Michigan Democrats move to suppress University of Michigan graduate workers’ struggle
This 28-day “cooling-off” period functions as a de facto state injunction in response to workers’ demands for open, transparent bargaining.
Stephen St. Clair•
Educators Rank-and-File Committee
The Educators Rank-and-File Committee is an international network of educators, students, parents, and workers fighting for workers power in the schools, to stop the capitalist destruction of public education and eliminate COVID-19.
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Australia: Victorian early childhood educators strike for second time
The Australian Education Union called another limited one-day strike amid mounting rank-and-file anger over the state Labor government’s failure to present a wage offer after 20 months of negotiations.
Estella Winters•
Strike date announced for New York University contract faculty
The workers’ main demands include higher salaries, raises that exceed inflation, academic freedom, job security, housing and protection against artificial intelligence.
Erik Schreiber•
“We need to take matters into our own hands”
Mamdani’s decision to reopen New York City schools after blizzard angers teachers and parents
Educators and parents voiced their opposition to Mamdani’s decision—and to the leadership of the UFT, which had put up no opposition to it—online as well as in a petition that collected over 170,000 signatures.
Sandy English•
Marc Wells•
Nancy Hanover•
Our reporters•
Marc Wells•
Marc Wells•
Reject CWU/Labour government whitewash of Royal Mail crisis: for rank-and-file opposition to corporate collusion
Public anger must not be diverted, nor our independent organisation blocked against renewed attacks on jobs, terms and conditions and the crippling workloads imposed by those responsible for a wrecking operation.
Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Australia: Health Workers Rank-and-File Committee supports striking US nurses and healthcare workers
Australian doctors, nurses, pathology and disability support workers, as well as other hospital services employees, passed a powerful resolution backing the determined strike action by health workers in New York, California and Hawaii.
Our correspondent•
Thomas “TJ” Sabula is back at work—but the lessons must be learned
Ford worker Thomas “TJ” Sabula has reportedly returned to work after being suspended without pay for calling Donald Trump a “pedophile protector” during the president's January 13 tour of the plant.
Ford Rouge Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Which way forward after the nurses’ rejection of the agreement with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital?
Determined to win safe staffing and secure workplaces, the nurses must now wrest control of the strike from the union bureaucrats, expand the struggle to other hospitals and adopt a new strategy based on rank-and-file power and political independence.
New York Healthcare Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees•
New York Healthcare Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Carl Bronski•
Transport Workers Action Committee•
New York Healthcare Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the term “rank-and-file” mean and where does it come from?
“Rank-and-file” is originally a military term. It refers to the lower “ranks” of soldiers, who literally stand in lines or “files”. These soldiers have a different set of interests in preserving their lives than the officers or “brass” who prosecute the wars on behalf of the ruling elite.
Rank-and-file committees are of, by and for the rank-and-file workers, who have a different set of interests in preserving their lives than management, the bosses, the politicians, and the trade union apparatus, who send workers to die while defending the profits of the ruling elite.
Is it legal to build rank-and-file committees of educators and other workers to stop the spread of COVID-19?
Yes. The formation of rank-and-file committees is 100% completely legal under the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
The right to freedom of speech means you can say whatever you like about what you agree or disagree with. Freedom of association, also covered under the first amendment, means you have the right to associate with others who share your views, for political ends. You also have the right to petition the government for redress, to make demands on the government and tell them what you want them to do.
Does HIPAA law prevent schools or workplaces from disclosing information about the spread of COVID-19?
No. HIPAA has an exception for disclosures to prevent and control the spread of disease, but the state is deliberately not invoking this exception in order to conceal information from workers, so that they can pretend that what they are doing is safe when it’s not.
Rank-and-file educators have the right to know who’s gotten sick, where, when, and what happened. Rank-and-file committees have to demand this information, and have to share it with other workers as a matter of collective self defense.