Mexican teachers, particularly in the south of the country, have joined a regional rebellion of rank-and-file teachers that erupted in violence in late April. In the state of Guerrero the offices of all three major political parties were vandalized and set afire to protest their support for the educational reform passed by congress and the states over the last five months. At the same time there have been marches and demonstrations in several other states, and there are plans afoot to strike indefinitely beginning on May 1.
Author: newpolitics
Human Rights and the POSCO Struggle
One of the most inspiring examples of people fighting back against the predations of international capital is taking place in the Jagatsinghpur district of the Indian state of Orissa (also spelled Odisha).
Yoo hoo to the AFT and NEA: Support the Garfield teachers, for real
Teachers at Garfield HS in Seattle, Washington are re-launching the MAP test boycott of the spring test with a press conference at which they will announce important developments. Garfield teachers are concerned that because evaluations are directly tied to the spring version of the test, the district will not give the same leeway for their boycott this spring.
Students fighting for their future – and ours – in Santiago, Newark, Chicago
Student protests in defense of public education as a right are spreading across the globe. The courage young people are showing is remarkable, as they confront governments who do the bidding of bankers while pretending to put “students first.” Student protests in Chile have resumed, with between 80,000 – 150,000 young people taking to the streets in Santiago, to demand free public education.
The Indiana University Student Strike
The Indiana University (IU) student strike of April 11-12, 2013, was an important milestone in new student activism.
How to understand that "fawning interview" with Bill Gates – look to the World Bank
In her informative blog, Diane Ravitch refers, correctly,to a “fawning interview” with Bill Gates. I think we have to move beyond these visceral reactions to understand why this is occurring. And to do that, we have to look at the international picture. I’ve been told that when I discuss this international picture, it sounds like I’m describing a “conspiracy.” Heavens no! Conspiracies are secret, and this is a public project.
Nicaragua Notes: The Watchmen, the Hunters and Gatherers, the Street Vendors
The Watchmen
In Managua one finds uniformed guards in front of the banks, in the shopping malls like Metro Centro, in the grocery stores, and anywhere else there is likely to be substantial amounts of money. These men have the status bestowed by a uniform and the authority commanded by carrying a pistol. One could say that they are the elite of their profession, but they are far outnumbered by the lumpenguardia found on every middle class street of the capital city.
Teachers are guilty of "labour terrorism"?
Teachers are guilty of “labour terrorism”? Sounds too ridiculous to take seriously?
Towards meaningful solidarity? Union democracy too?
As readers of New Politics and/or my new book probably know, I’m not bashful about criticizing the politics and policies of the international confederation of teachers unions, the Education International (EI). So what does it mean that the EI has just published my blog about what EI should be doing – but isn’t?
Notes on teacher unionism in the UK – same struggle as here
Preamble: Last weekend I spoke at the annual conference of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) in Liverpool, the UK’s largest teachers union. Largest in Europe too, I think. (NUT – correct me if I’m wrong, please.)
South Africa–The Marikana Massacre and the New Wave of Workers’ Struggle
An Interview with Mazibuko Jara of the South African Democratic Left Front
[This article will be appearing in the summer 2013 issue of New Politics.]
Timing of the Chicago School closings?
Rahm Emanuel has timed these school closings to frighten Chicago teachers, to punish them for their successful challenge to the rich and powerful who control Chicago’s schools, to make Chicago teachers doubt their strength — and to sway the upcoming union election.
Rebutting David Greenberg's Hit Job on Howard Zinn
The March 25 issue of The New Republic offers a lengthy piece by Rutgers professor David Greenberg, “Agit-Prof: Howard Zinn’s Influential Mutilations of American History.” The essay presented as a review of Martin Duberman’s Howard Zinn: A Life on the Left (2012) [read the review by Ron Briley, the book editor of History News Network (HNN), hereRead more ›
Logos symposium on Labor
Logos, the online, on point and highly readable journal of modern society & culture features in its most recent issue a symposium on the future of US unions. In addition to a piece by me [“So Why Don’t We Have Better Unions?“] are contributions from Melvin Dubofsky, Bill Fletcher Jr., and Steve Early and Rand Wilson. All worth reading. Enjoy.
The Last American Idealist
LAPD killer Dorner's insane rampage was fired by a naïve faith in the country's political myth
Christopher Dorner's brutal killings of multiple people vaguely associated with the Los Angeles police have caused debates over both the department's deployment of manhunt drones and the disastrous trigger-happiness that had them showering bullets on any hapless civilian with the misfortune to d
Nicaragua: Hunger, Malnutrition, and the Fight to End Them
School began this week for children all over Nicaragua, but even before children entered the classroom the Nicaraguan government had begun supplying its School Feeding Program as the Ministry of Education transferred food from warehouses to 10,000 schools in 153 municipalities. For many Nicaraguan children, the School Feeding Program is essential to preventing hunger and malnutrition.
Nicaragua: Contentious Debate Over Social Security Reform
Nicaragua is in the midst of a contentious debate that could become a serious social struggle over the reform of the nation’s Social Security system. President Daniel Ortega’s Sandinista government has proposed to increase the retirement age, the number of years one has to work, and the number of required contributions.
What Happened to the Nicaraguan Revolution?: A View from the Rank and File
When the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) led the Nicaraguan people to victory over the dictatorship of Anastasio Samoza in 1979, Wilmer (not his real name) was only 14 years old. Having come from a family of modest means, he identified with the revolution that ended the long repressive rule of the Samoza family that with U.S. backing had for 43 years run, ransacked and ultimately ruined Nicaragua.
HP and the Occupation
In December 2009, the Israeli Knesset passed a law allowing for the creation of a biometric database of the inhabitants of Israel. As of January 2013, the program is in its initial testing stage.
The Sandinista Government has Failed the Women of Nicaragua: Solis
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista government have failed the country's women. That was the message delivered by Azahalea Solís, an attorney and a member of Nicaragua's Autonomous Women's Movement, speaking at the Ben Lindner Center in Managua on January 17 to an audience of Nicaraguans and American students from various universities.
Free Russian Political Prisoners!
We the undersigned call for the liberation of the Russian political prisoners, both those already condemned, and sent to the new Gulag, like the two feminist activists of the Pussy Riot group, and those in jail awaiting trial – some 20 activists, socialists and anti-fascists, in connection with the demonstrations against Putin on May 6th.
