by Maximillian Alvarez | Jun 26, 2026 | Gaza, Israel, labor, Palestine, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, Working People
At the 39th Constitutional Convention of the United Auto Workers (UAW) in Detroit, Michigan, union delegates debated and affirmed the aggressive direction the UAW has taken under current President Shawn Fain, supporting pushes to increase shop-floor militancy, support new organizing efforts, and take stronger stances on the political crises working people face today. Among the major developments to come out of the UAW Constitutional Convention was a historic vote to divest the union from Israel bonds, which provide financial support to Israel’s government as it continues to wage a US-backed campaign of genocidal violence and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians. In this episode, we break down this historic vote and what it means for union members with a panel of rank-and-file workers and members of Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD), a left-wing caucus within the UAW.
Panelists include: Andrew Bergman, a worker at General Motors in Detroit, Michigan, a member of UAW Local 22, and co-chair of UAWD; Navruz Baum, a paralegal in New York, a member of UAW Local 2325, and a member of the UAWD Steering Committee; Margie Thornton, an attorney in Colorado, a member of UAW Local 2320, and a member of the UAWD Steering Committee; and Mike Davis, an auto parts worker in Ohio, a member of UAW Local 2021, and a member of UAWD.
Additional links/info:
Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD) website, member platform, and donation page
Navruz Baum, Daily Struggle, “UAW divests from Israel bonds”
Dan DiMaggio & Jane Slaughter, Labor Notes, “Auto worker delegates back union’s fighting direction at UAW Convention”
Shireen Akram-Boshar, Truthout, “United Auto Workers vote to divest from Israel in historic victory”
Featured Music:
Jules Taylor, Working
by Brad Reed | Jun 25, 2026 | Article, elections, midterms, Politics and Movements: US, Reprint, Voting Rights
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on June 25, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
Postmaster General David Steiner drew the ire of Democratic senators and voting rights advocates on Wednesday when he said that the US Postal Service would not deliver mail-in ballots in states that do not hand their voter files to the Trump administration.
During a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the panels ranking member, asked Steiner if USPS would deliver ballots in a state whose government had refused the Trump administration’s request for access to its absentee voter list.
“Under our proposed regulation, no,” Steiner replied. “We would tell the state that we need the manifest.”
Peters responded by accusing USPS of creating a rule that “coerces” states into handing their voter files to the federal government even though they are under no legal obligation to do so.
“You’re making a decision that people cannot vote by mail,” Peters said. “That’s unacceptable.”
PETERS: Yes or no, if a state refuses to turn their absentee voter list to the federal government, will the Postal Service still mail their ballots under this proposed rule?POSTMASTER GENERAL STEINER: No.PETERS: So the proposed rule basically coerces states to hand over their… pic.twitter.com/5bnJb5Atnr— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 24, 2026
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also sparred with Steiner during the hearing, informing the postmaster general that USPS had absolutely no role to play in determining how states conduct their elections.
“You run the Postal Service, you deliver the mail,” Blumenthal said. “You don’t review ballots or registration. Nobody said you should… This proposed rule is bogus.”
Blumenthal demanded Steiner commit to deliver all mail-in ballots to voters
by Michael Fox | Jun 25, 2026 | Podcast, Politics and Movements: US, The Battle for Free Speech, Trump
Transcript
Audio Clip: By late morning, it was clear. June 6th would be no ordinary Friday in LA.
Michael Fox: June 6th, 2025. Ice officers raid a garment factory in downtown Los Angeles. There’s another raid at a Home Depot. They detained dozens of people. The same day Los Angeles explodes in protests in response. They ripple across the city for more than a week. The first big response to the immigration crackdown in Trump’s second term. Photojournalist Nick Stern was there.
Nick Stern: I’ve been a photojournalist for around 30 years initially in the UK and 2007, I moved to the US and became a citizen in 2019.
Michael Fox: I spoke with him recently. He’s worked in 50 countries covering stuff like this, big protests, civil unrest. So June 6th last year, Nick said the protest was loud, noisy.
Nick Stern: I got pepper sprayed, pepper gassed in my face, which was pretty horrific.
Michael Fox: The next day is a Saturday. There are more ice raids and a big protest that carries into the evening, Nick’s back on the streets and he’s there throughout the day.
Nick Stern: It was a Saturday. It was June the 7th and it was about 10 to 90 in the evening.
Michael Fox: He told me there were a few stragglers in the protest. He was off to the side, kind of parallel with the police. And you can even see this in some cell phone footage shot and posted online from that night. Suddenly an officer turns and fires at him with a less lethal projectile.
Nick Stern: What’s called a flashbang, which is an explosive, which embedded in
by Maximillian Alvarez | Jun 24, 2026 | FBI, Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, Prisons and Policing, Working People
On June 10, early in the morning, FBI agents raided the homes of individuals involved in Palestine solidarity activism at the University of Michigan. As Yarden Katz and Stephen M. Ward report in Mondoweiss, “with help from local and state police departments, including the University of Michigan Police, the raids unfolded simultaneously in Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin…The case is now known as the Michigan Eight. The Justice Department indicted the eight defendants—five of whom are current or former students at the University of Michigan, and one of whom was a University employee—on multiple counts of severe charges, including “Conspiracy to Transmit Threats in Interstate and Foreign Commerce.” The defendants, all in their twenties, now potentially face decades in prison.”
In this installment of our ongoing series “Police State University,” we speak with Kevin Zheng, a member-organizer and secretary of the Graduate Employees’ Organization at the University of Michigan, and Grace Viscito, a restaurant worker and former graduate student at the University of Michigan.
Additional links/info:
Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) website, Instagram, Facebook page, and X page
Legal Fund of Michigan Students for Palestine
Yarden Katz & Stephen M. Ward, Mondoweiss, “Inside the case against the ‘Michigan 8’: Palestine activism recast as antisemitic terror”
Alexa Cheaney, The Michigan Daily, “The Daily breaks down the indictment against eight pro-Palestine activists”
Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / TRNN, “Campus life is unrecognizable in the Trump era: ‘There’s so many cops everywhere’”
Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, “‘The raids happened Wednesday, finals started Thursday’: FBI agents raid homes of pro-Palestine students at University of Michigan”
Featured Music:
Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song
Credits:
Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript
by Shireen Akram-Boshar | Jun 24, 2026 | Article, ICE, Politics and Movements: US, Prisons and Policing, Reprint
This article was originally published by Truthout on June 23, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
On Tuesday, eight Texas anti-ICE protesters convicted on trumped-up terrorism charges earlier this year received decades-long sentences ranging from 30 to 100 years.
Five of the defendants received 50-year sentences after being convicted of rioting and “providing material support to terrorists.” One received a 30-year sentence, and another a 70-year sentence. And Benjamin Song, convicted of attempted murder of an officer in addition to rioting and “providing material support to terrorists,” was sentenced to 100 years in prison.
The eight protesters were convicted based on a July 4, 2025 protest at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, where the activists used fireworks and noise-making to protest the immigrant jail and Trump’s anti-immigrant detentions. Police arrived at the scene, and later claimed that one of the protesters opened fire on an officer, who also shot at protesters. The next day, the FBI began raiding homes, and arresting and detaining protesters.
One of the defendants, sentenced to 30 years in prison, was not even present at the July 4 protest.
These sentences are far longer than any of the prison sentences given to January 6 rioters, the longest of which was 22 years for a member of the Proud Boys, a far right, neo-fascist militant group that embraces white nationalism, Islamophobia, and misogyny. The 22-year sentence was commuted to time served after President Donald Trump pardoned the Proud Boys member, along with some 1,500 other January 6 rioters.
But the Prairieland defendants, on the other hand, have been smeared by prosecutors as part of an “antifa
by Mansa Musa | Jun 23, 2026 | baltimore, Media Criticism, Policing, Politics and Movements: US, Prisons and Policing, Rattling the Bars, video
A new, thought-provoking documentary hits theaters this summer. Beyond the Wire, by filmmaker and researcher Dr. S. Rasheem, offers a powerful counternarrative to the popular crime series The Wire. In this exclusive, one-on-one interview between Dr. Rasheem and Rattling the Bars host Mansa Musa, they explore how her background in community organizing compelled her to tell a different story of Baltimore—one focused on the boots-on-the-ground activism that defies the narrative of a hopeless, crime-ridden city in need of over-policing. Premiering this June, Beyond the Wire is already being hailed by critics and organizers alike as an indispensable representation of “The Greatest City in America.”
Credits:
Producer / Videographer / Editor: Cameron Granadino
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated as soon as possible.
Mansa Musa:
Welcome to this edition of Rattling the Bars. I’m your host, Mansa Musa. A new documentary Beyond the Why, which provides a powerful counter narrative to the popular crime series, The Wire is premiering this month. Today I’m honored and joined by the filmmaker, Dr. S. Rasheen. Welcome to the show, Dr. Rashid.
Dr. S. Rasheem:
Thank you so much for having me. I’m really excited to be here. All
Mansa Musa:
Right tell our audience a little bit about yourself and more importantly, your background and community organizing.
Dr. S. Rasheem:
Yeah. So my background as it relates to this work, how I came to even being able to a point where I’m doing filmmaking, I’ll also share that. So I am a social scientist by socialization and training. So it just means that I largely study people, large populations of people. The people that I particularly focus
