Opposition builds among Chicago educators to school closures and signs of another CTU sellout contract
Teacher anger over paltry raises and the closure of Acero schools is reaching a boiling point.
Joe Raymond•
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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Australian government determined to slash international student numbers despite rejection of enrolment cap bill
Labor is intent on outdoing the Liberal-National Coalition opposition in making overseas students, along with immigrants and refugees, scapegoats for the intensifying cost-of-living, housing and social crisis affecting millions of working-class households.
Mike Head•
For an indefinite strike by University of California workers! Build a working class movement against the policies of the incoming Trump administration!
This is the first major new strike in the US since this month’s presidential election. Trump is seeking to convert the presidency into a fascist dictatorship, the most extreme form of government of, by and for the corporate oligarchy.
World Socialist Web Site Healthcare Workers Newsletter•
Australia: NSW teachers discuss latest pay deal and their worsening working conditions
“The NSWTF gave in. They could have fought more for a better deal. They are not in touch with what it’s like in the schools.”
Our reporters•
Marc Wells, Joshua Rodriguez•
Kate Randall, Mike Ingram•
Carolyn Kennett•
Evelyn Rios, Emily Ochiai•
Renae Cassimeda, Nancy Hanover•
Canada Post strikers must unify their struggle with all logistics workers to stop the “Amazonification” of our jobs!
Instead of participating in a race to the bottom against low-paid, precariously employed delivery workers, we must turn to these workers and fight to rally them alongside us, for a joint struggle, based on our common class interests for well-paid and secure jobs for all.
A striking Canada Post worker•
NSW nurses and midwives: Form rank-and-file committees to fight the Labor government’s wage cuts!
The strike in Australia's most populous state shows that nurses want to fight cuts to their wages and conditions. But they are in a struggle against the Labor government and the union bureaucracy.
Health Workers Rank-and-File Committee •
Reject the third sellout TA at Boeing! The rank and file must seize control of the strike from the IAM bureaucrats for victory!
It has become absolutely clear that if we are to win this strike, we have to overthrow the dead weight of the IAM union bureaucracy.
Boeing Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Stop CUPW’s delaying tactics! Launch a working-class political struggle against Canada Post and the Trudeau government!
The fact that Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon participated in the talks Thursday underscores that Trudeau’s Liberals have already begun their preparations to enact strikebreaking legislation, just like they did in 2018. But the CUPW leadership says nothing about this threat, and has struck a deal with management to postpone our strike.
Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee (Canada)•
Western Sydney University Rank-and-File Committee•
International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees•
Daniel Berkley•
Bryan Dyne•
Will Lehman•
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.