Tag: mass mobilization
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Iran’s teachers movement perseveres against all odds
For years, educators across Iran have taken to the streets to demand fair wages, better working conditions, the release of detained teachers, the constitutionally guaranteed rights to free education for all children and to peaceful assembly and association. For years, they have faced arrests, enforced disappearances, prosecutions on national security charges, dismissals, imprisonment and solitary confinement.
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It’s time for movements to rethink social media
We shoot things off into the ether and hope something will stick — that people will hear our calls to rise up and somehow self-organize. Or that if we point at a problem often enough, everyone will arrive at the same solutions we did. And each time something or someone does break through, it feels…
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Trump’s repression of dissent is backfiring
As I’ve written before, resistance to an authoritarian regime is measured by greater unity, greater nonviolent discipline in the face of violence, greater numbers and greater ability to provoke defections. So how are we doing? Allow me to skip around with a few thoughts.
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What’s it going to take to get to mass strikes?
A strike led by activists can look energetic and inspiring, but it will rarely be durable. A strike led by leaders is slower to launch, harder to coordinate, and far more powerful because it rests on deeper relationships and trusts.
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Police States Are Terrifying, But They Are Brittle. I Witnessed This in Tunisia.
Before the fall of President Ben Ali, people in Tunisia faced a situation even more difficult than the conditions that have descended on the U.S. today. For this reason, engaging with the history of the uprising that occurred 15 years ago in Tunisia can be a beckoning whisper in U.S. ears conveying how quickly things…
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What would a general strike in the US actually look like?
Calling for general strikes is a staple of the radical toolkit. (I’ve made questionable efforts to call two or three myself over the past half-century.) But why has the idea of such mass actions suddenly appeared on the lips of such a wide range of people? There are three principal reasons:
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How the Metal of NUMSA was Bent
Animating all of this is a bigger strategic rift between rival factions of Numsa and the broader federation. In 2018, SAFTU convened a working-class summit (WCS) where 147 organizations representing unions, social movements, and civics were present. The majority of delegates affirmed the need to form a new working-class party, but the question of when…
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How to Organize Against Authoritarian Creep(s)
Simply, we can’t do the same things as before because what we’ve done wasn’t enough. Living in these “interesting” times, it bears remembering that in crisis there is also opportunity. We find ourselves in a closing space — our inclusive civil society under attack. There is an element of claustrophobia bearing down upon those of…
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A new wave of movements against Trumpism is coming
Looking forward, Trump will trigger outrage. But outrage alone is not enough. It needs to be translated into action. Movements must be ready to capitalize on and extend the opportunities that Trump’s policies create. Here, preparation is helpful: By anticipating and planning for trigger events, movements can position themselves to take maximum advantage.
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6 important things to know about the climate movement’s advances
From the passage of sweeping federal legislation to the halting of major fossil fuel projects, the climate movement — particularly its youth-led contingent — has won astonishing recent victories. These couldn’t come at a more important time, as the climate crisis only continues to worsen. Last year was far and away the warmest ever recorded,…
