PUBLISHER'S NOTE – 55.4
Written by SP Editor
It’s a long shot, but I can’t be the only one out there who is frustrated about the absence of grassroots organizing response among families that are being victimized by Trump and his administration’s policies. The Big Bad Budget Bill is still the best example of Trump’s deliberate, though duplicitous, targeting of lower-income families in order to finance continued breaks that benefit the rich. The draconian eligibility, certification, and work requirements attached to the food stamp and Medicaid programs are designed to deny eligible families their entitled rights to receive support by putting rocks in the road. A fact sheet, accompanying my article, advocating for organizing benefit recipients to access volunteer programs and organize to maintain benefits for themselves and other recipients, details some of the changes. This is a call to action and a plea for support. We’ll see if it’s heard, and who is listening. Similarly, Stephen Eisenman, emeritus professor from Northwestern University and co-founder of the grassroots environmental organization, the Anthropocene Alliance (A2), offers lessons learned in his time as strategic director of the organization, as well as a bracing critique of our current situation and what needs to be done.
As usual, we have reports from the Organizers Forum, our longtime partner, on their international dialogue with similar organizations in Romania and Bulgaria. Richard Ziemianski evaluates the status of labor unions there. Ty Riches and Vonica Flear found the rise of rightwing forces in these countries, as well as resource shortages, as obstacles to change, even as they were impressed with organizations and activists who had their shoulders to the wheel. In 2026, the Organizers Forum heads to Spain, so act early, if interested.
This issue has two excerpts that might be hard to find anywhere else. One is an interesting piece on guerrilla tactics in labor organizing from a recently issued training manual from the Global Labor Institute in France. The other is an insightful piece that pulls together pre-Enlightenment philosophical strands from Rousseau, Locke, and Diderot that impacted the care and education of children – and their dress – in England and France. We still live in the slipstream of these arguments today.
The book reviews are on fire this issue! The first, literally involves arson, as Manhattan University Professor Margaret Groake reviews Born in Flames, a look at fires in the Bronx and elsewhere that were encouraged by insurers and opposed by community organizations. James Mumm, our regular reviewer looks at the critical contributions of ACT UP in New York in the AIDS crisis, as well as oral histories about Queercore. Arif Ullah, the new head of the US-based Anthropocene Alliance or A2, does a thorough and insightful job in viewing former Louisville Professor Gilderbloom’s collection of various pieces in Climate Chaos.
Our columnists spare no punches. Phil Mattera takes the gloves off at how badly Trump is missing in action on affordability. Many of us may have zipped past discussions of various countries building Central Bank Digital Currencies, but Drummond Pike is clear the US is not just missing the boat here, but deliberating staying on the dock to benefit banks and others who are profiteering. After spending time training for ACORN in Cleveland, John Anderson extols the virtues of positivity for people. Gregory Squires notes some institutions are looking the administration’s “gifts” in the horse’s mouth and not interested in following these executive orders that may not last long. In Backstory, I look at the how so many autocrats continue to target nonprofits with impunity.
Readers will open this last number from 2025 early in the new year. Hopefully, you’ll find plenty here to give you strength and resolve in meeting the challenges and opportunities of 2026!