Beginning with the crisis of 2008, a series of community, labor, and education struggles have unfolded across the world, in the US, and Canada. As experienced organizers face new challenges, and new people are brought into the movement, the challenges and problems posed by building powerful radical movements confronts us.

Today we present two interviews with organizers that helped build struggles against problems they faced in the crisis, and reflect on those experiences and lessons for radicals in these movements.

First, we share an interview with Phinneas a Canadian postal worker. Last year, a series of direct actions exploded across Canada in response to attempts to rationalize and mechanize production, and around the labor contract in negotiation. Phinneas’ article Waves of Struggle, is his account of the actions and problems they faced.

Next, we share an interview with Marianne a student organizer active in Occupy and the New School occupation that happened during the most active period in Occupy Wall Street. As more people were brought into that movement, students across the city began to bring the struggle back to their universities, culminating in the spontaneous occupation of a building in the New School last year. Marianne reflects on the successes and shortcomings of that process, and makes suggestions for how we can move forward in the future.

For different perspectives, you can read two additional accounts of the occupation, though we don’t endorse them, here and here.