“This City Is Ours, Too”
Chicago teachers are on strike today. A high school teacher explains to us why the strike is the union’s best tool to fight for better conditions in the city’s schools and an end to austerity.
19079 Articles by: Jonathan Sas
Jonathan Sas has worked in senior policy and political roles in government, think tanks, and the labor movement. He is an honorary witness to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. His writing has appeared in the Toronto Star, National Post, the Tyee, and Maisonneuve.
The Socialist Agronomist Who Helped End Portuguese Colonialism
Before his assassination in 1973, Amílcar Cabral was one of Africa’s leading anti-colonialists — a brilliant agronomist and socialist whose leadership of the armed struggle against Portuguese rule brought the empire to its knees.
Green Investing Is a Sham
Everywhere you look, the wealthy and powerful are touting “green investing” as a way to fight climate change. It’s not — it’s just a scheme to make some rich people even richer.
Lenín Moreno Has Betrayed Ecuador. Now the Country Is in Revolt.
Ecuador’s Lenín Moreno promised a less “divisive” approach than his left-wing predecessor Rafael Correa. But Ecuadorians are seeing through his con and resisting austerity and neoliberal reforms.
Catalan Democracy Behind Bars
The long prison sentences for the organizers of Catalunya’s outlawed independence referendum are just the latest sign of Spain’s repressive turn. The Catalan crisis has brought the state’s authoritarian impulses to the surface — and set a terrible precedent for criminalizing dissent.
The Chicago Teachers Union Goes on the Offense Against Austerity
The Chicago Teachers Union is on strike this morning. In the face of incredibly restrictive, anti-worker labor law, they’re fighting to win written commitments on class size, staffing levels, privatization, and for the city’s entire working class.
Chicago Looks to Strike
The Chicago Teachers Union has established itself as a union that fights for the entire working class. In striking tomorrow, the union’s strategy is about solidarity — not only within their own union, but with SEIU Local 73, whose members earn poverty wages and are also walking off the job.
Where Elizabeth Warren’s New Votes Are Coming From
Elizabeth Warren is up in the polls lately. Where is her new support coming from? A look at the polls shows she is drawing from Biden’s supporters and perhaps from undecided and lower-ranked candidates — but not Bernie Sanders’s supporters.
Chicago Teachers Want a Nurse in Every School
Schools need nurses. A key demand by the Chicago Teachers Union in their strike that kicks off tomorrow, rejected so far by Mayor Lori Lightfoot: putting more nurses in the city’s schools.
A Conspicuous Silence at the Democratic Debate
Despite a team of moderators who didn’t think viewers needed to hear much from him or about climate change, Bernie Sanders roared back with a strong debate performance.
Turkey’s War in Syria Is a War for Fascism
Turkey’s military invasion isn’t just about wiping out the Kurds in Syria — it’s a bid to bolster the far right in Turkey. We must oppose this unconscionable act.
The Teachers’ Strike Wave Returns Home to Chicago
Chicago’s 2012 walkout inspired a national educators’ upsurge across the country. This week, the movement is set to strike again where it all began.
AOC’s Endorsement of Bernie Makes Perfect Sense
No one should be surprised by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement of Bernie Sanders — just like Sanders, she has continually challenged the neoliberal status quo.
Joe Biden Isn’t an Electable Candidate
Donald Trump couldn’t ask for a better competitor for the presidency than Joe Biden, whose strategy appears to be a rerun of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign minus the brainpower. Biden isn’t the “electable” candidate — Bernie Sanders is.
What’s at Stake in Chicago’s Two Public Education Strikes
The Chicago Teachers Union and SEIU Local 73 are poised to strike in Chicago. This is no ordinary educators’ strike: the two unions are fighting together for an end to poverty wages in schools; forcing the district to hire more social workers, nurses, and librarians; and winning housing relief for both teachers and homeless students.
What Liberals Miss About Trump Country
Liberal pundits look at Trump voters and see a monolithic mass of reactionary resentment. But class matters — poor Republicans actually tend to hold progressive views on the economy.
Fifty Years Ago Today, US Soldiers Joined the Vietnam Moratorium Protests in Mass Numbers
Fifty years ago today, the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam protests swept the entire United States and showed that the antiwar movement was undeniably mainstream. Soldiers who had fought in Vietnam weren’t pitted against that movement — in fact, many were actually part of it.
When German Unions Built Housing for the People
In postwar Germany, a cooperative run by trade unionists created Europe’s largest housing company. Building over 400,000 homes, “Neue Heimat” showed we don’t have to live on the terms dictated by landlords — we can take control for ourselves.
Why Bernie Sanders Is the Best Candidate to Fight Health Disparities for Black Americans
As a black, female family physician, I see the realities of America’s massive racial health disparities every day. Bernie Sanders is the presidential candidate who best understands those disparities and is ready to fight them.
Piketty Down Under
Australia’s economy, like much of the advanced world’s, is in a neoliberal trap. Austerity and inequality caused it, and only the working class can get us out.