Nearly 200 arrested as Belgian youth defy crackdown on education protests
Defence Minister Theo Francken is accelerating plans for a military-trained police force with a remit to crush social disorder.
Robert Stevens•
Educators Rank-and-File Committee
The Educators Rank-and-File Committee is an international network of educators, students, parents, and workers fighting for workers power in the schools, to stop the capitalist destruction of public education and eliminate COVID-19.
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Australian state Labor government decimates drama studies in schools
Labor’s curriculum “de-cluttering” has resulted in a dramatic decline in drama enrolments in New South Wales schools.
Kaye Tucker•
Australia: Silence on Labor’s agenda at University of Melbourne strike rally
Amid rising discontent over deteriorating conditions and continued real pay cuts under the Albanese Labor government, the National Tertiary Education Union is seeking new three-year enterprise agreements with university managements across Australia.
John Wilson•
AFT President Weingarten’s AI “safety standard” is a corporatist pact with Microsoft
The AFT’s “iron-clad” AI safety standard was signed with the company that funds the union’s own AI academy, then carried to a platform shared with the fascist strategist Steve Bannon.
Renae Cassimeda•
Alexander Fangmann•
our reporters•
John Braddock•
Jane Wise•
Our reporters•
Aviation workers vote to establish rank-and-file committee, launch independent workers’ inquiry into death of Montreal Airport ramp worker Oscar Robayo
Robayo, a 39-year-old employee of the French-based multinational Samsic, was crushed to death by the nose gear of an Airbus A350 at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport on August 24.
Our reporter•
Pennsylvania USPS workers form rank-and-file committee: “We call for a struggle that unifies all postal workers”
The postal service—a product of the American Revolution—has been systematically bled over decades by both Democratic and Republican parties. We have been forced to operate like a profit-making company despite the clear intention by the Founding Fathers to have the mail system as a universal right to all in the name of having an informed society able to fight back against tyranny.
Southern Pennsylvania Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
“Attacks on postal workers are accelerating, and the official channels have proven incapable of stopping them”
St. Paul USPS workers found Rank-and-File Committee
The future of the Postal Service will not be decided in our favor if workers remain isolated and passive. Our strength lies in our unity.
St. Paul Processing and Distribution Center Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Postal Workers: Refuse to withhold ballots! Defend mail-in voting and the post office!
We refuse to carry out any order to withhold, delay or “verify” mail-in ballots. We will not be the instrument of the disenfranchisement of the American people.
USPS Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
The Railroad Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Health Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Pierre Lajeunesse•
National Steel Car Rank-and-File Committee•
Industrial Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the term “rank-and-file” mean and where does it come from?
“Rank-and-file” is originally a military term. It refers to the lower “ranks” of soldiers, who literally stand in lines or “files”. These soldiers have a different set of interests in preserving their lives than the officers or “brass” who prosecute the wars on behalf of the ruling elite.
Rank-and-file committees are of, by and for the rank-and-file workers, who have a different set of interests in preserving their lives than management, the bosses, the politicians, and the trade union apparatus, who send workers to die while defending the profits of the ruling elite.
Is it legal to build rank-and-file committees of educators and other workers to stop the spread of COVID-19?
Yes. The formation of rank-and-file committees is 100% completely legal under the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
The right to freedom of speech means you can say whatever you like about what you agree or disagree with. Freedom of association, also covered under the first amendment, means you have the right to associate with others who share your views, for political ends. You also have the right to petition the government for redress, to make demands on the government and tell them what you want them to do.
Does HIPAA law prevent schools or workplaces from disclosing information about the spread of COVID-19?
No. HIPAA has an exception for disclosures to prevent and control the spread of disease, but the state is deliberately not invoking this exception in order to conceal information from workers, so that they can pretend that what they are doing is safe when it’s not.
Rank-and-file educators have the right to know who’s gotten sick, where, when, and what happened. Rank-and-file committees have to demand this information, and have to share it with other workers as a matter of collective self defense.