Los Angeles
1992: The LA riots
A brief account of the six days of rioting which set Los Angeles aflame following the acquittal of four police officers who were filmed beating black motorist Rodney King.
"There's a difference between frustration with the law and direct assaults upon our legal system."
- George Bush Snr., May 3rd, 1992.
2003-2004: Los Angeles supermarket strike
The history of a huge five-month strike and lockout of 70,000 supermarket workers in California, which ended in defeat.
The walkout was against cuts in benefits, and run almost entirely by union leaderships. While the supermarkets lost $2.5bn in profits, they succeeded in beating the strike and imposing the cuts.
Notes on Another Defeat for Workers in the US
LA '92: The Context of a Proletarian Uprising
Distorted by the bourgeois press, reduced to a mere 'race riot' by many on the left, the L.A. rebellion was the most serious urban uprising this century. This article seeks to grasp the full significance of these events by relating them to their context of class re-composition and capitalist restructuring.
