https://znetwork.org/author/billfletcher/ Independent Left News, Analysis, Vision and Strategy Fri, 20 Feb 2026 15:46:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://znetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/cropped-Z_logo_512-32x32.png https://znetwork.org/author/billfletcher/ 32 32 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-iconic-jesse-jackson-and-the-rainbow-potential/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-iconic-jesse-jackson-and-the-rainbow-potential/#respond Fri, 20 Feb 2026 17:30:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1294979 Jesse Jackson’s two presidential campaigns (1984 and 1988) represented the pinnacle of the Black-led electoral upsurge which began in the late 1970s. This upsurge symbolized a transition in the struggle for Black political power, but also much more. Arising at a point when neoliberalism was beginning to cohere, the Black-led upsurge challenged the failure of [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-iconic-jesse-jackson-and-the-rainbow-potential/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/time-for-a-new-democracy-charter/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/time-for-a-new-democracy-charter/#respond Sat, 25 Oct 2025 16:28:15 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1290427 Icould not read Max Elbaum’s excellent piece without thinking about the late Jack O’Dell and his proposed Democracy Charter. But we shall get back to that in a minute. I could not agree more with what Elbaum presents. That said, I wish to note two points of difference; one area worth exploring; an addition; and a note [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/time-for-a-new-democracy-charter/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-paths-that-brought-me-to-marxism-a-sort-of-response-to-michael-albert/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-paths-that-brought-me-to-marxism-a-sort-of-response-to-michael-albert/#comments Wed, 20 Aug 2025 18:09:46 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1287550 [This article is part of a short series on Marxism and its relevance for left resistance in today’s challenging geopolitical and ecological climate, and for the continuing effort to win a better world beyond immediate crises. A previous ZNetwork article written by Michael Albert, entitled Should Our Resistance Enrich or Transcend Marxism?, was the catalyst for [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-paths-that-brought-me-to-marxism-a-sort-of-response-to-michael-albert/feed/ 5 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/unions-as-a-21st-century-anti-fascist-force/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/unions-as-a-21st-century-anti-fascist-force/#respond Wed, 09 Apr 2025 16:04:35 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1282202 One of the principal difficulties facing the Democratic Party establishment and most leaders of organized labor is a failure to accept a fundamental reality: there is no normality. The failure to grasp this state of affairs has led to strategic paralysis and a tendency to believe that by being the ​“adults in the room,” the Democrats — or the trade [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/unions-as-a-21st-century-anti-fascist-force/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/mlk-and-the-black-freedom-struggle/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/mlk-and-the-black-freedom-struggle/#respond Sat, 05 Apr 2025 14:33:41 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1282059 MLK was murdered 57 years ago today…and many of us have still not come to grips with the fact that there is no one leader of the Black Freedom Movement (or, for that matter, any movement!). King represented a symbolic unity within the Black Freedom Movement—and its allies—that was not quite accurate. Due to the [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/mlk-and-the-black-freedom-struggle/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/revisiting-our-2020-post-election-hypotheses-four-years-on/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/revisiting-our-2020-post-election-hypotheses-four-years-on/#respond Thu, 23 Jan 2025 16:57:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1278782 In the immediate aftermath of the November 2020 elections, the two of us composed some hypotheses about the political moment. We received an overwhelmingly positive response and then proceeded on with the rest of our lives and struggles. During the last four years, however, various pieces of this essay have been referenced by friends and [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/revisiting-our-2020-post-election-hypotheses-four-years-on/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/labors-barbarossa-moment/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/labors-barbarossa-moment/#respond Wed, 18 Dec 2024 18:57:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1277282 On June 22, 1941, Operation Barbarossa commenced with a blaze of artillery, accompanied by aircraft bombardment and massive troop advances. The German invasion of the USSR was treated by many people at the time, and later, as a surprise attack. After all, Nazi Germany and the USSR had signed a nonaggression pact in 1939. In [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/labors-barbarossa-moment/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-legacy-of-fred-hampton/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-legacy-of-fred-hampton/#respond Thu, 05 Dec 2024 16:56:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1276643 On December 4, 1969, Black Panther Party leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were drugged and murdered by the Chicago Police Department. There have been documentaries and a feature film about the murder but they only capture part of the moment. Hampton was among the most outstanding of the Panther leaders. Indeed, he was a [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-legacy-of-fred-hampton/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-we-can-defend-ourselves-in-the-new-trump-era/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-we-can-defend-ourselves-in-the-new-trump-era/#respond Mon, 11 Nov 2024 17:17:50 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1275152 Bill Fletcher Jr. is one of the most revered political organizers of the last 40 years. He’s been an activist since his teen years and joined the labor movement after college when he worked as a welder in a shipyard. He has worked for and with numerous unions and was the founder of Black Workers for [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-we-can-defend-ourselves-in-the-new-trump-era/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-cornel-west-campaign-third-parties-and-the-nature-of-the-moment/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-cornel-west-campaign-third-parties-and-the-nature-of-the-moment/#comments Sat, 21 Sep 2024 16:30:15 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1272648 I have known Cornel West since 1972 when we met during my first year at Harvard. I have followed him over the years and felt, at points, that I could call him a friend. That said, his campaign for the presidency raises some very serious questions regarding both his judgment and what seems to pass [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-cornel-west-campaign-third-parties-and-the-nature-of-the-moment/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/we-need-a-global-campaign-to-support-the-sahrawi-liberation-struggle/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/we-need-a-global-campaign-to-support-the-sahrawi-liberation-struggle/#respond Wed, 18 Sep 2024 15:58:05 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1272516 Eye on Western Sahara is the monthly newsletter of the US-based Campaign to End the Moroccan Occupation of Western Sahara (freewesternsahara.org). The Campaign is a diverse coalition of individuals committed to international justice and respect for national self-determination. The campaign is broad and non-partisan and includes people from across the entire political spectrum. The Sahrawi [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/we-need-a-global-campaign-to-support-the-sahrawi-liberation-struggle/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/building-rank-file-power-to-fight-fascism/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/building-rank-file-power-to-fight-fascism/#respond Sat, 17 Aug 2024 16:44:12 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1270948 The following is an edited transcript of a speech delivered by Bill Fletcher, Jr. to the Southern Workers Assembly on August 8, 2024. Bill will share more about the threat of fascism and what must be done to defeat it on Liberation Road’s upcoming webinar “3 Socialist Tasks for 2024: Block, Broaden Build.” (Sunday, August 25, 5:00-6:00 p.m. EST.) Click [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/building-rank-file-power-to-fight-fascism/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/rethinking-the-concept-of-the-social-movement-left/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/rethinking-the-concept-of-the-social-movement-left/#respond Mon, 08 Jul 2024 17:09:19 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1269020 In the early 2000s in the USA, increased attention was paid to the work of the iconic Chilean Marxist, Marta Harnecker. Writing in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Harnecker offered significant insight into what has come to be known as the “crisis of socialism,” and specifically, the strategic and conceptual challenges facing the contemporary [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/rethinking-the-concept-of-the-social-movement-left/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-socialists-can-govern-3/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-socialists-can-govern-3/#respond Thu, 08 Feb 2024 16:58:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1261862 Many on the U.S. left fear governing power, in part because it has been so difficult to achieve. More recent optimism among socialists is a welcome development—but we need a middle ground between being cynical and naive. Bernie Sanders’s presidential primary run in 2016 saw 13 million people vote for a democratic socialist. Two years [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-socialists-can-govern-3/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/union-or-bust-bill-fletcher-jr/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/union-or-bust-bill-fletcher-jr/#respond Thu, 11 Jan 2024 16:56:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1260544 Union or Bust interview Bill Fletcher Jr. highlighting the role that labor can play in achieving a ceasefire in Gaza.]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/union-or-bust-bill-fletcher-jr/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/what-do-john-gotti-and-donald-trump-have-in-common/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/what-do-john-gotti-and-donald-trump-have-in-common/#respond Sat, 06 Jan 2024 15:30:55 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1260309 Did that get your attention? A new Netflix series on John Gotti, the notorious late leader of the Cosa Nostra’s (Mafia’s) Gambino crime family  is a remarkable look at the rise and fall of one of the most well known criminals of our time.  Whether you’ve followed Gotti’s career or not, you will find the [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/what-do-john-gotti-and-donald-trump-have-in-common/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-fascist-movements-biggest-threat-labor-unions/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-fascist-movements-biggest-threat-labor-unions/#respond Mon, 18 Dec 2023 15:57:55 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1259454 Is the trade union movement a force to combat right-wing authoritarianism? That’s the question I posed in mid-October to University of Florida history professor Paul Ortiz. While the union Ortiz then led, United Faculty of Florida, has been at the vanguard of fighting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ reactionary rule, the national picture is a mixed bag. Our present labor movement [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-fascist-movements-biggest-threat-labor-unions/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-leftists-should-read-the-man-who-changed-colors/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-leftists-should-read-the-man-who-changed-colors/#respond Sun, 17 Dec 2023 17:20:43 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1259425 The Man Who Changed Colors is a murder mystery revolving around race, justice, revenge, Cape Verdean Americans and evolving relationships. It is set in 1978-79 in the aftermath of the 1974 Portuguese Revolution and Cape Verde’s independence from Portugal in 1975. It is the sequel to The Man Who Fell From the Sky and features the same central character, David Gomes, a progressive journalist on [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-leftists-should-read-the-man-who-changed-colors/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/one-persons-terrorist-reflections-on-zohra-drifs-memoir-of-the-algerian-revolution/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/one-persons-terrorist-reflections-on-zohra-drifs-memoir-of-the-algerian-revolution/#comments Fri, 03 Nov 2023 16:45:03 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1256891 Ihave seldom felt compelled to write a review or an essay after reading a book. I am often inspired, saddened, or reflective after finishing a book, but normally I don’t feel compelled to publicly think through issues that emerged for me in the course of reading someone’s work. Zohra Drif’s Inside the Battle of Algiers: Memoir [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/one-persons-terrorist-reflections-on-zohra-drifs-memoir-of-the-algerian-revolution/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/campaigns-and-movements-how-are-they-connected-how-do-they-differ/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/campaigns-and-movements-how-are-they-connected-how-do-they-differ/#respond Sat, 07 Oct 2023 15:57:35 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1255423 Over the years, all of us on the Left have been engaged in a wide variety of mass movements —antiwar, labor, environmental, civil rights, women’s and gender rights, and more. Likewise, we have all taken part in public campaigns of various sorts, especially in the electoral arena—sometimes as organizers, other times as voters or endorsers [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/campaigns-and-movements-how-are-they-connected-how-do-they-differ/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-left-and-the-fight-against-maga/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-left-and-the-fight-against-maga/#comments Thu, 28 Sep 2023 15:58:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1255006 What can leftists, by which I mean those who are consciously anticapitalist and progressive, do in the fight against the MAGA movement? I pose this question because much of the Left and many progressives appear to be relatively paralyzed and/or perplexed. Let’s identify several tasks that leftists can immediately address. Narrative:  The Left needs a [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-left-and-the-fight-against-maga/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-good-day-in-our-movement-organizers-debate-in-labor-power-and-strategy/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-good-day-in-our-movement-organizers-debate-in-labor-power-and-strategy/#respond Mon, 04 Sep 2023 15:33:28 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1253131 Strategic locations, key occupations, networked relations—all bring workers power. “Labor Power and Strategy” offers an extended conversation among veteran organizers on how these modes operate and relate, and how best to deploy them. The book Labor Power and Strategy (PM Press, 2023) was compiled as “a back pocket reference and discussion tool for a new generation of [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/a-good-day-in-our-movement-organizers-debate-in-labor-power-and-strategy/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/on-four-global-contradictions/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/on-four-global-contradictions/#respond Sat, 02 Sep 2023 17:04:35 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1253013 Having an analytical framework to understand the key relationships that define the social conditions and political battles we face can guide us in formulating our strategy and tactics on every level—from local to global. How can we determine what are the main class and social conflicts in today’s world? We know there are multiple struggles [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/on-four-global-contradictions/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/an-interview-with-bill-fletcher-jr/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/an-interview-with-bill-fletcher-jr/#respond Tue, 29 Aug 2023 16:48:04 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1252771 Eric Draitser welcomes to CounterPunch author, activist and organizer Bill Fletcher, Jr. to discuss his recent writing, his past as a labor organizer, his outspoken position on Ukraine and imperialism, and much more. Bill and Eric discuss Bill’s youth and first exposure to radical politics, his entry into organized labor, his role in helping organize [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/an-interview-with-bill-fletcher-jr/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zaudio/interview-with-bill-fletcher-jr/ https://znetwork.org/zaudio/interview-with-bill-fletcher-jr/#respond Tue, 29 Aug 2023 16:30:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=audio&p=1252760 Eric Draitser welcomes to CounterPunch author, activist and organizer Bill Fletcher, Jr. to discuss his recent writing, his past as a labor organizer, his outspoken position on Ukraine and imperialism, and much more. Bill and Eric discuss Bill’s youth and first exposure to radical politics, his entry into organized labor, his role in helping organize [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zaudio/interview-with-bill-fletcher-jr/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-right-is-better-than-the-left-at-storytelling-but-we-can-fix-that/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-right-is-better-than-the-left-at-storytelling-but-we-can-fix-that/#respond Sun, 18 Jun 2023 18:38:23 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1248012 Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a world-renowned racial justice, labor, and international activist, scholar, and author; he has served in leadership positions with many prominent labor organizations, including the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union; he is the former president of TransAfrica Forum and the author of numerous books, including “They’re Bankrupting Us!” And 20 Other Myths [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-right-is-better-than-the-left-at-storytelling-but-we-can-fix-that/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/solidarity-with-ukraine/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/solidarity-with-ukraine/#respond Tue, 17 Jan 2023 17:25:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1237217 When the Russians began their invasion of Ukraine, it seemed to me to be a no-brainer regarding how progressive forces should respond. After all, the Russians violated international law–quite openly—and it was carried out by a regime that increasingly has the characteristics of a semi-fascist cabal. Thus, I was stunned by some of the responses to the [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/solidarity-with-ukraine/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/thirst-updates-the-vampire-genre-for-our-age-of-rising-fascism/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/thirst-updates-the-vampire-genre-for-our-age-of-rising-fascism/#respond Mon, 09 Jan 2023 18:03:52 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1236590 Let’s start with my admission that I do not read horror. While I loved all of the Alien films and I was enthralled by the Blade trilogy, it is typically not a genre I seek out. Nicholas Powers changed all that with his new novel, Thirst: The Rich are Vampires. What attracted me at first was not the content but the [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/thirst-updates-the-vampire-genre-for-our-age-of-rising-fascism/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/b4-its-too-late-the-socialist-lefts-role-in-fighting-autocracy/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/b4-its-too-late-the-socialist-lefts-role-in-fighting-autocracy/#respond Fri, 06 Jan 2023 06:37:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1236348 Midterm wins bought organizing time for pro-democracy forces, but MAGA authoritarianism still menaces US politics. In “Pro-democracy Organizing Against Autocracy in the United States,” scholar/activists Erica Chenoweth and Zoe Marks map the threat and steps that could help defeat it. Convergence interviewed the two and will be publishing reflections and responses to the report. Bill Fletcher Jr. [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/b4-its-too-late-the-socialist-lefts-role-in-fighting-autocracy/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/qa-navigating-the-lefts-ukraine-debate/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/qa-navigating-the-lefts-ukraine-debate/#respond Fri, 18 Nov 2022 16:54:24 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1232103 1. Why is the principle of self-determination so important to understanding the conflict in Ukraine?   There are three aspects to the question of national self-determination. One, a recognition that “nations” of peoples have a right to assert their own identity and form a political unit separate from or included within a larger geo-political grouping. Two, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/qa-navigating-the-lefts-ukraine-debate/feed/ 0