Freedom Socialist newspaper, Vol. 47, No. 2, April-May 2026
socialism.com
Don’t ever count the U.S. working class out. If you think working people are too jaded, too stressed, too overworked, too … whatever, think again.
A quick recap of recent actions reveals nothing but courage and tenacity. At Kaiser Permanente, 31,000 healthcare workers in California and Hawaii were on strike for over a month. While they did not get everything, they did get a lot, settling close to their original demands for higher wages and improved patient care.
Starbucks Workers United was started in 2021 by baristas at Starbucks stores in Buffalo, New York, and has grown to 11,000 workers at almost 700 stores nationwide. Against a virulently anti-union management, they have fought for better staffing and increased take-home pay. Throughout the end-of-the-year holidays, the union-led “Red Cup Rebellion” nationwide strike put a serious crimp in the company’s “Back to Starbucks” marketing hustle.
On Jan. 23 in Minneapolis, workers from several unions went on strike to protest the draconian presence of ICE. Supported by community groups and residents, up to 100,000 Minnesotans braved –20°F temperatures to tell ICE that if you come after any of us, you come after all of us. And we won’t take it!
While you’ll most likely see it downplayed by the mainstream media, labor militancy is alive and well.