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McDonalds Workers Fight Back in Houston, Dallas, and Other Cities

On May 21, a group of 25 women McDonald’s workers in 20 different cities filed sexual harassment complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In filing these claims, they are helping to expose the rotten culture of sexual exploitation that exists in the food service industry, as well as other industries. McDonald’s top leadership is trying to shirk responsibility by arguing that they are not liable for what goes on in supposedly “independent” McDonald’s franchises, even though franchise holders are little more than glorified sub-contractors. No matter who is the owner of a McDonald’s location, it is still McDonald’s.

On May 23rd, several hundred McDonald’s workers went on strike in 13 cities, including Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Orlando, St. Louis, and Tampa. The workers, who were demanding the right to form a union, a $15 minimum wage, and protections from sexual harassment, timed the walkout for maximum impact: they stopped working during breakfast and lunch rushes (hitting the bosses where it hurts—in the pockets), on the day that the company was having its annual shareholder meeting in Dallas. The actions were coordinated by the Fight for $15 campaign, unions, and other labor advocacy groups.

Rita Blalock, a nine-year McDonald’s employee in Raleigh, North Carolina, makes only $8.50 an hour and decided to join the strike. She told a reporter with the Wall Street Journal that, “the best way for us to make our jobs better is by joining together.”

Both the lawsuit and the coordinated strike are promising signs for workers ready to organize in the food service industry.

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In North Carolina, Over 20,000 Education Workers Strike

May 1 is International Workers’ Day. This past May Day, over 20,000 education workers in South Carolina took a “personal day” and converged on the state legislature in Raleigh. Strikers included not only teachers, but bus drivers, custodians, counselors, and nurses. Student supporters from across the state also turned out. In total, they shut down 35 school districts for the day, showing that when workers get organized, they can shut down whole systems and even industries. Workers really do hold the cards, if only we lean how to play them!

The work stoppage was organized by the North Carolina Association of Educators. Like teachers striking in other states since 2018, the union and its supporters are demanding better pay and conditions for school workers, as well as a better education for students. For example, they want the schools to be adequately staffed with psychologists, librarians, nurses and counselors. They are also demanding $15-an-hour minimum for all school personnel.

In South Carolina, over 10,000 educator workers and supporters amassed outside the Department of Education in Columbia, the state capital. The action was organized by a Facebook group called SC for Ed. Like their counterparts in North Carolina, demonstrators called for improvements for both workers and students. This was one of the biggest gatherings ever to take place at the state capital, matched only by the crowds that gathered in 2015 to see the Confederate flag finally removed from the statehouse.

Kathy Maness, with the Palmetto State Teachers Association, said, “For many years, I have said that teachers in South Carolina have been sleeping giants. They would go in their classroom, they would do their job and would not speak up for their profession. I think that sleeping giant is waking up.”

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The Pentagon and the Internet

The U.S. military operates 5,000 websites through its Defense Media Activity branch. Nafeez Ahmed reported in Motherboard on October 30, 2018, that “a series of research projects, patent filings, and policy changes indicate that the Pentagon wants to use social media surveillance to quell domestic insurrection and rebellion….The United States government is accelerating efforts to monitor social media to preempt major anti-government protests in the US, according to scientific research, official government documents, and patent filings reviewed by Motherboard. The social media posts of American citizens who don’t like President Donald Trump are the focus of the latest US military-funded research. The research, funded by the US Army and co-authored by a researcher based at the West Point Military Academy, is part of a wider effort by the Trump administration to consolidate the US military’s role and influence on domestic intelligence.”

The Pentagon has spent millions of dollars finding patterns in posts across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and beyond to enable the prediction of major events. Ahmed further reports that “a Pentagon-funded report titled ‘Social Network Structure as a Predictor of Social Behavior: The Case of Protest in the 2016 US Presidential Election’ was funded by the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL), which is part of the US Army’s Research Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM).”

Ahmed continues: “The tool was originally developed under the Obama administration back in 2011 by the US Army Research Laboratory and US Defense Threat Reduction Agency, in partnership with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Illinois, IBM, and Caterva (a social marketing company that in 2013 was folded into a subsidiary of giant US government IT contractor CSC). Past papers associated with the project show that the tool has been largely tested in foreign theaters like Haiti, Egypt, and Syria.

“The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is part of the ARL Network Science Collaborative Technology Alliance (NS CTA), a consortium of three industrial research labs and 14 universities which receives multi-million-dollar support from the US Army Research Laboratory. Much of that research has been funded by the US government’s spy research organization, IARPA—the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Government National Business Center.”

To show the extent of the collaboration between the Pentagon, universities and corporations, HRL, a main company involved in this domestic spying, is jointly owned by General Motors and Boeing.

The same technology being used against people in the U.S. was developed to interfere in the use of social media during the lead-up to and during elections of other countries, which the U.S. has been doing for decades.

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Science Could Serve the World, but Instead It Serves the Rich

By Nathalie Clarke

Through the development of science, humans have become capable of producing more than enough food every year for every single human being—without risk of ecological disaster. Yet the World Health Organization estimates that one in six children worldwide is underweight due to undernourishment and disease. The scarcity we experience under capitalism is artificial and stems from super-rich billionaires deciding how we practice agriculture, science, and pretty much everything else. Science has become a tool that elites use to get richer and hoard more resources and wealth.

As we are faced with impending environmental catastrophes, federal and private grants continue to disproportionately favor research in fields that benefit the ruling class. According to the National Science Foundation, in 2017, universities in the United States spent only $686,729 on natural resources and conservation. Meanwhile, geological and earth sciences, which largely research ways of drilling and mining for oil and minerals, was allocated over $1,086,382. Electrical engineering, a field where research is often directed towards the production of weapons for the United States military, received a whopping $2,727,498—over half of which came from the federal government.

As they send us into their wars and into their oilfields and their mines, the billionaires who profit off the pillage and plunder of the planet make clear that they do not care about the lives of working people. This is no news—time and time again the ruling class has shown that they view us as worthless (except for the wealth that we produce for them). Science will not be the solution to any of our problems until we have successfully overthrown capitalism, the current system that rewards bosses who maximize profits regardless of the cost to workers. Only with socialism can we finally direct scientific research to solve the urgent problems of hunger, disease, and climate change.

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Species Extinctions Threaten Us All

Declining populations of pollinators such as bees threaten global food production.

By LaVonna Varnado-Brown

Writer Nikita Gill states that, “We have calcium in our bones, iron in our veins, carbon in our souls, and nitrogen in our brains.” Composed of the stuff of stars, we see patterns and designs replicated in the human body and in organisms and creatures in nature. We are all connected. We must prioritize our deep connection to all inhabitants of the earth before it’s too late.

According to a recently released report, nearly one million species risk becoming extinct within decades, while current efforts to conserve the earth’s lifeforms will likely fail without radical action. On at-risk fauna and flora, the study asserts that human activities “threaten more species now than ever before” – a finding based on the fact that around 25 percent of species in plant and animal groups are vulnerable.

What is radical action? They want us to believe that use of paper straws and hemp grocery bags will make a difference, but the real difference can only come once the masses force the mammoth capitalist industries and the military to end their greedy tactics. This would greatly impact the health of the Earth. The U.S. military admits to using 395,000 barrels of oil per day. The coral reefs are dying. Nature is becoming overwhelmed by our never-ending output of poisonous waste matter. “Marine plastic pollution in particular has increased tenfold since 1980, affecting at least 267 species”, the report says, including 86 percent of marine turtles, 44 percent of seabirds and 43 percent of marine mammals.

Those effects do not end within the habitats of those species. We all coexist. There is no “my air, your dirt.” It is our water. We must realign to acknowledge this truth. During a speech at Morgan State in 1967, Kwame Ture quoted the poet John Donne: “the death of any man diminishes me because I am involved in mankind”. We must see it as our duty to get involved. We must not allow the capitalist ruling class to kill everything and anything that gets in their way. We must not fall into rank with the machine—no, we must organize ourselves to dismantle the capitalist apparatus and become active members in cultivating the society we know should already be.

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Gordon Plaza Residents Suffer Second Highest Cancer Rate in LA

New Orleans, Louisiana– On September 8, tens of thousands of people gathered for a major climate mobilization across the U.S. and the world. People around the world joined more than 830 events in 91 countries under the “Rise for Climate” banner. In the U.S., over 300 events took place in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The “Rise for Climate Jobs, and Justice” events in the US highlighted the need for real climate leadership in the face of intensifying climate impacts and the ongoing assault on climate and communities from the Trump Administration. The actions took place just days before the Global Climate Action Summit in California, demanding a phase-out of fossil fuel extraction and a just transition to a 100% renewable energy economy. Event organizers emphasized community-led solutions, starting in places most impacted by pollution and climate change. Gordon Plaza is a house development that has been designated by the US government as a Superfund site where over 150 toxicities have been documented. Gordon Plaza residents’ only demand for Mayor LaToya Cantrell is: Fully Funded Relocation for all affected residents. Photo by Fernando Lopez | Survival Media Agency

Gordon Plaza residents are fighting for a fully funded relocation from the toxic site the city built their homes on decades ago.

A new report by the Louisiana Tumor Registry confirms the findings of previous studies: Gordon Plaza has the second consistent highest rate of cancer in Louisiana. The study consistently found between 125 and 406 more cases per 100,000 residents than the state average. Gordon Plaza homes were built on a city landfill containing arsenic, lead and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons—all known or probable carcinogens according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Mayor Cantrell:  the time to remedy this injustice is now!

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Coalition Against Death Alley

On May 30, Coalition Against Death Alley (CADA) started a 50 mile march from St. John the Baptist Parish to Baton Rouge to protest and demand an end to the poisoning of Black communities by petrochemical companies located throughout Louisiana’s Mississippi River parishes.

Residents of St. John the Baptist Parish decided to organize a fightback after the EPA confirmed that their community and areas surrounding a nearby Denka plant have the highest risk of air pollution-caused cancer in the country.

Governor Edwards illegally blocked the march from crossing the Sunshine Bridge near Donaldsonville and the Mississippi River Bridge over Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge but the fight for justice continues.

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St. James Residents, Water Protectors Battle Anti-Protest Laws

Protest at a Bayou Bridge pipeline site in Maurice, LA, May 12, 2018. Photo credit: Julie Dermansky.

By Sasha Irby

Around the country, big energy companies are bribing politicians to pass laws that severely criminalize the protest of dangerous and costly oil and gas projects such as the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Bayou Bridge Pipeline.

These anti-protest laws have gone into effect in eight states already. In Texas, the legislature is currently considering a bill that would that would make the protest of a pipeline a third-degree felony. This means that a peaceful water protector would do the same amount of time as someone convicted of attempted murder. In Louisiana, a law (HB 727) went into effect last year which makes it a felony offense to trespass on “critical infrastructure”—a category that the law expands to include pipelines, any pipeline construction site, and “all structures, equipment, or other immovable or movable property” located within the pipeline site. More than a dozen peaceful protesters have been arrested under the new law.

On May 22 a federal lawsuit was filed by three organizations—RISE St. James, 350 New Orleans, and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade—as well 10 individuals affected by the new law. They argue that the law could be used to criminalize anyone who happens to be near the 125,000 miles of mostly unmarked pipelines that criss-cross the state of Louisiana. St. James residents are concerned the law would prohibit them from speaking out against the petrochemical industries that have turned their home into “Cancer Alley.”

How it is that we live in a state that is willing to spend millions of dollars attacking peaceful water protectors in the name of “critical infrastructure” while New Orleanians live with Sewerage and Water Board infrastructure so broken that we have frequent boil water advisories and pumps that can’t keep our streets from flooding in routine rainstorms? Is a water system that provides safe drinking water not critical infrastructure? Are safely navigable streets not critical infrastructure?

Why aren’t we issuing felonies to the crooked bureaucrats selling our wetlands off to petrochemical companies which are killing local ecosystems and threatening the very existence of our coastal communities? Because the state cares more about protecting the profits of the energy companies than it does about our public health or safety.

Among the many petrochemical and energy companies that pushed HB 727 were Energy Transfer Partners, Embridge, and Transcanada, all of which were involved in the construction of pipelines that have been met with protest in Louisiana. All three of these companies also financially contributed to Louisiana state representatives who co-sponsored the bill. At least 16 of the bill’s co-sponsors are affiliated with ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), a right-wing task-force controlled by billionaires like the Koch brothers. Across the country, ALEC has pushed to enact laws that favor corporations—mainly oil and gas companies—at the expense of the public.

It is obvious that these laws do not protect the people or infrastructure that is “critical” for the public good. The energy companies are buying off politicians and fast-tracking these laws because they hope that they can stop communities from protesting the destruction of their homelands. The politicians are criminalizing free speech while subsidizing the planet-killing corporations. Worse, they are criminalizing those who fight for the future of our planet. We cannot stand by idly while our water protectors are made into criminals. We must unite with other communities in the struggle against the oil and gas executives and the state which is attempting to silence us. We must not let fear swallow our voice.

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We Deserve 100% of Hotel Taxes, That’s a “Fair Share!”

By Ashlee Pintos

Mayor Cantrell’s office is claiming a victory for “Fair Share” New Orleans on the issue of what we call the Stolen Tax dollars. This ridiculous months-long negotiation between the Mayor’s office and the Convention Center has resulted in huge benefits for big business with a marginal benefit for the city. While $180 Million is stolen from New Orleans yearly, Cantrell has only asked for a fraction of the money (a one-time $48 Million with an additional $27 Million over the next 5 years). While the remaining yearly $153 Million is forgotten about for a perceived victory for the Cantrell administration, the convention center has been promised $300 Million for a new hotel and a portion of (more) Airbnb taxes among other concessions. How is this a fair share for the workers?

For over two years, the New Orleans Hospitality Workers Alliance and the Peoples’ Assembly have been bringing this issue to light. It was not until this past year that Mayor Cantrell started to acknowledge the $180 Million in tourism taxes (such as the hotel tax) that are collected yearly. NONE of this money touches the city’s general budget: it currently goes to private, non-elected boards composed of big business/corporation owners and politicians who use these millions to further fatten their wallets. $180 Million is a quarter of the city’s general budget. We could use this yearly money to fund healthcare, childcare centers, paid vacation and sick leave, quality transportation, AND fix streets.

Tax money is supposed to be collected to use for goods and services for the benefit of the people. How can it be that politicians are nicely asking for the return of tax money from rich capitalists? This is robbery of the people on behalf of big business. Cantrell is complicit and as Mayor, she should be held accountable. Why does she want to give the people’s money to the same rich capitalists who oppress us workers?

Without hospitality workers who hold up the tourism industry, none of the profits or the tourism taxes would flow into the city. Meanwhile who pays high rents, high property taxes, and high sales taxes, all with a constant boot on our neck? Us workers! Who gets huge tax breaks and also makes away with millions in tourism tax money? The Convention Center! In New Orleans workers would need a quadruple raise to make a living wage as we currently make a base of $7.25 an hour and even less as tipped workers at $2.13.

If someone had been taking a quarter of your already-too-small paycheck, every single month, for years and you found out about it; would you kindly ask them to pay you back? Would you only ask for a fraction of it? Would you negotiate? Absolutely not!

We as workers have consistently maintained our demand that ALL of the money be given back to the people. All tax money should go into the general budget for city council discussion and public input. It is not up to the Mayor to unilaterally decide to give this money to the Sewage and Water Board to pay the extremely high salaries of their administrators. These funds will not be used to lower our rates. In fact, the Mayor has said she supports raising taxes for drainage. This scheme does not insure a properly functioning system. It’s because of a lack of public oversight of the board that millions were stolen from the budget before.

We need all of us workers to come together to continue the struggle, and we must be ready to fight for what is ours in the first place.

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Six Companies Control National TV/Cable Media

As of 2019, 90% of the United States’ media is controlled by six media conglomerates: Comcast/NBC; Fox Corporation; Disney/ABC; Viacom; Time Warner Media; and CBS.

118 people who sit on the boards of directors of the 10 biggest media giants are on the corporate boards of 288 national and international corporations, and 8 out of 10 big media giants share common memberships on each other’s boards of directors. (“Big Media Interlocks with Corporate America” by Peter Phillips, CommonDreams.org, June 24, 2005)

This integration occurs at the very pinnacle of corporate power. For instance, board members of ABC/Disney, NBC/GE, CBS/Viacom, CNN/Time Warner, Fox/News Corp., New York Times Co., Washington Post/Newsweek, Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones, Tribune Co., Gannett and Knight-Ridder also sit on the boards of 13 of the Fortune 500’s 25 most profitable companies and have indirect connections to the other 12. This linkage forms a huge matrix of interlocking corporations and monopolies, usually with banks at the center, that control the U.S. and to a large extent the world economy.