Recently a majority of the Executive Board members of the Retired Teachers Chapter sent a letter to the Unions of the French High School Students, University Students, Secondary School Teachers and University Teachers.It was written in light of the massive protests against discrimination in the French school system which have now grown to a movement for affordability and against cuts in the standard of living for workers and students in France and spread both west to Spain and east to Germany, Belgium, Italy and Albania. These protests have been led by the immigrant children and the children of immigrants from the French Caribbean and North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. The movement has spread from these anti-racist fighters to the white working class students of France and  other European nations -a bold step forward for multi racial unity.

Our Party has helped bring this matter before our Executive Board and over the course of a week received enough support to send this note off.
Letter to students and teachers in France:

Dear Brothers and Sisters, on behalf of the NYC Retired Teachers Chapter of the United Federation of Teachers Executive Board we wish to extend our greetings and solidarity with you all. Students and teachers in New York City face similar issues in our buildings, salaries and discrimination. 

An injury to one is an injury to all. International solidarity is a must.

I hope other CHALLENGE Readers and friends try in their own unions, churches and schools to send similar letters of support.

Here in the apartment complex I live in we have started an Economics Discussion Group and this is the topic of our next meeting. This Wednesday, at 6:30 pm in the Thurgood Marshall room, in Building 3, the Economics Discussion group will be reading an article from the BBC published last week on the student strike and demonstrations in France. This movement has spread among young people in Europe in disparate countries like Spain, Belgium and Italy.Much of the American press has treated this as an orgy of “violence”, skipping the reasons why young people are rising in protest. These protests began in the overseas departments of France where Caribbean students and students in other French territories began demanding equality in educational opportunities. They have since spread throughout Europe.

We hope to discuss the causes of these protests and the question of violence. Just as a starter, how does the “violence” of these protests compare with the violence of hunger, rising unemployment, unavailable or unaffordable health care, wars in the Middle East over the control of oil resources and the increasing sums now being spent throughout the world to gird for the next war? Click the box below for the reading.