Feel good speech opens NYC mayoral battle
NEW YORK—Though elections won’t be held until November, the battle for the mayoralty here has already begun. Critics charge that Mayor Michael Bloomberg used an unrealistic “feel-good” State of the City address as a campaign tool. His challengers have come out swinging on a number of issues, ranging from labor to his failed school reforms to his proposed city budget.
Airline gets handout, workers get shaft
PITTSBURGH — At 5:30 a.m. Julie Burnett, 53, was busy at the US Airways ticket counter assisting passengers with the newfangled machines generating their boarding passes. “These machines are taking our jobs along with those crooks in the front office and that judge,” she said. “It’s criminal. [Allegheny County Executive] Dan Onorato was right. Don’t give these thieves another dime. They are destroying our families and our neighborhoods.”
Upholding Social Security: Labor targets Schwab
SAN FRANCISCO — The labor movement and community organizations took on the financial institutions backing Social Security privatization as they held noontime demonstrations Jan. 26 in San Francisco and Boston to protest Charles Schwab and Co.’s leading role in trying to open up the system to Wall Street.
Tipping point looms for Earths climate
Global warming is leading towards a “tipping point,” where rising oceans, droughts, and weather change would become irreversible by the end of this century, says a new study by the International Climate Change Task Force.
New York closes in on $35,000
The largest group of readers of the People’s Weekly World resides in the Empire State. Each year, New Yorkers take the responsibility to raise the largest amount of money for our reader-powered press. Elena Mora, New York State Communist Party chairperson, took the lead in helping to raise over $34,000 from readers and supporters. As of Feb. 2 these friends of the PWW were closing in on their $35,000 goal.
Back to its roots after 85 years: CPUSA will paint Chicago red July 1
“With pride in our unity and fighting spirit,” the National Committee of the Communist Party USA has kicked off preparations for its 28th national convention, July 1–3, under the slogans, “The people can win! Defeat the Bush agenda! Build the CPUSA.”
Hip hop for the people
NEWARK, N.J. – Ras Baraka, an educator and deputy mayor of Newark, announced the founding of Hip Hop for the P.E.O.P.L.E. at a recent press conference. Comedian Bill Cosby and numerous hip hop artists and producers are lending their talents to this ambitious and unprecedented national program.
Si Gerson, 95, journalist and electoral expert
Simon W. Gerson, veteran journalist and legendary fighter for working class political representation, died on Dec. 26, 2004 in Brooklyn, N.Y., at 95. A member of the national committee of the Communist Party USA, Gerson’s activism spanned seven decades beginning in the depression era of the 1930s.
Day of Reckoning chronicles lives of Lucy and Albert Parsons
Review NEW YORK — Talented young African American playwright Melody Cooper’s historical drama, “Day of Reckoning,” chronicles the lives of famed anarchist and freed slave, Lucy Parsons, and her husband, Albert, a former Confederate soldier. The two-act historical drama features playwright Cooper playing Lucy. Along with Albert, she fought for workers’ rights and the eight-hour workday.
Shirley Chisholm: Unbought & Unbossed
Review 1972 was an extraordinary year. Richard Nixon was president, running for his second, ill-fated term. The voting age had just changed from 21 to 18, and millions of new voters were expected at the polls. The Vietnam War was in full swing, as were anti-war protests, a burgeoning women’s movement and the rise of the Black Panther Party.
