NEWTON, MA, September 29— In Newton today, Progressive Labor Party demonstrated and leafleted against Israeli Zionist genocide in Gaza, and against the Zionist who shot anti-genocide protester Caleb Gannon in Newton on September 12. Standing up to such attacks is critical, and inspires other antiracist fighters. 

By our discipline, a careful plan, and commitment to fighting Zionist genocide, we overcame some initial fears, and sent the message that Zionist intimidation will not be tolerated.

Fighting Zionist terror head on

In heavily Jewish Newton, we got a very positive response. "Thank you for doing this!" "I'm very glad to see you here." "I'm totally with you." People in cars stopped to grab our leaflets, and honked support for our signs. A smaller number were overtly hostile or made threats.
Caleb’s shooting is part of an escalating pattern of attacks pursued by Zionists in the Boston area. It includes attacks on college students who protested the mass bombings of the civilian population in Gaza, attacks on college professors and administrators that refused to support Israeli government fascism, and the attempt to label anyone that criticizes Israel as anti-Semitic. Even more, the media has basically ignored the story of Matthew Nelson who in an extreme act of protest against the genocide, committed self-immolation in front of Boston's Israeli consulate on September 11 (Cape Cod Times, 9/25). We offer condolences to Matthew's family and friends.

Students and workers need to build a multiracial, mass movement for an egalitarian communist society. We must unite Jewish, Palestinian and all workers to defeat Zionism, anti-Semitism and nationalism and reject all capitalists, whether Israeli rulers or Hamas. If we must fight a war, let it be to eliminate capitalism and build an egalitarian world.

On August 5th the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina resigned. Hasina was forced out by a mass uprising initially led by students, that then spread across the country in response to the government trying to violently suppress the demonstrations. The regime had long lost the popular mandate to rule, had lost the battle of narratives and finally had lost the streets. By the evening of August 5th, a few hours after Hasina had resigned and fled to India, rampaging mobs attacked and torched every symbol of the regime in Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh. 
Workers’ rage needs communist direction

The fall of Hasina came from a combination of mass anger of workers and students taking to the streets and showing once again the power of the working class. At the same time the lack of political direction of the mass movement has allowed the situation to be used to benefit different ruling class factions in Bangladesh who are no better than Hasina, as well as the Chinese imperialists. This is a lesson that keeps getting repeated. A workers movement, no matter how militant, must be led by class conscious ideas to benefit the working class. Ultimately only a communist movement can free the working class from the boss’ dictatorship. That’s because workers then run all aspects of society.

Since the fall of the brutal dictator on August 5th, the winners appear to be the Bangladesh military which is firmly in control of the government, the Chinese imperialists who were unhappy with the discord under Hasina and the fundamental Islamist parties who were suppressed by the Awami League (Economist 8/10). None of these forces will be good for the working class in Bangladesh. 

The politics of the mass student movement which started the uprising has been muddled as a wide range of factions joined in for their own purposes. The initial movement against the restoring of patronage in government job quotas for the ruling party was seized on by the Islamist students. This movement is friendly with Pakistan and the opposition party movements who see a chance to gain power and are likely more connected to China (Stratfor.com, 8/9).

Chinese bosses’ exploit racism

The Chinese imperialists have steadily increased their presence in Bangladesh, with there now being over 700 Chinese companies and $1.4 billion in investment. This money has increased and acted in unison with rising anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh (orcachuna.org, 2/5), a common theme of the anti-Hasina movement. Already, just since the fall of Hasina, there has been an increase in attacks against Hindu workers in Bangladesh (AP 8/13).

Few could have foreseen this turn of events in 2008, when Hasina’s party, the Awami League, won a landslide victory in an election that recorded the highest voter turnout in Bangladesh’s electoral history. Yet, in the 15 years following that election, Hasina unleashed a reign of terror that is unparalleled in the recent history of Bangladesh. 

Every institution in the country – the police, the bureaucracy, the judiciary, the universities, the chambers of commerce, the labor unions and even her own Awami League Party - was hollowed out and placed in firm control of bureaucrats and politicians loyal to Hasina. The state institutions were then used to crush any last vestige of political opposition in the country and to financially benefit Hasina’s inner circle. Political dissidents and opposition organizers disappeared in the hundreds, as they were detained, tortured for years or murdered in secret prisons – the “Aaynaghar” or “the room of mirrors.” Financial corruption reached such ludicrous proportions that one of Hasina’s personal assistants was alleged to have amassed 34 million dollars in kickbacks before he fled the country. 

And yet, the Awami League won three national elections – in 2013, 2018 and 2024 - essentially uncontested and without any major political crisis. 

Hasina’s political propaganda rested on three main arguments. First -  the Awami League was the rightful political heir of the freedom fighters (the “Muktijoddha”),  while the opposition was a coalition of groups who historically opposed the struggle or tried to subvert it – the “Rajakar”, as she would disdainfully refer to them. The imposing statues of Sheikh Mujib and the celebration of the liberation struggle therefore became symbols of political legitimacy for the regime. The second argument was that the Awami League was the only party capable of keeping the right-wing Islamist extremists from power. This was cynically linked to the physical security of the religious minorities, safeguarding of their property and places of worship. The third argument was that the country could prosper economically only under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership. The government undertook mega-projects to drive the point home, even when the economic logic for such projects was highly dubious. 

The limitations of student protests

This well-rehearsed narrative, aided by a brutal state machinery worked well for a while. However, months before her final uncontested election, it was becoming increasingly clear that Hasina was losing the battle of narratives, both at home and abroad, in trying to  justify the brutality of the police state against all forms of political dissent. A depressed economic outlook post-pandemic, aggravated by a slew of bad economic decisions, didn’t help either. 

It was at this historical juncture that the student protests exploded. The Awami League deployed its standard playbook with the police massacring hundreds of protestors, critically injuring and abducting many thousands. As the repression increased over the days and the weeks, a fractured political opposition came together and ultimately ousted Hasina. What happens going forward is still difficult to predict, but without a revolutionary communist movement led by the working class, one capitalist faction or another will continue the brutal oppression of workers in Bangladesh.

Last month we lost a dear comrade, Derek Pearl. Derek was many things to many people during his 87 years. In the jewelry trade he was known as an excellent gem setter and union militant. In the steel mills of Pittsburgh he was known as an expert welder-fitter and an antiracist. As a high school teacher of jewelry making and then social studies he was known for siding with his students. But to all workers, students and bosses he was known to have a deep love for the working class and implacable hatred for the capitalist class: he was known as a fighter and a communist. He was also a singer, a good dancer, and a lot of fun to be with.

Born to a working class Jewish family in England in 1937, his early childhood was dominated by WWII. Derek’s family spent most of the war in a northern English seaside town. Back in London, he was forced to leave school just under the age of 16. He apprenticed in gem-setting, then served an obligatory stint in the British Royal Air Force. When he got out he wanted to travel the world. In New York City he met Rita who became his wife of 60 years and they had two sons and now five grandchildren. 

Union organizer joins Progressive Labor Party (PLP)

He worked in the jewelry trade as a diamond setter, developing a deep hatred of all kinds of unfairness. He had a way with people, an empathy with other workers of all ages, races and nationalities. He and Rita got to know the mostly Latin grinders and polishers working in that factory and built a strong relationship with them and their families. They elected him shop steward and he led strikes for better conditions. He was expelled from the union for leading a wildcat strike but he won his way back in and became a labor law precedent (Pearl vs. Tarantola).  During this time he and Rita joined the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) and began to get a deeper understanding of the capitalist system they were already fighting.
In 1975 the Pearls were asked to move to Pittsburgh to help lead the Party there. There he learned welding and worked in  two different steel fabricating plants where he met much racism but was also very proud of the work he helped produce -  massive doors for a dam in South America, doors for blast furnaces, and molding forms for the concrete in the Washington D.C. subway. 

Derek and family moved back to NYC in 1981 as heavy industry in the Pittsburgh area declined and along with thousands of other workers, he was laid off. He began working once again in jewelry production in New York.  In 1984 he made contact with British coal miners during their historic strike, winning some of them to the Party and spearheading support for the strike in the U.S. 

Derek got his teaching certificate for vocational education in jewelry and welding in 1986.  When NYC closed down vocational courses Derek got a B.S. degree at the age of 65 so he could teach history and economics. He got his M.S. degree at the age of 72 - just as he retired.

Militant antiracist fighter slugs klan

Over the years, Derek led and participated in many fights against racism. From the Astoria fight that stomped the White People’s Party, to helping lead the security squad that ran uphill to fight and scatter the gutter racists so that the Boston May Day march could take place, to stopping fledgling attempts by the Klan to organize in the Pittsburgh area, to helping organize the  May Day March to integrate Marquette Park in Chicago  (that park had been dominated and segregated by the American Nazi party). In 1999 Derek along with other comrades made headline news by flinging themselves through police lines to attack a group of  klansmen who dared to march in New York City, Afterwards, students welcomed him back to his school as a hero.

Antiracist community organizer in Brooklyn

During the 1980s and 1990s Derek was also deeply involved in community organizing. A hospital worker and comrade lived in a Flatbush building that had drug deals occuring in the lobby. Together, he, Derek, Rita and others organized a tenants association that took back the building, taking control of building from drug infestation, and forcing the landlord to make much needed repairs. For years May Day buses left from the front of that building with a hefty contingent coming from within.

In his last years, Derek suffered several health problems and went through a gradual decline until he passed in September. We’ll miss you comrade. We’ll miss your fightback, your humor and your songs. Your communist life was a light in the lives of  thousands of workers and students.

Workers’ anger has entered the chat

In my department in the New York City Transit system, overtime has slowed down dramatically over the past seven months. Workers are upset. Workers rely on overtime (OT) mainly because our pay doesn't keep up with inflation, or match what Metro North or Long Island Rail Road is getting when we move more people. We end up having to work on our days off and 4-6 hours extra on another day then 1 or 2 overnights. This was standard for us, but since the work stopped coming we could only expect one day of OT. That's if they didn't cancel it all together. 

We recently had overtime that was canceled. This is the conversation that took place in the chat through text message:

Boss: They dont require assistance from us, no overtime.
Johnson: face palm emoji 
Brown: vomit emoji
Johnson: this some 🐂💩!!!!! We've been flim-flammed, bamboozled, led by a stray, run a muck!  
Me: yea, the s***t's f****d up. This is what happens when we don't control our OT. Another department has OT scheduled in their bids. Something to think about…
Diaz: Sounds like that should be said at a union meeting 
Me: sure wanna come?
Diaz: We all free Saturday, let's mob out to the union building
WHO'S WITH ME!!!!!!!!!
Me: Lol sounds good but I don't think anyone's there on sat.

Boss: sends emoji of angry trucks blowing steam.
Me: Shout out to the port workers (fist)
Charlie: I'm not a man of many words, but I guarantee you that if I got back into the Union, I would fight for you. We can't even get good drinking water. Now, we are signing up for fake canvassing.
I've been on the front lines for 30 years plus. We have to speak up and be recognized.
Diaz: another area got round the clock OT, every weekend
Johnson: EVERYONE ELSE IS EATING!
Me: Not only that but it’s affecting our area of work that is badly in need of repairs. Are sections rotting?
Don: it is what it is.
_________

Private message from Johnson: 
Yo, talk to the other guys and have someone open a new feed exclusively for us track workers. The one we are on has the boss in it. We don't need the office to know what we are doing? They can know how we feel, though. But they don't need to know our plans.
Me: Facts. Thanks for your leadership.

(I made a new chat)
____________

Johnson: OK fellaz this is exclusively a worker feed. No supervision. We can safely and discreetly communicate here.
Diaz: Stop doing so much work in a straight time.
Me: for some of us we just need to do the bare min so that there isn't a derailment.
But I am concerned about the conditions the city is in. I just feel like the bosses don't care about us or the riders that can be in danger due to the conditions. 
Diaz: That's a fact
They feel we can get all the work done in a straight time..
Do an emergency 4 hours OT here and there when they need to. Cut the productivity & they'll have no choice! What's the motivation right now to give them a certain amount of work in a straight time? Besides a pat on the back & signing a fake canvas
Me: The union sucks in the pockets of the bosses so is there anything else we could do?
Charlie: Now that we realize what's going on, let's stop playing ball and get the Union involved. Give something to work with by stopping signing the fake canvases and actually showing up at a union meeting. We are the union, it's up to us to act. Force the union to work on our behalf. We pay dues
Me: next one in 2 weeks
______________

This is small, but the fight is there. Trying to make the connections to show them the unity we should have with the riding public. I also wanted to encourage leadership and see how they felt about the current union playing both sides. The struggle for workers’ power  continues! Read about what happens in the union meeting in the next issue of CHALLENGE.
*****

Anti-fascist organizing in Bushwick

Dear CHALLENGE  readers. World War 3 is waiting in the wings in the Middle East. U.S. elections are fast approaching. Whether Trump wins (which he might) or Harris, Black and brown immigrants are at the front of the fascist line-up as scapegoats/targets. The fascist anti-immigrant movement has been and is being mobilized. Are we and our friends in the Progressive Labor Party aware, courageous and prepared? In the Bushwick community in Brooklyn PLP is taking small steps. We have distributed 500 PLP leaflets titled “From Springfield to Palestine.” We displayed two pro-immigrant/anti racist posters in Spanish and English in the street. We taped the posters to the wall in the immigrant community group where we’re members. We’re getting signatures from members at the organization to send in solidarity to Haitian immigrants in Springfield. We’re reaching out to friends in other immigrant organizations to display the posters. And finally we’re in the midst of planning to lead a forum at our organization to build multi-racial, international unity and working class fightback in this period. As we proceed we plan to deepen PLPer’s ties to old friends and make new friends. It is crucial to build and strengthen the revolutionary communist PLP!
*****

Racist mask bans hurt workers

I was very pleased to see the article on Mask Bans. As the author states, opposing mask bans connects many different  issues together. Mask bans repress dissension and increase racism since cops are more likely to stop Black and Latin people, a new kind of ‘stop and frisk.’  As stated, bans also hurt people with health conditions and those who want to prevent them. Masking is an effective barrier to the transmission of Covid, flu, and other airborne infections. They are even more important now as the government withdraws its funding of vaccines and medications for the covid. That’s a death sentence for many, especially low income, Black, Latin, and older people.

Covid protection is a political issue. Our anti-war, antiracist, and revolutionary organizations must fight for life-saving solutions and lead by example to require safe behaviors at our gatherings and within our schools, workplaces, and conferences. We can’t afford to lose any comrades.
*****