New Zealand primary school teachers reject pay-cutting deal
Primary school teachers overwhelmingly rejected a sellout offer, which the union bureaucracy presented to them after similar wage cuts were imposed on high school teachers.
Tom Peters•
Educators Rank-and-File Committee
The Educators Rank-and-File Committee is an international network of educators, students, parents, and workers fighting for workers power in the schools, to stop the capitalist destruction of public education and eliminate COVID-19.
Get involved!
Fill out this form to join the rank-and-file committee nearest you. If there is not already a committee in your area, we will help you get one started.
Connect with us
Subscribe to our email newsletter to get the latest news, analysis, and political perspective for educators, in your inbox.
Australian Senate universities report covers up Labor’s onslaught on tertiary education
No mention is made of the ongoing destruction of nearly 4,000 jobs over the past year, nor of the underlying restructuring agenda of the Albanese Labor government.
Mike Head•
Los Angeles school support staff hold rally as contract talks officially reach impasse
The SEIU, which has kept workers on the job without a contract for over a year, is delaying in a bid to block a strike, announcing it would only hold an Unfair Labor Practice strike vote sometime “early next year.”
Kimie Saito, Marc Wells•
Lecturer and students speak on jobs fight at University of Sheffield
World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to lecturers and students about the implications of shutting down entire departments and the continuing financialisation of higher education.
our reporters•
Simon Whelan•
Phyllis Steele, Nancy Hanover•
Marc Wells•
Sue Phillips•
A WSU Rank-and-File Committee member•
Australia: Staff members expose disastrous “Reset” at Western Sydney University
Many displaced WSU workers are being shunted into lower-paid positions, face higher workloads or are yet to be allocated alternative positions.
A WSU Rank-and-File Committee member•
Postal workers: Come forward with information on workplace deaths and unsafe conditions!
“The only way we will see justice is if we reveal the truth, hold accountable those responsible for the conditions that put us in harm’s way, and set up our own shop floor organizations to take control.”
USPS Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
For a rank-and-file inquiry into the deaths of USPS workers Nick Acker and Russell Scruggs, Jr.!
An inquiry, organized by workers and not corrupt union bureaucrats, is needed to arm workers with the knowledge they need to defend themselves and go on the offensive against the regime of corporate dictatorship in the workplaces which makes these deaths inevitable.
International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees•
Defend the social rights of the working class! For an independent, global movement against mass layoffs!
Workers must fight for workers’ power and workers’ control over production, harnessing the surplus created by new technologies to improve, not lower, the standard of living for the masses.
International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees•
Liz Cabrera•
National Steel Car Rank-and-File Committee•
International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees•
Roger Jordan•
Philadelphia Workers Rank-and-File Strike Committee•
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the term “rank-and-file” mean and where does it come from?
“Rank-and-file” is originally a military term. It refers to the lower “ranks” of soldiers, who literally stand in lines or “files”. These soldiers have a different set of interests in preserving their lives than the officers or “brass” who prosecute the wars on behalf of the ruling elite.
Rank-and-file committees are of, by and for the rank-and-file workers, who have a different set of interests in preserving their lives than management, the bosses, the politicians, and the trade union apparatus, who send workers to die while defending the profits of the ruling elite.
Is it legal to build rank-and-file committees of educators and other workers to stop the spread of COVID-19?
Yes. The formation of rank-and-file committees is 100% completely legal under the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
The right to freedom of speech means you can say whatever you like about what you agree or disagree with. Freedom of association, also covered under the first amendment, means you have the right to associate with others who share your views, for political ends. You also have the right to petition the government for redress, to make demands on the government and tell them what you want them to do.
Does HIPAA law prevent schools or workplaces from disclosing information about the spread of COVID-19?
No. HIPAA has an exception for disclosures to prevent and control the spread of disease, but the state is deliberately not invoking this exception in order to conceal information from workers, so that they can pretend that what they are doing is safe when it’s not.
Rank-and-file educators have the right to know who’s gotten sick, where, when, and what happened. Rank-and-file committees have to demand this information, and have to share it with other workers as a matter of collective self defense.