From classroom to war economy: Trump’s youth workforce agenda
Trump’s workforce initiatives aim to transform K-12 and higher education into a pipeline for the defense industrial base and the broader war economy.
Renae Cassimeda•
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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Texas Republicans strip immigrant college students of eligibility for in-state tuition
The Republican-led attack on immigrant students in Texas is part of the ruling class’ attempt to establish a presidential dictatorship in the United States.
Eddie Haywood•
Chicago Public Schools floats plan to overturn teachers’ contract to slash budget deficit
CPS officials are proposing to “delay” hiring librarians, nurses and staff needed to reduce class sizes, vindicating warnings by the WSWS that teachers would come under attack if the CTU and Johnson administration were allowed to block strike action.
Alexander Fangmann•
Under pressure from far-right congressmen, Eastern Michigan University ends US-Chinese research partnerships
In February, far-right Michigan Congressmen John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Tim Walberg, chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, sent letters to EMU calling on them to end joint partnerships with Chinese universities.
Stephen St. Clair•
Jane Wise•
A WSU Rank-and-File Committee member•
Marc Wells, Nancy Hanover•
Our reporter•
Bill Shaw•
National strike by Canada Post workers sabotaged by CUPW bureaucracy
At every point during the current long-running contract struggle, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers’ leadership has made decisions designed to put workers in the worst possible position to wage their fight to defend secure jobs and public services, and exert control over the use of AI and new technologies.
Roger Jordan•
Stop the layoffs at Mack and Volvo Trucks! Unite across plants, industries, and borders to defend jobs and oppose war!
Volvo Group’s decision to lay off nearly 1,000 workers is part of the global attack on the jobs, wages and conditions of the working class. These attacks must be resisted!
Mack and Volvo Trucks Workers Rank-and-File Committees•
US postal workers discuss how to fight privatization at USPS Workers Rank-and-File Committee meeting
The meeting discussed the program from the Committee’s recent statement in response to the appointment of David Steiner, a member of the Fedex Board of Directors, as new Postmaster General, and took reports from postal workers around the world.
our reporter•
Vote for the Action Committee list in the Berlin Transport staff council elections!
We are running in the staff council elections to free us from the straitjacket of the Verdi (Public Service workers trade union) and build genuine rank and file resistance.
Transport Workers Action Committee•
USPS Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
USPS Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees•
National Steel Car Rank-and-File Committee•
Transport Workers’ Action 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.