Americas

A recent event in Portland Oregon highlighted the interest that average people have in the ongoing events in Oaxaca, showcasing the dormant political energy that many are desperately trying to direct into action.

The auto industry in North America is in crisis. Over the past 5 years, many plants have been closed and thousands of workers laid off. This process continued recently when Collins & Aikman declared bankruptcy and announced it would close its plant in Scarborough.

Fightback, the website of the Canadian Marxists, has received the following article by the Communist Party of Québec (PCQ) on the recent Québec elections. We are translating it into English because, while we do not agree 100% with all of the formulations, it contains very interesting analysis that should be made available to activists in English Canada and around the world.

On February 9, 1950 Senator Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin claimed that there were no fewer than two hundred Communists in the State Department. This outrageous allegation unleashed a witch-hunt against everyone who was even slightly "tainted" with left wing, progressive or even vaguely democratic opinions in public life.

The war in Iraq is the most important issue on the minds of American workers and youth. There is an entire generation whose world-view has been entirely shaped by the epoch of war, revolution, and counter-revolution through which we are living. Are the Democrats really doing anything to change the situation?

In the recent election for union leadership, members of the Teamsters union were confronted with a choice. On the one side stood Jimmy Hoffa Jr., who campaigned on the basis of forming a “partnership” with the employers. On the other side stood the challenger, Tom Leedham, who has pressed for mobilizing the membership to act in their own interests and strike in order to win gains.

The end of the 19th century saw the birth of imperialism. Germany, France, Britain and Belgium struggled to gain possession of markets, territory, raw materials and spheres of influence. Originally published in the book Marxism and the USA, published by and available from Wellred.

This was the period of the most violent labor conflicts in the history of the United States. The first of these occurred with the Great Rail Strike of 1877, when rail workers across the nation went out on strike in response to a 10-percent pay cut. Originally published in 2005 in the book Marxism and the USA, published by and available from Wellred.