Fred Voss (1952-2025)

I just recieved news that one of our countries finest working class poets, Fred Voss has died. This is a terrible loss as Fred not only had a big heart and a vison much needed but that he could put it into poems that counld move us. You could smell the machine grease and feel the class love. A good write up by his nieghbor and fellow proletarian poet Bill Mohr.

The Earth and the Stars in the Palm of Our Hand

“Another day in paradise,”
a machinist says to me as he drops his time card into the time clock and the sun
rises over the San Gabriel mountains
and we laugh
it’s a pretty good job we have
considering how tough it is out there in so many other factories
in this era of the busted union and the beaten-down worker
but paradise?
and we walk away toward our machines ready for another 10 hours inside tin walls
as outside perfect blue waves roll onto black sand Hawaiian beaches
and billionaires raise martini glasses
sailing their yachts to Cancún
but I can’t help thinking
why not paradise
why not a job
where I feel like I did when I was 4
out in my father’s garage
joyously shaving a block of wood in his vise with his plane
as a pile of sweet-smelling wood shavings rose at my feet
and my father smiled down at me and we held
the earth and the stars in the palm of our hand
why not a job
joyous as one of these poems I write
a job where each turn of a wrench
each ring of a hammer makes my soul sing out glad for each drop of sweat
rolling down my back because the world has woken up and stopped worshiping money
and power and fame
and because presidents and kings and professors and popes and Buddhas and mystics
and watch repairmen and astrophysicists and waitresses and undertakers know
there is nothing more important than the strong grip and will of men
carving steel
like I do
nothing more important than Jorge muscling a drill through steel plate so he can send money
to his mother and sister living under a sacred mountain in Honduras
nothing more noble
than bread on the table and a steel cutter’s grandson
reaching for the moon and men
dropping time cards into time clocks and stepping up to their machines
like the sun
couldn’t rise
without them.

-- Fred Voss

Fall Editorial 2024

This issue emerges at a time of dread as we await the volcanic pustule of corruption and brutal class war to be unleashed in January by Trump and his dystopian wrecking crew. Now the wealthiest man on the planet threatens to further impoverish the poorest of us by attacking Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Our health is now further endangered by an anti-vax conspiracy theorist. Roundups of hardworking and super exploited immigrants are promised. So too are attacks on women, gay, transgender, truth-telling media and the perceived left, labeled "the enemy within."

We can sympathize with those who withheld their vote for a weak, war and genocide supporting candidate put forward by the Democrats. But our brothers and sisters who voted for Trump made a grave mistake we'll all pay for. As a working class journal dedicated to building class unity we eschew divisive finger-pointing and blame.

The massive reaction to the recent killing of the CEO of a deadly greed-driven company in a greed-driven industry shows that all of us object to being harmed by big business greed. It isn't just the insurance industry. We are daily poisoned, impoverished and exploited by the corporate dominance that has undermined our government. Our massive righteous anger twisted against us by corporate "think tanks" and media have led us here. In this common outpouring of rage, we see the possibility for change in sharing our truths. Many have been citing our nation's sordid past of slavery, genocide,sexism, and a plethora of global atrocities in leading to the present. Let us also remember that since this country's birth and even before, there have always been people and movements struggling for justice. From abolitionists and suffragettes to civil rights, labor and opposition to wars, we've had our victories and much progress has resulted.

Trump, in many ways is the epitome of a self absorbed CEO knowingly harming us for his own personal enrichment. But we will survive him. In times like these, our efforts as poets and as a journal are needed more than ever. We are proud to claim Trump's epithet of being the "enemy within" and are determined to continue together -- no matter what -- to say what needs to be said. Our entire effort is, first and foremost, perspective shaping. We understand the power of art, of poetry, to make complex issues understood and felt, to change attitudes and minds. We understand our class commonalties and who really threatens our health and well being. We understand that, putrid and dangerous as Trump and his MAGA fascists are, the problem is systemic and that he is a useful tool funded by and for billionaires and noxious corporations. In spite of his 2% margin of victory in the popular vote, we should take heart that fascism is not supported by a majority of citizens; that even states Trump won voted to protect labor and abortion rights.

We must take advantage of rising working class rage to build a culture of militant solidarity and class perspective. To move beyond returning to the status-quo of empire, to abolishing the utter corruption of military/corporate dictatorship and to struggle for working class democracy and a livable future.

Let us remember that we are not alone, that we have the numbers and that we have to be here for each other in the hard times we face. Together, we make a difference, together we will persevere.

Gratitude and Getting the Word Out

Gratitude to poet George Fish for his comments on the Blue Collar Review in a recent interview on The Real News. Also, as I've been informed by a contact in China who puts together collections of poetry from our journal translated into Chinese, a new book by Nicholas Coles and Paul Lauter entitled, "A History of American Working Class Literature" opens with an intro by Stephen Kolter citing the influence of our journal.

Writing and being published are accomplishments that give us a sense of identity and worth but what is most important to all of us who write is getting our words read. What is most important to us as a journal is outreach. We wouldn't work so hard to do this just to preach to the choir. Our goal has always been to revive Proletarian literature, to inspire and open the eyes of new readers, and to build a class conscious culture of solidarity in the strugge for a better world in which corporate dominence is replaced by participatory, truly democractic working class rule. As such we are immensly greatful for those who contribute, who support us, and for those who promote our project and increase our outreach.

Summer 2024 Editorial

The reality we face in our coming election this year is much like we have seen before -- only more so. Corruption has overtaken our official parties and their mass media machines, now fully run by a corporate/military consortium. This election pits center-right against hard right sadly, without a viable alternative.

At this crucial moment in our history, amid mounting atrocities, spreading war, and expanding climate catastrophe, we are presented with a predetermined choice. Either brutal, bigoted fascism and national catastrophe or arrogant aggressive empire, war and likely nuclear annihilation. Both candidates intend to continue arming Israel's genocide in Palestine in spite of majority opinion, international law, and growing protests.

On the positive side, labor activism continues to grow to win and to gain political influence. The Democrats, at least, support the Pro Act and labor laws, as well as defending reproductive freedom, Social Security, Medicare and benefits that help our children. Though we make no endorsement, we, as workers, must act in our own best interest, continuing to push for peace, economic justice and defending our right and ability to do so.

Climate and its inseparability from the damage of war are the sub-theme of our summer issue. Poems by Royal Rhodes, Jonathan Andersen, Emily Berry and Mary Franke confront the horrors of war that weigh on us like a suffocating burden. We have poems and prose about the crushing degradation of the workplace as well as description of work we take pride in.

Here, at what may be the end of history as we have known it, we have poems celebrating the Earth, of which we are a part. We have poems calling for peace. Without peace we all suffer, spiritually, ecologically and economically. Our taxes are spent on weapons to kill others rather than on addressing our most basic needs. Weapons proliferate here in this most violent of countries. Police murders, mass shootings, school shootings and random murders happen continuously. None of us are safe from the scourges of poverty or weapons which inundate our society. Chris Butters and Stewart Acuff close this issue with poems voicing our experience and frustration with corrupt party politics and our need to move beyond them.

Like this journal, they are not attached to a corporate political party but to the struggle for working class liberation and for authentic participatory democracy. Until we achieve that, we must work to best effect the system we have in our own defense while building the next system beneath it.

This requires breaking with official narratives, building militant working class consciousness, cooperative businesses and communities, understanding that, as with our symbiotic biosphere, every thing is connected. We are connected to and interdependent on each other and on all Earth's myriad life forms. An understanding of this truth is vital in the shaping of a free and livable future. No matter who comes to power this fall, or how, we must be there for each other. We must struggle on and struggle forward to abolish the blood-soaked tyranny of corporate rule -- and we will.

This journal serves not only to connect us but as needed outreach to our class brothers and sisters. Consider passing this issue on or leaving it where others will find it. Consider becoming a Partisan supporter with extra copies to distribute, (see back inside cover). As the holiday season approaches, consider buying a subscription for someone who might benefit; an affordable gift that will keep giving. As ever, we remain grateful for your writing and your much needed support.

Spring 2024 Editorial

This Spring is marked by escalating tensions. Our potential hopes for the upcoming election season are deluged by corporate and dark money, threats, lies, fear, and a dearth of decent candidates. It is further marred by spreading war and the arming of a continuing genocide. Growing labor and citizen activism from campuses and workplaces to the streets demonstrate that we are not taking this lying down..

April 28th is Worker's Memorial Day. Based on OSHA statistics, over 5,000 of us a year die from preventable workplace injuries. Poems in this issue by Dave Roskos, Tad Tuleja and George C. Harvilla confront workplace hazards and the real cost of earning a living.

Many of the poems in this issue deal with the stresses of poverty and the pressure of rising costs. debt and abuse. And we are stressed!

As most of us know from experience, the workplace can be a place of frustration too often made worse by co-workers, management pressures and the blatant abuses of corporate greed. Sometimes we are stressed to the point of exploding. A poem in this issue by G.C. Compton, "Mr. C. Workorder Clerk," describes such anger mounting to thoughts of workplace violence. As he writes, "This poem is a warning to those who feel crushed under the heel of corporate tyranny. The worst can happen, if we allow it. Sometimes we just need to see the right faces." In his case, these were the faces of his family. As poems by Pepe Oulahan and George Fish make clear, we are all family and we need each other in the struggle against the tyranny of those who exploit and abuse us.

Many of the poems here express the solidarity and empathy we need to live together in society. On May Day we honor the struggle to overcome cultivated division, united against the rule of wealth and its brutal agenda for our mutual security .

In this issue we have poems on Palestine and the siege of Gaza by James Deahl, Tariq Jawhar, and Mary Franke calling for an end to the nightmare of colonialism and murderous ethnic erasure.

The poetry and prose presented here by Evel Economakis, Ed Werstein, normal, E.P. Fisher and others express ecological sanity and a global post-national class consciousness, seeing through and beyond the present reality of gangster-run corporate rule and the violence of competitive nation states. They express our collective determination to survive and move beyond this bloody era to peaceful, genuine civilization. As Stewart Acuff concludes this issue with "Change Must Begin," we understand that such change must come from the bottom, from the working, exploited and oppressed -- from us.

Promoting and presenting examples of the consciousness of class connection necessary for that change remains our primary goal. We continue to struggle against the odds of increasing expenses and censorship pressures to get your words out. Your continuing support and unique writing keep this effort alive and we are grateful.

Winter Editorial 2023-24

In the twenty-seven years of publishing this journal, I don't know that times have ever been so bleak. Amidst our continuing supply of weapons to a genocide the world can see -- and to a proxy war that could easily go nuclear, we enter into an election year with no possible good outcome; a choice between genocide and WWIII or overt fascism and national breakdown. Yet, we can be neither complicit nor complacent.

We struggle to afford price-gouged groceries and medicines. We struggle against being pushed out of our homes by greedy banks and landlords and then criminalized for being unhoused. Women are struggling for the right of making basic personal life choices. We labor daily under arrogant bosses and struggle to survive a deeply broken, unaffordable medical system even as the Pentagon budget climbs and billions are spent to murder innocent people around the world.

We protest, we organize and we fight back but those at the top and their embedded media downplay or ignore us. Yet we continue because we must.

This collection speaks to the times. It speaks of losses, personal and financial. Poets here rail at the utter corruption of empire and of those of us sacrificed to pad the pockets of the Pentagon and profiteers. There are poems of medical dread, of the difficulties of becoming old, ill and cast aside. There are poems on homelessness, a story on human trafficking and poems on the proliferation of guns and violence in our own country as well as on our export of them around the world.

As it is an election year, we are already beginning to get the Trump-focused poetry that we've been inundated with in the past. As much as we detest the self-obsessed, fascist grifter, we will likely take few of these. Aside from our not-for-profit status, we understand that the problem isn't any one person -- no matter how vile -- but the life-destroying system of corrupt corporate oligarchy that produces and foists such terrible and limited choices on us a like a cynical scripted shell game. What this underscores is the desperate need for systemic change -- for revolution. That requires building a critical mass which includes all of us.

This journal exists as an interactive project but its ultimate goal is outreach in building that critical mass. Our co-workers and neighbors, no matter their views, are our brothers and sisters. Their lives and experiences are reflected in our pages as well. As a cultural venue which focuses on those issues and experiences we can shape attitudes as well as educate perspectives. Thus, we remain apart from the partisan narratives which serve to cultivate division and animosity.

This project depends ultimately on you. This is not limited to strong writing but, by necessity, includes the support that allows us to keep publishing and getting your words out there. As a print on paper journal, those words last. We have over 27 years of issues still circulating and hopefully making a difference.

This is our annual fundraising issue. We understand how tough the times are but anything you can donate makes a difference and helps keep this journal going even as rising prices make it more of a challenge. We thank you in advance for your dedication, generosity, your feedback and your writing.

Fall 2023 Editorial

This issue emerges in maddening times. As I write this, the Israeli slaughter of Palestinians, triggered by a brutal uprising of oppressed desperation, continues in Gaza as well as in the occupied West Bank with avid support and weapons supplied by our country's leaders. Tens of thousands, mostly women and children, are already dead with civilian homes, unembedded journalists, and hospitals being prime targets. And the bombs keep dropping. Our corporate embedded media continues to whip up emotion laden nonsense to encourage popular support. Most of us are not buying it. Your editors, as well as progressive Jewish groups, are standing with Palestine against this genocide, joining the call for a end to the nightmare and a long overdue just resolution.

Our country is presently engaged in military actions in 78 countries, spending trillions on weapons for a blood-soaked delusion of competitive hegemony. Meanwhile we struggle just to buy groceries, to pay for price-gouged medicines and rents. Our own corrupt country is increasingly plagued by toxic industrial accidents, police violence, and mass shootings made worse by media hysteria far removed from reality along with the cultivation of divisive partisan rhetoric.

The poems in this collection show how much we have in common as we labor under the scrutiny of bosses, consume toxic food and water, and struggle with bills. Poems in this issue deal with discrimination and homelessness as well as the pride of working in caring professions and the disgust with useless work under bad conditions we do just to survive day to day.

This issue marks the beginning of our 27th year of publishing. An ad that we regularly run for back issues (of which we have plenty) states, "Unfortunately Still Timely." As I sometimes look back at old issues, I was recently struck by how relevant -- even more today -- an issue from Summer 2003 remains. Though this was a great collection we remain proud to have published, it's continuing relevance is more than just disturbing. It is also very discouraging if not demoralizing.

Some poems in this issue struggle with whether our protests and resistance even matter in the face of overwhelming odds and the stubbornly deaf power of the corrupt monstrosity of our seemingly insane ruling class. They affirm, based in our own working class history, as well as continuing labor victories, that it absolutely does matter; that we lose when we give in to hopelessness, cynicism or the cultivated division that isolates and disempowers us. Given the impending climate catastrophe, the danger of growing wars and of nuclear war that threatens our existence, we, like Palestinians, have no choice but to struggle for our own survival against the same entrenched, corporate militarized power.

We remain grateful for your support, for the strong words and poetry sent and to be able to continue publishing in spite of rising prices and postal rates. As a poem by Cathy Porter notes, "Poetry can't solve a damn thing/ but readers can/And we must.

Summer 2023 Editorial

This hottest summer on record comes in a year of continuing climate disasters as oceans heat to record temperatures and fires sweep the world. NOAA measurements show a record growth of heat-trapping methane emissions since 2019-20, While much of the rise in atmospheric methane then and since comes from fracking and from a thawing tundra, it cannot be separated from the disastrous sabotage and destruction of the Nordstream pipeline which released many thousands of tons of it into the atmosphere, exacerbating a feedback loop of increased methane, which in the past has lead to global extinction.

The Nordstream pipeline sabotage is an iconic example of the inseparability of war and climate destruction. Even the horrific flooding in Libya is a direct result, not only of climate chaos, but of the war waged on Libya by the US and NATO and the resulting lack of leadership and infrastructure maintenance that followed. Just as NATO wrought havoc on Libya, it continues to do so in Ukraine. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General recently admitted, the Russian invasion was a direct and forewarned result of NATO expansion in the region.

The United States continues to be a juggernaut of global chaos and destruction. Why has this become so? Primarily because the rampant corporate corruption that has made a hollow joke of our representative democracy is driven by an obsession for global control of resources and economic hegemony at any expense. At this point in history, every military action and every war is a war against the planet and against the future of life on earth.

The poets in this collection understand that -- from our own country, wracked by cultivated partisan division, to the global community of nations, our only hope for survival as a species lies in peace, cooperation and unified action on the issues which threaten our survival, from climate action to health.

Poems in this issue also describe both the brutal alienation of being disposable, nameless commodities to the pride as well as identification we can take in our professions. They focus on the crushing and deadly exploitation we face, worse for immigrants and now children, and on the rising unity and fight-back which result. The class unity possible was recently demonstrated by a country music hit "Rich Men North of Richmond" which, while problematic, touches on the seething working class anger at corporate politicians who make our lives more harrowing even as they poison us and destroy the world to enrich themselves even further.

Beyond summer, this is a season of growing, militant working class struggle. The UAW is on strike against greedy corporations. This strike may well spread to other industries and to teachers under attack by the extreme-right. Climate protests against fossil feul profiteers continue as well.

Due to overt and utter corruption, we working and poor find ourselves stuck between an extreme right party looking to attack children, the elderly, the ill, women, the non-binary and minorities, and a corporate "centrist" party pushing to make war on the rest of the world. The insanity of warmongering and ecocide is the direct result of bipartisan corporate dominance.

The union struggles we are seeing must grow to a struggle against deadly corporate domination of our government -- against capitalism itself. Culture must play a major part in inspiring that necessary growth and class unity. We are grateful for the continuing efforts of our best working class poets and writers and for being able to do our part in this vital struggle for life and for authentic, working class democracy.

Note to Subcribers

As some have been informed, though we are running behind, the Blue Collar Review is in production and will be out shortly. Our website has been updated. This unfortunate delay is due to difficult diversions from printer issues to whether realted house damage. My wife had cardiac surgery on the 16th and at the same day, a tornadic storm damaged some of the roof of our house and home office. Meanwhile, our printer died halfway though printing this issue. Thanks to reder support, it was replaced with a new one. As a result of added expenses we are extending our annual fund drive. Donations can also be made on our website

Spring Editorial 2023

As spring turns to summer for the old, the young, the jobless, those with jobs, and the struggling majority of us, these have been mean times. Poems in this issue describe the pride we take in our work as well as the terrifying insecurity and degradation that haunts wage labor.

With spring comes Worker's Memorial Day. We are always conscious of the inherent danger of the workplace and remember those lost or injured. Most of us know someone injured on the job if it isn't ourselves. Poems by Lyle Estill, John Zedolik and Ada Negri, as translated by Thomas Feeney, describe workplace injuries. We also have in this collection, poems of resistance to the workplace threats of harm and to the unlivable pay and limits placed by government assistance that impact our health, our lives beyond the workplace, and our chances of being injured on the job. And now, as Mary Franke's poem "May Day 2023" informs us, child labor is back.

Though we are not a "prison magazine" we understand that the vast majority of people incarcerated in our brutal prison system are working class and, that beyond neglect and mistreatment, they are also used as slave labor. When a person is imprisoned, entire families are injured as well. We are glad to publish some of the poems and prose we receive from inside the penal system and for the writers to know they are alive and heard in the world beyond the walls and towers.

Interest rates, utilities, groceries, rents and the general cost of living remain artificially high, pushed by price gouging now labeled "greedflation." As billions of dollars continue to flow to the Pentagon and arms industries, assistance for families, food stamps, and Medicare are being cut and we are left to struggle for basics. As a poem by Cathy Porter reminds us, many are forced to choose between food and medicines. Our staff of hard-hit retirees is no exception and has been further impacted by a recent freak storm which damaged our home and office. The unfolding climate catastrphe increasingly threatens our overstrained lives and scarce shelter. If that isn't bad enough, our printer died halfway through doing this issue. Thanks to your support, it was replaced with a new one.

We are in hard times but we have not given up as a journal or as a class. From escalating labor and civil rights struggles to the fight against gender bigotry and climate destructon we continue to fight for our lives against the most reactionary political representatives of the corporatocacy. We fight those who want to kill nutritional assistance, even for children, to cut medical access and to de-fund our hard-earned Social Security upon which the elderly and infirm depend.

As the ecocidal insanity of our ruling class advances us daily toward the twin catastrophes of climate collapse and nuclear war, our only chance is to unite beyond cultivated partisan divisions, ethnic and gender identities, and misbegotten natonalisms for our own common survival. In this regard and in light of our seasonal war-revering holidays, we must replace the obsolete idea of "patriotism" or loyalty to our country, with the planetary consciousness of Matriotism, or loyalty to our earth mother. This requires understanding how interdependent all life on our world is, how inseparable our fate, and how threatened we are by capitalism and competitive nation-state gangsterism.

In our final poem in this collection, Marge Piercy writes, "and so we're changing it almost to something better." As our struggle continues we are grateful for the support which has kept us in print."

Winter 2022-23 Editorial

This winter has seen our working class and our earth under continuous attack. The crimes of commerce and the insane barbarity of war cannot be disconnected. The sabotage and destruction of a major Russian undersea pipeline by our country, as exposed by noted investigative journalist Sy Hersh, unleashed 75 miles of pressurized methane into our atmosphere; a crime against the earth that dangerously exacerbates an existential climate crisis already on the breaking point. In our own country, due to years of continuous deregulations, we witness numerous train derailings including the historic toxic disaster in the working class neighborhood of East Palestine, Ohio. This disaster is especially notable for the presence of phosgene - or "nerve gas" along with other deadly, long lasting pollutants. We have to ask why? Stewart Acuff's poem, "Sacrifice Zones" gets to the nitty-gritty that we are all living in toxic sacrifice zones for the enrichment of ruling corporations.

And now, due to deregulation, the banks are failing -- again. Unlike the rest of us, buried in debt just to survive, they will be bailed out -- again.

The poems in this issue describe the bleak realities of life for our laboring, and post-laboring class. We are stuck in a broken system of utter corruption ruled by two corporate parties; one devolved into blatant brutal fascism, and the other run by and for major industries and the casino of finance. This now obvious reality is inspiring resistance from peace activists, workers, women and the other-gendered under assault by religious fanatics and connected fascists. The latter assaults have been labeled a "culture war" by our embedded corporate media. Culture matters and we, as poets and writers play a major role in this struggle. Our words matter more than ever.

This is our annual fundraising issue. We're gratified to be told by readers how moved they are and how their lives have been changed by this humble journal over the last quarter century. Each issue, passed from hand to hand or in treasured collections, continues to affect perspectives. Still, we operate on a meager budget and the costs of everything, from postage to paper and supplies, has risen. Your editors, being near destitute retirees, cannot afford to do this without your support. In this issue you will find a donation slip. We are more than grateful for your support, your words and for the community of poets and writers who continue to be a part of this project.

The final poems in this issue are a post-pandemic wake-up call for many of us who have been stunned into depressed isolation by the pandemic, by the growing threat of impending nuclear annihilation, and by an unfolding climate catastrophe. The latter are a product of the fossil thinking of a leadership blinded by corporate loyalties and myopic delusions of global hegemony. Silence and inaction only benefit the vested destroyers of life and of the living world. As our closing poem, "Apology" by Bill Ayres reminds us, only we, those still alive, can turn this reality around. When awakened united and active around common issues, we are the vast majority and can shut this destructive juggernaut of profit obsessed corruption down. Awakening our class brothers and sisters beyond the disempowering divisions cultivated by our ruling class and rebuilding a culture of militant solidarity is the raison d'etre of this journal. We remain dedicated to continuing to publish words and poetry that matter. We thank you in advance for your support and for the immense power of your words.

Fall 2023 Editorial

Autumn is a time of coming together with family and friends, a time of celebration and of battening down for the rigors of winter. This winter is made harder for us by an economy impacted by pandemic, war, and price gouging.

As corporate politicians gladly dole out another $857 Billion for weapons production and the escalation of a dangerous war, child poverty grows and rent-gouging leaves more of us hungry, homeless, criminalized and disenfranchised. As Senator Ocasio-Cortez recently pointed out regarding the latest weapons spending, $20 Billion could end homelessness, and child poverty could be reduced by half for $90 Billion -- far less than the money spent on weapons and war -- and far more controversial in a corporate oligarchy where business agendas and global hegemony are prioritized and citizen needs come last. Our lives remain endangered in a country saturated with guns. Mass shootings are a near daily occurrence. Our ruling class is more dedicated to our right to kill each other than to our rights to have healthcare, education, homes, or even sick leave in a continuing pandemic.

Who speaks for us? A few labor unions and a handful of elected progressives are not enough. We must speak for ourselves as a class. The poets in this issue do just that.

Some in this collection are nostalgic but, as Adrienne Rich once wrote, "nostalgia is the flip side of amnesia." We must see the past clearly to learn from it, whether on working conditions and labor history or on the realities of racism and sexism which continue to stifle so many lives.

We are living in a time when our systems and our lives are being held hostage by empowered corporate interests. We are divided by corporate parties, that rhetoric aside, agree more than disagree when in comes to priorities that harm us for the benefit of profiteers.

In the next few months our nation will likely be held hostage by overt right Republicans who have stated their intent to block any budget that doesn't include cutting, destroying or privatizing Social Security and Medicare. Center-right Democrats could have raised the debt ceiling to prevent this, but have refused to do so; nor have they stood with workers striking for sick leave they themselves feel entitled to. We, especially the poor and the elderly, must fight for our ability to live as profits for connected corporations such as big insurance, fossil fuel companies, pharmaceutical giants, and military industries reap record profits at our very real expense.

At the same time, we see an escalation in working class fight-back from teachers, railroad workers, students and climate activists. As working people, we know we can trust corporate parties and politicians to screw us. When we are left to choose lesser evils in elections, we are always the losers. We need to be active and united beyond elections. This must include massive protests, labor actions, building a progressive workers' party, and consideration of a national strike.

This journal continues to seek to unify working people around issues that affect us all, and to foster a class perspective which makes unity possible. We recognize the power of culture to shape perspectives and the potential strength of our unified class to disempower the destructive rule of self-serving corporate power. We are more than grateful for the poets and writers who join us in this effort. May this season of coming together shape our struggles in the coming year.