Opposition mounts among US workers to repeal of mask mandate
Opposition is mounting among teachers, service workers and industrial workers to the new COVID-19 safety guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that essentially eliminate masking or social distancing requirements for vaccinated individuals in most settings. The new guidelines have been issued under conditions where nearly two-thirds of the US population is not fully vaccinated.
Without a way to determine who is vaccinated and who is not, the rule means that large groups of unmasked people will be allowed to congregate indoors, including at mass events, ensuring the wider spread of the virus.
Survey of epidemiologists exposes lies that children do not spread COVID-19
In an article published Saturday by the
New York Times, a survey of 723 epidemiologists made clear the central role that children play in spreading COVID-19. The findings contradict claims made throughout the pandemic by the entire political establishment of supposedly minimal dangers posed to children and society as a whole by the policy of reopening schools.
The report also exposes the reckless and anti-scientific decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), under the direction of the Biden administration, to end guidelines that call for all individuals to wear masks indoors and socially distance. A central aim of this change is to facilitate the reopening of schools for in-person learning before it is safe.
Vote “no” on the UAW-Nexteer Saginaw sellout agreement! Form a Nexteer Rank-and-File Committee and broaden the struggle throughout the auto industry!
The
World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter calls on Nexteer automotive workers to organize an independent rank-and-file committee to organize opposition to the latest sell-out contract that the United Auto Workers is seeking to ram through.
Workers at Nexteer should follow the lead of the workers at Volvo in Dublin, Virginia, who voted Sunday to overwhelmingly reject the attempt by the UAW to ram through a pro-company contract by 91 percent. Workers at the massive truck assembly plant struck for two weeks before the UAW announced a tentative agreement with Volvo on April 30 and immediately ordered workers back to work without a vote on or even seeing the proposed deal.
Lively discussion among students, parents, and workers about an international counter-offensive against capitalism
Last week, students, parents and workers came together at the bi-weekly online meeting of the Safe Education Action Committees Network. The lively discussion was marked by enormous anger and outrage at the pandemic policies of the ruling class and the dangerous conditions in schools and workplaces. The introductory report and video segments of speeches from the ICFI’s international May Day rally highlighted the importance of the newly formed International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC), which will unite workers across all national borders in opposition to the corporatist unions. The network had previously issued a joint resolution supporting the formation of the International Workers Alliance and calling for participation in the online rally on May 1.
US air traffic controllers union pushes through contract extension
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) on Monday announced it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to extend the expiration date of the current contract for four more years, with no new negotiations.
Handlers load baggage on to a Delta Airlines flight at a gate in Denver International Airport (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The current contract, referred to as the “Slate Book,” was due to expire on July 24, 2022 but now has been unilaterally extended to 2026. The announcement of the MOU by outgoing NATCA President Paul Rinaldi and Executive Vice President Trish Gilbert proudly exclaims: “This extension is another result of NATCA’s highly successful and productive collaborative relationship with the FAA, as well as a new administration committed to supporting federal employees and collective bargaining rights.”