1. With hundreds of thousands of people expected to demonstrate today in opposition to the Trump administration, the urgent question facing workers and youth is: What is to be done?
2. In the face of an horrific new phase of the Gaza genocide, the US establishment media launches a two-pronged effort to cover up US-Israeli war crimes. The first is silence. The second is the promotion of demonstrations taking place in Gaza, whose slogans allegedly included opposition to Hamas
3. As a part of its plan to wreck the democratic principles embedded in American culture, the US Trump administration issues an executive order to impose a fascist-like conformity on the Smithsonian Institution
4. Public sector workers in Germany must link up with their counterparts in other nations if they are to surmount the Verdi union's determination to chain them to the government's push for war and requirements for greater austerity
5. The Berlin state government orders four anti-genocide activists to either leave Germany by April 21 or face compulsory deportation
6. The official Australian election campaign, marked by banalities, lies and phony promises from all the establishment parties, are suppressing any discussion of what is to come after the election
7. US autoworkers, respond to the impact of US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs by turning their growing anger against the UAW union's leadership, which has aligned itself with the fascist administration
A worker at the Ford Truck Plant in Dearborn, Michigan:
When I go to Kroger’s I can tell they’re short-staffed and they’re
pushing people to do more and more; like they’re wearing five hats. it’s
too much. It’s everybody.
8. One day after a US District Judge reluctantly drops federal charges of corruption against New York City mayor Eric Adams, Adams announces that he will pass up the Democratic Party primary and run as an independent in November to pursue a second term
9. Canada retaliates against the US with its own tariffs-- a recent projection by the Brookings Institution predicts that tit-for-tat tariffs between the neighboring countries could result in the loss of more than 510,000 jobs in Canada— or approximately 2.5 percent of all its employment
10. South Korea’s Constitutional Court upholds the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol; a special presidential election will likely take place on June 3
11. A recent survey reveals that “hot-bedding”— the practice of tenants sharing a bed in shifts to reduce rental costs— is becoming more common in Australia
12. For the second time in
less than four months, the US Senate resoundingly votes in
support of continuing the genocide in Gaza by rejecting two resolutions
aimed at blocking some $9 billion in weapons to the Israeli government
Under conditions where President Donald Trump has promised to “take
over” the Gaza Strip and, with the Israeli government, oversee the
forced displacement of the remaining 2.1 million residents, a majority
of Democratic senators voted against putting minimal restrictions on US
arms transfers to Israel. No Republicans voted in favor of either
resolution.
13. An Australian locum psychiatrist (one who works on a temporary, contract basis, often filling in for other psychiatrists) speaks to the World Socialist Web Site about the increasingly desperate situation facing public sector psychiatrists and their patients:
Right now, the mental health system is failing patients, their
families, and the community, and it’s quite disheartening. I’m now faced
with lots of patients who really should be case managed in the
community.
We’re not able to provide the ongoing case management,
care and treatment these patients need and should be getting in the
community. They go between the police, the emergency department and the
inpatient ward in a cycle that just repeats itself and is putting a big
strain on emergency services as well. There are lots of police and
ambulance call outs because of the increasing number of mental health
presentations.
14. The union that represents 6,000 nurses at Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Northern California (CRONA) blocks a strike by announcing a sellout tentative labor agreement
15. The collective bargaining committee of the service trade union Verdi accepts a wage agreement at Germany’s postal service (Deutsche Post) that includes a reduction in real wages and job cuts for mail delivery workers
16. Sri Lanka’s ruling political party is campaigning for the May 6 local government elections on the
basis of lies, hypocrisy and false promises-- it's chief agenda is to squeeze the most money possible out of workers to begin repaying IMF loans for which repayment has been postponed to 2028
17. China retaliates against US tariffs
There are now multiple warnings in the financial press and in business
circles that the world is being plunged into an all-out trade war, akin
to and possibly even more damaging than that of the 1930s, which played a
crucial role in intensifying the Great Depression.
18. Workers Struggles in Asia, Australia and the Pacific:
ASHA workers’ strike in Kerala enters eighth week
Nestlé factory workers in Goa begin hunger strike protest
Diamond workers strike indefinitely in Surat
TNZ Group garment workers protest for unpaid wages in Gazipur
Castlemaine Perkins brewery workers strike for pay rise and protection of existing conditions
Kellogg’s factory workers in Sydney threatened with lockout
Noosa council workers hold third strike for higher pay
Mental health workers strike and march on Victorian parliament
Strathcona Girls Grammar school teachers to strike for pay rise and reduced workload
Newcastle bus drivers take action for pay rise
Victoria’s Forest Fire Management workers escalate industrial action
Workers at Victoria’s public mental health facilities continue industrial campaign
Hospitality workers protest over low minimum wage
19. Free Ukrainian socialist and anti-war activist, Bogdan Syrotiuk!
20. San Francisco, California city legal resources for immigrants needing help
