Protests Erupt in Solidarity with Michigan 8
Following the arrest of the Michigan 8 on June 10, revolutionary workers and students around the country mobilized to demand that charges against the arrested activists be dropped. Organizations affiliated with the Revolutionary Front – Frente Revolucionario hosted marches, noise demonstrations, and court support actions in Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, Oklahoma City. Columbus, and Washington D.C.
The arrests come as part of a wave of repressive state terror unleashed upon militant activists taking up action against fascistization and U.S. imperialism, further exemplified by the repression of the Prairieland Defendants. Organizers of the solidarity rallies highlighted the importance of an organized movement against political repression and deepening fascistization, calling on attendees and supporters to share and contribute to the Legal Fund for Michigan Students for Palestine, attend further court support demonstrations, and to build a robust revolutionary movement capable of withstanding the attacks of the state.
New Day at USPS Launches Social Media
The shop organization New Day at USPS launched its social media in June, culminating steadfast work in several hubs around the country since 2025. New Day at USPS developed out of comrades working at USPS who saw the need for a class-conscious independent labor movement by and for workers. To quote from their recent public statement: “Postal workers are facing an attack on all fronts. As politicians and corporate interest push to privatize the Postal Service in pursuit of profit, workers have paid the price. Since 1999, the USPS has eliminated more than 250,000 jobs, and while wages have risen nominally, inflation has far outpaced those increases. This has left postal workers with significantly less purchasing power than decades ago. […] Postal workers have been stripped of our two greatest sources of power: our unity and our ability to strike. Craft unionism divides postal workers into four separate unions based on job classifications, creating barriers to unity in our struggle against USPS. By keeping us in separate unions instead of one united union, it allows USPS management to bargain with each craft separately, weakening our ability to fight together. […] We fight for rank-and-file led shopfloor organization, workplace democracy, and ultimately one fighting union for all USPS workers. Unlike the current union leadership, we aim to prepare workers for real collective action capable of improving conditions, raising wages, and defeating both Delivering for America and the drive towards privatization, right to strike laws be damned.”
To learn more about New Day at USPS, read their shop paper or get in touch on their social media.
Struggle Against Sexual Abuse Continues in Johnson City
In June, activists in Johnson City continued their monthly protests against Keith Ervin, a member of the Washington County School Board who sexually harassed and assaulted a local student live on camera. Since the start of the campaign in April, Ervin has been subsequently charged with assault and was barred from attending the graduation ceremonies of the victim’s school. At the June protest, around 20-30 community members rallied to demand that he be convicted of sexual assault and be removed from his job. The activists behind the campaign in People’s Defense Johnson City and Johnson City New Labor Committee stated that upon meeting their demands, work would continue forward against similar abuses across Washington County, TN.
To learn more about the campaign, read the original statement here, or read the latest here.
Tenants Struggles Intensify in Multiple Cities
Tenants in Charlotte and Chicago protested against housing conditions in June. In Charlotte, tenants of the Landon Tenant Union initiated biweekly meetings to share grievances and strategize how to struggle against management. At the first meeting, representatives of the landlords attempted to disrupt the meeting and threatened to call the police on organizers. Through a mix of the tenants’ and activists’ resolve to continue, and a firm understanding of their right to organize, the union was easily able to drive off the landlords without facing any repercussions. The next week, tenants presented a demand letter to management with over 50 signatures. While no response has been given yet, a representative of the Landon Tenant Union stated that “the union is working with neighbors to escalate the campaign and ensure their demand are met over the next month.”
In Chicago, the All-Chicago Tenants Alliance mobilized on May 28 to raise awareness about the ongoing rent strike of Fuerzas Activas de la Damen against notorious slumlord Imran Khan. Over 150 people in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood signed a pledge to stand with the tenant union and not to rent from Imran Khan.
This mobilization comes as the Fuerzas Activas de la Damen (FAD) tenant union has been on rent strike against Khan for more than eight months. When Imran Khan bought the four buildings occupied by FAD members, he distributed letters with new leases and rent hikes of up to $700. Tenants and organizers with FAD and the All-Chicago Tenant Alliance (ACTA) say that it is clear that Khan seeks to kick out working class tenants in order to replace them with a class of wealthier residents. Since then, Khan has hired private security to intimidate tenants against meeting, has threatened arrests, and has filed retaliatory lawsuits against ACTA and FAD. Tenants additionally report severe issues in living conditions with problems of mold, broken appliances, and pests. The pest issue has become so dire, that in late June, one tenant awoke from his sleep to rats biting his face.
The tenants of Fuerzas Activas de la Damen continue their rent strike, in which they are demanding that Imran Khan sit down with members of the union and negotiate fair leases. You can support the FAD union members by donating to the ACTA rent strike fund here.
Chicago Mobilizes for an Independent, Class-Conscious Pride
Activists in People’s Defense Chicago mobilized alongside the Take Back the Lounge Organizing Committee, Stop Trans Genocide, the Chicago Workers’ Circle, and roughly 100 supporters as part of a contingent for an independent, class-conscious pride. The militants called on the LGBT community to take up the spirit of Stonewall in fighting to demand that Uptown Lounge provide a written statement for the blatant transphobia which occurred on March 15, the slander and victim blaming of the women thrown out of the bar, and an expressed commitment to collaboration with the LGBT community regarding policies that ensure LGBT safety in the community.
The march was the culmination of three months of organizing alongside working class transgender community members following the March 15 incident which saw two transgender women thrown out of Uptown Lounge for using the women’s restroom after being told that they were wearing “male presenting” clothing. For more on the Take Back the Lounge campaign, read the original article on The Masses here.
