Berlin funds rearmament over education: Pupils record lowest PISA scores since 2000
Germany posted its worst PISA scores since testing began in 2000, as the government funds the largest rearmament drive since the Nazi era.
Philipp Frisch•
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.
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Australia: ACT Labor government slashes secondary college budgets
This is not an increase in funding for disadvantaged schools, but a reallocation of scarce resources within a system that has been systematically starved for decades.
Kaye Tucker•
Australia: Western Sydney University seeks to impose block teaching
The suggested “Western Momentum” model means even more intensive workloads for educators, at the expense of the quality of education for students.
A WSU Rank-and-File Committee member•
250 years since the Pennsylvania Constitution: The American Revolution and the origins of the public school
Pennsylvania's radical 1776 constitution issued the first American mandate for public schools. Its 250th anniversary arrives with the right to public education under attack.
Renae Cassimeda•
Sterling Oliver, Roger Jordan•
Kaye Tucker•
Our reporters•
Committee for Public Education•
Isaac de Vries•
Postal Workers: Refuse to withhold ballots! Defend mail-in voting and the post office!
We refuse to carry out any order to withhold, delay or “verify” mail-in ballots. We will not be the instrument of the disenfranchisement of the American people.
USPS Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Railroaders: Break the isolation of the National Steel Car strike! Refuse to handle NSCX cars! For a united, cross-border struggle across the railroad industry!
The struggle at National Steel Car cuts directly across the national divisions that the corporations, governments and union bureaucracies are trying to impose on workers.
The Railroad Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Australian Health Workers Rank-and-File Committee demands freedom for Bogdan Syrotiuk
“This young man is immensely courageous in speaking out against war. His persecution is setting a precedent against anyone who opposes any war and a warning to all.” — Mental health nurse
Health Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
National Steel Car Rank-and-File Committee leader on the fight against piecework, union betrayal, and the path forward
The National Steel Car Rank-and-File Committee (NSC-RFC) was founded by shop floor workers in June 2023, on the eve of the last strike, after it became clear to them that the United Steelworkers (USW) bureaucracy would not wage a genuine fight for workers' demands.
Pierre Lajeunesse•
National Steel Car Rank-and-File Committee•
Industrial Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
USPS Workers Rank-and-File Committee•
Dylan Lubao•
Committee for Public Education•
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.