WASHINGTON, DC, December 9 — As communists, we must be involved in all aspects of the class struggle — on the job or in the community — always sharply struggling against the bosses’ tool of racism and advancing our vision of a future communist society run by the international working class. By sharpening the struggle against the bosses who oppress us, we hope to demonstrate the necessity of the longer-term struggle to permanently secure a better life for us and our children.
Recently an opportunity to do this took place here at a meeting of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 at its union hall. The meeting was called by the union to develop a plan to fight the privatization of the public transit system here. The union leadership had not developed a serious plan, so I was able to get the members to discuss a report written by several rank-and-filers, including a PL’er.
We showed how privatization is part of a broader racist attack on Metro workers and the riding public. Mass transit is growing in the Washington region, but most of that growth involves private contractors who pay workers low wages and offer few benefits. This puts downward pressure on the wages and benefits of the public transit workers.
To facilitate this attack, the Metro management has expanded its criminal background checks of workers. It hopes to portray us workers as criminals. Rising fares are blamed on “greedy” Metro workers who supposedly show no consideration for the riding public — another lie.
The report emphasized how Metro uses racism to divide transit workers from the riding public.
This analysis enabled us to propose a strategy for fighting privatization. The bosses plan a fare increase in July. We need to join with the riding public to oppose it. The local business community and the federal government who profit from the system should be forced to pay more of the operational expenses. Instead, they try to shift costs onto the backs of the riding public. We agreed to plan a major rally in March to oppose any fare increase.
Unity must be built by Metro workers with their brothers and sisters who work for the private contractors so we can fight together for one wage and benefit package for all transit workers in the region. Eliminating the financial incentive to privatize will help stop the process.  
The power to accomplish these goals comes from our ability to shut the transit system down. The unity of all transit workers and the riding public in support of a transit strike is a force the bosses cannot ignore.  
After the report and strategy discussion, several rank-and-file workers indicated their support for the class-struggle approach it advocated. Most of these supporters are regular CHALLENGE readers. The union leadership called for “further investigation” before we decide on our strategy.  Given the support for class struggle at the meeting, the conservative union leaders were unwilling to even present their losing strategy of lobbying the politicians and preparing for the April primary elections in DC.
The plan is to discuss our strategy with more workers and win them to come to the January meeting and to build this movement. Even more importantly, several of our CHALLENGE reader-supporters will be brought into PLP study groups. With more intense work, the Party group at Metro will grow and help lead the long struggle for revolution and communism.