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James Dennis Hoff

James Dennis Hoff is a writer, educator, labor activist, and member of the Left Voice editorial board. He teaches at The City University of New York.

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From Cease-Fire to Liberation

With over 30,000 dead and much of Gaza turned into rubble, a ceasefire is insufficient, even more so if it does not include an immediate and permanent withdrawal of all Israeli troops and an end to the siege on Gaza.

James Dennis Hoff

March 6, 2024

CUNY Faculty and Staff Have Gone One Year Without a Contract — It’s Time to Strike

CUNY workers have been without a new contract for a full year and the university has yet to make any economic offers. It's time to take action.

James Dennis Hoff

February 29, 2024

With Rafah in the Crosshairs, the Working Class Can Stop the Genocide in Gaza

As Israel prepares an invasion of Rafah, workers’ organizations around the world must take action before it's too late.

James Dennis Hoff

February 21, 2024

General Strike: Argentina Rises Up Against Milei’s Shock Therapy

More than 1.5 million workers walked off the job today in a massive general strike in Argentina against President Javier Milei. But more strikes and demonstrations are needed to defeat his brutal and authoritarian neoliberal reform program.

James Dennis Hoff

January 24, 2024

CUNY Union Joins Call for Ceasefire in Gaza

The PSC CUNY union, which represents more than 30,000 faculty and staff at the City University of New York has joined dozens of other major unions to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. This is a great first step, but U.S. labor has to back up its demands with action.

James Dennis Hoff

December 15, 2023

Biden Doubles Down on U.S. Support for Genocide

Despite recent rhetorical shifts, the Biden administration is ramping up its support for the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. He, and the entire U.S. regime, must be held accountable for these crimes.

James Dennis Hoff

December 13, 2023

The UAW Won Big: What Does It Mean for the U.S. Labor Movement? 

The UAW strike was not just a victory for auto workers. It was a victory for the entire working class. 

James Dennis Hoff

November 12, 2023

Amid Repression from the Administration and Police, the CUNY PSC Must Stand with Palestine 

As bombs rain down on Gaza and the CUNY administration continues to condemn and demonize Pro-Palestinian protests, the faculty and staff union at CUNY cannot remain silent. We must say loudly and clearly that we stand with Palestine.

James Dennis Hoff

October 20, 2023

The Solution to the Political Crisis Is in the Hands of the Working Class

The dramatic ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is just the latest iteration of an unfolding and rapidly developing political crisis that has unsettled the traditional parties and opened the door for a whole host of ideological monstrosities. Solving this crisis will require the independent action of the entire working class. 

James Dennis Hoff

October 13, 2023

The Big Three Are Using Layoffs to Punish the UAW and Undermine the Strike

The Big Three are retaliating against the UAW by laying off thousands of its members at plants across the country. Defeating these attacks will require the self organization and mobilization of all the workers.

James Dennis Hoff

September 28, 2023

The UAW Is Right: All Workers Deserve a Shorter Work Week AND Higher Wages

The current contract struggle at The Big Three and increasing automation in the auto industry raise an important question: How can we use technology to benefit the working class rather than feed the profits of the bosses? 

James Dennis Hoff

September 14, 2023

The Time Is Right for a Strike at the Big Three

A strike by UAW workers at the Big Three, if joined by actors, writers, and flight attendants, would radicalize hundreds of thousands of workers, revealing their power and raising their expectations in ways that could have an outsized positive influence on the future of labor in the United States.

James Dennis Hoff

September 6, 2023

Trump Indictments Are About Capitalist Stability, Not Justice

Behind the many damning charges against Trump lies a more fundamental attempt on behalf of a broad sector of capital to defend the stability and legitimacy of the U.S. regime in the midst of a series of ongoing military, economic, ecological, and political crises.

James Dennis Hoff

August 4, 2023

Rekindling the Militant Spirit of CUNY’s Past

Mayor Eric Adams has announced an austerity budget that includes significant cuts to the City University of New York among other city agencies. In order to defeat these cuts, students, faculty, and other workers across the city must unite our struggles and be prepared to shut the university down.

James Dennis Hoff

May 22, 2023

France: On the Frontlines of the War Against Austerity

The French masses have raised the banner of class struggle in what is becoming the first major battle against austerity after the pandemic. Working people across the world should pay attention.

James Dennis Hoff

March 25, 2023

Understanding the Global Context of the Ukrainian Conflict: A Response to Our Critics

The 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the massive rearmament of Europe that followed mark a new stage in a growing conflict that has become a proxy war between the imperialist states of the US and NATO on one side, and an emerging alliance between Russia and China on the other. While some on the Left see this new pole of Russia and China as a check against US imperialism, neither country is anti-imperialist, and neither has anything progressive to offer working people.

James Dennis Hoff

March 16, 2023

In Standoff Over Cop City, Police Are the Real Terrorists

For over two years, the protests and occupations against a police training center in Atlanta, Georgia flew under the radar of the mainstream press. Now, after the police murder of land defender Manuel Teran and the arrest of 19 protesters on charges of domestic terrorism, the standoff has gained national attention. But in the battle to defend the Weelaunee Forest and the people of Atlanta from the development of the massive “Cop City” training center, it is the Atlanta Police Department and the state that have been acting like terrorists.

James Dennis Hoff

January 27, 2023

Sorry Jacobin, But Crushing Rail Workers’ Right to Strike Is Not Progressive

Jacobin’s Branko Marcetic is applauding progressive Democrats like AOC and Jamaal Bowman for their vote to force rail workers to accept a contract they explicitly rejected on terms that are not even close to their original demands.

James Dennis Hoff

December 1, 2022

More Crisis on the Horizon as Republicans Rally to Take Back Congress

With just three days left before the midterm elections, the Republicans look increasingly likely to retake the House and perhaps even the Senate. This could have a profound impact on the next two years of Biden's presidency and the 2024 elections. But one thing is for sure: regardless of who wins on Tuesday, the result will be more polarization and more economic, environmental, and political crisis.

James Dennis Hoff

November 5, 2022

Now More than Ever, the Working Class Needs Independent, Democratic Unions

Recently, discussions about unionization have become a national conversation. New workplaces are unionizing and the question of how to ensure their democratic functioning is the order of the day.

James Dennis Hoff

September 14, 2022

Chipotle Closes First Unionized Store, but Organization Momentum Continues

Last month, workers at an Augusta, Maine Chipotle store formed the first ever Chipotle union in the United States. On Tuesday, the company closed the store and laid-off all of the workers.

James Dennis Hoff

July 20, 2022

The Unionization Wave Continues: Workers In Maine Have Organized the First Chipotle Store in the Country

Workers at an Augusta, Maine Chipotle have formed an independent union: Chipotle United. This is a clear indication that the unionization wave that started with Starbucks and Amazon is only growing stronger.

James Dennis Hoff

June 22, 2022

Children Deserve Dignified, Happy, Carefree Lives

Under this capitalist, racist, patriarchal system, children carry the heavy burdens of trauma. As workers and socialists, we must fight to ensure that they can live the dignified, happy, and carefree lives they deserve.

James Dennis Hoff

May 29, 2022

Fired Starbucks Workers Bring their Fight Directly to the CEO

Despite being illegally terminated, Starbucks workers from Memphis, Tennessee and other cities across the country are fighting to unionize and win back their jobs.

James Dennis Hoff

April 30, 2022

Round Two for the ALU: the Fight to Organize Amazon Continues

On Monday, 1,600 warehouse workers in Staten Island will vote on whether or not to form the second-ever Amazon union in the United States. In response, the company is using every dirty trick in the book to intimidate workers and undermine the vote.

James Dennis Hoff

April 24, 2022

The War in Ukraine Is Strengthening NATO and U.S. Imperialism

As Germany increases its military budget and Sweden and Finland ponder joining NATO, it’s clear that the war in Ukraine has been a boon for European and U.S. imperialism.

James Dennis Hoff

April 16, 2022

Grassroots Unionism: Lessons from the Victory at Amazon

Amazon workers in Staten Island defeated one of the wealthiest and most anti-union corporations in the world. Their victory is a repudiation of the failed strategy of the labor bureaucracy and shows the power of real rank and file organizing.

James Dennis Hoff

April 10, 2022

Socialists Should Not Support Imperialist Weapons Shipments to the Ukrainian Government

As war rages in Ukraine, NATO countries are sending billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to the Zelenskyy government. These weapons shipments are incredibly popular in Western countries — even among a sector of the Left.

James Dennis Hoff

April 2, 2022

Neither NATO nor Putin: How the U.S. Left is Getting Ukraine Wrong

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, sectors on the Left are either repeating imperialist propaganda by calling for sanctions or minimizing Russia’s actions under the guise of anti-imperialism. To be anti-imperialist means to organize the international working class against U.S. imperialism and oppressive regimes everywhere.

James Dennis Hoff

March 5, 2022

Texas Cops Who Brutalized Protesters in 2020 Finally Brought Up on Charges

Almost two years later, 19 Police officers are being brought up on charges of misconduct and aggravated assault against peaceful protesters in 2020. This is far too little, too late.

James Dennis Hoff

February 18, 2022