oaklandsocialist
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.
Tennessee auto workers turn down (company) union
Frank Fischer, the chairman and CEO of the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee, left, and Gary Casteel, a regional director of the UAW, hold a joint press conference on Feb. 14. Can workers […]
Michael Dunn Trial… The past isn’t past.
Michael Dunn – a respectable murderer Back in the bad old days, white people could kill blacks with complete impunity, especially in the South. Have things really changed? In November of 2012, […]
America the Paranoid
Yesterday, as I was leaving a parking space, I saw that my ticket had quite a bit of time left on it. (In Oakland, the parking meters issue a ticket valid for […]
US Economic Recovery & Fracking
When the US economy collapsed in 2007-2008, many people thought it signaled a long-term economic crisis. That does not seem to have happened, so far. Although the recovery has not been very strong, it has […]
Are Cell Phones Dangerous to our Health?
Are Cell Phones Dangerous to our Health? Book review of “Disconnect” by Devra Davis It may come as a surprise to today’s teen agers, but just 20 years ago cell phones were […]
Corporate America Speaks: President Obama’s State of the Union Address
Near the opening of his state of the union speech, and sprinkled throughout it, US President Barack Obama bragged about the increased production of fossil fuels in the United States. In doing […]
“This is a war that we must fight”: Struggle continues in Pittsburg, CA
Pittsburg residents and their supporters gather outside the Pittsburg City Hall to express their opposition to the WesPac oil terminal and then speak at the City Council meeting. They heard a message […]
Pittsburg, California, residents get support from South Africa
The struggle against pollution is global. After viewing the video we produced of the protest in Pittsburg, community and environmental justice organizers in Durban, South Africa, have sent the following message of support.: […]
Stop WesPac: Pittsburg Workers Stand Up
Pittsburg, California, is a solidly working class town if there ever was one. Like workers in other parts of the country and the world, residents here are building a working-class environmental movement, […]