Workers Struggles: The Americas
Argentina: Mass protest in defense of public health; Brazilian Government workers protest in Natal; California farm workers to strike against ICE raids;
The London Bus Rank-and-File Committee and the Socialist Equality Party are calling for the reinstatement of London bus driver David O’Sullivan, sacked for upholding workers’ rights to health and safety during a pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 60 bus workers in the capital.
The death rate among London bus drivers is three times the national average, with the families of those killed demanding answers.
In London, Berlin, Paris, New York, Sao Paulo and India, bus and transport workers are fighting back. O’Sullivan’s sacking is a test case for the rights of key workers everywhere. Join the campaign today!
O’Sullivan, 57, was sacked on February 3, after he sounded the alarm over the spread of COVID-19 infections at Cricklewood bus garage in north west London. The rate of fatalities among London bus drivers is three times the national average, with the families of those killed demanding answers.
Argentina: Mass protest in defense of public health; Brazilian Government workers protest in Natal; California farm workers to strike against ICE raids;
There is growing anger among Philadelphia city workers as AFSCME District Council 33 fails to deliver promised strike stipends, compounding outrage over a sellout tentative agreement.
On July 9 workers at the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) voted by 98 percent to 2 percent to authorize a strike, another indication of the growing anger and militancy among workers across the United States, and internationally, where waves of strikes and protests are increasing.
In the fourth 24-hour strike since May, drivers protested against declining real wages and attacks on their rosters and other working conditions.
Management at Berlin’s BVG local transit company has decided to postpone the reintroduction of front boarding. Drivers must ensure front doors remain closed until they agree it is safe.
The massive “no” vote registered at Park Royal, Stamford Brook and Shepherds Bush speaks to a growing mood of opposition to Unite’s record of collusion.
The refusal of Unite to outline the deal and organise a ballot can only mean that what is being proposed is so toxic that Unite is working frantically on how to sell it to the Go North West drivers and to prevent an angry backlash.
“We are not cattle and will not be sacrificed to protect the profits of the corporations and banks who have made a financial killing during the pandemic,” states the resolution passed by the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee.