Building workers' power in Roanoke, VA
The only practicable solution to the Covid-19 pandemic for all local jails, prisons, detention centers, and ICE concentration camps is decarceration (mass release). Those institutions are a hotbed for spreading viruses & diseases, they have no way to socially distance people, have horrible sanitation protocols normally, and cannot/do not provide the medical care needed for... Continue Reading →
Companies like Food Lion continue to roll out massive PR campaigns honoring their frontline employees as heroes. Some have even made token concessions concerning worker compensation and safety. However, the flashy advertising and bold headlines mask a treacherous reality for many workers in the retail, healthcare, hospitality, and agricultural industries (among others). “To say the least, I do not believe Food Lion cares about anything more than maintaining a façade. Doing the bare minimum is enough to please the customers and silence the workers.” When crisis response is left to the profit-obsessed CEOs of transnational corporations and the corrupt politicians in Washington, essential workers will continue to disproportionately bear the burden of keeping the country running.
We are continuously told in schools, by the media, and authority figures that police & prisons are here for public safety, but a look at their origins, function and current examples of such shows that is simply not true. Prisons were created in the 1700s as an alternative to corporal punishment. Police were created in... Continue Reading →
We, the undersigned, are demanding that Mayor Lea and the City of Roanoke, Virginia Government, as well as Mayor Foley and the City of Salem, Virginia Government, immediately implement a response to the coronavirus pandemic that places the needs of Roanoke & Salem’s most vulnerable groups first. As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout Virginia and... Continue Reading →
A Joint Statement from the Virginia Left on Recent Gun Control Measures “Under no pretext should arms and ammunition be surrendered; any attempt to disarm the workers must be frustrated, by force if necessary.” - Karl Marx We, the undersigned, representing several groups of the anti-capitalist movement in Virginia, wish to make clear that we... Continue Reading →