False “glimmers of hope” as California continues to burn

Linda Rios

Over 730 fires have raged across California since August 15 as a trend of warm, dry weather coupled with thousands of dry lightning strikes has set the state ablaze. Seven people have been confirmed dead, including a helicopter pilot, an unidentified family of three, a Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) utility employee, a Solano County male resident, and a 70-year-old man from Santa Cruz County. At least two people are missing, and tens of thousands of evacuees remain displaced from their homes.

The past two weeks have seen an unprecedented number of thunder and lightning storms in northern California, kindling dry brush and chaparral, and growing into enormous fields of fires. The fires have been exacerbated by a record heat wave and low humidity, leading to thousands of dry lightning strikes and leaving much of the landscape vulnerable to fire activity.

Although California is known for its vulnerability to the wildfire seasons, with each passing year, the number and size of the fires seem to grow ever larger, especially over the past two decades. Scenes like that of the Mendocino fire of 2018—the state’s largest fire to date—or the Cedar fire of 2003 have become more and more commonplace, year after year.

Over the past couple of days, minor progress had been made in elevations below 2,000 feet due to cooler weather conditions and higher humidity, but in higher elevations, the arid conditions have continued, and firefighters are still being pushed past their limits. There are currently over 14,600 firefighters on the ground from throughout the state, as well as from the East Coast, and from Australia.

So far, 3.3 million gallons of fire retardant and 4.6 million gallons of water have been used in an effort to the limit the damage done by the fires, which have engulfed 1.6 million acres, an area larger than the state of Delaware. So far, there have been over 7,000 fires this year, significantly higher than the 4,292 record through August in 2019.

Although Cal Fire offered language of “glimmers of hope” from their Daily Wildfire Report Friday morning, the fires are still raging. Nearly two dozen major fires are still burning, along with hundreds of smaller ones, including one that started in the early hours of Friday.

Of the larger wildfires, the SCU Lightning Complex fire has burned 372,971 acres, and is 35 percent contained; the LNU Lightning Complex has burned 371, 249 acres, and is also 35 percent contained; the August Complex fire has burned 212,010 acres, and is 18 percent contained; in the CZU Lightning Complex, 82,540 acres have burned, and it is 26 percent contained.

The SCU Lightning Complex wildfire has since overtaken the LNU Lightning Complex wildfire as the second largest wildfire in California state history. While Cal Fire Officer Daniel Berlant seemed hopeful that the fires are being contained, the forecast going into the weekend and into next week will continue to be hot and dry (temperatures in the mid-90s to low 100s Fahrenheit), with very little humidity.

Additionally, the smoke and ash in the air have made the air quality very poor, especially in Central and Northern California and in southern parts of Oregon. The Air Quality Index is expected to remain at levels of up to three times the acceptable range until at least Sunday. Not only are those with pulmonary conditions more likely to suffer more, but the polluted air may compromise their immune systems further, leaving them more vulnerable to the coronavirus. Yet, even the immune systems of otherwise healthy people will be affected adversely, as well, with studies suggesting that higher rates of coronavirus infection correlate to higher levels of COVID-19 infection rates.

In the face of the fires, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes. Over 925 homes and other buildings had been destroyed by the LNY Lightning Fires Complex. The CZU Lightning Complex destroyed at least 330 buildings and burned almost 79,000 acres.

“As the damage assessment continues, it’s important for everyone to realize that this is a time when some people will realize they no longer have homes,” Sheriff Mark Essick of Sonoma County told the New York Times on Tuesday. “They are going to be experiencing considerable losses.”

This scenario is playing out throughout Northern and Central California. Many people have had to relocate to makeshift shelters such as local schools, campgrounds and parks. In light of the ongoing pandemic, thousands have had to stay in their cars or with family to prevent sharing accommodations with hundreds of other evacuees.

For others who have had to readjust to the “new normal” under the coronavirus pandemic, the fires pose a new challenge. For many elementary, junior high, and high school students, who were just days into the new school year, via remote learning, classes were canceled in order to address the new crisis.

Lauren Gammon, a 16-year-old junior at Vacaville High School, told the New York Times that, while her home was spared, her boyfriend’s was not. “It was really heartbreaking to hear that his house was gone,” she stated. It has been estimated that over 12,000 homes and structures have been burned so far and evacuations are still in effect for at least 83,000 people. In the Bay Area, many hotels are at capacity, and those who would otherwise be eligible for hotel vouchers have had to relocate to the temporary shelters.

While the latest spate of fires is once again being passed off as a “natural disaster,” there has been no question that the increased number of fires and extent of the damage wrought by them is due in significant part to human-induced climate change. Yet little is being done to mediate the effects of global warming, or to increase the amount of resources available to fight the fires. President Trump’s administration has continued to cut federal funding for fire science, including $2 billion in cuts from the US Forest Service Budget.

Furthermore, in California, a state dominated by their party, Democratic politicians are responsible for cutting firefighter staff, the closing of multiple fire stations, and have taken little action to curb the very real dangers of wildfires that become exceedingly out of control. Governor Gavin Newsom himself supported the cutting of $681 million from the state budget for environmental protection.

Classes resume at University of Iowa amid COVID-19 outbreak

Brian Brown

In the ten days since in-person fall classes resumed, 607 University of Iowa students in Iowa City have tested positive for COVID-19. The outbreak at the university, which enrolls more than 30,000 students and has 30,000 employees, mirrors similar situations at universities across the United States, including the University of Alabama and the University of North Carolina.

University of Iowa students who contract the virus can either choose to quarantine at home or in isolated rooms on campus. Over 50 students, according to the university, are currently isolating in on-campus housing.

Blaming students for the outbreak, the university has threatened to sanction those who fail to maintain “safe practices off campus.” The school is relying on students to report each other for violations in an effort to deal with the increased number of positive cases. The rapid increase in cases has little to do with students’ behavior off campus and instead is the results of the bipartisan drive to reopen the economy as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage.

A professor at the University of Iowa spoke to the World Socialist Web Site about the inadequate classroom protections provided by the administration. The school only moved the professor’s class to online learning after they applied for a health waiver. This decision may have prevented a further spread as one of their students has already contracted COVID-19. “If my class had been in person, which is what the university wanted, this would have exposed over 20 students to the virus,” the professor noted.

Despite the risks involved for students and staff alike, the administration has asked teachers not to tell students if one of their peers is sick with coronavirus. The professor continued, “Now we are seeing photos of desks close together. The university is sending out emails claiming it’s the students’ responsibility to maintain social distance and the university has no ability to enforce the CDC’s guidelines beyond individual choice.”

Grade schools and high schools also opened this month for in-person instruction in Iowa, with the state government implementing a 15 percent positive test rate among the student body before schools would be shut down. The University of Iowa has no such threshold. Johnson County, in which Iowa City is located, has been above a 15 percent positive test rate for the past 5 days, exceeding 33 percent on Friday. The website CovidActNow.Org reported Friday that Iowa now has highest number of daily new cases per capita in the US.

Darrell, a truck driver whose son attends high school in Iowa City, told the WSWS, “this whole thing is messed up; the governor clearly does not have the people’s best interest in mind. Why else would she insist it’s okay to restart in-person learning in the midst of everything going right now? Our numbers have skyrocketed, and they think the numbers will not go even higher once they reopen schools?

“They do not care how many people get sick and die; they only care about making sure we keep making them money. They don’t even try to hide it; their policies show. We are not valuable to them. We are treated like cash cows. I am not sending my son to be herded in an unsafe environment; he cannot learn if he is dead.”

As of August 26, 2020, according to the Iowa State Department of Public Health, there have been 58,019 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,062 residents have died from the virus. Both figures are widely believed to be an undercount. Out of the total cases, 4,015 cases are children (ages 0–17), 27,703 adult cases ages (41–60), 16,658 older adult cases ages (61–80), and 7,366 elderly cases ages (81+).

While children represent the smallest share of positive cases, the fact that there are thousands of cases is further evidence that disproves the unscientific theory that children are immune from the virus. On August 24, Iowa reported its first death of a child due to COVID-19. The death of the five-year-old was reported months after the child’s passing.

Even as COVID-19 cases surge, the residents of Johnson County are also dealing with the overwhelming aftermath of a derecho. Three weeks ago, winds of up to 60 miles per hour ripped through the county. The storm caused devastating damage. As of August 20, more than 19,000 people have been left without power.

The lack of advanced warning caused food and other essential supplies to run short, leaving many people without the basics. Iowa City has a poverty rate of 28 percent and a median income of $21,515; very few residents have enough resources to cover the latest shock that has set so many residents back.

The derecho will cost the county $6.1 million for cleanup and repairs, including damage to buildings and roofs; fallen trees blocked several roads. While assessments and repairs continue, many families have had to stay in homeless shelters and, as school starts, many families have been left without access to the internet.

According to reports, students and workers in Iowa City have had to gather in the few places with internet connections to prepare for the semester, which could be a factor in a sudden increase in cases.

The evidence is clear: COVID-19 is a deadly virus which spreads quickly wherever large number of people gather and does not care about its victim’s age, gender, or racial background; all are susceptible to catching the virus and possibly dying. The government of Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has done nothing to stem the flood of positive COVID-19 cases; in fact, the push to reopen schools is ensuring that infection rates and deaths will increase throughout the state.

Tate UK strikers: “COVID-19 is being used to inflict a jobs massacre”

Paul Mitchell

Workers at Tate Enterprises, which provides retail, catering and publishing services at four art galleries in London, Liverpool and St Ives, have been striking against plans to slash more than half of the organisation’s jobs—some 300 workers.

They are warning that the COVID-19 pandemic is being used to inflict unprecedented job cuts, increase restructuring and further privatise the arts and culture sector across the UK.

The workers began striking on August 18, with further days of action that week. From August 24, workers escalated the action beginning an indefinite strike.

Tate Enterprises strikers protest outside Tate Britain

The World Socialist Web Site spoke with two strikers. Jorge said, “We are striking at Tate Enterprises, which is the commercial arm of the Tate network in the UK. Its profits have been used, along with members’ subscriptions, to support the galleries as government funding has been cut over the years.

“Obviously, Tate took a big hit with the coronavirus pandemic and had to close for a while. It has now re-opened, but visitors have to be pre-book and the galleries are still very quiet.

“To get over the pandemic the government furloughed people and paid a proportion of their wages. It said it would give about £1.5 billion to arts and culture organisations—nearly £7 million for the Tate. However, now the furlough is ending, Tate is using that money to downsize and outsource its operations. It has taken on 18 new Securitas private security guards for example, whilst making us redundant.

“There is a lot of anger. A lot of people have joined the union [the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), led by General Secretary Mark Serwotka]. Around 80 percent took part in the strike ballot and nearly 90 percent voted in favour. That’s a real encouragement for our cause and to force Tate management to change its mind.”

Jorge explained that strikers have received the support of the 10 artists who have shared the Tate’s prestigious 2020 Turner prize. They have issued a statement declaring those being sacked include “some of the lowest paid, most precarious and most disadvantaged members of the staff at Tate Galleries” and that “the threat of their redundancies directly contradicts Tate’s commitment to ‘champion the richness of art for everyone.’”

Another striker, Anna, interrupted to question the role of the union. “Mr Serwotka says the PCS will go ‘all the way’ to win the strike demands but then added ‘no matter how long it takes.’ That sounds really ominous. Despite the jobs massacre taking place across the country the response is limited.

“Look at the union’s demands. Three pathetic demands. They are begging Tate bosses to reduce the number of redundancies by cutting their own salaries and using some of the emergency bailout, even though the government has made clear it can’t be used to save jobs but can be used for redundancy payments. They are begging the bosses to ‘join with us in demanding the government do more for the sector.’ Fat chance.

Southbank Centre workers hold protest

“If the bosses at Tate, which is the biggest visitor attraction in Britain, can get away with their redundancies and restructuring and if the Southbank Centre, Europe’s biggest arts complex just down the road, can do the same, then there is little hope for the rest of the country. The unions have a lot to answer for.”

As if to prove Anna’s point, the PCS feebly states that it “continues to press the Department of Digital Media and Sport to provide the additional funding that the sector so desperately needs. But so far, except platitudes in the press, the government has made no meaningful commitment to the sector... Sadly our calls to save our sector have not been heeded and we are now seeing the first large scale redundancies in the sector.”

Elsewhere, the PCS is pleading with the “Royal Family” to not “abandon... in its hour of need” the Royal Collection Trust (RCT), which looks after the Queen’s art treasures, and remember that the RCT “has contributed £80 million in facilities management fees to the cost of running the Royal Household in the past 20 years.” The RCT, created by the Queen and chaired by Prince Charles, wants to slash wages by 20 percent and its pension contribution for RCT staff from 15 percent to 8 percent.

As striking worker Anna indicated, The Southbank Centre, comprising the Royal Festival Hall, Hayward Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Arts Council Collection and National Poetry Library, has announced plans to make up to 68 percent of its workforce redundant—some 400 people out of 577.

According to the “Save Our Southbank” campaign, the Centre will reopen in 2021 with an entirely new “start-up” operating structure. Art exhibitions, classical and contemporary music and literature events will be confined to just 10 percent of the centre’s space whilst 90 percent is hived off to private rental.

In London theatreland, billionaire impresario Cameron Mackintosh, producer of musicals including Oliver!, Les Misérables, Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Hamilton, announced that he has “sadly permanently had to shut down” shows and “down-size” over 60 percent of his organisation. He has “had to let go all the actors, musicians, stage staff and freelancers that work for me.” This amounts to more than 850 job cuts.

Entertainment union BECTU lamely accused Mackintosh of an “unwillingness to use the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in full,” adding sycophantically that other employers “have done their utmost to find creative ways to safeguard the livelihoods of their staff.” This is belied by BECTU’s own findings, published early this month, that 5,000 theatre jobs have been lost since the pandemic began.

Numerous regional theatres, including in Newcastle, Plymouth and Southampton, have likewise made large redundancies and face permanent closure.

Museum services are also at risk. Sharon Heal, director of the Museums Association, said, “We are deeply concerned about the plight of town and city museums throughout the UK. Local authorities are in a difficult position because of the extra costs associated with dealing with COVID-19 and the prospect of future cuts to their budgets.

“We are already hearing of major local authorities that are considering not funding their museums and galleries because they are non-statutory services. We are deeply concerned that some museums will not be able to reopen after lockdown.”

In a leaked document from the National Trust (NT), entitled “Towards a Ten Year Vision for Places and Experiences,” the 5.6 million member organisation, which looks after 300 historic homes and thousands of acres of countryside, reveals it is also planning a “big shift” in order to “dial down” its role as a “major national cultural institution.” Some 1,200 full time NT workers face redundancy—about 13 percent of the 9,500 total. There will be a substantial reduction in specialist curators for the NT’s vast collection of works of art and furniture, much of which will be put into storage to free up space for “events.”

The Johnson government’s £1.57 billion coronavirus rescue package for the arts is a token and selective effort, and central to its main goal of reopening the economy.

More fundamentally, its goal is completing the “Thatcher revolution,” aimed at ending what remains of publicly run services.

Public support of the Arts was an important result of the post-World War II social gains won by the working class. Just as the National Health Service was to ensure and nurture the health of the population, the 1946 Arts Council’s remit was to preserve high art and help develop new art through education and grants. The Southbank Centre was the most visible expression of this ethos.

During the 1980s under the Conservative government, the very concept of state funding for the arts came under attack. Prime Ministers Thatcher and then Major cut social spending across the board. When Tony Blair’s New Labour came to power in 1997 its promise to address the growing crisis in the arts and make them more accountable to the “people” provided a smokescreen for increased commercial sponsorship.

Grant in arts funding fell from around £500 million a year under Blair to £325 million under the 2010-2015 Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition and to around £190 million last year under the most right-wing government in post-war British history.

Government agency minutes reveal at least 40 active COVID-19 outbreaks at UK food processing plants

Robert Stevens

The endangering of workers’ safety and lives by corporations in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic was further exposed on Thursday as it was revealed that there are at least 40 active outbreaks in food processing plants in England alone.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) disclosed that this was the situation as of Tuesday this week, with outbreaks in plants manufacturing both meat and non-meat products. The FSA is the government department responsible for protecting public health in relation to food in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The information is not available in the news section of the FSA’s website but is buried among the minutes and reports of its August 26 board meeting. Nor is it available on the FSA’s social media accounts. The figures were first made public Wednesday in an article on the foodmanufacture.co.uk website.

Foodmanufacture reported, “The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has revealed that it is monitoring 40 outbreaks of coronavirus at food plants in England.

“Speaking at the FSA board meeting on 26 August, its chief operating officer Dr Colin Sullivan said that this was a ‘small number’ of sites considering the size of the sector.

“‘For example in England yesterday we were looking at approximately 40 food processing plans in both meat and non-meat with active outbreaks,’ he said.

“He did admit that there was some evidence that food processing plants were ‘more likely’ to be impacted by outbreaks. But said he said he had ‘no figures to hand.’”

Given the resurgence of the virus in recent weeks, as Boris Johnson’s Conservative government continues its reopening of the economy, the real figure of plants impacted is likely to be much higher.

On Thursday, the Daily Mail reported that Sullivan, “admitted the figure is not comprehensive, and may be higher, but said: ‘The number that I mentioned, was one we are content to make public. It is a small number of a big total.’”

It reported more comments from Sullivan aimed at playing down any threat. “To put the figures in context, across England, Wales and Northern Ireland there are more than 20,000 food processing plants. Only a very small number have been impacted.

“We are always going to have a number of these as long as Covid is present, given the many factors that are present in food processing plants; the conditions, the aerosol issues, the way people work close by each other, the fact that staff in plants sometimes live together, sometimes travel together. All those issues need to be managed.”

The Mail piece included a further statement, this time from FSA’s chief executive, Emily Miles. The pro-Tory newspaper said she “stressed there is no need for alarm, saying: ‘The risk of transmission of Covid-19 through the consumption or handling of food, or food packaging, remains very low.’”

Workers should reject with contempt the portrayal of outbreaks of a deadly disease in at least 40 food processing workplaces as no big deal, and the implication that workers cannot remain safe from infection in food processing plants because of the horrendous conditions that exist in them as standard.

The argument that the problem is minor because there are outbreaks at 40 plants out of a total of 20,000 is spurious. In the UK, there are 7,000 supermarkets that deal with tonnes of fresh and processed food on a daily basis and not a single one has been forced to close. This is because they are required to prove to the public each day that they are safe and so have to have social distancing measures in place, hand sanitiser available and staff and customers legally required to wear masks.

No such safety demands are placed on food processing plants, which are essentially being allowed to self-regulate.

Everything is being done to downplay the enormous spread of COVID-19 since the government moved to end the lockdown on July 4.

As a result of the lockdown, by mid-July, cases had fallen to an average of 540 a day, but this has since more than doubled to an average of 1,138 new cases daily. Over six weeks until this month, there were fewer than 1,000 new cases each day. Yet just in August alone, over 1,000 new cases have been reported on 15 days. On Thursday 1,522 new infections were recorded—the highest level for 11 weeks—along with 12 deaths. Yesterday, 1,276 cases were announced and nine deaths.

As a result of the entirely predictable resurgence of cases, the government was forced to put a vast section of the north of England under “local lockdowns.” Cases are rising so quickly in the UK’s second largest city, Birmingham, that it is now classed as requiring “enhanced support,” in order to avoid the same measures.

At the same time, in order to ensure the flow of profits to the corporations, the government and its agencies, including the FSA, are doing everything they can to restrict information about the spread of the virus. Nothing will be revealed about which food plants are affected or how many workers are infected, despite the major danger to public safety posed.

In response to questions from the Nottinghamshire Live media group, who asked the government if two local factories, Bakkavor Desserts in Newark and Riverside Bakery, were part of the 40—following recent outbreaks at these factories—the government went into radio silence.

“We will not be providing a running commentary on, or sharing details of, individual businesses affected. It is likely such a list would be incomplete and to publish names could impact on commercial activity,” said a government spokesperson.

A Greencore delivery truck [Credit: Richard Says A1(M) TRUCKS, FlickR]

The most graphic illustration of how the major food processing corporations are given free rein to do as they please can be seen in the events at the Greencore sandwich plant in Northampton. Last Friday, the plant, with over 2,000 workers, was forced to close after a COVID outbreak infected nearly 300 employees. The surge in cases in Northampton centred on the Moulton district where the plant is located. The firm reported that it would close for 14 days for a deep clean.

Despite Greencore’s claim to have closed the factory, it was revealed just four days later that dispatch and maintenance workers were still working at the site. George Attwall, a regional officer for the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union, which represents workers at the factory, commented “People have been saying what about us? We are still working? They have previously been travelling in with production workers in the same cars, they have been sharing smoking areas, canteens. Some families even work together—husband in dispatch, wife in production.”

Greencore kept its facilities open with government permission. Director of Public Health Northamptonshire Lucy Wightman said the Department for Health and Social Care were in “agreement” that some parts of the operation could continue as long as long as staff had not returned a positive test for the virus. This is being allowed under conditions in which cases have continued to mount. Yesterday, it was revealed that a second round of testing took the total number of workers infected in Greencore’s outbreak to 324.

In a statement issued Tuesday, a Greencore spokesperson confirmed its operations were back up and running. “A small number of colleagues who have completed their self-isolation periods are now beginning to return to the site, and production is therefore gradually restarting on a limited basis.” They added, “This process is of course being carried out in close consultation with the Department of Health & Social Care, Public Health England and other government bodies.”

Plants are being kept open until dozens of workers start to be struck down with COVID infections. This week, one of the largest chicken processing factories in the country, Banham Poultry in Norfolk, was forced to close after 75 workers tested positive for coronavirus. As a result, 350 families are now in self-isolation. Last Friday, a worker at the plant fell ill and by Monday this week seven out of 15 workers tested were also infected.

In their lust for profits, the food conglomerates can only proceed to recklessly endanger workers lives in their plants and in the wider communities around them due to the perfidious role of the trade unions. As is the case with the bakers’ union and every other, these organisations will not lift a finger to mobilise their members to strike and shut down plants that are operating unsafe environments. Even more criminally, despite the unions having tens of thousands of “health and safety” representatives in workplaces nationally, they are colluding with the companies, local authorities—mainly Labour Party-run—and government agencies in concealing the scale of outbreaks and workers infected.

Bipartisan Australian move to ban agreements with China

Mike Head

On Thursday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison suddenly announced legislation to effectively overturn or prohibit agreements struck by Australian state governments and universities with China or Chinese institutions. Addressing the National Press Club on the same day, opposition leader Anthony Albanese declared that the Labor Party was “very supportive of” the bill.

As a result, the as-yet unseen laws could be pushed through both houses of parliament by next week, the end of the current rare fortnight sitting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Morrison denied that the Foreign Relations Bill is aimed solely against China, it clearly marks a further sharp shift to align unequivocally behind the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive confrontation with Beijing.

Morrison announced the bill amid a series of bellicose anti-China speeches by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and an accompanying media witch hunt, spearheaded by Rupert Murdoch’s outlets.

The logic of banning agreements with China is that of making further preparations for a war launched by the US against China. Australia would be on the frontline of such a war because of its geographic location, hosting of US bases and integration into the US military and intelligence war machine.

As has been widely reported, the first target of the Liberal-National government’s bill is a vague memorandum of understanding (MOU) that the Victorian state Labor government signed in 2018 to consider partnering in infrastructure projects as part of China’s international Belt and Road program.

Yesterday’s editorial in Murdoch’s Australian was blunt. “Scott Morrison’s preparedness to tear up Victoria’s Belt and Road agreement with China and take control of the deals with foreign powers by universities and lower tiers of government is a vital assertion of national sovereignty,” it stated.

As with the “foreign interference” laws adopted in 2018, also with Labor’s backing, the new bill will place Australia at the forefront of setting precedents for legislation outlawing links with China. The new measures are far-reaching, affecting every level of government, right down to sister-city arrangements and university research and exchange agreements with Chinese or other universities.

Morrison said the government already had drawn up a list of more than 130 agreements, from 30 countries, to be vetted. There was no suggestion, of course, that the list includes the vast web of military, intelligence, diplomatic and research agreements that governments and universities have with the US government and American institutions.

The new law will formally give the foreign minister a sweeping discretion to veto any existing agreement or negotiations on prospective ones. According to media reports, the minister can bar a “negotiation or arrangement” that is likely to “adversely affect Australia’s foreign relations” or “be inconsistent with Australia’s foreign policy.”

At his media conference, Morrison declared the government’s intent to tear up targeted agreements. [I]t’s a pretty clear test—if they’re inconsistent with federal foreign affairs policy, they’ll go,” he said.

At the National Press Club, Albanese was equally assertive, saying “the idea that the national interest should be looked after by the federal government when it comes to foreign policy is something that we’re very supportive of.”

On the part of both the ruling parties, there is an element of nationalist diversion from the domestic COVID-19 disaster. In Australia, the bipartisan national cabinet is presiding over a rising death toll—now exceeding 600—that is concentrated in the chronically-underfunded aged care and public health systems.

This response parallels that of the Trump administration, which is resorting to anti-Chinese demagogy to blame a foreign “enemy” for the COVID-19 calamity in the US, while vying with the Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, to be the most strident in doing so.

But the move to ban agreements with China is overwhelmingly driven by Washington’s ramping up of its underlying geo-strategic conflict with China. The US ruling elite is insisting on an unconditional Australian alignment against Beijing, regardless of the dependence of major capitalist interests on iron ore, coal and other exports to China.

Morrison’s announcement came four weeks after the latest Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) issued a declaration that broadcast all the Trump administration’s incendiary allegations against China—from “coercive and destabilising actions across the Indo-Pacific” to “malicious interference” in other countries.

The AUSMIN meeting also announced the construction of a large US military fuel reserve in the strategic northern city of Darwin—where US marines have been stationed since the previous Greens-backed Labor government agreed to that in 2011—and a classified military “Statement of Principles” to “advance force-posture cooperation” against China.

At those talks in Washington, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds recited the actions that the Australian government had taken already in sync with the US. The list included banning the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from Australia’s proposed 5G network, opposing China’s Belt and Road program, introducing “foreign interference” laws, blocking Chinese investment in certain industries, and denouncing Chinese actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

It also included declaring “illegal” China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, collaborating on the mining and refining of “critical minerals” and allocating an extra $270 billion over the next decade to boosting Australia’s military capacity, especially for longer-range operations in China’s vicinity.

The further sharp turn against China can be gauged by the fact that in 2017, the previous Liberal-National government of Malcolm Turnbull, sensing lucrative possibilities, signed its own MOU with China to cooperate in third countries on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects.

Morrison’s ouster of Turnbull in August 2018 signalled a shift to a more unconditional alignment behind the US military alliance. Despite Turnbull’s own repeated statements of attachment to the US alliance, he was regarded in Washington as insufficiently committed.

In 2015, President Barack Obama had personally reproached Turnbull for failing to provide Washington with advance notice that a Chinese corporation was to be awarded a 99-year lease to operate Darwin’s commercial port. Obama’s reprimand highlighted the alarm in US ruling circles over any action that could cut across US war plans and underscored the real source of “foreign interference” in Australia—that of US governments and financial giants.

Even so, when the Victorian government originally signed its BRI MOU in November 2018, Payne and other Morrison cabinet ministers spoke approvingly of it. Payne told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: “We obviously seek opportunities to strengthen engagement with China on regional trade and infrastructure development projects, and that includes the BRI, where those align with international best practices.”

As recently as May 2019, Morrison himself said his government was “neutral” on the BRI and sought to facilitate and encourage Australian companies to participate.

This attempt to maintain profitable relations with Chinese capitalism has become increasingly untenable. The Trump administration has taken to a new threatening level the Obama administration’s military and strategic “pivot to Asia” to prevent China from challenging the regional and global hegemony established by the US in World War II.

A wartime-like atmosphere is being created. All this week, the Australian published a stream of unsubstantiated accusations that individually-named scientists and academics at Australia universities “are giving the Chinese Communist Party ­access to their technology and inventions in return for generous second salaries of up to $150,000, funded by China, and other benefits.”

This witch hunt is a threat to global research cooperation and academic freedom, free speech and other basic democratic rights. It is also another warning sign of preparations for a potentially catastrophic US-led war against China.

China launches missiles into South China Sea in response to US provocations

Ben McGrath

China on Wednesday launched at least two ballistic missiles that it described as “aircraft carrier killers” during naval exercises in the South China Sea. The testing of these missiles is a response to military and other provocative measures carried out in the region by the United States and its allies.

The increasing militarization of the region significantly heightens the danger of a global conflagration, which is ultimately driven by US imperialism.

The Chinese military fired its DF-21D and the DF-26B missiles from Zhejiang Province in the southeast and Qinghai Province in the northwest respectively. Both missiles landed in the South China Sea between Hainan and the disputed Paracel Islands. The US military stated that China fired at least four missiles.

The DF-21D has a range of 1,800 kilometers and is the world’s first anti-ship ballistic missile, according to Beijing. The DF-26B has a longer range of 4,000 kilometers and can carry a nuclear payload. China said it is also capable of striking naval vessels, and could reach the US military base on Guam. It was formally unveiled earlier this month and is an updated variant of a missile first officially displayed at China’s 2015 Victory Day parade marking the end of World War II.

The launches took place a day after Beijing accused the US military of flying a U-2 spy plane over Chinese naval drills in the Bohai Sea, deliberately entering a no-fly zone. China began holding live-fire drills in the sea, located near Beijing, last Monday and plans to continue until September 30.

China’s Defense Ministry demanded the US “stop this kind of provocative behavior and take actual steps to safeguard peace and stability in the region.” It also warned that such flights could trigger misunderstandings or an “unexpected incident,” namely a military exchange.

In response, Washington admitted that it had conducted a U-2 flight in the Indo-Pacific region, but dismissed Beijing’s concerns, saying: “Pacific Air Forces personnel will continue to fly and operate anywhere international law allows, at the time and tempo of our choosing.”

A source close to the Chinese military told the South China Morning Post: “This [the missile launches] is China’s response to the potential risks brought by the increasingly frequent incoming US warplanes and military vessels in the South China Sea.”

In addition to drills in the South China and Bohai Seas, China is conducting exercises in the Yellow Sea and near the Taiwan Strait. The drills in the South China Sea ran from Monday to today. Those in the Yellow Sea and near Taiwan took place from Saturday to Wednesday.

The US Defense Department hypocritically chastised Beijing in a statement Thursday, saying: “Conducting military exercises over disputed territory in the South China Sea is counterproductive to easing tensions and maintaining stability.”

In recent weeks, the US has held its own war games involving two aircraft carriers in the South China Sea, as well as exercises in neighboring waters with India near the Malacca Strait and with Japan and Australia in the Philippine Sea.

In addition, the US is now conducting its biannual Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise near Hawaii alongside nine other nations—the largest naval exercise in the world. It is running from August 17 to 30. China had previously been invited to take part in 2014 and 2016, but had its invitation revoked in 2018 and is again absent this year.

A Chinese warship conducting a live-fire drill in 2015 [Credit: Chinese military]

Washington is also applying additional economic pressure to Beijing. On Wednesday, the Trump administration placed sanctions on 24 Chinese companies, supposedly for their roles in constructing artificial islets in the South China Sea. They have been banned from purchasing American goods. It is the first time Chinese companies have been sanctioned for their involvement in the territorial dispute.

For all its denunciations of supposed Chinese aggression, Washington has for decades sought to enforce its hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region. This included the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan, brutal wars against Korea and Vietnam, and support for right-wing dictators. Over the past decade, the US has enflamed longstanding but minor territorial disputes and ramped up tensions under the Obama administration’s “pivot to Asia.” Under the Trump administration, it is now working to further militarily and economically confront China.

This agenda is accelerating as the US ruling class attempts to deflect growing domestic anger over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the developing economic crisis affecting millions of workers and youth. The Trump administration has accused Beijing of responsibility for the pandemic, with no evidence whatsoever, while pressing China over dangerous flashpoints like Taiwan.

In an interview on August 23, Trump issued a thinly-veiled threat that if Beijing attempted to assert control over Taiwan, Washington would launch an attack on China. “I think it’s an inappropriate place to talk about it, but China knows what I’m going to do. China knows,” he stated.

Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province and the US still formally adheres to the “One China” policy that does not recognize Taiwan as an independent country.

Not to be out done, Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden is offering himself as a more belligerent option to Wall Street in dealing with China.

The most recent US military spending bill, which has been passed by both the House and Senate in Congress, contains a clause calling for the navy to conduct port calls in Taiwan with two hospital ships, the USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy.

China has made clear that if a US military vessel stops in Taiwan, it would trigger a military response. As such, the decision to use medical vessels is a dangerous and calculated flirtation with this red line.

Washington’s provocations throughout the region risk the outbreak of a disastrous war with China that could quickly spiral into a nuclear conflict. The US is seeking to eliminate an economic competitor and return China to a semi-colonial state.

German federal and state governments protect profits instead of lives

Christoph Vandreier

In a video conference held on Thursday, German chancellor Angela Merkel and the state premiers of the Länder (German states) decided to continue their dangerous policy of opening up the country despite increasing infection rates. In doing so, they are implementing the demand of the corporations that under no circumstances should the measures taken to combat infection take precedence over their profit interests.

Merkel and the Bavarian State Premier Markus Söder at the press conference on August 27 [Credit: Michele Tantussi/Pool Photo via AP]

For three weeks now, the daily infection figures have been well above the 1,000 mark in some cases. Last Friday, they reached 2,034, the highest level since the end of April. Nevertheless, schools and day-care centres throughout the country have been reopened without any significant safety measures and almost all restrictions on businesses have been lifted. This is to ensure that production continues and to safeguard corporate profits.

With their decisions taken on Thursday, the state and federal governments are continuing this course. For example, the heads of government announced they will introduce a uniform federal regulation that “compensation for loss of income will not be granted if quarantine becomes necessary due to an avoidable trip to a risk area so designated at the start of the trip.”

If, for example, workers from risk areas in southeast Europe visited their families, they would not receive compensation for the necessary quarantine on their return to Germany. Because these particular groups often receive very low wages and cannot afford to lose their earnings, the tightening of the regulations forces them to break the quarantine and return to their often extremely dangerous jobs. A rapid spread of the virus, as has already happened in many slaughterhouses, is thus inevitable.

In addition, coronavirus testing is to be significantly reduced. Citizens returning from non-risk areas following foreign trips will no longer be allowed to be tested free of charge from September 15. Anyone who wants to take a test will then have to go to a test centre and pay the €60 [$US71] or so out of their own pocket, which is a major obstacle, especially for low-income earners. From October 1, travelers from high-risk areas will no longer be subject to compulsory testing, but will merely be required to undergo a two-week quarantine, which can be shortened after five days following a negative test.

These restrictions are being justified by the reality that there is too little testing capacity. In fact, however, this capacity would have to be significantly expanded to effectively limit the pandemic. With 133,707 tests per million inhabitants, Germany is only 41st in the world, behind countries like Russia and Belarus. Germany is also far behind in Europe. Denmark alone has tested almost three times as often as Germany.

The federal and state governments also reaffirmed their commitment to the complete opening up of schools and day-care centres. “It is of great importance that hygiene concepts based on the cluster strategy are designed in such a way that school closures and extensive quarantine arrangements can be avoided as far as possible,” the report of the meeting stated.

Teachers and students know what this means: without distancing rules, masks or adequate ventilation, they are crammed together into classrooms. If infections occur under these conditions, they are often covered up by the authorities or tests of all contact persons are simply omitted.

This policy is to be extended to all areas of society. As the Bavarian State Premier Markus Söder explained at the press conference, it should even be possible to allow large gatherings to take place again under certain conditions. Until now, these were completely banned as potential super-spreading events.

No further restrictions have also been decided regarding parties and family celebrations, which, according to the Robert Koch Institute [German federal government agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention], have played an important role in the pandemic over recent weeks. The German government had initially announced a limit of 25 or 50 people, but this was not decided.

There is little change in the fines for refusing to wear masks. A minimum fine of €50 was set for all federal states except Saxony-Anhalt. Since most of the federal states had long since introduced such a fine or a significantly higher fine, this affects only a few states with a total of 14 million inhabitants. Some of them had already announced the introduction of such fines anyway.

The federal government and the various state governments of all stripes are jointly implementing the deadly demands of the banks and corporations with their policies of opening up society. To secure their profits, they have been demanding for weeks that under no circumstances should there be any further major restrictions for business. Factories, public transportation, schools and day-care centres are to be kept open, even if this means the death of thousands.

For example, the President of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), Eric Schweitzer, declared last week in the news magazine Focus that a lockdown would be “devastating for the German economy.”

That is why schools must also be reopened completely. “Anyone who has to look after children or even teach them intensively [at home] cannot at the same time work [in their usual job]. It is therefore important for the functioning of businesses that we no longer have nationwide day-care and school closures,” Schweitzer said.

In a full-page “special publication” in the same issue of Focus, the German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (BVMW) declared that a “second lockdown must be prevented at all costs.” “We see Germany’s economic sustainability at risk,” it says in an “Open letter to the Chancellor and all the State Premiers of Germany.”

According to the association, the government must “not again give priority to excessive infection control over the appropriate protection of the economy and prosperity.” To this end, the reopening of schools was “without any alternative” even in the face of a rapid increase in infections. Regardless of the pandemic, the paper concludes that the government must rule out a further lockdown.

These are clear statements. Even if the number of infections continued to rise rapidly, hospitals and hundreds of thousands of people die, business profits must be given absolute priority. To continue capitalist profiteering and the orgy of enrichment on the stock markets, the ruling class is literally walking over dead bodies.

In June, a British research team at London’s Imperial College published a study according to which, 3.1 million lives were saved by the lockdown in 11 European countries alone—560,000 of them in Germany. When politicians and industry now announce that this must never happen again, they are arguing, amidst rising infection figures, for these human lives to be sacrificed in the future for the profits of the super-rich.

Students, teachers, parents and nursery staff in Germany oppose school reopenings

Gregor Link

Opposition on the part of students, teachers, parents and nursery staff is growing in Germany to the life-threatening consequences of the government’s school opening policy. As the country’s various state governments, in close cooperation with the unions, rush ahead with the policy of opening schools, growing numbers of people are expressing their opposition to the move on social media and in schools and neighbourhoods.

The World Socialist Web Site spoke with Tatyana from Iserlohn, a single mother of three children. “I think the school openings are totally insane,” she said. “My school-age 13-year-old child is seriously and chronically ill. I had to fight for weeks here in the state of North Rhine Westfalen (NRW) to get my child out of classes. Just one day before school started I was able to excuse my child from attending classes until further notice.”

Tatyana has launched an initiative against school openings among her friends and on the internet. “We are fighting together to ensure that anyone who so desires can have their child taught remotely,” she said. “Unfortunately, the schools are not being closed, so we have to fight for our rights.

“Yesterday I learned that an action committee has been set up by students in Dortmund. I think that’s great—I come from Dortmund myself. Several members of our group would like to see students come to us and report on the situation in the schools.”

Referring to the fact that German courts have regularly rejected petitions by parents that their children not be forced to go to school, Tatyana said: “The Constitutional Court ruled in May this year that children cannot be forced to attend school during the pandemic. But it is being done anyway. It is horrific and human rights are being profoundly undermined and violated. Mrs. Gebauer, Minister of Education in North Rhine-Westphalia and other education ministers are, in my opinion, committing serious, inexcusable crimes! Doctors are being put under pressure and Mrs. Gebauer is putting pressure on the health authorities not to close schools.”

On Monday, the school directors’ association of NRW published an “urgent letter” to the state premier Armin Laschet, who has called the ruthless school opening policy a “field test.” The letter declared that the government was not fulfilling its “responsibility for precautionary measures and health protection for students, teachers and school directors in the state.”

“And why are they doing all this?” asked Tatyana. “Because of the ‘duty to educate’? What about the duty to care, what about the law that says every person has a right to health? The whole thing stinks to high heaven, it’s frightening. I do not want to have to visit my child in intensive care!

“Where are the computer terminals for digital learning promised by the MSB [Ministry of Education] for groups at risk? Before the summer vacations, the government complained that students were not available for home schooling! And how could that be without internet for everyone? Did any of those in charge ever think about that? Who thinks about those families who cannot afford an internet connection because they have too little money to live on, but too much to enable them to die? During a pandemic the federal government must make the internet accessible to every household.”

“It is a policy with fatal consequences,” declared Alexandra Paul, a nursery school teacher from Lower Saxony. “Protection is simply not possible—you cannot force small children to stay apart. The fact that children are increasingly not being tested is as catastrophic for us as it is for teachers. I believe the risks for teachers and nursery school staff are not that different.”

Alexandra wrote a letter to the World Socialist Web Site earlier this week on her experiences with smaller nursery school groups during the previous period of emergency care: “I think the only way [to prevent coronavirus outbreaks] is to minimise the size of groups, to keep them as small as possible and avoid constantly mixing the children,” she wrote. Under the current conditions, she said she could “bet on the number of infections that will badly affect me!”

Ily M., a mother with pre-existing health problems, joined a group including other parents and a teacher to resist the dangerous school openings. She told the World Socialist Web Site she was shocked by the unscrupulous way in which the lives of children and teachers were being put in danger, all on behalf of the capitalist economy.

“I have never been so desperate in my life because I am being denied the law-given right to self-determination and integrity. I can find no trace of the ‘liberal democratic values of our society’ in the type of dictatorship being enforced by the ministers of education. This is a shock I will never forget and which has massively and lastingly harmed my opinion and trust in Germany.”

The massive media campaign and the unanimity of all political parties about the need to rapidly open up schools, Ily said, makes “it seems as if we are irrational and frightened weirdoes. As an already disabled person, one ends up in the position of a petitioner, and as a parent in the role of an incapacitated citizen. I am in a situation in my life that I could never have imagined.”

On the other hand, the founding of the Dortmund School Committee and the widespread resistance across social media has encouraged her, Ily said: “I am glad and grateful that so many people are also opposing these decisions. I think there should have been a strike a long time ago.”

Milla B. lives in the state of Baden-Württemberg with her nine-year-old son. “So we still have the complete opening up of schools ahead of us,” she told the WSWS. For the time being, her child will continue to take online lessons with a teacher who is herself at-risk, but in March “everything was chaotic.” “I had already reported my child sick at school at the beginning of March, when Mr. Wieler from the Robert Koch Institute said in a press release that children can have also be severely affected and die. The school was closed until June 15 and in the meantime the teacher sent material for working at home.”

When the school reopened in June, according to Ily, hygiene had not been thought through: “It was complete chaos.” Her child was “scared and never wants to go to school again.” Her child said: “‘Mom, there is Corona at the school, if I bring Corona home, you won’t be there anymore.’ This was an alarm call for me as mother revealing that the opening of the school had an affect on the psyche of my child.

“So I spoke to my doctor, who is Italian and had dealings with coronavirus in his own family. He gave me a sick note, but the school tried to dissuade me. The school principal also took a more direct approach and tried to label me as ‘overly anxious.’”

A teacher from Berlin, who wants to remain anonymous, confirmed similar incidents. He reported on Twitter about a colleague who was told to present herself to the principal “at the next opportunity” after she “pointed out that the virus has not become less dangerous and that there were now more active cases than in March.

“I am shocked to see so many families scared and desperate, as I was. In my opinion, what is never mentioned publicly is how the whole chaotic situation is psychologically disturbing for children at school. Especially the thought of infecting one’s own family. There is real psychological terror being exercised in Germany, I would never have dreamed of such a state of affairs in Germany!”

COVID-19 outbreaks continue unabated at schools, putting millions at risk

Renae Cassimeda

The past week has seen a deepening of the disastrous crisis surrounding the reopening of schools. As outbreaks continue to erupt and cases rise throughout the country, the ruling class has made made clear it will march teachers, students and their families toward death in the homicidal policy of reopening of the schools, a linchpin to fully reopening the economy.

One of the biggest lies advanced by the Trump administration to justify reopening schools is that children are less susceptible to COVID-19 or at low risk of facing serious repercussions. Yet in the last month, as more schools and districts have opened their doors to in-person instruction, more than 74,000 children in the US tested positive for the coronavirus, a 21 percent increase between August 6 and August 20.

Over the past two weeks, significant outbreaks have occurred in schools throughout multiple states.

Florida, which has reported a total of 615,806 COVID-19 cases and 11,009 deaths since the onset of the pandemic, recently confirmed that within 15 days of schools reopening almost 9,000 new COVID-19 cases in the state have been among children. During this time, the number of children hospitalized due to COVID-19 rose from 436 to 602, and one more child died from the virus, bringing the state’s total number of child deaths to eight.

Texas has reported a total of 624,513 cases and a staggering 12,439 deaths. Several districts throughout the state that have reopened have reported cases in recent weeks, including over 150 school employees in districts throughout Central Texas. Burnet CISD reported three positive COVID-19 cases August 27, with eight students placed in quarantine. On August 19, Leander Independent School District announced that one of its employees at Akin Elementary School died “from complications due to COVID.”

Mississippi has reported a total of 81,294 COVID-19 cases and 2,413 deaths. There have been reports of positive cases at over 720 schools in 74 of the state's 82 counties, which is 90 percent of the K-12 schools in the state that have recently opened to in-person instruction.

Biloxi High School recently reported that fifteen students tested positive, placing 324 students in quarantine. The school will shift to online classes until after Labor Day. The entire fourth grade class, or 200 students, at Lafayette Upper Elementary School has been quarantined for two weeks after one student and six fourth grade teachers tested positive for the virus last Monday.

The disastrous conditions unfolding in schools throughout the US are taking place as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Trump administration, and state governments are systematically working to curtail testing and censor outbreaks. Recently modified testing guidelines from the CDC have dropped recommendations for all those who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 to get tested.

The change in CDC guidelines will have immense implications and further spread the pandemic throughout schools, workplaces, homes and communities. Undermining the validity of their new guidelines, the CDC itself has estimated that 50 percent of coronavirus transmission occurs before symptoms appear, with an upper-end estimate as high as 70 percent.

The official position of the Trump administration is to carry out less testing and cook the numbers in order to make it appear as if positive cases are declining.

School district and state officials are implementing additional measures to cover up the spread of COVID-19 in the schools. Citing the protection of “medical privacy,” a growing number of states and school districts across the US—from Maine to Virginia, Oklahoma, California, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Florida—are deliberately concealing COVID-19 outbreaks in reopened schools from the public.

In Florida, state officials are encouraging districts not to report cases and Republican Governor Ron DeSantis retracted a report by his own administration showing large infections among schools, which had been released to the public. Desantis demanded the report be redacted arguing that the school-related data was “misrepresented” to the public. DeSantis falsely claimed, “It was acting like this was something that was triggered by the school year, which is totally not true.”

The Duval County Department of Health in Florida instructed schools not to publish “school specific data related to COVID-19” without their permission. As a result, the district’s public dashboard of cases went static. The action by the county was taken after 24 cases were reported in the schools within the first three days of in-person instruction.

There is immense opposition to these criminal and deadly policies. The Educators’ Rank-and-File Safety Committee has begun holding weekly meetings to organize this opposition and strategize a way forward. All educators, workers, students, and parents who are committed to stopping the deadly reopening of schools should attend today’s call-in meeting at 3:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time.

From the beginning, we have warned that the Democratic-led states and cities that have announced plans to start the school year under a fully online model would implement in-person learning as quickly as possible. The decision by some districts to start the school year fully online, worked out in conjunction with the teacher unions, is proving to be a delaying tactic to bide time to implement a full reopening.

Multiple districts in Southern California are planning to reopen schools to in-person instruction in the coming weeks and months. San Diego Unified School District recently reached a tentative agreement with the San Diego Education Association which allows for one-on-one or small group TK-5 appointments on site. Sweetwater Union High School District will be online until October 2, but will have a plan for reopening in-person instruction by September 20.

Chula Vista Elementary School District in Southern California will start mostly online August 31. However, the district is starting an in-school academic enrichment program tentatively scheduled for September 8 for the children of essential workers (including staff), and homeless and foster youth.

Detroit Public Schools, Michigan’s largest school district, reached a sellout agreement Thursday with the Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT), which sets terms for reopening schools to in-person instruction in the coming weeks. Under this agreement, 20 percent of the student population will start the school year with face-to-face instruction. The district will maintain paltry and inadequate safety measures such as temperature checks, social distancing, and mask wearing, and only certain students will be offered COVID-19 tests.

Underscoring the immense opposition to these policies, a staggering 85 percent of Detroit teachers opted for online teaching for the start of the semester until November 11. The remaining fifteen percent of teachers will be required to be at school sites to teach face-to-face. This Letter of Agreement does nothing to protect the lives of teachers and students, and runs roughshod over last week’s massive 91 percent vote in favor of holding a “safety strike.” The DFT stands completely exposed as an enemy of teachers and education workers.

In Hawaii, a one-week, in-person orientation for all students and staff resulted in multiple positive cases throughout Hawaii Public Schools. The district will remain mostly online until September 21, while schools will remain open to in-person instruction for certain Special Education classes and have staff report to school sites for work. Due to a spike in cases on the island of Oahu, Governor Ige issued an emergency shutdown throughout the island, yet the Department of Education, which includes all public schools, will remain open.

In New York City, the nation’s largest school district, a hybrid model is planned for its reopening. As of this week, there are still not enough teachers signed up for online teaching to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of students who have opted for remote learning. The plan requires each class to have one teacher for in-person and one for online instruction, causing under-staffing in virtual classrooms.

Last week, United Federation of Teachers (UFT) President Michael Mulgrew said that he might call a strike if the reopened schools prove to be unsafe, i.e., after outbreaks are already confirmed.

The commonality of the two capitalist parties pervades in the drive to reopen schools. From “Red” to “Blue” states, from DeSantis to Newsom, the same murderous policies are being carried out, with the unions facilitating this process wherever they have a presence. Independent organizations of struggle must be built in each district to put an immediate stop to school reopenings.