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Our Earth, Our Lives! Not Their Profits!
Trump and the billionaires he represents have stepped up their profiteering rampage. The mounting attacks on environmental regulations and the right of states to apply their own regulations will lead to an acceleration of worldwide environmental destruction.
This is an attempt to return to a time when the politicians openly ran the country without regard for anything but increasing profits. Workers faced workdays of 12, 14, or more hours under incredibly harsh conditions. Children were maimed and killed in the factories and mines. Women had no rights. Race and ethnicity dictated your place in that world. The Earth was something to tear apart to extract the resources. The waste went into the ground, water, and air, poisoning life on the planet.
These destructive ways have been challenged, but not yet defeated. The movements for a better life have changed things, especially our understanding of the world and what is possible. Some rights for working people have been gained. Racism, sexism and other exploitative divisions have been challenged. Gains were made that put some limits on damage to the environment. But we have also seen how these gains can be undermined or overturned.
In the past weeks, Trump has set his sights on the laws and regulations that were won by the workers’ and environmental movements. Unlike most other politicians, he doesn’t hide his motives and goals. He promised the billionaire class, especially the fossil fuel companies, that the days of regulations are over for them. This will guarantee the hundreds of billions of dollars of profits they are counting on as more of our Earth is opened to oil and gas extraction; as pollution regulations are pushed aside; and as clean air and water standards are eliminated. They think the resources of the Earth are theirs to take.
Before Trump, Democrats and Republicans represented the same corporate interests they do now. But they were not as blatant. They were concerned about future elections and some understood what the consequences of the continued heating of the planet would be.
Our Earth is under attack and everything possible must be done to preserve the ecosystems and life as we know it. With fossil fuels as the primary source of energy, increasing production means putting more carbon in the atmosphere, leading to even more heating of the planet. Scientists have agreed that an increase exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius (about 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) in global average temperatures will have particularly drastic consequences. Last year was the first year to exceed that threshold.
As a result, we are experiencing a massive disruption of our environment. The oceans are warming, ice sheets are melting, the air is warming and carrying more moisture. This is responsible for many of the extreme weather events that we are witnessing – hurricanes, massive rainstorms, flooding and more. For inland areas, extreme weather events are leading to drier environments and massive fires. Rivers are drying up and farmland is turning into desert. The rate of extinction of species is occurring at an alarming rate.
Science tells us what needs to be done: stop relying on fossil fuels as an energy source. And this is where the conflict between profiteering and life emerges. Trillions of dollars are invested in these companies. The reported profits of Exxon Mobil were $76 billion in 2024. Those who profit are not going to accept to lose that income nor lose the trillions of dollars invested in the continued production of oil and gas.
Protecting this system of capitalist production is what is behind the attacks we are seeing, including the ability to produce information (science), the right to relay the information (media and the right to speak); the right to oppose the destruction of our Earth (free speech and assembly); the right to move if your home is being destroyed (migration) and more.
Our future is under attack. Over the past weeks and months, we have seen the beginning of what could be a mass movement. Those in the government and those who are no longer in office, will not defend us. Our future can and should be in our hands. What happens is up to us.
People are demonstrating against the attacks we are facing, including on the environment. Earth Day is April 22. There will be demonstrations that we can take part in. Or we can start our own.
The Triangle, North Carolina: Student Visas Revoked
Nearly 20 international students across North Carolina have had their visas revoked by the Trump administration. They are among over 800 students to have their residency rights stripped overnight. Most have been left in limbo: uncertain of why their visas have been revoked, or if this move will be upheld by the courts. Elsewhere, students have been kidnapped by masked, plain clothed ICE officers, as was the case with Rümeysa Öztürk outside of Boston.
Taking away legal, protected status for immigrants is an attack on all of us, shattering our communities. It is part of a broad assault on millions of people who have lost jobs, as well as health care, education, and many other services. Our response cannot be silent. We must talk to each other, speak up against this, and expand our networks. Who are the people we can rely on to respond to attacks like these? We are. Now is the time to build up our forces.
Bay Area, California: Massive Layoffs
Since the start of 2025, there have been massive layoffs in the Bay Area’s tech and science industries, with a reported 8,700 positions slashed, and more cuts set for the coming months. Once a hub for the tech industry, the Bay Area has seen companies move to more affordable regions or downsize. As industries move out, jobs disappear and cities start to shrink. When businesses shutter, it impacts other industries that are dependent on its workers, which leads to further job loss.
So far, across the country, 2025 has been a year of attacks on different workforces and groups of people. It seems like no one is safe in these turbulent times. We need to stand united as a working class against the attacks from the top.
Baltimore, Maryland: Immigrants in Maryland under Attack
On March 15, Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Prince George’s County, Maryland was illegally deported to El Salvador. He was sent to a mega-prison notorious for human rights abuses, despite a judge’s order that he was protected from deportation. The courts ruled that the government must “facilitate his return,” but the Trump administration claims they can’t do anything to get him back.
On March 31, ICE officers in Westminster, MD, smashed the car window of Elsy Noemi Berrios, a worker and mother. Refusing to show a warrant, they sent her to a private prison three hours away in Pennsylvania.
These assaults remind us that the ruling class isn’t interested in following its own laws. Their Constitution means nothing to them. We cannot rely on the politicians, courts, and laws to protect us. Working-class and other oppressed people, whether U.S. citizens or not, can be safe only when we organize and fight for our interests.
Newark, New Jersey: Booker and the Democrats Won’t Save Us!
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker’s 25-hour speech on March 31–April 1 continued his career-long practice of political self-promotion. But endless speeches and attention-grabbing spectacles from politicians aren’t what we need. They won’t stop the wave of attacks coming from Trump and the right wing.
In contrast, the April 5 nationwide protests suggested what we must do to stop Trump’s agenda. Jersey saw large protests in neighboring Philadelphia and New York, and at least two dozen smaller protests throughout the state, some with thousands of participants each. From its major cities to its Republican suburbs, tens of thousands of New Jerseyans energetically said NO to Trump’s attacks. While these protests aren’t yet enough, they give us a glimpse of our potential to collectively address the roots of the problems we are facing. No Cory Booker needed!
