The administrator of this blog site, I am a lifelong socialist and a retired carpenter and the former recording secretary and an expelled member of Carpenters Local 713. I was expelled for my leading role in the 1999 SF Bay Area carpenters wildcat strike as well as for his opposition to the union bureaucracy in general. I was one of the founding members of a small group called Labor Militant, which was the forerunner to Socialist Alternative. Along with a small group of others, I was expelled when that group started to adapt to the union bureaucracy. I have also visited the workers' movement internationally, including in Pakistan, Egypt (during the Arab Spring), Britain, Mexico and Chile (during the uprising there in 2020). Unless otherwise specified, I am the author of the articles that appear here. Although I am the main author, Oaklandsocialist welcomes articles on any issue that relates to the working class. Contact us at Oaklandsocialist@gmail.com.
Nearly 30,000 prisoners in California prisons have gone on hunger strike to protest the use of psychological torture through solitary confinement. Now, the prison authorities have added physical torture to the psychological […]
On Friday, President Obama gave an important speech on the Zimmerman trial. The following day, the ever-interesting Wall St. Journal covered that speech in a front page article. The following are […]
Some socialists had thought the courts would find Zimmerman guilty because that would simplify things for the “one percent”, the capitalist class. The idea makes sense in one way. After all, consider […]
by John Reimann On Tuesday, July 17, the Egyptian government’s interim cabinet was announced. Several appointments serve to confirm our previous perspectives. These appointments can only be understood when the extreme economic […]
by John Reimann Gerald Seib is the chief correspondent covering politics in Washington D.C. for the most important newspaper of Corporate America – the Wall St. Journal. That’s why when he writes, […]
Last night there was a large march in Oakland, CA, to protest the George Zimmerman verdict. Not only was it considerably larger than the previous one, but the people who were on […]
“We are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken.” That was Barack Obama’s message on the not-guilty verdict of George Zimmerman. Given Obama’s full history, what he should have said […]
“From Guantanamo to Pelican Bay, hunger strike all night all day! “From Palestine to East L.A., hunger strike all night all day!” This was the chant as some 250 people marched on Corcoran […]
Yesterday, an all white jury in Florida let off a white man who shot an unarmed black teenager. That is just the tip of the iceberg. According to this report, one black […]
by John Reimann “I will not let them get in my way… I keep going… They are not able to intimidate us. Nothing will stop us.” These Egyptian women were speaking1 for […]
