Category Archives: Demonstrations & Protests

‘Why We Need Medicare for All’: Boeing Revokes Health Benefits for Striking Workers

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“Like other wealthy countries we must guarantee healthcare to every man, woman, and child as a human right, not a job benefit. Whether you’re on strike or not, everyone is entitled to healthcare,” said Bernie Sanders.

By Edward Carver. Published 10-1-2024 by Common Dreams

Photo: @grrrrbs/X

Boeing revoked the company-sponsored healthcare benefits of about 33,000 striking workers starting Tuesday, drawing condemnation from progressives, who said it showed the need for a universal healthcare system in the United States.

The workers, who are mostly in Washington state and are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), went on strike on September 13, and the corporation announced on its website that their healthcare benefits would expire at the end of the day on September 30.

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Thousands of Autoworkers Protest in Brussels Amid Likely Audi Layoffs

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“Their anger is very legitimate, very understandable, especially since Audi is not very clear on its plans,” a local employment minister said.

By Edward Carver. Published 9-16-2024 by Common Dreams

Thousands of workers demonstrated in the streets of Brussels on September 16, 2024. Photo: FGTB/X

Thousands of autoworkers protested in Brussels on Monday following recent news that Audi, a subsidiary of the German automaker Volkswagen, would phase out production at its plant there, which is expected to mean layoffs for its roughly 3,000 employees by the end of 2025.

The phase-out announcement led to a labor dispute that’s shuttered the plant for the last two weeks, with some employees forming an encampment protest outside. The plant is expected to resume operations on Tuesday even though the core issues underlying the labor dispute, which some unions have characterized as a lockout by management, haven’t been resolved.

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‘Shame Must Change Sides’: Thousands March in France Against Sexual Violence

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The protests were organized in support of Gisèle Pélicot, who has become a symbol of feminist defiance in the country when she chose to make the rape trial of her husband and 50 other men public.

By Olivia Rosane. Published 9-14-2024 by Common Dreams

Photo: euronews عــربي/X

Thousands of people took to the streets in 30 French cities and Brussels on Saturday to protest rape and sexist violence and to support Gisèle Pélicot, a woman in her early 70s whose husband of 50 years is on trial for drugging her periodically and inviting dozens of men into their home to rape her while she was unconscious.

Pélicot has become a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France when she decided to make the trial of her husband and 50 other men public to ensure that “no woman suffers this.”

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‘Simply Unacceptable’: Nearly 200 Environmental Defenders Killed in 2023

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“Activists and their communities are essential in efforts to prevent and remedy harms caused by climate damaging industries,” one campaigner said. “We cannot afford to, nor should we tolerate, losing any more lives.”

By Olivia Rosane. Published 9-10-2024 by Common Dreams

Manuel Teran, who was shot and killed by a Georgia State Trooper. Photo: Gabe Eisen

Almost 200 people were killed in 2023 for attempting to protect their lands and communities from ecological devastation, Global Witness revealed Tuesday.

This raises the total number of environmental defenders killed between 2012—when Global Witness began publishing its annual reports—and 2023 to 2,106.

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100,000+ People Across France March to Decry Macron’s ‘Denial of Democracy’

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“Expressing one’s vote will be useless as long as Macron is in power,” said one demonstrator.

By Julia Conley. Published 9-8-2024 by Common Dreams

Protest against the selection of Michel Barnier as prime minister on September 7, 2024 in Nantes, France.. Photo: Lee/X

In cities and towns across France on Saturday, more than 100,000 people answered the call from the left-wing political party La France Insoumise for mass protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s selection of a right-wing prime minister.

The demonstrations came two months after the left coalition won more seats than Macron’s centrist coalition or the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) in the National Assembly and two days after the president announced that Michel Barnier, the right-wing former Brexit negotiator for the European Union, would lead the government.

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After Weekend Walkouts, Hotel Worker Strikes Grow on Labor Day

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“We refuse to accept wages that can’t support our families. It’s insulting. And it ends now.”

By Jessica Corbett. Published 9-2-2024 by Common Dreams

Workers from over two dozen hotels across the United States are on strike as of September 2, 2024, which is Labor Day. Photo: UNITE HERE! Local 30/X

After approximately 10,000 hotel workers across the United States walked off the job over the weekend ahead of Labor Day, the strikes not only continued but grew on Monday, with employees of the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor taking to the streets.

In Maryland’s biggest city, workers with UNITE HERE Local 7 carried signs that said, “Respect our work,” “One job should be enough,” and “Make them pay.”

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Progressive International Slams Macron for ‘Authoritarian Efforts to Repress the Will of the French People’

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The president’s rejection of a center-left coalition’s prime minister candidate “is not merely a political maneuver to hold onto power, but a direct attack on French progressive forces.”

By Jessica Corbett. Published 8-28-2024 by Common Dreams

French President Emmanuel Macron. Photo: Remi Jouan/Wikimedia Commons/CC

Progressive International on Wednesday issued a scathing critique of French President Emmanuel Macron and backed calls for protests next month over his rejection of a leftist alliance’s candidate for prime minister following recent snap elections.

Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), a coalition of left-of-center parties formed to counter the far-right in this summer’s elections, won the most seats, beating out Macron’s centrist alliance and Marine Le Pen’s right-wing Rassemblement National (RN), but lacks an absolute majority.

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On Eve of DNC, ‘Not Another Bomb’ Rallies Demand US Arms Embargo on Israel

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“Palestinians in Gaza cannot wait until after the U.S. election while bombs are dropping and burning their loved ones alive,” said one campaigner.

By Brett Wilkins. Published 8-18-2024 by Common Dreams

Activists take part in a #NotAnotherBomb day of action calling for a U.S. arms embargo on Israel in Albuquerque, New Mexico on August 18, 2024.
 (Photo: Uncommitted National Movement/X)

On the eve of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, proponents of a U.S. arms embargo on Israel—which is on trial for genocide at the World Court for its assault on Gaza that has killed over 40,000 Palestinians—took to the streets of cities in states from New York to Hawaii on Sunday to amplify their demand of “Not Another Bomb” for Israeli military forces.

“It is crystal clear: In order to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza, the U.S. must immediately stop arming Israel,” the Not Another Bomb campaign—an initiative led by the Uncommitted National Movement—said in a statement ahead of this weekend’s demonstrations.

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How will Israel’s recent assassinations affect war in Gaza?

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Netanyahu will undoubtedly claim the killings show victory is still achievable in Gaza. But is that true?

By Paul Rogers. Published 8-6-2024 by openDemocracy

Former Secretary of State Pompeo meets with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Bahraini Foreign Minister Al-Zayani in 2019. Photo: Public Domain

A move by Israeli police units to enter the Sde Teiman army base to investigate ten reservists on suspicion of torturing a Palestinian prisoner sparked fury among those on Israel’s far right last week.

Many felt that even investigating the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) was utterly unacceptable, and a substantial number of protesters tried to occupy the base.

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Far-Right UK Riots Spark ‘Stand Up to Racism’ Counterprotests

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“The majority of people in Britain abhor Robinson and the far right,” says one joint statement. “We are the majority, they are the few.”

By Jessica Corbett, Published 8-7-2024 by Common Dreams

Antifascist protesters march in Bristol Photo: Tristan Cork Post/X

From Birmingham, Brighton, and Bristol, to Liverpool, London, Newcastle, and Northampton, counterprotesters gathered across the United Kingdom on Wednesday to decry far-right riots and attacks against immigrants and Muslims.

Since the weekend, far-right protesters have targeted mosques, libraries, and even a hotel housing asylum-seekers—responding at least in part to online disinformation about the suspect in a deadly stabbing attack on a children’s dance class. The demonstrations and expectations they would continue Wednesday evening drew anti-racists to the streets in several U.K. cities.

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