LONDON, ENGLAND, May 5 — A thousand teachers and students marched side by side through central London today to protest severe cuts to the United Kingdom’s (U.K.) higher- and further-education sectors. Chanting “No ifs, no buts, no education cuts” they marched past the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey to a rally addressed by teacher and student unions.

Management at several U.K. universities have already backed down in the past few weeks and called off compulsory redundancies (layoffs) following decisive action by the unions.

Many more universities and further-education colleges are trying to lay off hundreds of teaching staff, claiming tight budgets and government cuts leave them no alternative. The University and College Union (UCU) that represents these workers has examined the figures put forward by one university and says that poor financial decisions by bosses are behind the proposed job cuts. Management has refused to consider alternatives to the layoffs.

Students are standing alongside their teachers in protest of larger classes and fewer teachers for the same fees. They know that cuts in teaching jobs translate into cuts in their education. Students have set up their own campaign to fight cuts at the University of Westminster and occupied the vice-chancellor’s office in a two-day sit-in earlier this spring.J

Wells Fargo, an official sponsor of Juneteenth in most cities, systematically sold racist subprime mortgages to black workers. “Subprime loans” became well known in 2007. Tens of thousands of workers were duped by banks to buy a house at low interest rates while never being told that the rates would skyrocket.

A New York Times study found that black households that made more than $68,000 a year were five times as likely to receive a subprime loan as whites with similar or lower incomes. For Wells Fargo borrowers, this disparity was even greater with whites in that income group holding two percent of the subprime loans compared to 16.1 percent for blacks. Mortgage lenders at Wells Fargo
often referred to these subprime loans as “ghetto loans,” referring to the black working class they targeted. Wells Fargo specifically targeted black churches, hoping church leaders could help convince their congregation to take out thse loans. J

GETTYSBURG, PA — The Neo-Nazi Aryan Nations are planning a rally here June 19, to try to recruit to their extremely racist, anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic fascism.

The local YWCA is planning a “celebration of diversity,” to pull people away from attacking the Aryan Nations, saying it is better to not call attention to them. But PLP knows from decades of experience fighting groups such as the Aryan Nations and the KKK that the only way to defeat them is to attack them head-on. PLP has a long and successful history of smashing the ruling class’ thugs.

The Gettysburg Police Department (GPD) has already announced that they will be providing security for the Aryan Nations, at a high cost to local taxpayers. In addition “the majority of everything involved is going to be taken care of by the National Park Service,” said Chief Dougherty [of the GPD], adding that federally-trained officers are attending the event.

The ruling class will always send their cops to protect racist groups’ rallies. Racism is a necessity of capitalism, needed to break working-class unity and keep all workers’ wages lower. The bosses and politicians are the biggest perpetrators and benefactors of racism.

PLP will always confront and smash Nazis and fascists in the streets, and will be in Gettysburg to show that the working class cannot ignore an attack on black, Latino and immigrant workers.

Ultimately, the only way to end both the racism inherent in capitalism and to smash these gutter racists is to fight for multi-racial working-class unity. Join PLP in Gettysburg, and build the anti-racist fight for communist revolution. J

SAN FRANCISCO, June 7 — As CHALLENGE reported in March, MUNI (SF mass transit) drivers rejected a “concession package” recommended by their TWU Local 250a Union leadership. This put a wrench in corporate SF’s plan to solve the transit deficit by cutting labor costs. Recently, Mayor Newsom said: “It’s critical that TWU step up and join every other labor union…by ratifying the $14 million in labor concessions their leadership agreed to…. These…would immediately reverse nearly three-quarters of the $28.8 million in service cuts.” (SF Chronicle, 5\21)

In addition, SF Supervisors are trying to mobilize voters against the drivers with two Charter amendments which attack their wage and benefit package.  The SF Chronicle editorialized (5/19): “…drivers haven’t had to lift a finger when it comes to easing MUNI’s  financial burdens…With its pay rates locked into the city charter, the union can continue to thumb its nose at city officials and riders.”

The Joint City Workers’ Committee of the SF Labor Council has followed the Mayor’s lead. They delivered concessions from all City workers but police, fire and nurses. The chairperson declared that his “primary work for the next few months will be to get MUNI operators to make concessions to the City.” This leadership puts some workers in a mental jail.  For example, an operator said, “Everyone is suffering so we have to give something up. If we just give a little, they’ll leave us alone.”

It’s the drivers’ strategic position and ability to bring the City to a halt that drives the corporate media and politicians in this well-planned media frenzy.

Ideas Are Changing

Drivers are furious. One said, “My dad would be rolling over in his grave if he saw what’s happening!” Another said, “Many of us were the pride of our communities, now we’re the bad guys.” Old expectations are dying. Others express a new urgency and some fear: “Before, I just came to work and went home to my family without thinking about the job. I left all that to the union; I can’t do that anymore.”

Appearance Is Not Always Reality

Since 1967, the City Charter seemed to protect the drivers. Wages and benefits are “equal to the average of the top two” transit districts in the U.S.  It lulled both the union leaders and many members into thinking,  “We automatically get raises, we don’t have to strike and we’ll sue.”  This so-called “guarantee” is what the City politicians want to remove to “fix MUNI.”  

As PLP members point out, no law, no City Charter can protect us from ever-increasing demands from the capitalist class.  They are squeezing more out of workers in this country to pay for wars for oil and competition with other capitalists worldwide. Productivity has doubled. This City Charter did not protect families from growing debt, foreclosures, shrinking purchasing power, deteriorating schools, or expensive health coverage. Because of  racism, this hit the predominantly black and Latino workforce and ridership particularly hard.

The Charter may appear to give us a break from fighting back, but the City powers will break it, find a “legal loophole” or change it when their economic necessity (profits) demands it. This is capitalism’s reality for the working class.

In the face of changing lives and these vicious attacks, drivers organized job actions which the union leadership sabotaged.  PLP members are in the class struggle while engaged in debates as drivers sort all this out. They are asking questions like:

Why do the union leaders interfere when we try to fight back?

Can the Charter or the government help us?

Who are our friends? Can workers organize solidarity?

Vote for concessions or VOTE NO and prepare to fight?

Can we strike? Will we win or lose?

Can we really destroy capitalism and is communism a viable alternative? J

(For further debate, see next issue)