Youth speak out against the resumption of student loan payments
Tens of millions of borrowers will now be burdened with an additional monthly expense amid growing impoverishment and worsening living conditions.
Trévon Austin•
Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee
The Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee is an international network of educators, students, parents, and workers spearheading the fight to end the COVID-19 pandemic and massively expand funding and resources for public education.
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Fill out this form to join the rank-and-file committee nearest you. If there is not already a committee in your area, we will help you get one started.
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“It would be good to unite together with nurses, doctors and other postdocs... The union has not said any such thing”
Mount Sinai postdoctoral medical researchers speak to the WSWS on their struggle
Workers at the Icahn Medical Institute spoke to the WSWS on the struggles facing postdoctoral workers.
Jesse Thomas•
University and College Union sabotages UK national higher education strike
Just 10 days before the action started, the UCU told local branches they could decide individually whether to withdraw from the walkout. This resulted in workers at less than one third of universities (42) being involved.
our reporters•
UK government and education unions leave life threatening RAAC crisis unaddressed
Educators and children face years in substandard buildings only fit for demolition, with schools neither structurally sound nor safe from the spread of COVID.
Margot Miller•
Eric Ludlow•
Our reporters•
Sandy English•
Norisa Diaz, David Rye•
Jacob Crosse•
“I’m ready to put my body on the line to save our children”
On eve of school reopenings, Hawaii teacher calls for fight against state’s elimination of COVID measures
The new guidance was issued two weeks before schools were set to reopen, leaving many teachers and parents scrambling for answers to what is going on as well as ways to coordinate a response to the unsafe conditions they be forced to endure.
Hong Jian, Kimie Saito•
Los Angeles teachers pressing for a fight three weeks after contract expiration
Los Angeles teachers voice their grievances after the contract expired on June 30.
Our reporters•
Michigan teachers describe rampant illness, burnout and other dire conditions in 2021-22 school year
Michigan teachers, para-professionals, other school staff describe harrowing conditions throughout schools across the state.
Our reporters•
Los Angeles teacher: “I feel like we’re living in a COVID coverup”
Our reporter recently spoke with a teacher in Los Angeles Unified School District who reflected on the pandemic, poor working conditions, and economic hardship.
Renae Cassimeda•
Sandy English, Jesse Thomas•
Frank Anderson•
Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee•
Emma Arceneaux•
US Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee holds second national meeting
The wide-ranging discussion dealt with the terrible conditions at the post office as well as critical questions of strategy and perspective.
Our reporter•
The rank and file demand an all-out strike in the auto industry!
The Autoworkers Rank-and-File Committee Network calls for workers at every factory to organize now to fight for an all-out strike. At each UAW local, meetings must be held involving the entire rank-and-file membership to discuss and vote on resolutions demanding all-out strike action.
Autoworkers Rank-and-File Committee Network•
Stop the unjust disciplinary measures against Warren Truck workers! For an all-out strike against Stellantis, GM and Ford to win our demands!
We say to all our fellow autoworkers: an all-out strike is the only way for the auto companies to know that we’re not playing.
Warren Truck Rank-and-File Committee•
Ford Action Committee in Germany supports strike preparations by US autoworkers
The Ford Action Committee in Sarrlouis has expressed solidarity with the workers of the big car companies in the US who have voted for a mass strike that could begin this week.
Ford Action Committee•
USPS Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Our correspondents•
The UPS Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Macquarie University Rank-and-File Committee•
GM Lansing Workers Rank-and-File Committee, GM Flint Assembly 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.