Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) spent the evening of Inauguration Day just outside her congressional district supporting a Teamsters union strike in the Bronx.
By Seth Galinsky February 1, 2021 Above, Militant/Candace Wagner; Inset, Militant/Seth GalinskySocialist Workers Party candidates are joining strike picket lines and social struggles and campaigning on workers’ doorsteps, discussing fight to defend interests of working class. Above, Joanne Kuniansky, SWP candidate for New Jersey governor, with striking Teamsters at Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx Jan. 18. Right, SWP candidate for New York mayor Róger Calero discusses need for union with a “deliverista,” one of 80,000 grocery and restaurant delivery workers in New York City, Jan. 17.
Socialist Workers Party candidates and campaign supporters are meeting growing numbers of working people who are looking for ways to resist the impact of the capitalist crisis. Many are interested in discussing the SWP’s program for fighting to defend working-class interests.
There is a long history of Democratic officials joining picket lines when it is convenient for them. There’s a shorter history of them showing up for striking workers when it is urgently necessary for workers who are forced to strike for justice. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote a new chapter in that shorter and more vital […]
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For the first time in 35 years, workers at New York City s Hunts Point Market are on strike.
About 1,400 produce workers part of the Teamsters Local 202 union unanimously voted to strike on Sunday, January 17, after contract negotiations broke down when management countered appeals for a $1 hourly raise with an offer of a $0.32 hourly raise. These workers–who have continued working throughout the devastating COVID-19 pandemic–are responsible for supplying 60 percent of the produce in New York City.
On Wednesday, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez helped draw some spotlight on the movement by skipping the estimated $200 million inaugural festivities to join union members on the picket line calling for the $1 wage increase.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she had a very close encounter during the Capitol riots (Getty Images)
She has been a leader who is often seen swimming against the tide, even if it is in her own party. New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or AOC as she is popularly known symbolizes the progressive wing of the party, a rebel who doesnât hesitate to take on even the Democratic leadership. The 31-year-old self-proclaimed socialist leader endorsed Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the presidential primaries last year and was even seen questioning President Joe Bidenâs agenda when the veteran was in the process to pick faces for his administration that took over on Wednesday, January 20. She said Bidenâs cabinet lacked a cohesive vision.