In Memory of Alonzo
Yolanda Catzalco | Issue: November | December 2018
May God bless the vulnerable, the disabled, the elderly, the children. May government officials elected by the people provide for peoples’ needs.
Poverty
Migrant caravan
Laura Garcia | Issue: November | December 2018
We the workers of the United Sates, a country of immigrants, must fight to keep the gates open for our sisters and brothers.
A historic moment in México: the election of López Obrador
María de la Luz Arriaga | Issue: September | October 2018
The triumph of AMLO is the triumph of social movements, which for the last 30 years have been fighting for change in the country from the left.
Mexico: The people face the future with Lopez Obrador
Margarito Díaz | Issue: September | October 2018
The Mexican people have taken a first step in the fight for justice and equality. Build new infrastructure and institutions and govern.
Rise of the grassroots
from the Editors | Issue: September | October 2018
Fascism and the breakup of the old political party systems in the United States and Mexico resulting from pitting workers against high-tech robotics.
Rev. Edward Pinkney wins again
Rev. Edward Pinkney | Issue: June | July 2018
BENTON HARBOR, MI — Let the truth be told. I, Rev. Edward Pinkney was charged in Berrien County, Michigan with five felony counts of election forgery under Michigan Compiled Law (MCL) 937, and six misdemeanor counts of making a false statement in a certificate of recall of a recall petition under MCL 168.957 for […]
‘Big data’ makes enough-for-all economy possible
Dave Ransom | Issue: June | July 2018
Most important question — Who will own the robots? Now for the good news. Speaking to a Los Angeles policy institute recently, a prominent Chinese legal scholar, Feng Xiang, concluded that artificial intelligence (AI) is “the most momentous challenge” facing society today. Harvard-trained Feng is a professor at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, China’s top technology university […]
Half of jobs can be automated now
Tribuno Del Pueblo | Issue: June | July 2018
While the oligarchy debates, el pueblo pays the price “What are my grandkids going to do?” — David Patterson, winner of 2018 Touring Award. Even a winner of the year’s top prize in computing worries about oncoming joblessness in a society that rewards only work for pay. Google’s David Patterson hopes we figure it out […]
In the hard struggle of revolution
Tribuno Del Pueblo | Issue: June | July 2018
We are in a worldwide revolution that dwarfs the American Revolution of 1776. Despite the din and chatter of sex scandals, probes of foreign meddling in our elections, saber-rattling over North Korea, trade wars with China, destabilization of the Middle East and support of murderous regimes around the world, the relentless attack on our […]
The best of times, or the worst of times — our choice
Dave Ransom | Issue: April | May 2018
“It will soon be obvious that half our tasks can be done better at almost no cost by AI (artificial intelligence) and robots,” wrote venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee to the technology community recently. “This will be the fastest transition humankind has experienced,” he said, “and we’re not ready for it . . . not ready […]
Robots come to the garment trade
Dave Ransom | Issue: April | May 2018
Ever since the industrial revolution took making clothes out of the cottage, the textile industry — spinning yarn, weaving cloth, and making garments — has provided hot, dirty, low-wage jobs that enriched only the owners and their financiers. Whether the work was done by the children of England’s “dark, satanic mills,” by farm girls […]
In memory of a comrade, a veteran fighter for a better world: Juan Torres
José Torres and Manuel Torres | Issue: April | May 2018
A veteran comrade, Juan Torres, passed away in January 2018. He was born and raised in the Rio Grande “Valley of Tears.” Juan labored in the fields during his youth as an adult In the Valley and in the summers migrated north. After graduating from high school, Juan joined the Marines and achieved the […]
Texas: As we battle forward unity will be our only weapon
Jose Torres and Manuel Torres | Issue: February | March 2018
Unity is our only weapon as we battle forward for clean and safe water, and the means to feed and clothe our families. Unity is also our only weapon to fight for our democratic rights —all of which are at peril with SB-4. Texas unemployment is the lowest in decades and one of the lowest […]
Stars acknowledge campesina support
Dave Ransom | Issue: February | March 2018
Alianza letter sparked Hollywood’s Time’s Up organization dedicated to low-income women who suffer sexual attack or harassment More than a thousand women have signed Hollywood’s “Time’s Up” letter against sexual abuse — including stars like Salma Hayek, Halle Berry, Penélope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Eva Longoria, and Meryl Streep. They pay homage to the […]
Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, stands with Hollywood actors against sexual assault
Alianza Nacional de Campesinas Latina | Issue: February | March 2018
Even though we work in very different environments, we share a common experience of being preyed upon by individuals who have the power to hire, fire, blacklist and otherwise threaten our economic, physical and emotional security. Editor’s note: On Nov. 12, members of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas Latina wrote a letter of solidarity […]
Toward the Chicago Poor People’s Conference in 2018
From the editors | Issue: February | March 2018
Basing ourselves in the long history for justice and on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, we announce our plan to build citywide organizations in Chicago around the following five-point basic agenda. These five points are not meant to fully represent all our areas of concern, but they serve as a unifying beginning […]
We need the Poor People’s Conference to unify across Chicago
Andy Willis | Issue: February | March 2018
I spoke with Carlos Castro from the Chicago neighborhood of Humboldt Park about the upcoming Chicago Poor Peoples Conference. Carlos is a longtime community organizer and activist. I asked him why we needed such a conference. Carlos Castro: With all the abuse from the police department in the city, lack of housing, with the […]
‘People are freaking out!’
Dave Ransom | Issue: February | March 2018
Time to get ready, there’s a change a’coming “People are freaking out,” a Massachusetts auto mechanic told the Washington Post in December, describing the reaction among other mechanics to the oncoming end of their jobs. “Ninety percent of our industry has done nothing — absolutely nothing — to prepare.” What he says is true of […]
More jobs are going to the robots
Dave Ransom | Issue: February | March 2018
Car mechanics, drivers, real estate agents, security guards – is the last human work being homeless? Are you a car mechanic, a real estate agent or a security guard? Do you drive a delivery van, a taxi or a semi-truck? Are any of these your backup plan for keeping body and soul together? […]
NAFTA — the way corporate America exploits Mexico
Cathleen Williams | Issue: February | March 2018
Bi-National Conference chides Democratic leadership, as well as Republicans NAFTA is not about trade. That message resounded throughout the Bi-National Conference. Instead, it is about the complete corporate penetration and domination of Mexican and Central American society and economy, as corporate America shifts factories and services to Mexico, exploits its desperate work force and blames […]
‘Cancel NAFTA! Tear Down the Wall!’
Cathleen Williams | Issue: February | March 2018
Bi-National Conference brings together unions and workers from the United States and Mexico “I arrived in this country when I was eight years old. My parents were peasants in Mexico. In 1994, when the NAFTA agreement privatized the lands [the ejidos] in Mexico, they had no choice but to migrate to the United […]
What is tax reform? It is a transfer of wealth, a theft!
From the editors | Issue: February | March 2018
Tax reform is what Trump signed into law in December and many legislators who supported and voted for it are now planning to seek re-election in 2018 and beyond. Most people in the United States do not know what it was all about! Lobbyists and the Treasury Department are still trying to decipher it. Basically, […]
Hurricane María has changed the face of Puerto Rico forever
Juanita Irazarry | Issue: November | December 2017
The physical infrastructure of the island will eventually be repaired. And much of it likely will be better than the decaying and outdated power grid that was already struggling before the hurricane. But the big question is: Who will the improvements be for? Significant numbers of Puerto Ricans were already moving to the States […]
Section 8 vouchers for all who qualify!
from the Editors | Issue: November | December 2017
Food and water are humanity’s first priority. Clothing and a roof over your head come next. In human — humane — society, these are fundamental rights. We do our best to assure that everybody has these basics. In a mass society, that’s what government is for — or at least what it should be for. […]
In Los Angeles, 600,000 expected to apply for just 2,400 Section 8 vouchers
Dave Ransom | Issue: November | December 2017
Housing emergency much larger than the 90,000 living on the streets Officials expect more than 600,000 Angelenos to apply for just 2,400 Section 8 housing vouchers later this month. That’s all that will become available when they open the waiting list for the first time since 2004. People at the bottom of the […]
The right to stay with our families!
from the Editors | Issue: November | December 2017
An injury to one, is an injury to all America was built by immigrants from all over the world. This includes those forced into slavery and brought against their will. It includes the Native Americans who were first to arrive. Oppression, exploitation, and brutality have been part of this history, and they continue. […]
Trump’s immigration strategy: betting on people’s misinformation
Dave Ransom | Issue: September | October 2017
Most don’t know that you can’t migrate to the U.S. legally from Mexico When the Trump administration launched the most recent U.S. attack on “illegal immigrants,” particularly Mexicans, it bet on the ignorance of many Americans to make its charges believable and frightening. After all, somebody doing something illegal is a criminal, right? […]
Do the workers have leadership?
Baltazar Ávila | Issue: July 2017
It is well known by economists and specialists in the field that capitalism has entered a final phase. Its markets have been exhausted. Its raw materials have been exhausted. Its countries have revolted. The mass production of goods no longer finds enough buyers. Poverty grows while wealth becomes increasingly concentrated. Today, only eight mega-millionaires have […]
The root of the problem
Tribuno Del Pueblo | Issue: July 2017
With all the scandal and controversy surrounding President Trump’s first months in office, talk of war and terrorist attacks abroad, and state sponsored vicious attacks on the defenseless here at home — it is easy to get lost in the details. As a consequence, we don’t see what is underlying the rapidly changing political […]
2017: The significance of May Day
Tribuno Del Pueblo / Laura Garcia | Issue: May | June 2017
Laura García interviews Richard Monje on the significance of May Day. He is the Manager Chicago & Midwest Region International Executive Vice President, Workers United. Laura Garcia: What is the significance of May Day in today’s times? Richard Monje: May Day signifies a very important moment for the working class. It’s a time to […]
Cheri Honkala: Another Philadelphia is coming
Tribuno Del Pueblo | Issue: March 2017
The city of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are being afforded a special opportunity on March 21t to step out of politics as usual. Fraud has become the common practice of the 197th District’s representatives. Leslie Acosta, the former state representative, resigned on January 3, having secretly pleaded guilty to money laundering. Acosta’s […]
When poverty attacks: women on Skid Row
Silvia Hernandez | Issue: March 2017
LOS ANGELES, CA — “One in three homeless people in Los Angeles County are women. … The total of more than 14,000 women is a 55% increase from 2013. The number of women camped out in RVs, tents, and lean-tos has doubled in the last three years,” reports the Los Angeles Times on October […]
Robots: the end of jobs, the beginning of plenty
Dave Ransom | Issue: December | January 2017
It is finally hitting the national psyche that the rise of the robots means the end of jobs — and maybe of society as we currently know it. Techies like Martin Ford, who wrote the book “The Rise of the Robots,” have been predicting this for some time. So, for instance, has the League of […]
Holiday jobs are going to the bots
Dave Ransom | Issue: December | January 2017
Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart, FedEx, UPS are in a race to robotize; 80% cheaper If you have a holiday job this year, count yourself lucky, even though it’s temporary and doesn’t pay a helluva lot. Holiday hiring is down, and it will most likely drop again next year. Don’t blame the workers in China or […]
2016: An Election Like No Other
Tribuno Del Pueblo | Issue: December | January 2017
The U.S. has entered a political crisis. The oligarchy is attempting to divide us. We can win only if we unite. “Not my president!” With this slogan, thousands of people from New York to California, Minnesota to Texas — men and women, young and old, Latino, African American, and Anglo —have taken to the […]
Unpopular Proposition 1 is on ballot again in Hidalgo County, Texas
Manuel Torres | Issue: September | October 2016
We are living under hard times. The Rio Grande Valley is one of the poorest regions in the whole country. But we pay one of the highest tax rates in Texas. Two years ago, in 2014, state Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, with a PAC set up by the Doctors Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg, Texas, […]
Desperate for Change: Interview with Cheri Honkala
People’s Tribune | Issue: September | October 2016
Editor’s note: After the March for Our Lives and the Democratic National Convention, the People’s Tribune interviewed Cheri Honkala, the director of the Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign. People’s Tribune: Describe the poverty in Philadelphia and around the country that you addressed with the March for Our Lives. Cheri Honkala: Poverty is devastating Philadelphia. […]
Mothers Against Senseless Killing Promote a New Vision
Andy and Leslie Willis | Issue: September | October 2016
CHICAGO, IL — Chicago is not only a tale of two cities—the Magnificent Mile vs. poverty stricken neighborhoods—it’s also the tale of two visions. One vision is to secure our city with military-style police who terrorize dispossessed communities. The other vision is to have sharing and nurturing neighborhoods where resources become the property of […]
What can Latinos expect from the presidential elections of 2016?
for the Editors | Issue: September | October 2016
This electoral campaign reveals an unprecedented crisis and splits within the established Democratic and Republican parties. We have two of the most unpopular establishment candidates ever to choose from. Additionally, Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Party’s Jill Stein are getting unprecedented coverage due to popular dissatisfaction with the establishment candidates. On one hand stands […]
Voting is not the only solution
Marú Mora Villalpando | Issue: September | October 2016
The idea that voting alone will solve the problems we face as a country is a common one, and now that we face a terrible choice during this electoral season, this “solution” is presented to us as the only way out to a fascist future under the GOP candidate. There are several problems with […]
Trump and Elections Stir Up Fascist Movement
From the Editors | Issue: July | August 2016
At first Donald Trump’s campaign caused outrage at his anti-Mexican attacks, but people thought of him as a clown impossible to elect. Now people are taking the situation more seriously and saying that Trump is stirring up a growing fascist movement. What is fascism? Fascism is a political form of state power. It is the […]
What the Presidential Elections of 2016 mean for us
From the Editors | Issue: July | August 2016
As the election approaches, our Tribuno audience faces difficult choices. After eight years of failed promises for immigration reform, do we support Hillary Clinton just because Trump, the Republican candidate, seems so bad? Advanced technology and globalization are wiping out millions of jobs, both in the home countries of immigrants and in the U.S. […]
What will P.R.O.M.E.S.A. impose on Puerto Rico?
Pedro Angel Rivera | Issue: May | June 2016
Financial crisis and un-payable debt headings have become the ideological media propaganda regarding the social and economic problems that cage Puerto Ricans within our colonial archipelago. According to the most recent reports, the notorious International Monetary Fund, a financial henchman against indebted countries throughout the world, Puerto Rico should look at itself in the […]
These are revolutionary times
Salvador Sandoval | Issue: May | June 2016
What is really at stake today is democracy: in the new era, which class will rule These are revolutionary times, quite unlike any most of us alive today have ever experienced before. Underlying the politics of the 2016 presidential elections are profound — revolutionary — economic changes driven by the introduction of labor-replacing technology and […]
An election like no other
Salvador Sandoval | Issue: May | June 2016
Both major parties — Democrat and Republican — are in crisis The 2016 presidential election is like no other seen in living memory. Both of the major political parties—Democrat and Republican—are in crisis. People angry over abandonment by government and the existing establishment are drawn towards new faces seen as offering fresh new solutions […]
May Day 2016: “We must provide the necessities for the people,” says labor leader
People’s Tribune Interview | Issue: May | June 2016
Editor’s note: The People’s Tribune (our sister publication) interviewed Richard Monje, Vice President of Workers United, about May Day, 2016—the international workers holiday. On the significance of May Day, 2016 “May Day presents the opportunity to examine what is happening to the working class—with technology replacing labor. After the 2008 depression, working families were devastated […]
The world battle against fascism
Robin Yeamans | Issue: May | June 2016
The global oligarchy is moving to enforce a stranglehold on the peoples of the world, as seen in the Trump presidential campaign and the financial disaster in Puerto Rico. The workers of the world are struggling to take the offensive in this battle. Donald Trump steps forth as hangman of democracy. He began his […]
The Forces behind the 2016 Presidential Elections
from the Editors | Issue: May | June 2016
There is a revolution going on not only in the United States, but all over the world. The revolution and changes in the economy are influencing the capitalists and their politics in the United States and abroad. We are seeing changes that we have never witnessed before: increase of extremely wealthy, corporate individuals while […]
El Pueblo Unido — Movement Develops Around Housing
Dave Ransom | Issue: February | March 2016
Nothing so clearly demonstrates the failure of modern capitalism as its inability to keep a roof over people’s heads. And there is no reason to expect the “free market” to solve the problem — which, after all, it is creating. “If I don’t raise my rents,” one landlord asserted recently, “I leave money on the […]
A Housing ‘State of Emergency’
Dave Ransom | Issue: February | March 2016
Corporate landlords push millions into the streets, but a movement rises to confront them As the number of people that landlords are driving into the streets rises to crisis levels, the cities of Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle — and the whole state of Hawaii — have declared housing emergencies. The politicians are taking […]