Fact is, the food banks are already low on supplies because millions more Americans who aren't even eligible for SNAP and WIC have started to use them because of inflation and stagnant wages. image
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Today in Labor History November 1, 1922: The Bolshevik secret police arrested Russian anarchists Mollie Steimer and Senya Fleshin for the crimes of "aiding criminal elements in Russia" (by which they meant: helping fellow anarchists) and "maintaining ties with anarchists abroad" (specifically Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, both U.S. citizens, who had already fled from the USSR to Germany, after being deported to Russia by the U.S. in 1919). They were ultimately released and arrested again, finally being deported to Germany, thanks to the organizing by foreign anarchists, including Emma Goldman. #workingclass #LaborHistory #communism #anarchism #ussr #soviet #russia #molliesteimer, #emmagoldman image
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This pretty much says what the media refuse (or is unable) to say: Trump's unilateral declaration of renewed nuclear testing, at a time when no other country is testing nuclear weapons, when no other country (besides N. Korea) has done any nuclear tests since 1998 (nearly 30 years ago), does not make us safer. It only brings us closer to nuclear annihilation by signaling to Russia and China that the U.S. intends to defend its hegemony in the Pacific, which China has been increasingly challenging, and push for greater hegemony in Eurasia. In all likelihood, Russia and China will also resume testing. Perhaps India, Pakistan, N Korea, France, England, Israel will, too. What this meme does not say explicitly is that World War is, in fact, class war. It is always at its core an attempt to control markets, resources and labor for the benefit of the dominant powers' wealthy class (or to keep them out of the hands of their competitors). The soldiers and the civilian victims are overwhelmingly working class people and their families. The war economy is powered by the labor of workers, often without the right strike or organize under the threat of prison or death, or through sell-out patriotic collaborations between union bosses and the government. And the war is funded through austerity measures borne entirely by the poor and working class, while the rich continue to sip champagne and scarf caviar in their luxury bunkers. What the meme is really promoting is: Preemptive Class War, led by the Working-Class and for their benefit, before governments have a chance to shove a World War down our throats. #classwar #trump #nuclear #bomb #austerity #imperialism image
Today in Labor History November 1, 1954: Algerians revolted against French colonial rule, beginning a bloody 7Β½ year war which ultimately resulted in Algerian independence. Over 150,000 FLN militants died in the war and 250,000-1,350,000 civilians died, depending on the source. Gillo Pontecorvo made a really great film about the war called the Battle of Algiers. Most of the actors were non-professional local actors who had lived through the real battle. Ennio Morricone composed the film's score. #workingclass #LaborHistory #battleofalgiers #colonialism #france #algeria #repression #film #gillopontecorvo #enniomorricone
Today in Labor History November 1, 1950: Two Puerto Rican Nationalists attempted to assassinate President Truman. 2 days prior, nationalists had attempted to overthrow the Puerto Rican government. In 1954 other nationalists opened fire in the House of Representatives, wounding five Congressmen. They were sentenced to 50 years imprisonment, but were later pardoned. #workingclass #LaborHistory #puertorico #independence #assassination #potus #truman #congress #prison #politicalprisoners image
Today in Labor History November 1, 1919: Over 400,000 miners across the country went on strike. The strike took place in the wake of World War I, and the ongoing Red Scare, in which the authorities were rounding up, imprisoning and deporting thousands of suspected communists, anarchists and radicals. There was also a major steel strike already under way. The mine owners accused the miners of Bolshevism and claimed they were being funded by Lenin and Trotsky. Ultimately, the strike succeeded in winning wage gains for hundreds of thousands of unionized miners. However, conditions for nonunion miners continued to deteriorate, leading to another strike, the following year, in West Virginia. In this strike, the mine owners used private cops to terrorize and murder striking miners, leading to the Matewan Massacre (1920), and the Battle of Blair Mountain (1921), the largest armed insurrection since the Civil War, and the largest labor uprising in U.S. history. Miners also struck in July, 1919, to protest the imprisonment of IWW labor activist Tom Mooney, wrongly convicted for the San Francisco Preparedness Day Parade bombing, and for higher wages to keep up with the post-war inflation. This time, their own union opposed the strike, leading to wild cat actions across the country. Insurgent miners took over the United Mine Workers (UMW) convention in Cleveland, even though union officials tried to exclude rebellious locals. The UMW was so concerned with suppressing wildcat strikes and dissension among their ranks that they even supplied scabs to help mine owners put down the wildcat strikes. Read my article about about the Matewan Massacre and the Battle of Blair Mountain here: Read my article about Tom Mooney here: #workingclass #LaborHistory #mining #coal #union #strike #umw #matewan #massacre #communism #anarchism #prison #deportation #redscare #scab image