Over the past several days, a massive tornado outbreak in the US has led to a series of deaths in workplaces, due to the bosses’ refusal to take even minimum steps to keep employees safe. Tragedies such as these amount to corporate murder. They expose the callousness inherent to capitalism, which sacrifices workers’ lives on the altar of profit on a daily basis.
Last August, the brutal police shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, reignited the flames of the Black Lives Matter movement in the small town of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Thousands came out against racism and police terror as protests again spread, first to Milwaukee, Chicago, and then to major cities from coast to coast.
This week saw the conclusion of a month-long strike involving over 10,000 United Auto Workers (UAW) workers at John Deere, the world’s largest farming equipment manufacturer. Workers at 14 facilities in five US states returned to work on Wednesday having approved a contract that guarantees them an immediate 10 percent wage rise, improved retirement benefits and an $8,500 signing bonus.
