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UN Diplomacy is a Fake Solution to War and Crisis
The General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) met in New York City during the last full week in September. As usual, there were a lot of performative promises, threats, and discussions, but with no real solutions for the worsening crises: war, climate collapse, global debt, and AI doom.
Despite the UN recognizing Israel’s genocide and atrocities against Palestinian people, and the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for his crimes against humanity, Netanyahu was able to give a speech at the assembly, dismissing allegations and defending Israel’s right to wage war on Iran and Palestine. Many UN delegates walked out in protest, but this did not change the fact that Netanyahu was allowed to speak and continues to lead a genocidal administration committing atrocities against Palestinians and Lebanese. Meanwhile, the Palestinian government officials, who have UN observer status, were not even granted visas by the U.S., to come to the meeting.
In addition to Palestine, Trump used the meeting to threaten Cuba and Iran, while saying he remains open to discussions with the Iranian representatives about peace talks. He is constantly trying to maximize U.S. benefits in oil markets, while still trying to appear tough. He’s not fooling anyone.
The topic of AI also became a central discussion, with the question of global regulations. Trump, claiming that the U.S. is leading China “by a lot” in AI development, argued against any type of global AI regulation, while China, among other countries, was open to collaboration on AI safety.
The UN does not have solutions to the growing number of crises we are facing around the world. Founded in the aftermath of World War II, the United Nations was created by the victors of the war, led by the U.S. government, on promises of world peace and collaboration. In reality, the victorious powerful government gave themselves veto control of the most important decisions.
Today, amidst growing competition around AI, the world’s dwindling energy sources like coal and oil, and the heightening climate crisis, the bureaucratic body of the so-called world leaders has never managed to keep capitalism peaceful. All they’ve managed to do is redirect our frustrations about the world situation into formal and bureaucratic meeting halls.
We saw where the real decisions were likely being made behind the flashy, expensive state dinner at the White House where Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping touted their day of diplomatic meetings together. The dinner was notable: in addition to U.S. and Chinese government representatives, over thirty CEOs, mainly from the tech industry were present. This included Elon Musk (SpaceX, Tesla), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Kelly Ortberg (Boeing), Sam Altman (OpenAI), Sundar Pichai (Google), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), and other CEOs of massively powerful companies in the technology, communications, energy, investment, pharmaceutical, and auto sectors.
The U.S. and China have been escalating tensions as they compete for larger sections of the global economy – and they both see AI and related technologies as the edge they need. It is the frontier where their capital interests can expand. So, the dinner was an opportunity to show off their strengths and actually negotiate with the capitalists controlling this whole system. But capitalists cannot solve the problems caused by capitalism. Their profit incentive still launches the world towards competition for the top spot, with war, worsening working conditions, climate catastrophe, and resource shortages as costs of doing business.
In the midst of all this, the uselessness of the UN meetings to address the enormous environmental, economic, and military crises became even more obvious. If so-called leaders are storming out in protest, who do they expect to change the situation? Who do we expect to do it?
Only working people have the power to change the course of the dire future we are facing. Rather than hoping collaboration of the capitalist rulers will “maintain peace,” we could build actual global collaboration for our needs and interests. We saw glimpses of what this could look like against the atrocities in Gaza. In 2025, the Sumud Flotilla was an international response, where over 500 civilians from over 44 countries sailed to deliver aid to Gazans. When Israel intervened, port workers in Italy launched a strike to “block everything.” These acts forced governments to take some action, and peace plans were at least signed into effect. Despite these being empty promises, we can glimpse where our real power comes from and what we could do. With enough organization, working people and our allies can take decisions into our own hands.
Reports From Speak Out Members Around the U.S.
Bay Area, California: Tech Profits vs Worker Pay
Security guards in San Francisco organized with SEIU-USWW went on strike on September 18, demanding better pay, benefits, and an end to surveillance and retaliatory discipline on the job. They have now returned to work, but contract negotiations are continuing.
The strikers are guards at buildings occupied by big tech companies such as Salesforce, which at the time of the strike was hosting their annual Dreamforce conference in the city. This conference brings in people from all over the world to celebrate soaring profits in the tech industry. Meanwhile, the security workers these companies rely on are making an average of $20 an hour, far below a living wage in San Francisco. These corporations claim to boost the economy of the Bay Area. Why is it that working people never benefit from that “boost?”
Baltimore, Maryland: Healthcare Workers Fight for What’s Right
Nurses everywhere are overworked, short staffed and struggling to access the equipment they need to do their jobs. Nurses in Baltimore are getting organized to do something about it.
After a years-long fight that included several one-day strikes, nurses at St. Agnes hospital just won raises and staffing improvements in their first union contract. Nurses at Medstar Franklin Square announced that they’re forming a union to fight understaffing while their CEO rakes in millions in bonuses. And clinicians, nurses, and administrative staff at Planned Parenthood of Maryland voted to authorize a strike due to management’s refusal to pay living wages. These workers are right to get together to demand better! But forming a union or ratifying a contract alone will not make our working conditions or our lives perfect. For that, the fight will have to continue.
Newark, New Jersey: DoorDash Dashed Away with its Workers Money!
DoorDash, the nearly billion-dollar delivery corporation, has settled a case brought against it by New York City and agreed to pay $115 million in back wages to about 264,000 delivery workers who it ripped off since 2023. Although some of those workers will receive only tiny amounts, about 27,000 workers are owed more than $1,000 while about 700 are owed more than $10,000!
It’s good that the city took on this company and won back these workers’ money. But it highlights the bigger problem: part of the way corporations make their money is by paying workers as little as possible. If that means not paying them for work done, that’s even better! This settlement will help some of those ripped off workers. But it doesn’t fix the root cause of the problem.
The Triangle, North Carolina: N.C. Tries to Limit Voting Access
North Carolina has sharply cut Sunday voting: 40 counties offered it in 2022; in this midterm election only 17 will—a 57.5% reduction. That matters to shift workers, caregivers, and people juggling multiple jobs. Yet North Carolina law gives workers no right to take time off to vote.
Republican election officials drove the reduction in Sunday voting with the tacit support of big employers whose interests the Republicans zealously protect. The GOP of course intends to obstruct the mobilization of Black voters, but the reduction of Sunday voting opportunities hurts all working people.
Given the cuts in Sunday voting, paid time off to vote is even more important. Unions, civic organizations, churches, and voter-mobilization groups should demand that from North Carolina’s big employers. The right to vote is hollow if your boss controls whether you can use it.
