Direct action can play a significant role in shaping the Biden era

Jeremy Brecher
The fate of Biden’s “Build Back Better” proposals–and of hard-hit working people throughout the country–may depend not just on officeholders in Washington but on the action of ordinary people in response to today’s multiple crises.
While the Biden plan is not as comprehensive as that proposed in the Democratic primaries by Jay Inslee or as radical as Bernie Sanders’ plan, it has the potential to make very substantial reductions in GHG emissions while creating substantial numbers of climate jobs
The people threatened by climate change are the one force which, if mobilized, can counter the power of the fossil fuel industry in those arenas
As the original New Deal demonstrated, a national movement of reform can realize some of its most significant achievements at a state level
While the Biden plan is not as comprehensive as that proposed in the Democratic primaries by Jay Inslee or as radical as Bernie Sanders’, it has the potential to make very substantial reductions in GHG emissions while creating substantial numbers of climate jobs and a more equal society
Whatever the future may hold, it is time to pay attention to what working people are already doing, and what potentials for self-organization and action that may open up for the future
If the demands of the movement are clear and unambiguous, everyone should be able to tell whether they have been met and there will be no opportunity for leadership sellout. Democracy is not negotiable
It is a threat to all of us as members of society. Overcoming a Trump Coup is Social Self-Defense
This summer has seen two significant national strike actions–for Black Lives and for safe reopening of schools. These are hardly conventional strikes–indeed, they represent historically unprecedented forms of protest