http://www.soaw.org/

Your support and the efforts of thousands of others over the last few days, months, and years have paid off in a BIG way! Earlier today, H.R. 5474, the Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, was introduced in the House of Representatives. The bill would “suspend United States security assistance with Honduras until such time as human rights violations by Honduran security forces cease and their perpetrators are brought to justice.”

We ask that you take 5 minutes today, the Global Day of Action for Justice for Berta, to email your members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 5474. After you have done so, you can also call your Representative to repeat the demand in real time. A short sample call script is below. If you are seeing this message after June 15, it’s OK! This is just the beginning of the campaign in support of the bill and emails and phone calls will continue to send a powerful message of solidarity and accountability. But we need to act as quickly as possible to capitalize on the media attention and counteract our opponents. Please call now, a short sample call script is below.

– Call-in information and script: If you do not know your Representative’s direct office number, call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Ask the operator to connect you to your Representative’s office directly. If you don’t know who your Representative is, that is not a problem – you can give your zip code to the operator and they will connect you.

– Sample script:

“Hi, my name is [[First_Name]] and I am a constituent. I live in _____. I would like to speak with the foreign policy aide that handles Latin America for Representative _____ to discuss a new bill, HR 5474, the Berta Cáceres Human Rights In Honduras Act.

(Wait for the aide, or if they are not available, write down their name and leave a message for them)

If aide is available to speak: I am calling to ask that Representative _____ co-sponsor HR 5474, the Berta Cáceres Human Rights In Honduras Act. The bill would “suspend United States security assistance with Honduras until such time as human rights violations by Honduran security forces cease and their perpetrators are brought to justice.” Have you and Representative ______ seen the bill? Will they cosponsor?

The government has squandered our tax dollars to arm and train a government that has been credibly linked to countless human rights violations and death squad activity. This needs to stop today. I will follow up with you to make sure that Representative ______ is aware of the bill and makes the correct decision to co-sponsor HR 5474.

Leaving a message: Same as above script without the questions at end of first paragraph.

Today is the Global Day of Action for Justice for Berta, and there are protests being held around the world in her honor. We hope that you are able to join in person, online, or over the phone today. H.R. 5474 is the result of years of hard work and support. We will continue to update you on the progress of the bill, as it will be a continued just struggle to get it passed. But make no mistake, this is a victory for you, a victory for all of us that want a just relationship with Honduras and the rest of the world!

In Solidarity,
SOA Watch

https://stopmpstakeover.com/2016/06/15/rally-to-resist-the-mps-takeover/

June 15, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: 414-395-0665

Lamont Lilly, Vice Presidential Candidate for Workers World Party, Visiting Milwaukee July 7 to Discuss Building People’s Power & Socialism

MILWAUKEE, WI – The community organization Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement, is sponsoring two events in Milwaukee July 7, 2016 where Mr. Lamont Lilly, Vice Presidential candidate for Workers World Party, will be a featured speaker. To schedule interviews with Mr. Lilly call: 414-395-0665.

Mr. Lilly will lead a “Building People’s Power” community conversation Thursday, July 7 at 7 p.m., 724 N. 26^th Street, Milwaukee. Ms. Monica Moorehead, WWP Presidential candidate, will participate via Skype at this meeting.

Mr. Lilly is also speaking at a “Stop The Bradley Foundation” protest at 1241 N. Franklin Pl., Milwaukee at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, July 7.

More information on both events is available at: facebook.com/wibailoutpeople.org or wibailoutpeople.org.

Mr. Lamont Lilly is a leading member of the Durham, North Carolina branch of Workers World Party and a member of WWP’s National Committee. As a people’s journalist, as an activist, an organizer, and a speaker, Lilly has traveled widely to stand in solidarity with struggles against racism and imperialist war, and for people’s justice.

Lilly was born in 1979 in Fayetteville, NC. A military veteran, he graduated from North Carolina Central University, and then worked for several years as an educator and nonprofit program coordinator, focusing on African American youth leadership and academic development. His focus on youth continued as he became an activist.

In 2010, he traveled to Colombia in South America as a human rights delegate with Witness for Peace, advocating for displaced Indigenous and AfroColombian people. In 2015, Lilly went to Syria and Lebanon in a delegation led by Ramsey Clark and Cynthia McKinney. In Beirut, he spoke as a Black Lives Matter representative at the International Forum for Palestinian Solidarity. In Damascus, where millions are displaced by war, he met with Syrians defending their sovereignty and opposed to the U.S. instigated destruction of Syria. He also met comrades of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Inside the U.S., he has gone wherever the struggle called, including Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Oakland, Los Angeles, and New York. From the Baltimore rebellion after the police killing of Freddie Gray to the Days of Grace actions in Charleston, S.C. in the wake of the racist massacre at Mother Emmanuel AME Church, Lamont Lilly is always there on the ground—as a journalist providing consistent revolutionary inside perspective on the Black Lives Matter movement and the continuing struggle for Black Liberation, and as a tireless organizer whose energy and enthusiasm have helped encourage a new wave of activism among oppressed and working-class youth.

Lilly’s political commentary has been featured in Workers World newspaper, Truthout, Counterpunch, the LA Progressive, Black Youth Project, the Durham News, and Triangle FreePress. Lilly was awarded a 2015 Local Hero Citizen’s Award by Indy Week of Raleigh-Cary- Durham-Chapel Hill N.C. for “pushing for workers’ rights and police reform.”

To schedule interviews with Mr. Lilly call: 414-395-0665.

https://www.facebook.com/BWFJ.NC

http://blackworkersforjustice.com/on-the-orlando-massacre/

The Black Workers for Justice is outraged and saddened by the brutal attack on the patrons of the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. We extend our condolences to the families of those killed, and hope for healing and a speedy recovery of the wounded. We stand in strong solidarity with the LGBTQ community. While we don’t know why the shooter picked Saturday night for his heinous crime, it was a Latin Night and as such many in the club were Latino. We extend our solidarity to that community as well.

This outrageous homophobic attack did not happen in a vacuum. The creation of hateful and anti-democratic legislation like North Carolina’s HB2 and similar laws passed or proposed in other states and the poisonous rhetoric used by its proponents is the toxic environment in which this reprehensible act took place.

As one of our members has said, we are living in the intersection of homophobia, religious extremism and Islamophobia. The attacks on the LGBTQ community are both physical and policy based. Extremism masked by religion is subjecting millions of true believers to unimaginable horrors of violence. It is anti-democratic, patriarchal, racist and fascist. However, this unspeakable violence cannot be separated from the continuous violence caused by the US direct and supported violence of wars and military invasions throughout the Middle East and Africa to dismantle governments and for regime change. All of this, at the end of the day is in the service of US and European Imperialism. To be clear, this extremism is not restricted to Islam.

Islamophobia is an irrational hatred of Muslims based on the actions of religious extremists and is racialized to target Brown and Black people from the Middle East, South Asia, the US and Africa.

Capitalism and white supremacy undergirds these ideologies. Capitalism in crisis and decline uses them to try to maintain the status quo while its benefactors continue to enrich themselves creating even more destitution for workers with austerity budgets, privatization and a reduction in wages. They continue to trample on Black workers and other workers of color with scandalous levels of structural unemployment, mass incarceration, including the school to prison pipeline, and rampant and unpunished brutality and murder of Black people by the police and other state sanctioned actors.

Fighting back is the only answer as demonstrated by Verizon workers who waged a courageous strike and won. Similarly, public employees in Durham with the aid of the community and progressive elected officials conducted an extended campaign for a Living Wage and won. The workplace struggles and the struggles against homophobia and Islamophobia have to be linked and joined with the Movement for Black Lives, and the various Moral Monday type efforts across the country.

We all must become hyper vigilant as we have argued before and protect each other with security measures designed to defend against a variety of attacks.  The relative comfort and safety of our churches, mosques and gay clubs cannot be taken for granted in this environment. From Stonewall to Pulse, from the 16 Street Baptist Church to Emmanuel AME Church we must defend ourselves and openly and vigorously oppose the hatred that drives these attacks.

The Black liberation movement is critical to the larger fightback against working class exploitation, national, women’s and LGBTQ oppression. A Manifesto for Black liberation can help to unite our many battlefronts and mobilize mass based and transformative power against these conditions.

Please be aware of this hunger strike going on in WI prison and please call and register your protest that prisoners are being kept in solitary confinement for years. The UN says that anything more than 15 days is torture. Here is one number to call 608-240-5000. More info at solitarytorture.blogspot.com and give a listen this Sat. evening at 8pm on Riverwestradio.com or 104.1 FM in Milwaukee. More Info: Milwaukee IWW

http://www.workers.org/wwp/vote-for-socialism/

On Trump’s Birthday, Socialist Presidential Campaign Denounces Right-wing Racism, Islamophobia and Anti-LGBTQ Bigotry

Activists announce the kick-off of the Monica Moorehead for president and Lamont Lilly for vice president campaign by Workers World Party, a revolutionary socialist party, as part of nationally coordinated events on June 14-15.

June 14 is Donald Trump’s 70th birthday. Just days after the horrific Orlando anti-LGBTQ massacre, these activists will send a message to racist billionaire Trump.

Monica Moorehead, Workers World Party’s Presidential candidate said in a statement:

“Trump, who does not care about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and mostly Latino/a victims of the Orlando massacre, is already trying to use this terrible tragedy to whip up racism against Muslims. As the people’s movement embraces the LGBTQ community at this difficult time of mourning and healing, we will also strengthen our solidarity with our Arab, Asian, African, Latino/a and Muslim sisters and brothers. We will not allow either Trump or Hillary Clinton to use Orlando to generate bigotry and war fever. Nor will we allow the government to use Orlando as an excuse to intensify police surveillance and repression against Muslims.”

“You will not crush working class unity – workers of the world are going to unite!”  and “Trump does not speak for white workers. Billionaire Trump hates all workers!” “Smash capitalism, racism, Islamophobia and anti-LGBTQ bigotry.”

“Donald Trump’s rise reflects a desperate and dangerous effort to destroy working-class unity by trying to turn the anger of white workers away from billionaires like himself and turn it toward our immigrant, Mexican, Arab, Muslim, African, Asian sisters and brothers in this country and across the world” said Moorehead. In California, Moorehead is vying for the nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party, which will make the selection during their August convention. In Wisconsin July 7, Workers World Party Vice Presidential candidate Lamont Lilly will lead a community conversation about “Building People’s Power:” http://bit.ly/1Yph80w

“As a Mexican lesbian, my heart is heavy today for my sisters and brothers and all my LGBTQ family gunned down on Latino Party Night at Pulse Night Club. But I blame the system, not the shooter, for this tragedy. It is Trump’s racist rhetoric that is to blame. It is President Barack Obama’s mass deportations, [presidential candidate and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary] Clinton’s war machine that is to blame. Mexicans and others have shown in California, New Mexico and Illinois the answer: Fight back, shut it down. We will not go back. Let us dedicate Pride this month to the Pulse martyrs,” said National Campaign Manager Teresa Gutierrez.

Workers World Party’s campaign will be announcing protests at the RNC in Cleveland as well as protests against Hillary Clinton and the DNC in Philadelphia. As Moorehead noted: “Clinton is not really going to fight for working and poor women. Clinton and the Democratic Party establishment’s allegiance are to the 1%. Mass struggle, not elections, is the way forward.’

In order to promote this message, the campaign will be reaching out across the country. Voters in 45 states will be able to either vote or write in for revolutionary socialism with a vote for Moorehead-Lilly in November.

Additionally, the campaign has announced that anyone can cast a vote for revolutionary socialism online, even if they are disenfranchised by election laws – whether they are incarcerated or formerly incarcerated, undocumented, under the age of 18, etc. – go to workersworldparty.org to cast your vote for revolutionary change.

https://www.facebook.com/MKELGBTCenter

Racine June 14: http://bit.ly/1VWd0EY

http://www.wftucentral.org/the-wftu-general-secretary-george-mavrikos-intervened-in-the-plenary-session-of-the-105th-ilc/

On June 6, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) General Secretary George Mavrikos intervened  in the Plenary Session of the 105th International Labour Conference. During his speech he underlined the importance of international solidarity to the workers in struggle around the world, the importance of class struggle against the capitalists and the governments and the preparations for the 17th World Trade Union Congress on 5-8 October 2016 in Durban, S. Africa. http://www.wftucentral.org/

The Speech of the WFTU General Secretary:

“Ladies and gentlemen,

Colleagues, representatives of trade union organizations,

On behalf of the World Federation of Trade Unions, I want to express our internationalism to the workers of France, who have been organizing strong, massive mobilizations against the anti-labor policies of the Francois Hollande government. The law promoted by the French government, attacks rights that were won through workers struggles.

We extend our solidarity to the people of Brazil, which is struggling against the antidemocratic, parliamentary maneuvers of the bourgeoisie; we unite our voices with the heroic Palestinian people which suffer from the Israeli politics. We are on the same side with the peoples of Syria and Venezuela which are in the aim of the imperialists and the capital.

Today, in all European Union Countries, the attacks of all governments against the workers and against trade union rights are generalized. This policy is centrally planned; it is a central strategic choice of the European Union and the monopolies.

In fact, these strategies have one aim: to convert us into modern – day slaves. Slaves without salary, labor, social security and democratic rights.

At the same time, state violence, the persecution against the trade union movement and those who fight in the first line of the struggles, is getting stronger and stronger.

Right now, as we are speaking here in Geneva, fighters of the World Federation of Trade Unions are in prison, because they fought defending the workers.

In Colombia, elected union leader Huber Ballesteros is in jail for 3 years now.

In Guatemala, Julia Amparo Lotan, a vice-president of WFTU, is in prison for over a year, facing fabricated charges. In Paraguay, Ruben Villalbe, a leader of rural workers, is held in prison for over 4 years now, for organizing the struggles of his sector.

We will not let these comrades alone, not even for a moment, until they are free. The WFTU is proud for these cadres and their proud and militant stance.

Also, a central problem for the working class today, and not just for European workers, is the defense of the life of the immigrants and refugees, who are trying to save themselves by leaving the war zones. The main reason of this situation are the imperialist wars, imperialist interventions, who aim to steal the natural and economic resources of the peoples.

This image of the millions immigrants and refugees, side by side to the antilabor and antipeople policies of the governments, is exploited by xenophobic, racist and neofascist political forces. Neofascism is again threatening the peoples.

Facing this situation, nobody can afford to close their eyes and ears. Nobody can afford to wonder “For whom the bell tolls?” The bell tolls for everybody.

The World Federation of Trade Unions, that is preparing for its 17th World Trade Union Congress on October 5 to 8, http://www.wftucentral.org/, is developing a modern, militant, unitary, class oriented strategy in order to give the answer of the workers side and the side of the class oriented trade union movement.

We are saying to the governments and the multinationals: We will not let you make us slaves of the 21st century.

We are telling to the world working class: united, with class unity, like brothers, we will make unions stronger, we will make participation of the youth in the unions stronger and having internationalism and solidarity among us as our weapons, we can successfully organize our defense and offence. Until the elimination of exploitation of man by man.

Thank you.”

http://www.wftucentral.org/

Northcott Neighborhood House: http://bit.ly/25YU4IH

(414) 372-3770

September 24, 2015 Madison