GJ IWW Holds First Meeting
The Grand Junction chapter of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) held its first meeting on July 5. The IWW is an industrial union that seeks to unite workers of various trades and professions under one organization. The Grand Valley has an anti-capitalist newspaper (The Rev), a socialist party (Mesa County DSA), a youth wing of the party (CMU YDSA) and now an IWW chapter. Did we just wake up in 1906?
Study Finds Acidification of Oceans Crossed ‘Planetary Boundary
A groundbreaking study published in Global Change Biology has found that acidification of our oceans likely passed a “planetary threshold,” a few years. Coral reefs, already battered by warmer temperatures and larger more frequent tropical storms, will be the hardest hit, but for fishermen, tourism, and coastal communities it will cost people food, income, and independence.
A Socialist Mayor of NYC?
In a stunning upset, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic Primary for the NYC Mayoral Race, beating career politician Andrew Cuomo by 12 percentage points. Mamdani ran on a campaign of working class solidarity, promising to implement universal childcare, free public transportation and city owned grocery stores that sell quality and affordable goods. Since his victory, thousands of people have joined DSA to help fight for a free and socialist America.
Alligator Alcatraz
The state of Florida, in just a few days, pushed through and constructed a 3000 person detention camp in the Florida everglades. Dubbed “alligator alcatraz”, the concentration camp has witty shirts and merch. A coalition of locals, Native American tribes, environmentalists, and anti-ICE activists have held sustained protests at the entrance to the camp and carried out pressure campaigns against the companies contracting to build and service what some on the left are calling “Alligator Auschwitz”.
MVEA to Elect New President
Mesa Valley Educators Association President Amy Sue Javernick has recently had to step down due to health concerns. A new president will be elected next week. All this as MVEA goes into mediation with the school board on July 14th.
More Ice Detention Facilities for Colorado?
CoreCivic, a private prison empire, is eyeing two shuttered prisons in Colorado to contract with ICE to increase detention capacity. The two prisons, in Walsenburg and Burlington, were shuttered in the 2010s. CoreCivic is looking at converting the facilities into ICE detention centers in Tennessee and Oklahoma, and Colorado, according to a May 8 conference call with investors. “ I think having beds out west that are not all the way over to the coast in California, where they can service the needs of Salt Lake City and Denver… makes our Kit Carson and our Huerfano facilities very attractive to ICE.” Additionally Colorado ACLU has obtained documents that indicated that ICE is looking at five other additional potential facilities in Colorado.
GJPD Finally Compliant with Use of Force Reporting
In 2020, in the wake of sustained protests, Colorado lawmakers passed a raft of police reforms, including a piece of legislation that requires local law enforcement to report uses of force against Coloradoans. In the most recent report, 2023, only 42 of agencies submitted all twelve months of data. Grand Junction Police Department has no date listed in the report. A GJPD spokesperson told Colorado Public Radio that the agency began reporting in 2024, and their data will be in the next report. Colorado’s two largest police forces Colorado Springs and Denver have not complied with the reporting requirements.
Massive No Kings Rallies Across Western Colorado
A couple thousand people gathered in Grand Junction in conjunction with the national No Kings day of protest. Thousands more came out across western Colorado: Gunnison, Montrose, Glenwood Springs, and many more.
Striking Safeway Workers Win Victory
On June 17, two Grand Junction Safeway locations went on strike. According to KKCO 11 News, the strike was in response to understaffing, unfair treatment of union employees, company surveillance of workers and unfair labor practices. The strike went on until July 5th, with a tentative agreement being reached between union workers and Albertsons, the company that owns Safeway.
The Revolutionist 