São Paulo teachers continue strike for better wages and against school privatization
The attacks on education in São Paulo and around the world are part of the increasing shift of the world’s ruling elite towards war and fascism.
Guilherme Ferreira•
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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Fight for a socialist movement of the working class to defend students, academic freedom and democratic rights!
More than 1,500 student visas have been summarily revoked, including at least four at Wayne State University. Campus workers who have spoken out against genocide are having their jobs terminated at the University of Michigan.
International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) at Wayne State University•
Harvard files suit against Trump funding freeze
On Monday, Harvard University sued the Trump administration and demanded an injunction against the government’s cutoff of over $3 billion in grants that are vital to the ongoing research and educational work of the oldest university in the US.
Kevin Reed•
Trump Education Secretary Linda McMahon unleashes debt collectors on millions of delinquent student loan holders
The US Department of Education, aiming to end federal loan support for students, has announced aggressive debt collection measures targeting nearly 10 million former students delinquent or in default on their college loans.
Nancy Hanover•
Marc Wells, Kimie Saito•
Mike Head, SEP candidate for the seat of Oxley•
Our correspondent•
Mike Head, SEP candidate for the seat of Oxley•
Steve Light, Jesse Thomas•
Oppose the Verdi union’s divide-and-rule strategy: For a united strike by German postal, public service and transport workers
The Verdi leadership unreservedly supports the warmongering policy of both the outgoing and incoming federal governments.
Joint appeal by the postal, public service and BVG action committees•
Australia: Committee for Public Education holds online meeting to unite educators, workers and students against the assault on public education
The reports and discussions outlined the crisis in public education and emphasised the urgent need for educators to form independent organisations of struggle to counter the widening attacks on public education and democratic rights.
Our reporter•
US Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee holds online meeting against Trump’s threats to privatize USPS
Postal workers, outraged at the betrayals of the trade unions, discussed what needed to be done now to protect jobs, which included unifying all sections of the working class in a common struggle against oligarchy and dictatorship.
Jacob Crosse•
Emergency meeting: Stop Trump’s moves to privatize USPS! Oppose the illegitimate NALC contract!
USPS workers must link up with other sections of the federal workforce, with auto workers, logistics workers, and other sections of the working class, and with postal workers internationally facing the same threat of privatization.
USPS Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Transport Workers Action Committee•
Transport Workers Action Committee•
A Costco worker•
Committee for Public Education•
Jacob Crosse•
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.