From Pacifica Radio, this is Capitalism, Race, & Democracy, a collective effort by producers from Pacifica stations and affiliates across the US.
Google workers and community members rallied on August 29 in San Francisco during the international Google Cloud Conference to call on Google to stop profiting from their Nimbus contract with Israel. They spoke out on their company spying and using technology to target Palestinian people and supporting the apartheid regime.
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Melissa Yarborough is a Houston Independent School District teacher and parent. Speaking to Pacifica’s Akua Holt, Melissa shared her thoughts on the recent hostile state takeover of the largest school district in Harris County, a blue county in the red state of Texas. The takeover drastically impacts BIPOC students and teachers.
On August 31, a Harris County judge granted a temporary injunction in the Houston Federation of Teachers’ lawsuit over HISD’s alleged illegal teacher evaluation system.
According to the lawsuit, the appointed Superintendent Mike Miles proposed, and the appointed board of managers approved, a new local appraisal system, known as Policy DNA. They removed the previous appraisal system, along with its established processes and criteria for measuring teacher performance.
Houston Federation of Teachers President Jackie Anderson said in a press release,
“Superintendent Miles has grossly and illegally expanded both his power and that of the appointed school board. He is refusing to follow the law by shutting out the voices of teachers, parents, students and other community members and punishing educators in the name of streamlining the district. […] This is autocratic, not democratic or even legal. We will not stand by and allow him to run roughshod over this district and destroy all the progress this community has made without a fight.”
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Auto workers at GM, Ford and Stellantis are facing a contract expiration on September 15. Scott Houldierson is a Ford Chicago UAW Electrician, former UAW 551 Vice president, and now chair of Unite All Workers For Democracy, UAWD. He spoke with host Steve Zeltzer.
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This coming September 11 will be the 50th anniversary of the US AFL-CIO supported coup in Chile that killed tens of thousands of trade unionists and workers. Lisa Milos, Chilean American, Spanish interpreter and member of CWA United Professional and Technical Employees, reports from Chile on events leading up to the anniversary.
There will be an educational conference in Washington DC on September 10 at the Martin Luther King Library and a rally at the AFL-CIO DC headquarters at 12 noon on September 11 to call for releasing classified documents on the role of the AFL-CIO and AIFLD in Chile.
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China is the largest exporter of capital in the world. In Namibia, Chinese state and private companies have bought all the uranium and marble mines in the country. According to trade unionists, they are trying to break the unions. In 2019, the Chinese National Nuclear Corporation, a state owned company, bought the Rossing uranium mine with promises that it would abide by Namibian labor law. In 2020 they fired 9 leaders of the union branch. Those leaders are still fighting for their jobs back. George Martin is the secretary of the Rossing mine union in Namibia. Hewat Beukes is a labor lawyer who helped represent the miners at Rossing and other workers including the Fisherman’s Association.They spoke at a panel during LaborFest in San Francisco.
And that concludes today’s edition of Capitalism, Race & Democracy. We thank all of Pacifica’s sister stations and affiliates who contribute to the production of this show. Today’s program was produced by the Capitalism, Race, & Democracy collective and hosted by Steve Zeltzer.
Music:
CUMBIA PALESTINA by Orkesta Popular San Bomba
YO TE NOMBRO LIBERTAD- ISABEL ALDUNATE-HOMENAJE A DESAPARECIDAS EN DICTADURA MILITAR CHILE
