Texas university systems attack freedom of speech, limit discussion on gender
Two of Texas' largest university systems have ordered "audits" of gender courses as Republicans carry out agitation against "LGBTQ ideology."
Chase Lawrence•
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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Mass layoffs at the Department of Education target special education
Trump has seized on the government shutdown to decimate the vast ecosystem of programs and services that form the backbone of disability rights in America.
Nancy Hanover•
Oppose Labor’s “national priorities” university restructuring and job cuts
Labor’s restructuring, combined with steep cuts to international student enrolments, is driving the destruction of some 4,000 staff jobs nationally and radically impacting the education quality, course options and futures of students.
Committee for Public Education and IYSSE (Australia)•
Australia: Kindergarten teachers take industrial action, but union seeks a deal
Since the educators held their first strike in 11 years, the Australian Education Union has held back any further action against the Victorian Labor government.
Carolyn Kennett•
Jesse Thomas, Steve Light•
Nancy Hanover•
Dan Conway•
A WSU Rank-and-File Committee member•
Kimie Saito, Marc Wells•
Air Canada flight attendants reject sellout wage deal in massive rebuke to union bureaucracy, Carney government
The vote’s outcome underlines the urgent necessity of flight attendants at Air Canada and across North America, as well as workers in every economic sector, establishing their organizational and political independence from the trade union bureaucracy.
Roger Jordan•
Philadelphia teachers: Prepare for a struggle—break the cycle of sellout, unite the working class, and build rank-and-file power!
The Philadelphia Workers Rank-and-File Strike Committee calls for teachers and all city workers to build independent rank-and-file power to defeat austerity, union betrayal, and attacks on living standards.
Philadelphia Workers Rank-and-File Strike Committee•
What way forward for postal workers after the rejection of Canada Post’s concessions-laden contract?
The contract rejection must become the launching pad for a renewed fight based on an entirely new strategy—one that breaks the stranglehold of the CUPW bureaucracy and mobilizes the immense social power of the entire working class.
Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee (Canada)•
The lessons of the Philadelphia municipal strike and the way forward
The Philadelphia municipal strike was not the end but the opening act in a rapid series of confrontations in Philadelphia and beyond.
Philadelphia Workers Rank-and-File Strike Committee•
our reporters•
Philadelphia Workers Rank-and-File Strike Committee•
Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee (Canada)•
Philadelphia Workers Rank-and-File Strike Committee•
our reporter•
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.