North America
US Marines deploy to Syria for live fire exercise
By Jordan Shilton, 10 September 2018
The drill, which included air assaults backed by artillery fire, underscores that the seven-year war in Syria could rapidly escalate into a direct clash between the major powers.
US set to escalate trade war against China
By Nick Beams, 10 September 2018
Trump’s threat of further tariffs means that Chinese exports into the US would be subject to increased tariffs if China carries through on its threat of retaliatory measures.
Seattle Education Association pushes through sellout deal
By Evan Blake, 10 September 2018
The Seattle Education Association, with the backing of its supposedly dissident faction, Social Equity Educators, forced through the agreement, undermining the momentum for a statewide strike.
Chicago hotel workers’ strike enters fourth day
By Marcus Day, 10 September 2018
Thousands of hotel workers have struck at 25 locations in and around downtown Chicago since Friday, fighting for better health care and wages.
“Capitalism is not working, and it never has for us”
Striking Chicago hotel workers speak out on fight for wages, health care
By our reporters, 10 September 2018
The WSWS spoke to striking hotel workers on the picket lines in downtown Chicago Saturday.
As National Football League season opens
Nike unveils ad featuring blacklisted quarterback Colin Kaepernick
By Alan Gilman, 10 September 2018
The National Football League season has opened against the backdrop of Colin Kaepernick becoming the face of Nike’s new “Just Do It” campaign and a ruling allowing his collusion lawsuit against the NFL to go forward.
A warning to students and the working class
Who are California Governor Jerry Brown’s appointments to the University of California Board of Regents?
By Evelyn Rios, 10 September 2018
Brown appointed his chief fiscal policy advisor, a top union bureaucrat, a former EPA official, and prior vice president of Lockheed Martin, the weapons manufacturer.
A week of crisis and deepening dysfunction in US politics
By Patrick Martin, 10 September 2018
There is no progressive or democratic side in the conflict between Trump and his opponents within the military-intelligence apparatus, the corporate media, and the Democratic Party.
Bisbee ’17: The deportation of Arizona copper miners is a “still-polarizing event”
By Joanne Laurier, 10 September 2018
In July 1917, 1,200 striking copper miners in Bisbee, Arizona were illegally kidnapped, loaded in cattle cars and dumped in the southwest New Mexico desert. This episode is the subject of Bisbee ’17.
Amazon market capitalization surpasses $1 trillion
By E.P. Milligan, 7 September 2018
Amazon’s soaring profits, like those of Apple, are the direct result of the brutal exploitation of its workforce.
New York Times covers up Google’s censorship
By Andre Damon, 7 September 2018
The Times’ report on allegations that Google is censoring the Internet is a white-wash, echoing the company’s self-serving denials without any serious examination of the facts.
Striking Tacoma, Washington, teachers demand better pay, funding for education
By Kayla Costa, 7 September 2018
On Thursday, teachers in Tacoma joined thousands of striking teachers throughout the state of Washington as the unions work to contain and isolate the struggles in each district.
Trump administration to abandon court settlement prohibiting indefinite detention of immigrant children
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 7 September 2018
The decision is a major escalation in the administration’s attack on immigrants.
In wake of credit downgrade huge job cuts looming at Ford
By Shannon Jones, 7 September 2018
The downgrading of Ford credit to near junk status is a shot across the bow by Wall Street to pressure management to intensify its attacks on workers.
Pompeo visits Pakistan to demand “reset” in support for Afghan war
By V. Gnana and Athiyan Silva, 7 September 2018
US Secretary of State Pompeo and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dunford staged a four-hour visit to Pakistan on Wednesday.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announces he will not seek reelection
By Kristina Betinis, 7 September 2018
On the eve of the trial of the Chicago cop who killed Laquan McDonald, the mayor, who oversaw a cover-up of the teen’s murder, announced that he would not seek a third term.
CIA Democrat complains of political spying by Republicans
By Harvey Simpkins, 7 September 2018
Democrat Abigail Spanberger, whose main political “credential” is eight years as an undercover CIA operative, is denouncing the Republican Party for obtaining a copy of her full federal security clearance document.
Labor Day 2018: The growth of the class struggle and the case for rank-and-file committees
By Jerry White, 3 September 2018
This year, Labor Day takes place amid a resurgence of class struggle in the US, bringing workers into direct conflict with the corporatist and anti-working class trade unions.
Line-up of reaction and militarism at McCain memorial
By Patrick Martin, 3 September 2018
Assembled in the National Cathedral were a “who’s who” of imperialist war criminals, with a bloody record stretching back more than half a century.
As union seeks to wrap up strikes, Washington teachers rally and call for statewide walkout
By Nancy Hanover, 3 September 2018
Educators demand statewide strike action in Washington state, while the union seeks to quash walkouts and prevent new ones.
Trump hits out at China over North Korea
By Peter Symonds, 3 September 2018
Trump’s criticism of China comes amid growing signs that talks over Pyongyang’s nuclear programs, following his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, have stalled.
“Amazon thinks I’m a piece of trash on the ground and they’ll walk all over me”
Amazon Nightmare: Grandmother injured on the job goes homeless, suffers pneumonia
By Eric London and Zac Corrigan, 3 September 2018
Carol's story exposes the nightmarish conditions and brutal exploitation that has fueled the growth of online retailers like Amazon.
“This is a class issue, and it’s a social issue”
Memorial service held for six of ten children killed in Chicago Little Village house fire
By our reporters, 3 September 2018
About 200 people attended the funeral, with many traveling long distances from throughout Chicago and its surrounding suburbs.
Media smears family of victims of Chicago house fire
By George Marlowe, 3 September 2018
The press continues to demonize the victims of the Chicago house fire in the Little Village neighborhood, deflecting blame from the political establishment.
Father of Mollie Tibbetts tells Trump administration: Stop using my daughter’s death in racist attack on immigrants
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 3 September 2018
There have been numerous studies by academics and think tanks in recent years that have clearly shown that there is no correlation between immigration and crime.
Nashville’s shuttering of women’s health clinic leaves only one abortion facility in the city
By Warren Duzak and Keisha Gibbs, 3 September 2018
Despite the billions invested in healthcare, and dozens of Nashville area hospitals, poor and working class women are limited to one small clinic for elective abortions.
Seymour Hersh’s Reporter: A life exposing government lies and crimes
By Andre Damon, 3 September 2018
Seymour Hersh, the investigative journalist who played a leading role in exposing the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam and the Bush Administration’s torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, has published a long-awaited autobiography.
As classes begin, Detroit schools shut off drinking water due to high levels of lead and copper
By Eula Holmes and Patrick Martin, 31 August 2018
The pollution of the water supply is particularly devastating for children, whose brains and bodies are especially at risk from toxins.
Immigrant mother sues for $40 million after child dies following ICE detainment
By Kevin Martinez, 31 August 2018
The death of Mariee Juarez is one more casualty in the Trump administration’s brutal war on immigrants.
“We have to stand up and show we are not going to take this anymore”
US Steel workers rally in Pittsburgh area
By our reporting team, 31 August 2018
Steelworkers rallying outside of the Clairton Works spoke to the WSWS about their determination to fight US Steel’s concession demands.
Steelmakers in US demand historic concessions as contracts for 31,000 workers set to expire
By Samuel Davidson, 31 August 2018
With US Steel and Arcelor demanding deep givebacks, the United Steelworkers union has made it clear it is opposed to any strike.
“Everything started failing for us”
An interview with a relative of Chicago house fire victim
By George Gallanis, 31 August 2018
WSWS reporters spoke to the great-aunt of 16-year-old Victor Mendoza, one of 10 children killed in Sunday’s deadly blaze in Little Village.
Foxconn dramatically alters plans for Wisconsin facility
By Jacob Crosse, 31 August 2018
A smaller, robotic-based factory will be built, swindling the working class of Wisconsin for billions of dollars.
Two construction workers killed in scaffolding collapse near Disney World
By Jessica Goldstein, 31 August 2018
What the official investigations will not expose is that the deaths of Bell and Zavala have a deeper cause: the profit interests of JW Marriott, DCS, and PCL.
Abolish student debt! Public education is a social right!
By Niles Niemuth, 31 August 2018
Everyone should be able to attain a college education without being required to enter the modern equivalent of indentured servitude.
One of America's deadliest disasters
Puerto Rico raises Hurricane Maria death toll from 64 to 2,975
By Bill Van Auken, 30 August 2018
The estimate of nearly 3,000 deaths attributable to the storm is a searing indictment of the criminal negligence of both the US ruling establishment and the island’s own authorities.
“We are watching and we are coming”
ICE raids North Texas factory, arrests 160 immigrant workers
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 30 August 2018
In one of the biggest workplace raids in the past decade, ICE arrested 160 migrant workers at a factory north of Dallas.
After Florida primary, Republican candidate makes racist attack
By Patrick Martin, 30 August 2018
Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis warned that his African-American opponent would “monkey up” the state’s economy if elected.
Seattle teachers vote to authorize strike
By Kayla Costa, 30 August 2018
In a mass meeting Tuesday night, thousands of teachers voted to join ongoing strikes by educators across the state of Washington.
US education secretary floats plan to use federal funds to arm teachers
By Khara Sikhan, 30 August 2018
Following Donald Trump's call to arm teachers, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is considering diverting funds meant for hiring support staff to purchasing firearms for schools.
Former Texas police officer found guilty of murdering unarmed teen
By Trévon Austin, 30 August 2018
Prior to this year, the last time a Texas police office was convicted of murder was in 1973.
Tax cuts boost US bank profits to record highs
By Trévon Austin, 30 August 2018
Banks and corporations are channeling the bulk of their savings from the tax cuts into stock buybacks, dividend increases and mergers and acquisitions.
Hostiles: A US soldier accompanies a Native American chief home in 1892 …
… and homelessness in Seattle in The Road to Nickelsville
By Joanne Laurier, 30 August 2018
Scott Cooper’s Hostiles opens in 1892 in Fort Berringer, New Mexico, as the mass destruction of the Native Americans population is winding down.
“The politicians want to sweep this under the rug”
Hundreds gather to commemorate ten children killed in Chicago house fire
By George Marlowe and George Gallanis, 29 August 2018
While hundreds went to a vigil to commemorate and mourn the death of the ten children lost to the house fire Sunday morning, Chicago’s Democratic mayor and city aldermen declined to attend.
Teachers across Washington state demand strike action and big pay increases
By Nancy Hanover, 27 August 2018
In their fight to reverse years of budget cuts, Washington teachers are giving voice to the anger and determination of educators and workers across the US.
Three killed, nine injured in Jacksonville, Florida mass shooting
By Matthew Taylor, 27 August 2018
The massacre at a video game tournament on Sunday was only the latest in a string of mass shootings in the US.
Eight children killed in house fire on Chicago’s West Side
By Jessica Goldstein, 27 August 2018
According to the fire department, if working smoke detectors had been in place, the victims would have been woken by the alarms and could have all escaped to safety.
China-US trade talks: The divisions deepen
By Nick Beams, 27 August 2018
The Chinese Commerce Ministry stated there were “constructive and frank” talks, but gave no indication of any further discussions in the future.
Macron’s education cuts deny admission to thousands of French university students
By Kumaran Ira, 27 August 2018
The measure aims to make universities more competitive and to prepare their privatization.
Amazon unleashes army of Twitter trolls to improve its image
By Erik Schreiber, 27 August 2018
The company's primary objective is to mitigate the damage from increasingly common exposures of the punishing conditions at its warehouses.
Reported Democratic National Committee hack was a security test
By Mike Ingram, 27 August 2018
Democrats and the news media seized on the supposed hacking attempt to bolster claims of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections and beyond.
NSA leaker Reality Winner sentenced to more than five years in prison
By Kevin Martinez, 27 August 2018
Winner is the first person to be tried by the Trump Administration under the Espionage Act, receiving the longest ever sentence for revealing classified documents.
US-backed Saudi air strikes massacre dozens of Yemeni children for second time in two weeks
By Jordan Shilton, 27 August 2018
A week before the latest massacre, CNN research revealed that the 500 pound bomb that killed 40 children on 9 August was produced by Lockheed Martin.
Why the US ruling class mourns John McCain
By Patrick Martin, 27 August 2018
The late senator from Arizona represented a bipartisan consensus in support of militarism and the defense of corporate America.
Trump cancels secretary of state’s trip to North Korea one day after its announcement
By Ben McGrath, 25 August 2018
The US president has directly linked his pressure on North Korea with the trade war with China, exposing the fraudulent nature of the “peace talks” with Pyongyang.
“The Teamsters is not a voice for us”
UPS workers respond to Teamsters campaign of blackmail
By our reporters, 25 August 2018
UPS workers throughout the US continue to express opposition to the sellout deal that Teamsters officials and corporate management are trying to strong-arm them into ratifying.
Teachers across Washington state prepare to strike over wages and conditions
By Alec Andersen, 25 August 2018
The opposition of Washington teachers and support staff is a continuation of the teacher revolt that started at the beginning of 2018 and comes amid an upsurge of working class struggle.
Google shuts down YouTube channels in expansion of state-directed online censorship
By Kevin Reed, 25 August 2018
Google announced on Thursday that it had shut down 58 social media accounts that the company claimed were part of an Iranian government-sponsored “influence campaign.”
UK foreign secretary uses US visit to support Boris Johnson replacing Theresa May as prime minister
By Robert Stevens, 25 August 2018
For the hard Brexit faction, the future of May’s premiership is understood in terms of days and weeks—with Johnson’s leadership challenge gathering pace.
New Trump coal regulations will kill as many as 1,400 Americans annually by 2030
By Alec Andersen, 25 August 2018
According a report by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the agency’s recent rule change will lead to 1,400 more premature deaths by 2030.
Verizon throttled emergency data during California wildfires
By Henry Allan, 25 August 2018
While many workers have lost their homes and lives, the telecommunications giant has seen the disaster as an opportunity to make some extra profits.
US service workers who rely on tips more susceptible to depression
By Alex Johnson, 25 August 2018
A recent study found that the uncertain nature of tips and irregular schedules contributes to higher rates of stress and depression among service workers.
Socialist Equality Party candidate Niles Niemuth speaks at election meeting in Brownstown, Michigan
By Tom Hall, 25 August 2018
The meeting, held in the predominantly industrial, working-class Downriver area of metro Detroit, saw a wide-ranging discussion with attendees.
One of the greatest musical figures of the 20th century
The centenary of Leonard Bernstein—Part 2
By Fred Mazelis, 25 August 2018
There was no one else who combined Bernstein’s genius as a composer, conductor, educator and pianist.
Trump, Republicans exploit murder of Molly Tibbetts to stoke anti-immigrant racism
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 24 August 2018
The killing of a young Iowa woman has become a pretext for the Trump administration and its supporters to intensify attacks on immigrants.
As Trump attacks attorney general, Democrats seek to channel all opposition behind anti-Russia campaign
By Patrick Martin, 24 August 2018
Both Trump and the Democrats want to keep their raging conflict entirely within the boundaries of the official political system.
“We need a united front of auto and UPS workers”
Autoworkers warn UPS workers: Don’t trust the union
By Will Morrow, 24 August 2018
An autoworker from Toledo, Ohio told us that “if UPS workers could find a way to break away from their union, the autoworkers would follow them.”
Los Angeles teachers vote on strike authorization
By Dan Conway, 24 August 2018
After working without a contract for 13 months, Los Angeles teachers are taking a strike authorization vote.
Seattle-area crane operators strike following rejection of sellout deal
By our reporter, 24 August 2018
Crane operators in western Washington state walked out Tuesday after voting down a deal negotiated by the operating engineers’ union that contained an inadequate wage increase.
Mayor demands New Yorkers “respect police officers”
By Isaac Finn, 24 August 2018
Following the posting of a handful of videos on social media of New York City residents cursing at police, Mayor de Blasio told New Yorkers that they “have to respect police officers.”
Former New York City jail guards union head convicted of bribery
By Josh Varlin, 24 August 2018
The conviction of former New York prison guards’ union president Norman Seabrook sheds light on a corrupt nexus of police, union and corporate-financial figures exchanging money and favors.
Unions stump for big business PQ in Quebec’s October election
By Félix Gauthier, 24 August 2018
The entire history of the PQ shows it to be a faithful and ruthless defender of the interests of the Quebec bourgeoisie.
The class dynamics of the stock market bull run
By Nick Beams, 24 August 2018
The record-breaking stock market rally is the outcome of the relentless class war pursued by the ruling elite after the 2008 financial crash.
One year after WSWS open letter to Google
Facebook escalates censorship of left-wing, anti-war organizations
By Andre Damon, 23 August 2018
On Tuesday, Facebook announced the removal of hundreds of user accounts and pages, many of them opposing the crimes of the American, Saudi and Israeli governments in the Middle East.
The Teamsters/UPS conspiracy to slash workers’ health care
By Kayla Costa, 23 August 2018
The current effort of the Teamsters to push through a concessions contract follows a series of attacks on UPS workers, including a scheme adopted in 2013 to cut health care benefits.
Hundreds of detained immigrants join US national prison strike
By Trévon Austin, 23 August 2018
Detained immigrants have linked their struggle with prisoners to protest inhumane living conditions.
A socialist response to the opioid crisis
By Niles Niemuth, 23 August 2018
Ending the opioid crisis that is raging throughout Michigan and across the US requires a socialist program and a frontal attack on wealth of the corporate and financial elite.
Studies: US life expectancy drops as mortality rises among younger adults
By Kate Randall, 21 August 2018
While many other countries saw a rebound in life expectancy in 2016, the US and the UK saw declines for two consecutive years.
Pentagon report targets China’s “expanding global influence”
By Peter Symonds, 21 August 2018
While the report focusses on China’s growing military capabilities and international reach, its build-up is dwarfed by the US military and its world-wide system of alliances and bases.
“The whole world is watching us”
Teamsters local meeting erupts in anger as union official calls UPS workers’ poverty wages “subjective”
By Norisa Diaz, 21 August 2018
Teamsters official Andy Marshall told the room of 100 UPS workers that “in a perfect world” workers would get what they wanted, but “when I was a kid, I wanted a pony.”
Virginia’s Democratic governor seeks to whitewash abuse of immigrant youth at state detention facility
By Nick Barrickman, 21 August 2018
A report issued last week by the office of Governor Ralph Northam seeks to whitewash the criminal abuse of unaccompanied immigrant children detained in the state from 2014 through 2017.
West Virginia lower House impeaches entire state Supreme Court
By Clement Daly, 21 August 2018
The Republican Party is using corruption charges as a pretext to remove all the justices and pack the court, previously under Democratic Party control.
Texas firefighters denied workers compensation for cancer
By Todd Denton, 21 August 2018
More than 90 percent of firefighters in Texas are being refused medical coverage and paid sick leave for cancer caused by on-the-job toxic exposures.
CEO pay up 17 percent while US workers’ wages stagnate
By Matthew Taylor and Barry Grey, 18 August 2018
The typical CEO of a large firm in the US makes in a single day almost as much as the typical worker earns in an entire year.
The brutality of borders
Mass grave revealed at Arizona Air Force bombing range
By Norisa Diaz, 18 August 2018
The treacherous deserts along the Southwest have taken the lives of tens of thousands of migrants coming to the US.
Pentagon chief promotes anti-China agenda in Latin America
By Bill Van Auken, 18 August 2018
Mattis’ four-nation tour was aimed at countering China’s influence and building up ties between the US and Latin American military commands.
On eve of strike deadline for 9,000 VW workers
Mexican farmers blame Volkswagen for drought near assembly plant
By Alex González, 18 August 2018
To guarantee their demands for high wages and fully funded social services, autoworkers and farmers are each other’s most natural allies.
Sixty-one-year-old worker dies in horrific fall into vat of oil near Disney World
By Jessica Goldstein, 18 August 2018
John Korody was killed shortly after midnight on Wednesday morning when he slipped on a grate and fell into a vat of oil.
Former CIA Director John Brennan’s brief for dismantling democracy
By Joseph Kishore, 18 August 2018
The view advanced by Brennan, the intelligence agencies and their allies in the Democratic Party can be summed up as: “It is necessary to destroy democracy in order to save it.”
Aretha Franklin (1942-2018)—A tribute to the Queen of Soul
By Hiram Lee, 18 August 2018
Legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin died August 16 at the age of 76. She was a major figure, one of the great performers of the second half of the twentieth century.
Break the UPS-Teamsters conspiracy! Mobilize opposition to the sellout contract!
By the WSWS UPS Workers Newsletter, 14 August 2018
The Teamsters union is keeping workers totally in the dark, five days after its endorsement of the cost-cutting contract.
Horizon Air worker dead after stealing airplane, crashing near Tacoma, Washington
By Alec Andersen, 14 August 2018
Asked why he stole the plane, Russell told air traffic controllers, “Minimum wage, we'll chalk it up to that. Maybe that will grease some gears a little bit with the higher-ups.”
Allentown, Pennsylvania credit union employees strike over wages and health care
By Samuel Davidson, 14 August 2018
Employees of People First Federal Credit Union went on strike against the company’s demand to shift health care costs onto the backs of already low paid employees.
New York City Council caps Uber
By Clare Hurley, 14 August 2018
A temporary glitch for the app-based ride hailing service, the legislation will do little to address the underlying crisis of public transportation in the largest US metropolis.
Growing support for socialism in the United States
By Joseph Kishore, 14 August 2018
A Gallup poll released yesterday found that, for the first time, more young people and Democratic-leaning voters have a favorable view of socialism than they do of capitalism.
What the neo-Nazi debacle in Washington showed
By Patrick Martin, 14 August 2018
After a huge media buildup, less than two dozen white supremacists showed up for Sunday’s “rally” outside the White House.
Tragic house fire takes three lives in Lincoln Park, Michigan
By Niles Niemuth, 14 August 2018
The victims of the fire that engulfed a house in the early morning hours Saturday include a woman two months pregnant, a family caretaker and a four-year-old boy.
A second “summer of hell” for riders of New Jersey Transit
By Mark Ferretti, 13 August 2018
Understaffing, inadequate pay for employees, and underfunding are contributing to a rash of delays and cancellations that leave reliable and safe travel on New Jersey Transit in doubt.
Primary results show rightward shift of both Republican and Democratic parties
By Patrick Martin, 9 August 2018
The congressional primaries confirmed the headlong move to the right by the Democratic Party signaled by the rise of a cadre of former military and intelligence operatives running as Democratic candidates for Congress.
UPS workers: Build rank-and-file committees to organize opposition to the contract!
By the WSWS UPS Worker Newsletter, 9 August 2018
The Teamsters must not be allowed to retain the initiative and continue its conspiracy with the company against the workers unopposed.
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