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COVID-19 and Class Struggle in France
Protests and strikes are on the rise across France against deteriorating working conditions, job losses and Macron’s woeful response to the COVID crisis. Keep reading »
Donald Trump: Emperor of the Lumpen Proletariat or the Stalin of Capitalist Counter-Revolution?
Donald Trump defies easy classification. His location within the politics of class eludes precise definition. If there is no doubt that he functions in the interests of capital, his capacity to not only expose but also exacerbate the fraction-ridden nature of this highly differentiated entity and the state that oversees its collective interests is unprecedented. … Keep reading »
What Happened to PPE Production in Canada?
Joint Statement on Domestic Production of N95 Respirators On August 21 the federal and Ontario governments announced major subsidies for 3M Canada to expand its Brockville plant, and starting in early 2021, to produce 50 million N95 respirators each year for five years. This is an important step toward addressing the existing shortage of this much … Keep reading »
Where is the ‘Recovery Fund’ to Save the Lives of Migrants?
While the “recovery fund” marks a qualitative leap in the process of European integration, battles of fundamental importance are being waged in the Mediterranean for the definition of the borders of the Europe that is to be redeveloped. Keep reading »
The California Disaster: What is the Link Between Wildfires and the Coronavirus?
I live in the San Francisco-Bay Area outside of Berkeley. Following the COVID-19 outbreak we went into shelter-in-place in March and officially never left after a second wave in early summer perpetuated school closures and other preventive measures. Following another dry winter and an unprecedented heatwave, Northern California is currently experiencing a series of massive … Keep reading »
What Questions Must Students Ask Their Educators, and Why?
Given the enormous problems that humanity is facing, it is reasonable to expect to see a future society that is radically different from, and superior to, the current one, that is a society which is genuinely democratic in the economic and non-economic spheres of life. And to produce a better society, we need better ideas, … Keep reading »
Transit Workers Are Still Dying – With No End in Sight
Though they’ve kept working in some of the most dangerous jobs, they’re now facing the prospect of furloughs and layoffs if there’s no more federal funding for transit. Keep reading »
Lessons from the Gig Economy for Transforming Public Services
Even before the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, major upheavals were taking place in the UK labour market. Between 2016 and 2019, the number of people working for online platforms such as Deliveroo and TaskRabbit doubled from 4.7% of the adult population to 9.6% – the equivalent of 5.5 million people. Lockdown caused these trends … Keep reading »
Trade Unions Need New Strategies
With employers on a decades-long offensive against labour, the balance of power which once secured social dialogue has been transformed. Keep reading »
Popular Radicalism in the 1930s
The History of the Workers’ Unemployment Insurance Bill At a time when unemployment is skyrocketing in the US and millions of out-of-work Americans have been abandoned by the federal government, it may be of interest to consider how an earlier generation responded to an even greater crisis, the Great Depression (1929-1936). In particular, we might draw … Keep reading »
The Police and Racist Vigilantes
Under Trump, the collaboration of armed white supremacist Trump supporters and police is an explosive mix of violence aimed at communities of color. Keep reading »
Canadian Auto Workers Fight for Contract Transparency
As bargaining at the Detroit Three automakers kicks off in Canada, union members are fighting back against a longstanding undemocratic contract ratification process. In an unprecedented development, the Solidarity Movement, a rank-and-file movement within Unifor, has launched a petition to demand full disclosure of the collective agreement before voting takes place. Since the launch in … Keep reading »