(2021-12-12). Numerous warnings were issued in advance of tornadoes that killed dozens of candle factory and Amazon workers. wsws.org At least six Amazon workers died after a warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois received a direct hit. In Kentucky, a tornado struck an occupied candle factory in the city of Mayfield, with 100 workers in it.
(2021-12-12). A Plea To Make Widespread Environmental Damage An International Crime. popularresistance.org The campaign to make ecocide an international crime took center stage in the Hague on Tuesday as Bangladesh, Samoa and Vanuatu advocated criminalizing environmental destruction during a virtual forum at the annual meeting of the International Criminal Court's 123 member nations. The forum, attended by more than 1,300 individual participants, represented a collective cry for justice from three of the world's most climate vulnerable countries. It came less than a month after they and other developing nations pressed their claims at the United Nations climate talks in Glasgow for greater resiliency and adaptation fu…
(2021-12-12). "Ten crises: The political economy of China's development," by Wen Tiejun. mronline.org 
Wen's vision is of a China which would be increasingly self-reliant, delinking from the American dominated global capitalism and developing its own key technologies and productive capacities, while at the same time continuing to engage with other emerging economies which share a desire to be free of Western neo-imperial control.
(2021-12-12). Solidarity Action Rebukes Navy Over Toxic Water Pollution. popularresistance.org Activists with CodePink, in solidarity with Hawaii-based water protectors, on Friday projected images on a submarine tower outside the Navy museum in Washington, D.C., calling for a shutdown of a military fuel storage facility associated with contamination of Oahu drinking water. | Messages displayed on the USS Balao Conning Tower included "Shut down Red Hill tanks," "Demilitarize Hawaii," and "Navy is poison."
(2021-12-12). Who is to Blame for the Fall of French Influence in Africa? journal-neo.org 
Despite the Africa-France Summit held recently, and intense attempts by individual French politicians to publicize Paris' actions on the African continent, criticism of France's current neo-colonial policy in Africa continues to increase in the region. Africa has recently become rapidly embroiled in anti-French demonstrations. People have taken to the streets in particular because of the …
(2021-12-11). Assange extradition 'an attack on us all'. greenleft.org.au The British decision to extradite Julian Assange is an attack on us all, argues Socialist Alliance Senate candidate Kamala Emanuel.
(2021-12-11). Much More Than Just Ukraine. moderndiplomacy.eu A war scare in Ukraine is a pivotal moment for the West. It tests transatlantic resolve, unity, and the very foundations of NATO. Failure to prevent potential Russian military advances or an unwillingness to respond if such a move occurs will likely cause an accentuation of internal divisions within NATO and the European Union (EU.) …
(2021-12-11). Report reveals Israeli airstrikes on Gaza in May 2021 overwhelmingly targeted civilians. peoplesdispatch.org The damning new report found that in 70% of the airstrikes that killed civilians, no corresponding 'militants' or 'military targets' were found to have been killed…
(2021-12-11). "Every Option is On the Table": US Prepping for Libya-Style Intervention in Ethiopia. libya360.wordpress.com Alan MacleodADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — Amid a bloody civil conflict and increasing great-power competition between the United States and China, there are a number of alarming signs that Ethiopia will become the next Libya — an African nation where the U.S. intervenes militarily under the pretext of stopping an impending genocide. A considerable military buildup…
(2021-12-11). Opaque algorithms are creating an invisible cage for platform workers. mronline.org 
We live in a world run by algorithms. Nowhere is this more apparent than with platform companies, such as Facebook, Uber, Google, Amazon, and Twitter.
(2021-12-11). People of the Sahel oppose imperialism. workers.org 
After two weeks of struggle — burning barricades, smashed windows and mirrors, Molotov cocktails, masses of people on the road, attempts to seize the trucks — the logistics convoy that the French army had organized at the port of Abidjan, Cà¥te d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), in the middle of November finally . . . |
(2021-12-11). Public-Private Collaboration Will Define New Era for Cities. moderndiplomacy.eu At the World Economic Forum's inaugural Urban Transformation Summit, which closed on Wednesday, global leaders underscored the need for increased public-private collaboration to capitalize on new infrastructure funding and tackle growing urban challenges around the globe. "Our cities and our communities are changing right before our eyes. Digitization is transforming urban economies, public health and …
(2021-12-11). Fifty-five immigrants killed, over 100 injured in Mexico truck crash. wsws.org The catastrophic accident in southern Mexico came as Washington renews its "stay in Mexico" policy and the Mexican government collaborates in the repression of migrants.
(2021-12-11). India's community health workers' struggle for recognition. roarmag.org 
Asha worker marking the finger of a baby girl after administering a polio vaccine in Delhi, India. June 28, 2021. Photo: PradeepGaurs / Shutterstock.com | This essay is published in collaboration with Public Services International | | Over the last year-and-a-half, one of the most visible groups of workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in India have been the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), a cadre of community health workers appointed by the National Health Mission (NHM). These hitherto invisible women were seen not only going hou…
(2021-12-11). Auto Workers Win Direct Democracy In Referendum. popularresistance.org The members of the United Auto Workers have voted overwhelmingly to move to a direct voting system for choosing their union leadership—"one member, one vote." With all votes counted as of December 2, direct elections had the support of 63.6 percent of voters. | It's a historic win for reformers in one of the nation's most important unions, where members have pushed for this change for decades. | The referendum is the product of a consent decree between the UAW and the U.S. Department of Justice, after a years-long series of prosecutions of top union officials on corruption charges ranging from embezzling un…
(2021-12-11). Threat to fire striking Kellogg's workers prompts nervous statement from Biden administration. wsws.org The short, eight-sentence statement is a clear sign of the nervousness within ruling circles that the move by Kellogg's could trigger a social explosion within the working class.
(2021-12-11). Meeting of the Network of Action Committees for Safe Education in Germany: "We are at the beginning of great mass struggles of the working class" wsws.org At the meeting, nurses, educators, workers and students presented a terrible picture of the consequences of the official coronavirus policies.
(2021-12-11). Join 'Militant' renewal drive, help get paper out to workers. themilitant.com Readers of the Militant, including members of the Socialist Workers Party and Communist Leagues in Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, are gearing up for an ambitious drive to win The Militant is unique in looking at all political questions from the standpoint of the working class, whether it's reporting from union picket lines, explaining what's at stake in the fight against antisemitism, fighting to win support for a woman's right to choose to have an abortion or in defending rights cr…
(2021-12-11). Denying Student Workers Healthcare And A Living Wage Is Violence. popularresistance.org New York City – On Wednesday, November 8, Columbia student workers (UAW Local 2110) held one of the largest pickets yet of their six-week strike to demand increased wages to meet costs of living, neutral third-party arbitration, and comprehensive healthcare benefits. Workers from unions throughout New York City such as the CUNY's Professional Staff Congress (PSC), the Graduate Student Organizing Committee (GSOC) at NYU, the Teamsters, and NewsGuild of New York showed up to join the picket in solidarity with the striking workers. They picketed various entrances, encouraging those who attempted to enter the univers…
(2021-12-11). No compassion, no release in California prisons. workers.org 
Oakland, Calif. Dec. 5 — The California prison system continues to outdo itself in reckless and inhumane treatment of incarcerated people. COVID rates are spiking again in the state's prisons, due to continued policies of mass incarceration. A recent court decision has severely gutted the state's medical parole process. Now . . . |
(2021-12-11). Rank-and-file democracy wins in the UAW. workers.org 
From Oct. 19 through Nov. 29, working and retired members of the United Auto Workers participated in a referendum vote on how they would elect their union's International Executive Board officers. The two choices were whether to continue the current delegate voting system, where the IEB is chosen by delegates . . . |
(2021-12-11). Baseball players union blasts owners for lockout. workers.org 
At midnight Dec. 2, immediately after the contract between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association expired, team owners locked out all members of the MLBPA. The union issued the following statement on Twitter 20 minutes after the lockout was imposed. In two days the statement received . . . |
(2021-12-11). Clarks strike strengthens union, pushes back wage cuts. themilitant.com LONDON — After eight weeks on strike, workers at Clarks Shoes distribution warehouse returned to work Nov. 30, having succeeded in pushing back the company's demand to cut their basic wage by 15%. "It shows what can be done if we stick together," striker Nathan Pritchard told the Militant by phone. "It sends a message to others in similar situations. What hit me the most was us working together and the solidarity." | Citing economic challenges incurred during the pandemic, Clarks had announced new contracts, cutting hourly wages to 9.50 pounds ($12.57) for over 100 workers on "legacy" contracts, a cut of 1.
(2021-12-11). Health care workers skeptical about margin of contract ratification at Kaiser Permanente. wsws.org Whatever the case may be with the outcome of the vote, the process itself made a mockery of democratic process.
(2021-12-11). Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand. wsws.org Indian ordnance factory workers hold national strike; Odisha state childcare workers demand higher wages; Australian plasterboard workers locked out; New Zealand rail union calls off strike.
(2021-12-11). Unions ram through extension at Ingalls shipyard, stall for time at Newport News. wsws.org While the IBEW had until March 2022 to negotiate before the expiration of the contract, they opted instead to call a snap vote on the exact same contract workers rejected last week.
(2021-12-11). Starbucks workers win historic first union. zcomm.org "If we can do this here, you can do this too"
(2021-12-11). New variant, same problem: Joint U.S.-China solidarity book tackles COVID. workers.org 
The continuing U.S. COVID crisis was predicted in a book published a year ago. "Capitalism on a Ventilator," a unique anthology by 50 progressive commentators — written even before the vaccines were rolled out — explained why the much anticipated vaccines alone could not solve the soaring COVID death rate . . . |
(2021-12-11). Texas ExxonMobil workers rally, win solidarity against oil bosses' lockout. themilitant.com BEAUMONT, Texas — "Exxon, Exxon you can't hide, we can see your greedy side" and "Stand up, fight back!" chanted dozens of members of United Steelworkers Local 13-243 and their supporters protesting outside the meeting of the World Petroleum Congress in Houston Dec. 6 where ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods was speaking. | Some 650 members of the USW local at the company's oil refinery and blending and packaging plant here have been locked out since May 1 for refusing to accept a union-busting contract. | "A lot of people support us now, even more than we realize," Teria Howard, one of the locked-out local member…
(2021-12-11). LA County bakery workers: 'We fight for ourselves, our children'. themilitant.com SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. — "Don't let them tell you we are doing something wrong. We are doing something right, we are fighting for ourselves and our children," striker Elvia Castillo, told a rally of 90 outside Rich's Jon Donaire Bakery here Dec. 3. The strike by 175 members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers union Local 37 began a month earlier. Most of the strikers are women. | As part of the spirited rally, workers gathered outside the plant entrance chanting in English and Spanish, "One day longer, one day stronger!" Strikers were joined by representatives of several area union…
(2021-12-11). UK: Unite leader Sharon Graham wins chorus of approval from the corporate media. wsws.org If Unite's presentation that it is waging a "pushback" on behalf of workers had any element of truth, the Johnson government would by now be confronting an unprecedented strike wave with Graham the subject of a corporate media witch-hunt.
(2021-12-11). Kellogg strikers vote No! Say 'End two-tier wages'. themilitant.com MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Kellogg's workers on strike at the company's four cereal plants across the country overwhelmingly rejected the bosses' latest contract offer in a vote Dec. 5. The key issue is the company's demand to expand the number of "transitional" workers on its divisive two-tier wage and benefits system. | "The members have spoken. The strike continues," Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union President Anthony Shelton told the press. "Solidarity is critical to this fight." The company responded with threats. "The prolonged work stoppage has left us no choice but t…
(2021-12-11). Family and coworkers cope with tragic suicide death of Stellantis autoworker in Toledo. wsws.org The shocking tragedy occurred shortly before the start of the evening shift on Monday, leading to cancellation of production on the Jeep Gladiator line.
(2021-12-11). Socialist Equality Party to continue campaign against Australia's anti-democratic electoral laws. wsws.org Whether the SEP is registered or not, the party will stand candidates in the looming federal election to take out to the broadest possible audience the fight for socialism and the overturn of capitalism.
(2021-12-11). Is Gene Editing the New Name for Eugenics? "Enter Bill Gates" globalresearch.ca A major new technology known as Gene Editing has gained significant attention in recent months. Its advocates claim it will revolutionize everything from agriculture production to disease treatment. Is this technology a stealth way to introduce GMO genetic manipulation by way of another technique.
(2021-12-11). Marxism and STS: From Marx and Engels to COVID-19 and COP26. mronline.org 
At the recent conference of the Society for the Social Study of Science, I came to the conclusion that the history of Marxism in relation to science and technology studies is an increasingly forgotten story.
(2021-12-11). Steel scaffolders strike continues in UK over wages, scabs, safety. themilitant.com SCUNTHORPE, England — "We're staying out for a result," striker Dave Birchall told the Militant on the picket line outside the massive British Steel plant here. Sixty scaffolders organized by the Unite union are now into their third month of strike action. | Sharon Graham, Unite union general secretary, joined the pickets Dec. 1. They're demanding contractor Actavo pay them the national rate for their job of 17 pounds an hour ($22.50), as opposed to their current wages of some 2 pounds less. | In a picket line interview with the BBC, Graham said, "British Steel is blaming Actavo. Actavo is blaming British S…
(2021-12-11). "They are killing us": More flight attendants speak out about poisoned job uniforms. wsws.org Flight attendants from a number of airlines spoke about the toxic working conditions that they have been subjected to by their employers and the airline unions.
(2021-12-11). New Zealand warehouse strikers win raises to cover inflation. themilitant.com AUCKLAND, New Zealand — "All we are asking for is enough to pay our bills and feed our kids," Tetini Rangi told the Militant as he picketed outside Countdown's distribution center in Mangere Nov. 25. "The prices for rent, food, power, everything has gone up." | Over 700 First Union members rejected a company offer of a 3% pay raise. They struck for three days, stopping production at two warehouses here, asking for 4.9% in line with the rise in the government's consumer price index. | Jaskaran Singh explained his rent had gone up 50 New Zealand dollars ($34) per week from last year, but "the company pay offe…
(2021-12-11). The Columbia "Strike": A Merry-go-Round to Nowhere? dissidentvoice.org I can still vividly recall, some thirty-plus years later, my days at Columbia University as a Teaching Assistant (TA) in Anthropology. As a part-time job, it paid little—but nonetheless provided complete tuition-exemption for those of us still registered as full-time grad students. The lecture-hall was more like an auditorium: maybe 200 students taking a survey …
(2021-12-11). School strikers protest NAB's support for fossil fuel corporations. greenleft.org.au School students protested outside National Australia Bank headquarters calling on it to stop funding fossil fuels. Coral Wynter reports.
(2021-12-11). New Zealand farmers unite, demand end to gov't attack. themilitant.com AUCKLAND, New Zealand — "Without farmers you will be hungry, naked and sober," read a placard on a tractor heading a caravan through Christchurch Nov. 21. The convoy was one of 70 across New Zealand in which tens of thousands of farmers and their supporters said, "Enough is enough!" | They were protesting an accelerating onslaught of new regulations adopted by the Labour Party government in Wellington that impose costs and mountains of paperwork on rural producers, in the name of protecting the environment. | Organized by Groundswell, which was formed by farmers in Southland last year, the action built on a…
(2021-12-11). Libyan Popular National Movement: Statement on Developments in the Electoral Process. libya360.wordpress.com The Libyan National Movement Party followed the course of the electoral process in all its scheduled stages, marred by unjustified confusion and deliberate delay, as everyone groaned under the weight of direct and indirect interference from internal and external parties, represented by the illegal presence of foreign ambassadors who through media and frequent visits to…
(2021-12-11). Nicaragua-China: The New Silk Road in Central and Latin America. libya360.wordpress.com Fabrizio Verde "Today is a historic day. The re-establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China fully corresponds to the will and fundamental interests of the Nicaraguan people". Nicaragua recognizes the one-China principle and acknowledges that the government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government that represents all of…
(2021-12-11). The US is at a Loss in Central America. libya360.wordpress.com Stephen Sefton In November 2008, while ambassador to Nicaragua, death-squad manager nonpareil John Negroponte's long time torture and terror campaign sidekick, Robert Callahan, remarked to a reporter in Managua, "US foreign policy toward Latin America has not changed in 50 years and is unlikely to do so under President Obama". Just months later, the June…
(2021-12-11). Managua — Beijing: The New Route. libya360.wordpress.com Fabrizio Casari Taking the international community by surprise, Nicaragua has decided to re-establish diplomatic relations with China at the highest level and, consequently, break off diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which have always been commercial, never political. It is no coincidence that Taiwan has never gone out of its way to show support for Managua internationally…