New York City, October 10- With chants blasting the university bosses’ complicity with fascism and signs denouncing the MAGA attacks on universities, over 150 faculty, staff, students, and supporters picketed City University of New York (CUNY) headquarters. We demanded the reinstatement of four faculty organizers from Brooklyn College who had been summarily fired the previous June for supporting students protesting genocide in Gaza. Inside, the CUNY bosses were conducting a grievance hearing lodged by the faculty-staff union on behalf of the “Fired Four.”

The protest was sponsored by the union (PSC: Professional Staff Congress). Members of the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) played an important role— as part of the organizing committee, leading chants, and carrying union banners (“come for one, face us all”). We are organizing at several campuses to reinstate the Fired Four and improve conditions for students, but also to fight for a better world. As the capitalists attack workers and students everywhere, we must build a revolutionary movement that gets rid of capitalism once and for all. The rally culminated in everyone singing a song written by a PLP member, listing the bosses’ hypocrisies and vowing continued, united action until the firing is rescinded. The mood of the protestors was militant and anti-fascist. Dozens of CHALLENGEs were distributed.

Protests erupt at Brooklyn College

At Brooklyn College the process began in the spring of 2025. As the semester started, the campus seemed politically dead. Previously the union leadership had accepted a disappointing contract that reduced job protection. In the previous year, students and faculty had regularly protested the university’s complicity in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. But by January 2025, that activity had diminished. With the election of President Donald Trump, assaults on immigrant students in the university seemed imminent. The mood on campus was grim.

However, within weeks, resistance began to reappear: students organized the “Brooklyn College Student Union” to resist ICE; faculty organizers demanded that the College keep ICE off-campus. On May 8, two noon-time demonstrations bloomed on Brooklyn College’s East Quad. Adjunct instructors demanded the meager bonuses they’d been promised, and roughly 60 students appeared, peacefully protesting the enforced starvation of Palestinians in Gaza. Campus cops immediately threatened the students, who had erected three small tents. In solidarity faculty unionists chanted and linked arms to support the students.

The ‘liberal’ college bosses call the cops; cops go berserk

The ‘liberal’ CUNY bosses, and their Brooklyn College lackeys immediately called out the NYPD. An overwhelming assembly of cops, patrol cars, vans, and special tactics thugs gathered outside the campus, out of sight of the demonstrators. They were ready to pounce, and pounce they did.

They poured onto campus, pushing students off the campus grounds, arresting at least one student who was merely videoing the events. Once off campus the cops went berserk, beating, tasing, and arresting students - a full-scale police riot against students who had peacefully protested the starvation of Palestinian children.

The CUNY bosses falsely claimed they were protecting educational activities. But the administration disrupted education, needlessly shutting the entire campus down. The next day, with no demonstrations, they did the same thing. Their concern with education is as phony as their pretense of being “liberal good guys.” Actually these Democratic Party ‘liberals’ are more dangerous than the MAGA fascists because of this “good guy” image.

A mini class war ensued:

*The Student Union met to discuss the May 8 events. The campus cops and Brooklyn College legal beagle Jacyln Helms broke up the meeting.

*Faculty sharply confronted President Michelle Anderson in the Faculty Council. She responded with feigned innocence and outright lies.

*The university bosses fired four faculty, all women, all highly respected and loved by their students. Top CUNY boss Felix Rodríguez actually boasted about the firings in a fascist committee in Congress.

*Over the summer there were petitions, letters, Signal discussion groups, union denunciations, and a remarkable demonstration of 200 faculty, staff, students and supporters during a thunderstorm downpour (See CHALLENGE, 8/1).

*The CUNY bosses singled out five more faculty (all women again) and one lab technician, launching formal “investigations” against them. During the first meetings of the “investigations” Brooklyn College protestors lined the corridor outside the Provost’s office wearing red; one PLP member carried a “No Fascism at Brooklyn” sign.

Join Progressive Labor Party to fight for communism

The struggle continues to reinstate the Fired Four  and drop the investigations of the Singed Six. It has now spread to other CUNY campuses. But this is just one battle as fascism spreads around the world. Both the ‘liberals’ and the Trumpers are preparing their different brands of fascism as they prepare for more wars and world war. We, the working class, must prepare and organize to get rid of the whole damn capitalist system. Revolutionary communists from the Progressive Labor Party and their allies must play an important role in these struggles, adding energy, originality, and militance. But, during these struggles we must also build the Party. Throughout these events, hundreds of copies of CHALLENGE have been distributed, and deeper connections have developed. Much more could have been done along these lines and we are going to do more. Only by building the movement for a communist revolution will we ever be able to throw the bosses and their fascist stooges out for good and replace it with a system that is run by and for the working class, a system where education really matters.

No doubt two million in Gaza are relieved that the bombs have stopped falling, for now at least, but a safe and happy life is sadly not in store for them. Although only about 70,000 deaths will be attributed to the war, virtually everyone will have been devastated by the loss of loved ones, disease, life-changing injuries, debilitation and/or psychological trauma. Ninety percent of children are said to have mental symptoms like nightmares, bed wetting or regression of social relations, let alone having lost two years of education. Virtually every hospital, university, sanitation plant and 90 percent of homes have been destroyed. 

Workers in Palestine still won’t be safe 

It is not even certain that hostilities will not restart. Israel is said to have reserved the right to resume fighting if all hostages are not freed within 72 hours, which may not even be logistically possible. Hamas has not actually agreed to disarm and today was said to have mobilized 7,000 armed fighters to patrol areas vacated by Israeli forces (Mondoweiss, 10/11). Israel still has military control of 53 percent of Gaza, even if not actively killing people, and may have promised to release 1,700 prisoners, but they actually hold 11,000, many without charges. There is no agreement to allow heavy equipment to enable rubble clearance or rebuilding, which was also denied after past conflicts. There is no plan to tear down the wall, end Israeli control of all goods and services, or allow freedom of movement to Gazans. The occupation and subjugation of Gaza will continue.

‘Peace deal’ will only benefit bosses’ pockets

This “peace” deal only came about because the rulers of the U.S. and its allied Arab potentates were fed up with Israel causing mass anger among the workers of the world with its genocide, topped off by bombing Qatar, home of a huge U.S. airbase. Moreover, Trump’s real estate cronies, Kushner and Witkoff, will be in a better position to make lucrative deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. Whether they will actually create a “Riviera” in Gaza is doubtful, but the U.S. is planning to send 200 U.S. troops and exert ongoing control via a Transitional Authority run by Tony Blair. Meanwhile, expanding settlements and violence in the West Bank are making its annexation into Israel ever closer.

Unfortunately, there is no group in Palestine or the Middle East that is led by the working class with its liberation as its goal. Neither Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, or any other formation is fighting for workers’ power in opposition to capitalists, be they Arab, Jewish or American. For those of us who have been active in the movement against genocide, it means continuing to unite with all workers opposing various aspects of fascism - deportations, cutbacks, attacks on science and academic freedom - and building a unified anti-capitalist movement. Not until there is a new international communist movement that unites Arab and Jewish workers, indeed all workers of the world, will the Palestinians, or any of us, have a chance of a good, safe and productive life.

On October 4th, some comrades of mine, as well as some friends of the Progressive Labor Party (PLP), went to Jersey City for a rally and march against the genocide in Gaza. We struggled with each other to remember the importance of getting communist politics out to workers who are standing against attacks on the working class internationally. We distributed close to 100 CHALLENGEs, practiced injecting communist chants that sharpened the politics of the protest, and brought our base closer to the Party. 

That PLP and all of its members need to be out in the streets bringing our line to workers is ESPECIALLY true when workers are being led astray by misleaders trafficking in reformism and nationalism. If reformism and nationalism are the only thing workers are exposed to, we cannot be surprised when that is what workers come to believe in. We must be there to explain why the answer isn’t “vote for Mikie Sherrill” or “Free Palestine”, but instead for workers to fight for communism.

And yet so many of us get so timid when the time comes to actually do so. We hesitate to hand out CHALLENGEs, and if we do so we try to avoid ‘stepping on anyone’s toes’. We can hear the anticommunism in our own heads. “How can you say that Palestinians don’t need their own state?” “Now is not the time to be talking about revolution.” Even though we KNOW such ideas bring the working class right back to capitalism, right back to more wars, more racist and nationalist divisions, and more powerlessness. Workers in Palestine do not need their own capitalist state or a ‘ceasefire’ that will not last brokered by the same bosses who started the war. They need communism. Undocumented workers do not need a politician who offers anti-ICE rhetoric. They need communism. The entire working class has no use for nationalism or reformism. They need communism. They need PLP and its line. 

That is why we struggled with each other to distribute CHALLENGEs even while organizers of the event were making speeches about the slaughter in Palestine. That is why when event organizers were shouting chants to free Palestine, we used our megaphone to add chants of “Arab, Jewish, Black and white, workers of the world unite!” When workers were asked to scan QR codes linked to the campaign websites of Democrats, we spoke to workers about intensifying imperialist rivalry and fascism, and the need for communist revolution.

Feelings of timidity like this are linked to our own anticommunist ideas, and we all have them. We must work together with our comrades to fight back against those anti-worker ideas, both in ourselves and in others. That is how we will win a communist revolution that will truly end these wars and benefit workers all over the world.

BX: connect Gaza to campus struggles 

Students and professors from two campuses in the Bronx took to the streets once more, this time to mourn the innocent victims of Gaza and call for continued fightback.  It was a somber demonstration on the two-year anniversary of the genocide. A little over a dozen students and faculty members stood outside of the campus, holding in their arms replicas of babies in white burial shrouds, baby coffins, as well as very real images of parents holding their dead and starving children -the very same images that our news media would have us ignore.

“CUNY is complicit in genocide”, our sign read, and we refuse to let this go unchecked. Bullhorn in hand, we reminded everyone that the fascism that is ever more present in Washington, DC is rampant in  our school system, as CUNY professors are being targeted and fired for supporting student protesters and speaking out against the genocide themselves (#reinstatethefiredfour). As the busy foot traffic of the Grand Concourse flowed by, we distributed 100 copies of CHALLENGE to students and other pedestrians. As they walked by, the brutal images of death we displayed caught everyone’s attention. The students going to and from classes were very receptive to our presence and began chanting with us as we marched down the block. They gave us high fives and fist pumps as we made the connection between the recent collapse of a building in the South Bronx and the war in Gaza. All the while campus security stood close by and kept a watchful eye on our group.

We stopped our mini march across the street on the steps of the old post office to engage Bronx commuters and workers. We read our statements again for those stepping on and off the MTA buses, even hopping on the buses ourselves and handing out CHALLENGE to the bus drivers! We wanted to communicate to the working people that the consequences of this genocide are not only being felt by the families of Gaza but also by families of the South Bronx. Monies that could be used to better the lives of Bronxites are being misdirected to murder innocent Palestinians. Congressman of the South Bronx, Richie Torres (Democrat), consistently defends Israel’s actions and agrees to sending billions of dollars and weapons to the illegal apartheid state, while accepting two million dollars in blood money from pro-Israel groups.

The demonstration was received well by students, workers and commuters alike. As we packed up and debriefed, we were excited to talk about all the students who were eager to join our group and fight for Gaza and against fascism and racism. We commented how a small but dedicated group of organizers could make a big difference. In only a week’s time our collective wrote a bilingual leaflet, had the photographs printed as posters, organized our group to wear white, created the coffins and shrouds, and got some faculty and students to stand with us. The main organizer closed our debrief by saying- “I feel very proud of how we always show up for each other.”
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Workers fight to find Abril 

On September 17 2025 Abril was seen for the last time. She was a teacher who lived her whole life in Michoacán. She gave classes in Acambaro Guanajuato kindergarten. We want to keep fighting all this sexism and impunity the best way we know how until we find the teacher Abril. She is a treasured valuable person in our village. She often helps adults learn to read and tutors students in grade school and much more. 

All we know so far is that we found her burned car, but there is no sign of her. The workers in the village have gone out to the streets to demand help from the government and to unite forces together to make an immediate search. The main class participating in this movement is the working class. Their jobs are mostly as teachers or day laborers. They stayed in front of the president of the municipality for almost two weeks.

The government initially helped with drones and dogs to search, but this help did not last long. The government forces left, and the workers are continuing the search on their own from Monday to Sunday in different communities. They are raising funds for gasoline and other costs.

The workers have already long felt that they cannot depend on the capitalist class’s state. We want to win them to consciousness for fighting as a working class against sexism. In the future we will try to win the workers to the idea of revolution instead of voting for more reformist candidates.

But also we have to keep looking at ourselves and demanding help from the right authorities until we arrive at a conclusion. Everything has a start and a beginning, and Abril is not an exception. 
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Starbucks workers brew fightback 

On the morning of October 1st, approximately 100 Starbucks workers and supporters from the Hotel Workers Union, retired teachers from the United Federation of Teachers, and Local 1010 of the Laborers Union– held a spirited picket line. The goal demonstrates their determination to get management back to the bargaining table for a better contract and benefits.

Picketers chanted “What do we want? A contract. If we don’t get it, shut it down.Who’s got the power? We got the power. If the contract isn’t nice, there will be no pumpkin spice.”

A couple of local assembly members gave speeches in their support, and a retired teacher addressed the crowd as well. Fight rising fascism was the theme of his remarks, letting the pickets know their fight was an inspiration to workers everywhere. Several CHALLENGEs were distributed to enthusiastic responses.

As the struggle accelerates, these sorts of actions are important, and Party members should get out to picketing workers, make contact and distribute CHALLENGE. Step by step we need to bring these militant workers the message of communism.
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