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Contributions from Bill Fletcher Jr.

Black Work Talk by Convergence

Rob Baril: Health workers say ‘take your knee off our necks’

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In this first episode of Black Work Talk’s Season Two, co-hosts Steven Pitts and Bill Fletcher talk with Rob Baril.  Rob is the president of SEIU 1199NE, a union of health care workers in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Rob talked about how members of SEIU 1199NE have been fighting state officials in Connecticut for better working conditions during the pandemic. 
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Why Progressives Need a National Electoral Strategy—and Fast, by Bill Fletcher

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Every electoral cycle gives me the sense of “Groundhog Day” within progressive circles. It feels as if the same discussion take places over and again. No matter what has transpired in the intervening years; no matter what mass struggles; no matter what theoretical insights; progressives find themselves debating the relative importance of electoral politics and the pros and cons of specific candidates. These debates frequently become nothing short of slugfests as charges are thrown around of reformism, sell-outs and purism. And then, during the next cycle, we are back at it.
Woman holding up a banner that says "I am more than just test scores"

The Chicago Teacher’s Strike and the Struggle for a New Unionism

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One of the most striking features of the Chicago teacher's strike was the level of community support for the teachers. Contrary to public expectations, the strike turned into a social mobilization around education rather than a battle for the special interests of teachers. This feature did not come out of nowhere, but actually reflected an on-going effort to shift the direction of labor unionism in America, and in this case, labor unionism among teachers.
Photo of people at a protest with their hands held in the air

Marxism, The 21st Century and Social Transformation (Part 2) | Bill Fletcher Jr.

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The reshaping of the global Left, and quite possibly global politics, may have been found in the Arab democratic uprising (what some call the "Arab Spring" or Arab Democratic Revolution) that kicked off with the December 2010 rising in Tunisia. Though none of these uprisings can be described as "Left", at least in traditional terms, and though in some places the Left played a role in the uprisings, e.g., Tunisia, the scale and scope of the uprisings has been so significant so as to send shockwaves around the planet that go beyond the Left. In effect, these uprisings were anti-neo-colonial and objectively anti-neo-liberal. They were mass and were not religiously inspired (though drew upon various faiths for inspiration). [iii] And, contrary to many prior risings in the Arab World, they were not coups but rather were mass interventions that in many cases brought normal life to a halt.