Australia: Mass strike of Victorian educators reveals anger over pay and conditions
The stoppage expressed explosive anger over pay and conditions which the union is trying to dissipate.
Our correspondents•
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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New York University faculty strike shut down after UAW announces tentative agreement Wednesday morning
The few details of the tentative agreement that have been released indicate an attempt to sell out the strike.
John Conrad, Tim Avery•
As Trump escalates war on Iran, a strike wave spreads across the United States
In the month since the US-Israeli war against Iran began, the United States has been shaken by an accelerating eruption of class struggle.
International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees•
Australia: University staff strike in Newcastle
Stoppages at the University of Newcastle and University of Technology Sydney show the need for a unified struggle against the Albanese government’s funding cuts and pro-corporate restructuring.
Our correspondents•
Carolyn Kennett•
Nancy Hanover•
Kimie Saito, Joshua Rodriguez•
Our correspondents•
Our reporters•
Colorado healthcare workers issue statement supporting striking JBS meatpackers
“The same economic pressures that lead to dangerous line speeds, inadequate safety protections, and a lack of proper PPE and equipment in the past are mirrored in our own workplaces through chronic understaffing and cuts to essential services.”
Greeley Health Care Workers•
More Canadian workers support Will Lehman’s campaign for UAW presidency
The WSWS continues to receive statements of support from workers across Canada for Will Lehman’s campaign for the presidency of the UAW in the United States. Lehman is running as a socialist on a program to abolish the union bureaucracy and place power back in the hands of workers on the shop floor.
Our reporters•
Australian educators call for opposition to the war on Iran
The meeting called on educators, students and workers to move similar resolutions denouncing the US-Israeli assault on Iran and the Albanese Labor government’s participation in it.
Our correspondents•
Reject the BP Whiting contract! Organize rank-and-file committees to prepare a national struggle!
Every refinery worker has a direct stake in defeating BP’s demands, which would pave the way for oil companies to dismantle national bargaining altogether.
International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees•
Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Our correspondent•
Ford Rouge Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
New York Healthcare Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees•
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.