#Worldwide #Information #Blogger #LucSchrijvers: #Update: #anarchist #news and #information from all over the #world - 23.02.2020

Today's Topics:

   
1.  cgt andalucia: Presentation of the march of February 28 in
      Malaga (ca) [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
2.  [Italy] Repression: 300 years of seclusion for 63 anarchists
      By ANA (pt) [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
  
 3.  anarkismo.net: Are Anarchists Socialists? by Wayne Price
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
4.  France, Union Communiste Libertaire AL #302 - BlackRock: The
      giant who spoke to the president's ear (fr, it, pt)[machine
      translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
5.  CNT-AIT, Granada + MAON: campaign against bookmakers (ca)
      [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
6.  vitoria.cnt.es: YUNCLER, THE PEOPLE OF TOLEDO THAT HIDES THE
      LARGEST FILE OF ANARCHISM - ABC (ca) [machine translation]
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
7.  US, black rose fed - Strike While the Iron is Hot: Interview
      on the Growing Wildcat Strike at UC Santa Cruz 
     (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


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Message: 1






The Marches of Dignity-Walking, a platform of which CGT is a part , called yesterday to participate, to mobilize on February 28 in Seville,
presenting the event in Malaga. ---- It was announced that a march is planned in the capital, for which buses will be chartered from the
different provinces, including Malaga, with the aimof denouncing the reality of dismantling public services such as health, education,
social policies, also the destruction of the territories, with the elimination of medium-distance trains, as a more sustainable means of
transport, which increases the depopulation of rural areas. ---- Miguel Montenegro, Secretary General declared at a press conference at the
doors of the Delegation of the Junta de Andalucía in Málaga: ---- «We have to fill the streets of Seville and shout thatwe want bread, work,
roof and equality»

Next February 28, at 12.00, from Santa Justa station, we will go out to the street. Public services are inalienable rights.

https://www.cgtandalucia.org/blog/7190-presentacion-de-la-marcha-del-28-de-febrero-en-malaga.html

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Message: 2






Bolzano. The prosecutor's office asked for 300 years in prison for the 63 anarchists accused of devastation and looting for the May 7, 2016
demonstration against the anti-immigration wall that the Austrian government intended to build on the border with Italy. ---- This is one of
two hearings in the lawsuit initiated by the Bolzano prosecutor against some 130 anarchists. Orders range from one year and a few months to
a maximum of ten years each. ---- Other hearings will now follow, reserved for defense and responses, before reaching sentencing in the
coming weeks. For the occasion, the prosecutor decided to reinforce the collective crime of "devastation and looting", despite the damage
assessed after the demonstration worth around eight thousand euros, very little for a type of crime destined for war events such as the
looting of a city by an army. No individual was harmed, not even the railway, nor formed a civil group to claim any damage. On the other
hand, the Ministry of Interior and some police officers who allegedly suffered injuries rushed to form a civil group to ask for financial
compensation.

It is clear that it is a new repressive operation that aims to attack social opposition movements and those that are actively opposed to the
government's racist policies.

anarchist news agency-ana

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Message: 3






Should Anarchists be (Libertarian) Socialists? Should Socialists be Anarchists? ---- **Many people regard anarchism and socialism as
contradictory programs. This is based on the conception of "socialism" as state ownership of the economy. Yet historically, anarchists have
regarded this program as "state socialism" or "authoritarian socialism." They have rejected such views in favor of "anarchist-socialism" or
"libertarian socialism." This concept of anarchism as a variety of socialism remains important today in opposition to pro-capitalist
"libertarianism" and to "democratic socialism"--that is, reformist state socialism.**
Many U.S. anarchists, or radicals interested in anarchism, are surprised to hear of "anarchism" as being "socialist." Like most U.S. people
they have learned to think of "socialism" as meaning state-owned industry-which would be the opposite of anarchism. (Similarly "communism"
is usually thought of as Stalinist totalitarianism.) Also "the Left" is often interpreted as support for such state-oriented economic
programs. This was the view of socialism propagated by the U.S. ruling class as well as by its opponents in the Soviet Union and similar states.

And yet, what sort of economy have anarchists advocated? They are anti-capitalist and want to take away the wealth and power of the
capitalist elite. They want to replace private ownership of the means of production with collectivized, social, ownership-to replace
economic competition with cooperation-production for profit with production for use-division into classes with a classless society, with no
rich or poor, no specialized order-givers ruling over specialized order-takers. A chaotic, competitive, system would be replaced with
overall democratic coordination (planning) from below. All of which is entirely consistent with the rest of the anarchist program of
abolishing the state and all other forms of oppression: racial, national, gender, sexual orientation, and so on. What is this proposed
non-profit, cooperative, economy but socialism?

In fact, virtually all anarchists, from the beginning, have called themselves "socialists" (and some have also called themselves
"communists"). At the same time, they have always regarded themselves as "libertarian socialists" or "anarchist-socialists," to the left
of-and in opposition to-the "authoritarian socialists" or "state socialists." Well before the Russian Revolution, they argued that-whatever
the subjective desires of the state socialists-in practice that program would only create a form of state capitalism (with the state
bureaucracy acting as the new, exploitative, capitalist class).

The first person to identify himself as an "anarchist" was Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. Proudhon usually "described himself as a
socialist....Although he criticized both centralized democracy and state socialism, he still considered himself a democrat and
socialist....Like Bakunin and Kropotkin, he argued against state socialism and called for a decentralized, self-managed, federal, bottom-up,
socialism: anarchism." (McKay 2011; 23)

In his 1910 entry on "Anarchism," written for the Encyclopedia Britannica,, Peter Kropotkin wrote, "As to their economical conceptions, the
anarchists, in common with all socialists, of whom they constitute the left wing...consider the wage system and capitalist production
altogether as an obstacle to progress....The anarchists combat with the same energy, the State, as the main support of that system....To
hand over to the state all the main sources of economical life...would mean to create a new instrument of tyranny. State capitalism would
only increase the powers of bureaucracy and capitalism." (Kropotkin 2014; 164-5; my emphasis)

The great Italian anarchist Errico Malatesta was a younger comrade of Bakunin's and Kropotkin's. In 1897 he wrote, arguing against the
"democratic socialists," "From 1871, when we began our propaganda in Italy, we have always been and have always called ourselves,
socialist-anarchists....We have always been of the opinion that socialism and anarchy are two words which basically have the same meaning,
since it is impossible to have economic emancipation (abolition of property) without political emancipation (abolition of government) and
vice versa." (in Richards 1984; 143; emphasis in original)

Malatesta had supported Kropotkin's "anarchist-communist" version of anarchist-socialism, but he stopped using the "communist" label after
the Russian Revolution. He still identified with that tradition and with the end-goal of a libertarian communist society. But he felt that
the Leninists had given the term "communism" an authoritarian reputation. Instead, Malatesta referred to himself as a "revolutionary
anarchist-socialist."

Noam Chomsky cites the views of the anarcho-syndicalist Rudolf Rocker as indicating, "anarchism may be regarded as the libertarian wing of
socialism." (Chomsky 1970; xii) Chomsky further quotes one of the U.S. Haymarket Martyrs, Adolph Fischer: "Every anarchist is a socialist,
but not every socialist is necessarily an anarchist." (xii)

So, by theory and by history, mainstream anarchism is a wing of the socialist tradition. Some of today's anarchists attack "socialism" and
"the Left" for things-statism, authoritarianism, reformism, misuse of technology, sexism-which the classical anarchists had long since
denounced. Yet the earlier anarchists were clear that they were not condemning "socialism" but "state socialism." They regarded themselves
as being far to the left of the authoritarian Left. Therefore they had seen no need to reject "socialism" as such.

Right Wing "Libertarians" and "Democratic" State Socialists

This argument may seem abstract and archaic, but there are also current reasons for U.S. anarchists to keep the term "socialist." One reason
is the growth of a "libertarian" pro-capitalist movement. Anarchists need to distinguish themselves from this trend which is relatively
influential. It draws on some of the same motives that attract people to anarchism-opposition to drug laws, to gun suppression, to sex laws,
and to other forms of state oppression. When anarchists speak about their views, they are often accused by Leftists of sounding like these
pseudo-libertarians. Unfortunately, these right-wingers use the same label of "libertarian" which anarchists have used since the 19th century.

These "libertarians" range in views from Trump-supporting Republicans to the Libertarian Party to some who regard themselves as anarchists.
As free-market absolutists, they oppose laws which protect public health or worker safety. Some are for a "minimal state," while others call
themselves "anarcho-capitalists" (which is not a thing). These latter are against the bureaucratic-centralized state but do not object to
bureaucratic-centralized corporate monopolies. They would replace the state with private armies of "rent-a-cops" hired by the wealthy-which
would, in effect, become the new state.

These pseudo-libertarians claim to be in the tradition of "individualist anarchism." This tradition is somewhat distinct from the mainstream
of revolutionary anarchism from Proudhon, Bakunin, and Kropotkin onward. Many anarchists (such as Emma Goldman or Daniel Guerin) have sought
to integrate the insights of individualist anarchism with socialist anarchism. In any case, the individualist anarchists were never
supporters of capitalism and sometimes called themselves "socialists". One of their founders, Benjamin Tucker, wrote in 1893 of "the two
principles...Authority and Liberty" as the basis of "the two schools of Socialistic thought...respectively, State Socialism and Anarchism."
(Krimerman & Perry 1966; 62)

Iain McKay argues, "Anarchism has always been a socialist theory and the concept of an ‘anarchism' which supported the economic system
anarchism was born opposing is nonsense." (McKay 2008; 7; emphasis in original) So it is important for anarchists to identify as
"libertarian socialists" and "anarchist-socialists" in order to distinguish themselves from these phony, "libertarian," supporters of
exploitation and oppression.

Another current trend to which anarchists must relate is the rise of "democratic socialism" (or "social democracy"). Due to various factors,
including the obvious failures of capitalism, a large minority has become attracted to this sort of "socialism." A review of political
polling over the last decade reveals, pretty consistently, that a sizable number (between 30 to 40 percent) favors "socialism." While this
is only a minority, it is about the same proportion of the population as that which supports President Trump! Importantly, young adults are
most likely to have a positive view of socialism and a negative view of capitalism-from 40 to 50 percent. (Polling is summarized in Price
2018.) This is reflected in the significant position in the Democratic presidential primaries held by Bernie Sanders, despite his
self-identification as a "democratic socialist." It is also reflected in the rapid growth of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) to
around 60,000.

What people mean by "socialism" or "democratic socialism" is very uncertain. (Sanders himself does not advocate expropriating the ruling
rich, nor socializing major sectors of industry; his model, he says, is the Nordic countries, such as Denmark, which are capitalist
countries with major welfare benefits-benefits which are now under attack.) The DSA itself is "multi-tendency." It even has a Libertarian
Socialist Caucus. But its predominant tendency involves using the electoral system of the capitalist state--by "democratic" they mean
working within the electoral system of capitalist representative (limited) democracy. For most of them this means participating in the
Democratic Party (right now supporting Sanders and some others, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez). This is in order to propose reforms which
supposedly may lead to a socialist society. That is, they are reformist state socialists. Some of them regard themselves as
"revolutionaries," but they do not openly advocate overthrowing the existing state.

Not that "democratic socialists" openly propose a completely centralized, state-managed, economy. This is no longer possible even on the
Left. They are also for workers' management, consumer cooperatives, and local, municipally-owned, industry. Anarchist-socialists also
include such concepts within their overall program of a self-managed economy-a program which can only be achieved through the overturn of
the state. But for these "democratic socialists," such ideas go together with nationalized industry and reforms enforced by the existing
(capitalist) state. (See their proposals for a "Green New Deal"; Price 2019.)

Revolutionary anarchist-socialists should have a two-sided approach to this growth of interest in socialism. On the one hand, they should
welcome the new, popular, hostility to capitalism and openness to alternate systems, summarized as "socialism." This is not the time for
anarchists to be rejecting "socialism." Anarchists, too, are part of the socialist movement and have always been.

On the other hand, they must oppose all varieties of state socialism, both reformist (working through the existing state) and
"revolutionary" (seeking to overturn this state and to set up a new state-the "dictatorship of the proletariat" or whatever). Anarchists are
the authentic socialists, they must say. Reformist state socialists will only maintain the existing capitalist system-a system in crisis
which can no longer provide significant reforms. Alternately, revolutionary state socialists (Marxist-Leninists) would, if successful, only
create a new system of state capitalism.

The radical movement of the "sixties," also began with a reformist program. The Students for a Democratic Society, the then-dominant
organization, began as the youth group of the League for Industrial Democracy. This was a social democratic body which included Michael
Harrington (who later started DSA). It was only over time that the youthful Left developed in a revolutionary direction-although one which
was dominated by Leninist statism.

The pattern of movement from reformism to revolutionary socialism is likely to be repeated--this time hopefully toward libertarian
socialism. The ongoing crises of U.S. and world capitalism will push the current radicalization further to the Left. The reformists will be
unable to offer real solutions to the disasters which are looming over society. I am not proposing specific tactical directions (should
anarchists join the DSA while opposing its electoralism and statism, or build independent organizations?). But revolutionary
anarchist-socialists should be preparing for future developments by organizing themselves now.

References

Chomsky, Noam (1970). "Introduction." In Daniel Guerin. Anarchism; From Theory to Practice. NY: Monthly Review Press. Pp. vii-xx.

Krimerman, Leonard, & Perry, Lewis (Eds.) (1966). Patterns of Anarchy; A Collection of Writings on the Anarchist Tradition. Garden City NY:
Anchor Books/Doubleday.

Kropotkin, Peter (2014). Direct Struggle Against Capital; A Peter Kropotkin Anthology (Iain McKay ed.). Oakland CA: AK Press.

McKay, Iain (2008). An Anarchist FAQ; Volume one. Oakland CA: AK Press.

McKay, Iain (2011). "Introduction." Property is Theft! A Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Anthology. (I. McKay ed.) Oakland CA: AK Press. Pp. 1-52.

Price, Wayne (2018). "The Revival of U.S. Socialism-And an Anarchist Response."
https://www.anarkismo.net/article/30763?search_text=Wayne+Price

Price, Wayne (2019). "A Green New Deal vs. Revolutionary Ecosocialism."
https://www.anarkismo.net/article/31250?search_text=Wayne+Price

Richards, Vernon (Ed.) (1984). Errico Malatesta; His Life and Ideas. London UK: Freedom Press.

*written for www.Anarkismo.net

https://www.anarkismo.net/article/31755

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Message: 4






For the past few weeks BlackRock, a multinational finance company, has finally gained notoriety due to its status. Indeed, behind the
pension reform that Macron and Philippe are trying to impose on the majority of the population, the imprint of financial speculators is
omnipresent. ---- In September 2017, Isabelle Mateos y Lago, director general of the BlackRock Investment Institute - and incidentally a
financial inspector on availability - welcomed the " improvement of the political environment " resulting from the election of Emmanuel
Macron four months earlier. In July 2019, it was the big boss himself, Larry Fink, co-founder of BlackRock and living legend of Wall Street,
who was received at the Élysée Palace and in Matigon by Macron and Philippe. BlackRock representatives also met on numerous occasions with
Jean-Paul Delevoye, former high commissioner for pensions.

The present reform of the pension system, sold as universal, apart from the fact that it will not affect cops and matons, has a
particularity: it will not concern incomes above 120,000 euros. For these, more contributions opening up pension rights. These high incomes
(around 300,000 workers) will therefore go directly to pension funds to finance their old age. But more structurally, it is savings that
escape financial products which is the real target of these raptors of finance.

In June 2019, BlackRock published a note that alternates advice to the government to carry out a reform of the pension system backed by a
structural reform of the savings system of the French. According to this note, only 130 billion were collected in savings products against
more than 7 600 billion investments in non-financial assets. For the capitalists this untapped windfall is intolerable. The reduction in
pensions which would be the consequence of the implementation of this reform would inevitably lead to a switchover of a non-negligible part
of this savings towards market financial products.

Lrem: the exclusive reign of the market
These days, the government has taken a step further in this ultra-liberal policy when Bruno Le Maire decided to lower Livret A remuneration
below the inflation rate, while declaring that this measure was taken favor of the " thousands of people waiting for social housing " . This
measure also responds according to Mayor " our investment diversification policy " , that is to say the promotion of financial products.
This is good, the government who wants to do away with " sleeping money "- that is to say that does not relate to the capitalists - launched
last October a new product: the PER. The retirement savings plan allows money to be invested in the " economy " (that is to say finance). We
bet that in the face of so much effort to convert the French to finance, the bosses of BlackRock will be able to thank their democratically
elected vassals as they should be.

David (UCL Grand-Paris-Sud)

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?BlackRock-Le-geant-qui-parlait-a-l-oreille-du-president

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Message: 5






This year we resume our campaign against bookmakers in the Zaidín neighborhood together with MAON-Anarchist Movement Black Sheep .
These are located in the neighborhoods of working areas where unemployment and precariousness have settled after the hard years of crisis.
Its location is no accident: they intend to sell a false hope among working youth, obtain money effortlessly and quickly. Their ads flood
sports broadcasts, on television and radio, and on the internet, another place where they have penetrated dangerously.
With the fight you can win, with the game you always lose!
Out betting houses in our neighborhoods!
http://elmilicianocnt-aitchiclana.blogspot.com/2020/02/cnt-ait-granada-maon-campana-contra-las.html

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Message: 6






By CNT Vitoria-Gasteiz in article opinion , culture , fal , historical memory
Among the documents it retains, there are Durruti handwritten notes and more than 6,000 original posters from around the world. ----
"Anarchy is the only form of socialization that corresponds to an emancipated, free, conscious, educated and just society." This is one of
the best known phrases of libertarian thought, coined by Anselmo Lorenzo (1841-1914), one of the first representatives of this movement in
the country and known as "the grandfather of Spanish anarchism." ---- Juan Cruz, one of those responsible for the archive, in one of the
halls - H. Fraile ---- What many people do not know is that this anarchist theoretician, born in the bosom of a humble family in Toledo, is
the one that gives name to the documentary center of the Anselmo Lorenzo Foundation (FAL). It is the largest archive of Spanish
anarcho-syndicalism, which is located in an industrial warehouse in the nearby town of Yuncler, in the heart of La Sagra. There, just over
50 kilometers from the roundabout of Ambassadors of Madrid, where the headquarters of the CNT (National Confederation of Labor), opens the
doors to ABC one of the archivists of the center, Juan Cruz. He, together with two other partners, are in charge of cooperative arrangements
for this project to work properly.

"Anselmo Lorenzo is not very remembered in his homeland," says Juan Cruz, who highlights the importance of the character. According to the
report, he was one of the organizers of the International Workers Association (AIT) or First Workers International (PIT), created in London
in 1864. He was also one of the founders in 1910 of the CNT, which was the union with more affiliates in the early twentieth century,
reaching one million members.

Yuncler's election is motivated by the lack of space in the Madrid headquarters, although it prevailed that it was a place near the capital
and more economical, as is the case of this town in the north of the province of Toledo. The documentary center of the FAL serves as a
refuge for the largest and most important archive of Spanish anarchism, with documents dating from the origins of the movement to the
present. This is due, according to the archivist, that the Anselmo Lorenzo Foundation is associated with the CNT, so that the volume of
documents does not stop growing, because, when the union is still active, it continues to generate documentation.

The head of the center recalls that the Anselmo Lorenzo Foundation was created in 1987 with three purposes: to recover all the material
heritage (posters, films, photographs, books or any type of document) of the CNT and the entire libertarian movement so that everything is
unified in the same space; keep it and work it in a professional manner and, finally, put it in value and spread it so that people know it.

http://vitoria.cnt.es/blog/2020/02/19/yuncler-el-pueblo-de-toledo-que-esconde-el-mayor-archivo-del-anarquismo-abc/#more-5859

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Message: 7






Since the wildcat strike at the University of California in Santa Cruz kicked off last Monday, thousands of students have blocked streets
and shut down the campus, while riot police from across the State have been mobilized and made over a dozen arrests. Predictably, police
violence has broken out on the picket lines; only generating more support of the strike along with injuring several strikers. ---- But as
support for the strike, which is fighting for a cost of living increase, grows to include more strikers and supporters, UC President Janet
Napolitano has warned that there will be drastic "consequences" for strikers, including potential firings and even deportation of
international students. ---- Wanting to know more about what is happening on the picket lines and to hear about the impact of police
repression and threats made by the administration, we again reached out to folks in the Bay Area chapter of the Black Rose Anarchist
Federation to learn more.

IGD: What has been happening with the strike since Monday?
So much has happened since Monday, it's a bit hard to condense into the written form.

Perhaps the most important updates since Monday are that our numbers have expanded significantly. At the peak of our blockade and picket
Wednesday, there were likely 500 - 600 graduate workers, undergraduates, faculty, staff, and non-university affiliates present.

Wednesday in particular also saw our most direct contact with the police to date. After being woefully outnumbered on Monday, local UCSC
police called in reinforcements from UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley and UC Irvine, as well as CHP and Alameda County Sherriffs.

When some of our numbers elected to engage in civil disobedience by sitting down and linking arms in the intersection, police were able to
move in and make 17 arrests - leaving bloodied, bruised, and with concussions. After these initial arrests, we have refrained from taking
static positions that allow for the police to easily pick people off.

IGD: What have the police been doing on the picket lines?
Each day in the last week followed what became a semi-predictable pattern. We would begin with smaller numbers in the morning, not blocking
the intersection. The police would watch us, but not intervene.

As each day went on and our ranks became filled out with later arrivals, we were then able to move into the street and completely shut down
the entrance to the campus. This would then prompt the police to begin to mobilize from their staging area, form skirmish lines, and prepare
to move in.

Other than the case on Wednesday when some sat down in the intersection, the police have refrained from making attempts at clearing the
street. It's possible that the university is restraining the police so as to avoid another PR disaster reminiscent of the pepper spray cop
at UC Davis in 2009.

Frankly, it appears that they don't have the numbers to break up the picket either. Even on Wednesday with more than 500 on the street, the
police seemed like they were only able to muster about 75 - 100 cops.

Our speculation is that this is a budgeting issue for the university. It's been revealed to us that UCSC has allocated $300,000 a day for
police overtime and outside reinforcement. It seems as though they may be bumping up against their budgetary ceiling.

IGD: What has been the reaction to the police attacks?
No doubt support has flowed in to us. This includes more people showing up to the picket, material support for our strike fund, and the
bolstering of our narrative in the media.

The UC seems to recognize that physically cracking down on the pickets would lead to poor news coverage and a depletion of their already
expiring political capital.

So instead, they're taking a different tact and threatening our jobs.

IGD: Can you talk about how people have been picketing? Is it just at the base of campus? Are other actions taking place as well?
As far as the wildcat graduate worker strike is concerned, picketing has been largely confined to campus entrances.

However, undergraduates have begun organizing to assert their own demands and to agitate for what they're calling an undergrad student body
strike. On Friday last week they conducted their own general assembly and then marched to the administration building on campus, finally
ending by marching down at the base of the campus to join the picket.

Another interesting development has been the self-organization of Family Student Housing residents. Family Student Housing (FSH) is a bloc
of on-campus housing specifically designated for graduate workers with spouses or kids. Earlier this week, it was revealed that the police
had been using FSH common areas to take breaks and stage for the day.

When FSH residents came home to find that the cops who they had been facing down on the picket just hours before were kicking back in their
community, they were incensed. They organized and demanded that the police be barred from FSH buildings and were successful in doing so.

IGD: Is the strike spreading out of UCSC? What other actions are taking place?
There continue to be nascent COLA campaigns of varying size on almost all of the UC campuses. Graduate workers on the UCSD campus, for
example, marched to their own administration building to deliver a COLA demand this past week. Similarly, workers and students on the UCD,
UCSB, UCLA, and UCB campuses have called for general assemblies to address the COLA issue.

We have yet to see strike action emerge on those campuses, but many graduate workers have traveled to our picket in solidarity. Through
these interactions we've strategized and discussed how we might bring the strike to their campuses.

IGD: We saw that some STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) students joined the pickets, how are people outside of the university
taking part?

Yes, this represents an important component of our campaign. Historically, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) workers have
not been well organized through our formal union structure. This is both because these workers have been written off as "unorganizable," but
also because workers in these fields face a different set of conditions to workers in other fields on our campus.

Because our strike has put a great degree of emphasis on organizing at the departmental level, it has only taken a few militant and
motivated STEM students to do what had previously been thought of as a waste of time and resources.

This past week, STEM workers marched from the campus to the picket in lab coats, holding beakers and test tubes while chanting "Together we
fight, STEM won't break the strike."

This has greatly emboldened the rest of us.

IGD: What has been the reaction from the administration to the strike?
In a word: intransigence.

They have continued to stonewall us. The only communications that they have issued are those that make threats. One quite crude email
earlier this week was sent out, reminding international graduate student workers that, if fired, they would face deportation.

However, the biggest development thus far came right before the weekend.

On Friday evening, UCSC EVC Lori Kletzer sent out a campus wide communication that contained an ultimatum for those of us on strike: either
submit the grades that we have withheld by February 21st or be fired.

This email was quickly followed by a communication from UC Regents President and former DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, which echoed this
same threat.

IGD: What will happen in the coming days and weeks do you predict?
It's hard to say and it will likely become more clear after our next general assembly on Tuesday.

It's unclear whether the Regents are willing to follow through with the mass firing that they have threatened. This would no doubt create a
huge labor vacuum on the campus and would likely require faculty to fill the gap in the interim - something that our faculty allies have
already suggested that they would completely reject.

For example, this quarter I am a TA for a class with 150 students. There are two other TA's working this course. Each of us has 50
individual students that we teach, which equates to about 30 - 40 hours of work per TA, per week.

Now, if all of us were fired, that would ostensibly mean that the professor leading the course would then be forced to take on all of that
extra labor.

It seems highly unlikely that they could get away with dismissing all of us, but then again, no one thought Reagan would fire 11,000 PATCO
workers.

If the Regents do follow through with the nuclear option of firing us en masse, I don't doubt that it would lead to some sort of larger
rupture, either on the UCSC campus or across the whole of the UC system.

We are of course also working to create the conditions for this rupture regardless of whether our jobs go to the chopping block or not.

IGD: How can people support?
If you are in or near Santa Cruz, come to the picket everyday between 7:30 AM and 5 PM.

If you're in a town with a UC campus, consider trying to reach out to the nascent COLA campaigns on those campuses.

If you're somewhere else, consider donating to our strike fund. It allows us to provide food on the picket, retain legal support, bail
people out of jail, and complete other important logistical tasks.

If you are a journalist, consider writing a story about this situation. The last thing that the UC wants is more bad press.

https://blackrosefed.org/strike-while-iron-is-hot-interview-wildcat-strike-uc-santa-cruz/

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