Category Archives: Peaceful resistance

Judy Heumann, ‘Mother of Disability Rights Movement,’ Dies at 75

“Disability only becomes a tragedy when society fails to provide the things we need to lead our lives—job opportunities or barrier-free buildings, for example,” Heumann told one reporter.

By Julia Conley.  Published 3-6-2023 by Common Dreams

Judy Heumann as a panelist at TASH’s Outstanding Leadership in Disability Law Symposium and Awards Dinner, George Washington University’s Marvin Center, July 25 2019. Photo: Taylordw/Wikimedia Commons/CC

Disability rights advocates were joined by labor leaders, progressive politicians, and other advocates for justice on Monday in mourning the death of influential activist Judy Heumann, who began decades of advocacy work fighting for employment as a teacher and was credited with paving the way for numerous federal laws to protect people with disabilities. She was 75 and died on March 4.

Known as the “mother of the disability rights movement,” Heumann’s first experience with advocacy work came in 1970 after she was denied employment at a New York City public school, with the school citing her “paralysis of both lower extremities” as the reason and saying she would not be able to evacuate students and herself in case of a fire. Continue reading

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Historic Labor Ruling Slams ‘Egregious and Widespread Misconduct’ by Starbucks

“This ruling proves what we have been saying all along—Starbucks is the poster child of union-busting in the United States,” said one organizer, vowing to “fight until every Starbucks worker wins the right to organize.”

By Jessica Corbett  Published 3-1-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: Ron Cogswell/flickr/CC

Building on a series of blows to Starbucks on Wednesday, a federal administrative law judge found the coffee giant “committed hundreds of unfair labor practices” at stores in and near Buffalo, New York, the origin of a national unionization wave.

In a lengthy ruling, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) judge, Michael A. Rosas, called out the Seattle-based company for “egregious and widespread misconduct demonstrating a general disregard for the employees’ fundamental rights.” Continue reading

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50 Years On, Legacy of Wounded Knee Uprising Lives in Indigenous Resistance

“We’re not the subjugated and disenfranchised people that we were,” said one Ponca elder who took part in the 1973 revolt. “Wounded Knee was an important beginning of that.”

By Brett Wilkins.  Published 2-27-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: Comrade Stu/Twitter

As many Native Americans on Monday marked the 50th anniversary of the militant occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, participants in the 1973 uprising and other activists linked the deadly revolt to modern-day Indigenous resistance, from Standing Rock to the #LandBack movement.

On February 27, 1973 around 300 Oglala Lakota and members of the American Indian Movement (AIM), seething from centuries of injustices ranging from genocide to leniency for whites who committed crimes against Indians, occupied the hamlet of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation for more than two months. The uprising occurred during a period of increased Native American militancy and the rise of AIM, which first drew international attention in 1969 with the 19-month occupation of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. Continue reading

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US Strike Activity Surged in 2022 as SCOTUS Workers’ Rights Ruling Looms

“The right to strike is a critical source of worker power, but that right could be under further threat from the Supreme Court,” warned one expert.

By Julia Conley.  Published 2-23-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: Joe Piette/flickr/CC

The number of U.S. workers who staged work stoppages in a wide array of industries in 2022 surged by nearly 50% from the previous year, new federal data shows—but the resolve among employees demanding fair pay after years without a raise, better working conditions, and paid sick leave may be under threat as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a key labor case.

An analysis by three Economic Policy Institute (EPI) experts—Margaret Poydock, Jennifer Sherer, and Celine McNicholas—of data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that at least 120,600 U.S. workers were involved in major strikes in 2022, up from 80,700 in 2021. Continue reading

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Warnings of ‘Dark Dictatorship’ in Israel as Protesters Rage Against Far-Right Judicial Reforms​

Around 100,000 Israelis took to the streets to protest the judicial overhaul, chanting, “No to dictatorship!”

By Jake Johnson.  Published 2-13-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: @ulidabess/Twitter

Massive protests erupted in Israel on Monday as the country’s far-right government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, began advancing judicial reforms that would roll back judicial oversight of parliament and give lawmakers more control over Supreme Court appointments, proposed changes that opposition leader Yair Lapid decried as an attempt to impose a “dark dictatorship.”

As demonstrations raged—with participants chanting “democracy!” and “no to dictatorship!”—chaos broke out inside the Israeli Knesset after a key committee voted to move ahead with part of the legislation backed by Netanyahu and right-wing Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who are aiming to virtually eliminate the Supreme Court’s ability to strike down laws. Continue reading

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Thousands Across US Demand Reproductive Freedom on Roe’s 50th Anniversary

“The overwhelming majority of Americans in all states support abortion rights—and women will fight to protect our rights and our lives,” said the executive director of Women’s March.

By Kenny Stancil.  Published 1-22-2023 by Common Dreams

People rally for abortion rights at the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison on January 22, 2023. (Photo: Hedi Rudd, Paisley Koch/Women’s March via Twitter)

Thousands of people called for reproductive freedom at rallies around the United States on Sunday—the 50th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion a constitutional right until the Supreme Court’s reactionary majority overturned it last summer.

At more than 200 events in 46 states, demonstrators condemned the court’s 6-3 opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which enables states to curtail or even prohibit access to reproductive healthcare. Since the ruling was handed down on June 24, Republican lawmakers have enacted deadly abortion restrictions in 26 states, including near-total bans in several. Continue reading

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Thousands in Israel March Against ‘Fascism and Apartheid’ at Anti-Netanyahu Protests

“We can see right now many laws being advocated for against LGBTQ, against Palestinians, against larger minorities in Israel,” said one organizer.

By Julia Conley.  Published 1-8-2023 by Common Dreams

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a roundtable dealing with Israeli foreign policy in 2017 Photo: Chatham House/flickr/CC

Carrying signs reading, “Together against fascism and apartheid” and “Democracy in danger,” thousands of Israelis on Saturday marched in protest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition government, which less than a week after being sworn in has already threatened to strip the country’s judiciary of power and announced punitive measures against Palestinian people and leaders.

According to Haaretz, about 20,000 people attended two different marches—one organized by the grassroots group Standing Together and calling for equality and partnership between Palestinians and Israelis, and another focusing on Netanyahu’s threats to the Israeli justice system. Continue reading

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Progressive Democrats Announce Nationwide Democracy Rallies for Jan. 6 Anniversary

“We cannot be complacent; we are calling for an end to the ongoing violent and criminal attacks on our freedoms.”

By Julia Conley  Published 1-2-2023 by Common Dreams

March on Washington for voting rights on August 28, 2021 Photo: Elvert Barnes/Wikimedia Commons/CC

Progressive Democrats of America on Monday announced plans to hold rallies across the nation on Friday, the second anniversary of the January 6, 2021 insurrection, to call on lawmakers to do everything in their power to protect the U.S. from attacks on democracy, including the gutting of voting rights protections and threats to election officials.

The rallies are set to be held two weeks after the U.S. House select committee on the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol released its final report on an 18-month investigation into the insurrection and former President Donald Trump’s role in planning and orchestrating the attempt to stop lawmakers from certifying the 2020 presidential election. Continue reading

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Nobody loved you, 2022

From devastating floods in Pakistan to Italy’s far-right PM to overturning Roe v Wade, this was a year of extremes

By Adam Ramsay  Published 12-30-2022 by openDemocracy

A flooded village in Matiari, in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Photo: Asad Zaidi/UNICEF

How do you turn 365 days experienced by eight billion people – and billions more other beings – into some kind of story?

Maybe you start with some events?

In which case, 2022 was the year that Covid vaccines kicked in. Daily global deaths hit 77,000 on 7 February, and have declined fairly steadily ever since. It was the year Russia invaded Ukraine, the first war between major European powers since 1945. Continue reading

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Russian Authorities Told Rights Group to Reject Nobel Peace Prize, Says Leader

The decision to recognize Memorial alongside a Ukrainian group and Belarusian activist, said Yan Rachinsky, “is remarkable precisely because it shows that civil society is not divided by national borders.”

By Jessica Corbett.  Published 12-10-2022 by Common Dreams

Representatives of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates for 2022 pose with their medals and diplomas. Ales Bialiatski was represented by Natallia Pinchuk; Memorial was represented by Jan Rachinsky; and the Center for Civil Liberties was represented by Oleksandra Matviichuk. (Photo: Jo Straube/Nobel Prize Outreach)

An embattled Russian rights group that received this year’s Nobel Peace Prize was pressured by the Kremlin to decline the honor because of the Ukrainian organization and jailed Belarusian activist who also received the award, BBC News revealed Saturday.

“We were advised by our authorities to turn down this prize because they deemed co-laureates inappropriate,” Yan Rachinsky, the head of Memorial, said in an interview. “Naturally, we did not take notice of this advice.” Continue reading

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