Blogs

Around 30 trade union activists have today blocked entry to the Auckland branch of McDonalds. They are protesting against the dismissal of union delegate, Sean Bailey who had been sacked after exposing proof that McDonald’s had been underpaying workers millions of dollars and not giving them adequate breaks. His dismissal came shortly after being threatened by his manager who told him he would be disciplined if he didn’t act ‘less gay’.

A brief look at what the appointment of Simon Stevens as head of NHS England means for mental health services in context.

*TRIGGER WARNING – rape & rape apology*

On Saturday 2nd November, known vile misogynist and transphobic shitbag Ciaron O’Reilly is due to hold a fundraiser for Chelsea Manning and her family at the Casa in Liverpool.

Today Russell Brand has made the news as he openly calls for revolution. Many comrades have been quick to criticise his statements for vagueness, but does it really matter if his statements didn't go far enough?

Following a debate on Twitter, several statements appeared online seeking to defend the PCS union over its position on welfare reform and sanctions. This is a response, particularly aimed at PCS Vice President John McInally’s piece for the Socialist Party.

What role do communication and media play in working class organizing? Scott Nappalos explores a political approach.

The second in Recomposition's series at looking at some of the arguments against the IWW. James P Cannon argues that the Russian Revolution made the IWW irrelevant and out of touch.

We may not like to admit it, but we have to raise money to make our organizations function.

A short critical introduction to the work of grandfather of psychiatry Thomas Szasz.

A rare cinema fiction tackling radical environmentalism ties itself in knots trying to offer a 'balanced' argument

A look at two of many attacks faced by workers in HM Revenue & Customs. The contrasting responses from clerical grade union PCS and senior grade union ARC are worth noting, but not for the reason you might guess.

It has come to our attention that Martin Smith – who resigned from the Socialist Workers Party following rape and sexual harassment allegations – is now based in the Social Work department at Liverpool Hope University. Trigger warning: rape, sexual harassment.

A good while back, I wrote a blog post about contract issues at the English language school I work at and the attempts of us teachers to organise ourselves. Now that everything has died down and I've had time to think about it, I thought I’d try and write up what happened.

A prisoner at Pontiac Correctional Centre, Mark Neiweem, has been sent into solitary confinement for possessing literature from the Anarchist Black Cross, and for writing essays on the prison industrial complex. Following a disciplinary hearing – at which he was denied a lawyer – he was given six months in solitary for possessing ‘gang related material’ (anarchist symbols), and for possessing ‘written materials material that presents a serious threat to the safety and security of persons or the facility.’

When organizing around foreclosure defense, it is usually best to stick to what you know.

Last week Leonarda Dibrani, a 15 year old school girl, was dragged off a bus during a school trip and deported back to Kosovo by French authorities. The incident has brought fresh attention on the issue of immigration in France and has led around 12,000 students on to the streets to protest in support of Leonarda Dibrani, disrupting or closing over 170 schools across Paris, Marseille, Angers, and Grenoble. Many scuffles have broken out with the police as they have tried to dismantle makeshift barricades.

A protest against fracking in Eastern New Brunswick has turned violent after Canadian mounted police with assault rifles and camouflage uniforms turned up to enforce a court order to remove a barricade set up by the Elsipogtog and Mi'kmaq First Nations tribes (indigenous Canadians).They pepper sprayed dozens of people, used rubber bullets, sets dogs on people, and fired high powered hoses The protesters responded by throwing petrol bombs and setting fire to five police vehicles.

More than 2,000 longshore members of the International Longshoremen's Association walked off the job at the Port of Baltimore, the 12th largest in the U.S. by container volume. This crippled the import of high value commodities like BMW, Fiat and Mazda automobiles. The dispute is based on workers at the port refusing a coastwide contract -- covering ports from Maine to Texas.

The funeral of Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke, who died last week aged 100, has been called-off due to violent clashes outside the church between anti-fascists and Nazi sympathisers. Priebke was serving a life sentence under house arrest at the time of his death for his role in the murder of 300 Italian boys in 1944. Despite local opposition to holding the funeral the government insisted that it be held. A strange Holocaust denying sect of the Catholic Church agreed to facilitate the funeral on the 70th anniversary of the round-up of Jews in Rome. The bastard is now likely to be cremated behind closed doors.

Following the murder last week of a young Russian by someone who may have been an immigrant, Moscow has been rocked by riots that escalated following a massive ‘anti-immigration’ protest. Nationalists attacked a food warehouse, destroying and stealing stock, and chanting ‘white power’ & ‘Russia for Russians’. After standing by and watching the attacks, the police moved in and arrested 1200 immigrants who had been attacked in and around the warehouse. Eye witnesses claim that the police did nothing and just watched the violence, appearing to be colluding with the attackers. By the end of the night 1600 people had been arrested so the police could ‘check their papers’.