SOAS in crisis: a year of struggles
Seth Uzman looks back over the struggles on campus at SOAS in the past academic year, and draws lessons for the higher education sector as a whole.
Revolt in Hong Kong
Charlie Hore provides some background on the magnificent protest movement in Hong Kong, and discusses the strategic dilemmas ahead.
Video: How to strike for climate in your workplace
Youth strikers who will be out again on Friday 21 June have asked adults to join them in a global general strike for the climate on 27 September. What can you do to take part?
Reinstate George Gore
Workers at Colloids in Kirkby have been on indefinite strike since 20 May for the reinstatement of their Unite shop steward. Watch a video interview and find out how to support them.
Motion: Climate emergency (updated)
Bring this motion to your trade union branch to build support for the Youth Strike for Climate and organise towards the climate strike in September.
‘We will bring about change!’ #YouthStrike4Climate No.4
Young people have been striking again around the world for the climate. Year 11 student Junayd Islam reports on the climate strike in Cambridge.
To the climate strikers: thank you for teaching us a lesson
A message of thanks to the youth strikers taking to the streets to demand action on climate change around the world again today.
Global youth strikers: declare a climate emergency
From Mauritius to Manchester, young people around the world walked out of their schools and colleges on Friday 15 March, demanding action on climate change.
How students supported the miners’ strike: an activist remembers
On 6 March 1984, the walkout at Cortonwood Colliery signalled the beginning of the 1984-85 miners’ strike. Colin Revolting remembers how he and his fellow students supported the miners.
‘We are not going to let our world be ruined’
Laura Di Chiara and her school-friends joined the climate strike today and it was much bigger than they expected.
The story of the LA teachers’ strike
Jesse Hagopian talks to LA teacher Gillian Russom about how the teachers in Los Angeles organised, what they won, and what it means for wider education struggles in the USA.
Breakthrough for striking rail guards
Striking rail guards have forced a major climb-down from the Northern rail franchise, but questions remain over what will happen next.
Review: Sorry to Bother You…
Boots Riley’s film Sorry to Bother You (USA, 2018) is a breath of fresh air.
Caring enough to strike: US teachers’ strikes in perspective
Last week, 33,000 Los Angeles teachers went on strike. Tithi Bhattacharya analyses the past year’s teachers strikes from a social reproduction framework.
Deliveroo couriers strike back in Bristol
Deliveroo couriers in Bristol went on strike on Friday demanding better pay.
‘Courageous conversations’: students occupy SOAS library
This week students at SOAS occupied the library in opposition to cuts. Seth Uzman points to the wider education struggles they are part of.
Happy NEU year?
The newly formed National Education Union is currently balloting for action. What are the prospects for the new union and the left within it?
Academies suck… money and life out of our schools
A key dispute in the battle against education privatisation has been unfolding at John Roan school in Greenwich. Support staff will be on strike again next week.
Working-class strategy #HM2018
In the superb final session at the 2018 Historical Materialism Conference, Katy Fox-Hodess and Amanda Armstrong discussed how the left should relate to workers with different sorts of potential power and strengthen connections with struggles against oppression and imperialism: the structural power of workers such as dockers does not exist in isolation from the wider […]
Social reproduction, the Global Women’s Strike and the future of revolutionary theory
The final plenary at the Revenge of Everyday Life conference saw Tithi Bhattacharya and Siggie Vertommen lead a discussion on social reproduction, the Global Women’s Strike and the future of revolutionary theory.
Obituary: Jean Dorothy Parkin, 1921-2018
Brian Parkin looks back at the life of his mother, Jean Dorothy Parkin, who passed away on 14th November.
Notes From Below: Workers’ Inquiries #HM2018
Ian Allinson reports from Historical Materialism conference on the Notes From Below project
What strategy for labour in the US? #HM2018
Ian Allinson reports from a debate at the Historical Materialism Conference about strategy for the US labour movement, with useful lessons for the UK.
We are working women and we make Glasgow
The strike that began today (Tuesday 23 October 2018) in Glasgow may be the biggest equal pay strike in UK history. Pete Cannell reports on Day One. Thanks to Christine, Mike and Eric for their contributions to the report. The two-day strike for equal pay involves more than 8,000 Glasgow council workers, members of the GMB and […]
US prison strike: the slaves rebel
The heroic strike action of prisoners in the United States highlights the potential for revolt among America’s modern-day slave population
Experimenting on our kids: academisation and its discontents
Staff are taking strike action against the academisation of their school in Greenwich. Their next strike days are on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 July, when GMB staff will be joining their striking NEU colleagues. Below is a video of a speech given by Howard Stevenson at a previous strike rally. Introduced by Andy Stone, Joint Secretary, Wandsworth […]
Leaders, leaders, leaders and leaders
Unite the Union activist Ian Allinson discusses the different connotations of the word ‘leader’.
Three days that shook the UCU leadership
Rank-and-file university workers are pushing UCU’s leadership in a bid for democracy, accountability and a fighting union
The death of irony at UCU congress
At the heart of the fight is the question of who controls the union: the officials or the membership?