, where marchers Berkeley and Palo Alto. denounced U.N. complicity and armed Demonstrators demanded: End U.S. Tacuma King on drums at San Francisco Haiti solidarity rally Mar. 1. PHOTO: BILL HACKWELL

Commemorate Women’s History Month! Build Workers World!

As Marxists, we strive not just to March 8 to be International Working and trans people, who constantly risk honor history, but to make it—​to pro- Women’s Day. On that date in 1908, physical attack. mote change that puts workers and 15,000 women immigrant garment If you appreciate WW’s extensive oppressed peoples first, and to recognize workers and socialists marched for bet- coverage of women’s struggles, join the their leadership. ter working conditions. Congress pro- WW Supporter Program. During the Today, Black women and their male claimed March as Women’s History pandemic, articles are posted daily at co-workers, 85% of the workforce, are Month in 1987. People of all genders workers.org. One issue a month is being fighting for unionization at Amazon’s mark IWWD worldwide. printed and mailed. For donations of warehouse in Bessemer, Ala. If they win, Socialists have long recognized strug- $75, $100, $300—​or more, members it would be the first union drive to score gle as the only way to improve women’s receive a year’s subscription, a regular a victory against this corporate behe- lives. Like the Black Lives Matter move- letter about timely issues and one, two moth in the U.S. Their struggle is inspir- ment, started by women and LGBTQ+ or three free subscriptions (respec- ing workers everywhere. activists, which boldly fights racism and tively), for friends. Supporters can Women comprise two-thirds of the police violence. Like the McDonald’s receive the “What Road to Socialism?” 20 million workers who are paid $10.10 workers who led a 10-city walkout to book upon request. (Or read it at per hour or less; half are women of color. Jan. 20, 2018, Women’s March. protest sexual abuse, boosted by the workers.org/books) The gender pay gap exists, with African #MeToo Movement. Write checks to Workers World. Mail American, Latinx, Indigenous and immi- on strike—​to demand adequate staff- Workers World expresses solidarity them (monthly or annually), with your grant women earning the lowest salaries. ing, safe working conditions and pro- with women who are exploited on the name and address, to Workers World, It’s no wonder that they are leading the tective equipment. Teachers and other job, those subjected to racism, misogyny, 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Floor, New York, “Fight for $15” hourly wage and a union essential workers have pressed their bigotry, xenophobia, homophobia and NY 10011. (Or ­contribute at workers. movement! demands, too. transphobia. We demand ICE release org/donate) During the pandemic, nurses and To honor women workers, the im/mmigrant women and children from We appreciate your help in building other health care workers, especially 1910 International Socialist Women’s detention, and the reunification of fami- Workers World! ☐ women, have organized—​even gone Conference in Copenhagen declared lies. We support gender-nonconforming 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. 63 Núm. 10 11 de marzo 2021 $1 Washington, D.C., 2018. Aumentar el salario mínimo a $15, ¡al menos! Un salario mínimo de $15 por hora no y republicanas, pero la Casa Blanca de recurrir a programas gubernamentales color. puede incluirse en el proyecto de ley de Biden aparentemente ha decidido acatar o despensas comunitarias de alimentos Debido al racismo y al sexismo sisté- ayuda COVID-19 de $1,9 billones pro- la decisión de McDonough y no desafiarla. para alimentar a sus familias. micos, los trabajadores oprimidos están puesto por los demócratas del Congreso. “Respeta la decisión del parlamentario y El lamentablemente inadecuado salario muy mal pagados. Las mujeres consti- Así dictaminó la parlamentaria del el proceso del Senado”, dijo la secretaria mínimo federal por hora de $7,25 no ha tuyen dos tercios de los 20 millones de Senado, Elizabeth McDonough, el 25 de de prensa de la Casa Blanca, Jen Psaki. aumentado desde 2009, mientras que el trabajadores a los que se les paga $10,10 febrero. Este funcionario no electo lo (CNN, 25 de febrero) costo de vida se ha disparado. Si el sala- dólares por hora o menos, informa el calificó de “irrelevante para la legislación El senador Bernie Sanders y otros rio mínimo hubiera seguido el ritmo de Centro Nacional de Derecho de la Mujer. presupuestaria”. miembros del Congreso propusieron un la inflación, ahora sería de $12 por hora. La mitad son mujeres de color. La brecha Este edicto es un Plan B: gravar a las Un trabajador de tiempo salarial de género es más golpe brutal para corporaciones que completo que gana el Detrás de escena hay amplia para las mujeres millones de trabaja- no pagan a sus tra- salario mínimo actual no afroamericanas, latinas, dores que luchana bajadores al menos puede pagar el alquiler poderosos magnates indígenas e inmigrantes, diario por subsistir. editorial $15 por hora. Pero en la mayoría de las áreas corporativos y que reciben los salarios Sin embargo, la los principales del país. más bajos. Cámara de Representantes aprobó el pro- demócratas le dieron la espalda a esta El proyecto de ley de financistas de Wall La mayoría de las per- yecto de ley 219 a 212 el 27 de febrero con idea, informó el Washington Post del 28 ayuda original habría Street que se oponen sonas a las que se les el aumento del salario mínimo intacto. de febrero. ¡Esta falta de acción prolonga aumentado ese salario paga el salario mínimo Ahora pasará al Senado, pero probable- una emergencia para los trabajadores con mínimo a $15, pero en vehementemente son adultos y muchos de mente sin el aumento de sueldo por hora, salarios bajos! incrementos, sin llegar a a este aumento del ellos permanecen en tra- debido a la decisión del parlamentario. $15 hasta 2025. Mientras salario mínimo. bajos de bajos salarios a Todos los republicanos en la Cámara y Desastre para millones tanto, muchos trabaja- lo largo de su vida labo- el Senado, más dos senadores demócratas Dos tercios de los trabajadores infor- dores están viviendo en ral. (New York Times, 26 conservadores, se oponen a este aumento man que han estado viviendo de sueldo crisis. ¡Necesitan estos fondos ahora! ¡Y de febrero) Eso hace que un salario fede- salarial. Entonces, a pesar de que el a sueldo desde que COVID-19 llegó a las más! Una tarifa de pago por hora de $20 o ral más alto sea una necesidad, o millones Partido Demócrata tiene una mayoría en costas de EE.UU. Casi la mitad se encon- $25 realmente haría mella en las facturas de trabajadores simplemente no pueden el Senado, podría no haber sido aprobado traba en esa situación incluso antes de de las familias. cubrir los crecientes costos de las necesi- allí, incluso si estuviera incluido en el pro- la pandemia. Esto se debe a los salarios Sin embargo, incluso el aumento pro- dades de la vida. yecto de ley de ayuda. Detrás de escena extremadamente bajos, combinados con puesto beneficiaría a muchos trabajado- La demanda de un aumento del salario hay poderosos magnates corporativos y los costos exorbitantes de la vivienda y res. El Instituto de Política Económica mínimo federal es apoyada por dos tercios financistas de Wall Street que se oponen otras necesidades. dice que ayudaría a 32 millones de traba- de la población estadounidense, especial- vehementemente a este aumento del sala- Muchas familias están a un cheque de jadores; Se ayudaría al 60% de los traba- mente los trabajadores negros, latinos, rio mínimo. pago de la ruina económica y enfrentan jadores esenciales y de primera línea. Un indígenas, mujeres y jóvenes. Es por eso Existen medios de procedimiento para una crisis todos los meses cuando ven- tercio de los afroamericanos y un cuarto que el lema “Lucha por $15” resuena con eludir o anular el fallo del parlamenta- cen las facturas. Millones de trabajadores de los trabajadores latinos obtendrían un tanta fuerza de costa a costa. ¡La lucha rio, que han sido utilizados en el pasado deben trabajar duro en dos o más traba- aumento. Alrededor del 25% de los que continúa! ☐ por las administraciones demócratas jos para llegar a fin de mes y tienen que ganarían son mujeres trabajadoras de Todo el mundo está mirando “Un ataque contra uno es un ataque marzo. El resultado, que podría condu- contra todxs.” Este famoso lema labo- cir a la primera instalación sindicalizada ral, popularizado por los Trabajadores de Amazon en los EE.UU., se anunciará Industriales del después de todas Mundo hace más las votaciones se de un siglo, es más cuenten. significativo hoy Cada trabajador que nunca. Pero editorial con conciencia de tiene un doble sig- clase está apoyando nificado para los trabajadores de Amazon, al sindicato: el Sindicato de Minoristas, donde la tasa de lesiones en el lugar de Mayoristas y Grandes Tiendas. Los valien- trabajo es excepcionalmente alta debido tes trabajadores del sur profundo, que se al trabajo agotador y acelerado. enfrentan al odiado doble centibillona- Su dolor es sentido por “todxs”, como rio Jeff Bezos, están luchando por todos en el lema - la clase trabajadora y los opri- nosotros. Los trabajadores negros de midos del mundo - que están observando la planta avícola de Alabama, que están con absorta atención la lucha por la repre- representados por RWDSU, han asumido sentación sindical en Bessemer, Alabama. una variedad de tareas de organización. Harlem, Nueva York, 28 de febrero. Solidaridad con lxs trabajadorxs FOTO: ALEXANDRA WALICKE Los trabajadores del almacén, una gran Este es el trabajador organizado contra de Amazon en Bessemer, Alabama. mayoría de ellos de raza negra y casi la el capital en su expresión más cruda y ver- mitad mujeres, están votando por correo dadera. ¡Estamos inspirados! actuales y anteriores de Amazon, muchos surgió el año pasado por la justicia eco- en una elección supervisada por la Junta Y con muy poca preparación avan- de los cuales no tienen antecedentes de nómica y contra el racismo. Cuando la Nacional de Relaciones Laborales que se zada, hubo más de 50 acciones el 20 trabajar juntos. Un frío amargo —condi- pandemia pasó factura, los trabajadores llevará a cabo del 8 de febrero al 29 de de febrero, un día nacional de solida- ciones inusualmente frías en el sur— no emprendieron cientos de acciones labora- ridad convocado por la podía enfriar la solidaridad. les exigiendo un lugar de trabajo seguro. Asamblea de Trabajadores Desde el mensaje de video publicado El resurgimiento de Black Lives Matter El capitalismo en un callejón sin salida del Sur y respaldado por en enero por la Asociación de Jugadores en respuesta al linchamiento policial de la Campaña Sindical de de la NFL hasta las cartas escritas a mano George Floyd ha sido calificado como el Fred Goldstein utiliza las leyes Apoyo a Alabama Amazon enviadas por los trabajadores encarcela- mayor movimiento de derechos civiles en de la acumulación capitalista y otros. Estas acciones dos, las declaraciones de apoyo represen- la historia de Estados Unidos. de Marx, y la tasa decreciente reunieron a un grupo tan una muestra representativa de la clase Bessemer es una continuación de esta de ganancia, para demostrar diverso de fuerzas pro- trabajadora. La unidad de clase en torno tendencia radical. por qué el capitalismo global ha gresistas: líderes sindi- a la lucha Bessemer debe expandirse, y Los movimientos no son lineales; tie- llegado finalmente a un punto cales, activistas de Black lo hará, aún más entre ahora y el 29 de nen su reflujo y su flujo. Pero la marea de de inflexión. Lives Matter, defensores marzo. hoy está subiendo y levantando todos los de la vivienda, migran- Esta histórica campaña sindical no barcos. Cada trabajador debe tomar un Para mas informacion: tes, socialistas jóvenes y se desarrolló en el vacío. El contexto remo y ayudar a remar esta lucha de cla- LowWageCapitalism.com veteranos, y trabajadores para ello es el movimiento de masas que ses esencial hacia la victoria. ☐