Turkey’s currency, the lira, has plunged more than 20 percent against the U.S. dollar in the last two weeks and over 40 percent since the beginning of the year. The crisis is driven by sharpening contradictions between Turkish and U.S. bosses as the post-World War II order disintegrates. In the face of the U.S. rulers’ weakening grip, Turkey is moving closer to Russia. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump has used the arrest of an American evangelical pastor, Andrew Brunson, as an excuse to raise tariffs on Turkish goods and further pressure the lira by sowing doubts about the stability of the Turkish economy.
While U.S. imperialism stands in relative decline versus a rising China and resurgent Russia, it will never give up its empire without an all-out global fight. History shows that trade wars inevitably lead to shooting wars. The international working class, led by the Progressive Labor Party, must reject the bosses’ wars pitting workers against workers. Our class must fight for a communist society that serves the needs of the international working class.
Turkey’s Pivot to Russia
Turkey sits between Europe and the Middle East and is a crucial counterweight to Russian client Iran. It fields the second largest armed forces in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the military arm of U.S. geopolitical dominance for the last seven decades. Once a reliable ally of the U.S., Turkey has of late strained the partnership by focusing on its own national interest and pivoting toward Russia. Within the last two years, according to Stratfor (8/12), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has:

Arrested U.S. citizens as bargaining chips with Washington since the attempted coup against Erdogan’s government in July, 2016;
Purchased a Russian S-400 missile defense system;
Ignored U.S. sanctions against Iran, which Turkey depends on for fossil fuels;
Attacked U.S.-backed Kurdish militias in neighboring Syria.
The decay of U.S.-Turkey relations represents another sign of the U.S. bosses’ declining position in the Middle East and the growing instability and volatility of the period. Donald Trump’s economic sanctions—doubling tariffs on Turkish steel to 50 percent and on aluminum to 20 percent—have intensified the crisis, leading the defiant Erdogan to a counter-threat: “...Turkey has alternatives. Failures to reverse this trend of unilateralism and disrespect will require U.S to start looking for new friends and allies” (New York Times, 8/10).
No capitalist solutions for the working class
Due to a reliance on foreign currency and an inability to pay back its debt in U.S. dollars, the Turkish economy is vulnerable to attacks from the U.S. bosses. The falling value of the lira has severely hurt the savings, pensions, and paychecks of workers in Turkey. Annual inflation now stands at 15 percent and could soon rise even higher (NYT, 8/14).
Much like Trump, Erdogan has thrown out or marginalized professional Turkish economists and is running the economy for his own political future and survival. If Erdogan props up the lira by raising interest rates, fewer businesses could afford bank loans and Turkey’s growth rate would plummet, leading to even more unemployment.
If interest rates stay low and inflation gets even worse, workers’ wages—already inadequate for the necessities of life—will be worth even less. There are no capitalist solutions that serve the needs of the working class.
Adding to the volatility of the Turkish-U.S. conflict is the fact that both sets of bosses are under intense pressure, both internally and externally. To fend off opposing bosses who were jailed or ousted from the government after the failed coup, the Erdogan wing held snap elections that hurt the government’s legitimacy with many workers (Washington Post, 6/25). Now rising prices are being used by Erdogan’s competitors to unite an opposition movement.
U.S. decay paves the Way for war
While the relationship between the U.S. bosses and the Turkish ruling class continues to deteriorate, capitalists around the globe are sizing up the situation to improve their own positions. Iran continues to strengthen its oil-based ties with Turkey. Qatar came to Erdogan’s aid with a promise of $15 billion to back the lira. The announcement temporarily stabilized the currency and may open the door to investments from other powers: “That Turkish support for Qatar during the stand-off with Saudi Arabia finally paid off.…Let’s see if the Chinese and Russians put some money on the table” (Bloomberg, 8/15).
Turkey’s strategic location makes it a prime target for China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative. A China state publication backed the development of more projects on Turkish soil to exploit Erdogan’s rift with the U.S. (Global Times, 8/20).
We Don’t Warn of Peace
Turkey’s shift toward Iran and Russia is another sign of the decline of U.S. imperialism, which has been accelerated by Trump’s turn toward isolationism. Inter-imperialist rivalry is growing more volatile by the day. Sooner or later, one of these situations will spiral out of control and into massive global warfare. None of the capitalist bosses’ politicians—including the latest wave of “socialists” in the U.S. Democratic Party—can stop this historic inevitability toward chaos and destruction. The only way forward is to rely on the power of the international working class—and to develop a communist society based on the needs of the many, not the profits of the few. We can build a new world without racism, sexism, exploitation, or imperialist war. Join us!

Washington, DC, August 12—A pathetic count of 24 white supremacists showed up at the “Unite the Right” rally. Thousands of antiracists came to oppose them. This morning was the one-year anniversary of the Charlottesville rally where Heather Heyer was murdered by a white supremacist. Progressive Labor Party and friends interjected the mass liberal politics with the communist idea of “no free speech for racists.” Many followed the Party’s multiracial lead.
Transit workers blast the Klan
A multiracial PLP continent of 50 met up with several Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) union workers and other members of labor unions in front of the AFL-CIO headquarters. One transit worker from Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) gave a speech attacking the racist ideology of the Ku Klux Klan. Another protester read a statement of solidarity with the anti-racist Metro workers (see page 3).
The transit union knew the mainly Black workforce would be, to say the least, unwilling to transport the white supremacists. So, the ATU put out an official statement saying they would refuse to give the racists any type of special treatment and would not be driving any trains to get them to the rally.
However, a union member was forced into driving a train. The police commander took over a single car for white supremacists and the press. Union misleaders were present yet did nothing to stop the transport of racists. The driver of the train was an ATU 689 member and the union officers present did not intervene. The Metro police protected and allowed for the racists to have a secure, heavily guarded ride in an empty train car. So much for the “leadership” of the Metro union.
There was a follow-up protest by ATU 689 in the aftermath of the August 12 rally demanding, “General Manager, Paul Wiedefeld’s termination for breaking the public trust and giving special accommodations to white supremacists on Sunday.”
Communist-led antiracists would have been able to effectively shut down the trains and busses to ensure that no racist rides on public transit. The city spent  $2.6 million protecting these fascists and their freedom of racist speech. (Yet, They want to raise fares, cut service, cut workers’ benefits and freeze wages. It shows Metro’s priorities.) This is the equivalent of promoting hate speech and racist violence. PLP knows that racist speech leads to racist violence.
No free speech for racists
The PLP communist contingent marched over to the rally at Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. Fencing lined the park, with a 75-yard gap in the middle to keep the racist scum safe and to keep the counter protesters far enough away so that no brick or bottle thrown could hit its intended target. This sizable distance also kept the Nazis from being heard by anyone except the cops and members of their own group.
In the blazing sun, we distributed over 600 CHALLENGEs and had a welcoming and encouraging response. When the racist Nazi scum finally showed up, we led chants and were joined by those around us. Later, a liberal woman attempted to silence our bullhorn when PLP led the chant, “The cops, the courts, the Ku Klux Klan, all are a part of the bosses plan!” She was unsuccessful.
One protester took the lead in confronting some stray Trump supporters who were against “left-wing violence” (see bottom photo, page 1). The crowd and PLP followed his antiracist lead. The racists eventually left the park, despite being protected by a team of “de-escalators”, who believed that all views (racist or otherwise) should be allowed. The argument for free speech is one that allows, promotes, and protects racists and fascists. No free speech for racists!
After much chanting and a timely rainfall, PLP, friends, and many protesters departed, knowing that we had successfully suppressed the racist message of the Trump supporters.
More fights to come
For the past 40 years, DC has never been a hub for racist and fascist groups. This is largely due the city’s history of beating, chasing, and drowning out racists every time they come, many times led by PLP. Today, many restaurants had signs refusing service to white nationalists. Uber and Lyft drivers also refused service. There is clearly a history of antiracist consciousness among workers here. It’s up to communists to turn those antiracist actions into an international class-consciousness.
There are still many battles to come, and we must be prepared for them. We have our work cut out for us. We must take a stand wherever and whenever a racist or fascist rears its ugly head. We will shut them down and chase them out. Fighting back against racism and fascism isn’t a choice to be taken lightly; this is about the survival and well being of the entire working class. Fight for communism, power to the workers!

CHICAGO—At least 100 workers, community members and many youth, have been organizing nightly in the Lawndale neighborhood on the west side of the city, to draw attention to the alleged “suicide” of 15-year-old Black teen Steven Rosenthal. He was murdered after a foot chase by the kkkops of the Chicago Police Department (CPD).
Comrades from Progressive Labor Party (PLP), our co-workers, and friends have taken an active role in building for and supporting the nightly rallies and connecting Steve’s death to other racist attacks of the capitalist system, and the need for international communist revolution.
‘Suicide’ by kkkop
On the evening of Friday, August 17, Steve was stopped by the racist kkkops for questioning, for nothing more than being a Black youth in the path of the police. Steve took off on foot, and according to the CPD, shot himself in the back of the head while cornered in the stairwell of his grandmother’s home.
The working-class residents of the area immediately converged to confront the kkkops and demand answers. Like always, the racist hit men put their crime scene on lockdown, pushing away and intimidating any community members present.
‘Weaving words to smother the kids who die’
The CPD quickly put out a statement expressing their “condolences” over the tragic “suicide” of a young teen. The county medical examiner has corroborated with the killer cops by ruling the death to be self-inflicted.
But the working class is intelligent, and not so easily fooled. A talented and bright 15-year-old with no history of mental illness doesn’t just suddenly decide to end his life, much less by putting a gun to the back of his own head. Several witnesses state that it was in fact the CPD that shot Steve in the stairwell. One of his friends even stated that she was on Facetime with him at the time the cops rolled up, and they were talking about what they were going to wear to a party that they were planning to meet up at that same night.
The fact that the CPD is refusing to release body camera footage or allow the family to view Steve’s body makes it almost certain that he was murdered at the hands of the killer cops and their racist capitalist masters. He tragically joins a growing list of victims of racist police murder in the city, including Maurice Granton Jr. and Harith Augustus, two young Black workers executed by the CPD during the course of this summer alone.
Can’t stop, won’t stop the working class from fighting back
Although the racist capitalist bosses and their killer cops inflict so much violence on our class daily, what never ceases to inspire is the capacity and determination of workers to fight back. Steve’s family and friends have succeeded in mobilizing dozens of other working-class fighters on a daily basis to rally in front of a local school, and to march and block traffic in front of the 10th District Police Station on Ogden Avenue. Their vow is to continue disrupting the bosses’ “business as usual” for 30 days straight until the city starts giving answers and taking action over Steve’s death.
PLP comrades have been honored to take leadership from these working-class fighters in their fight against racism and for justice. We have met and began building ties with his immediate family and other supporters. Those of us who work at the nearby hospital where Steve’s body was first taken have struggled with our co-workers to participate in the rallies to support the family, fight back, and see this fight as their own.
Throughout our participation, we have been bold and unapologetic in blaming the racist capitalist system for Steve’s death, and advocating for communist revolution as the only solution to ensure justice for all members of the international working class. We have linked his death to the increasing racism and fascism facing workers in the city, particularly Black and Latin workers, and the system’s need to terrorize, divide, and weaken all working-class people in order to preserve their deadly profit system.
These attacks from the bosses are certain not only to continue but intensify as the capitalist system spirals even deeper into crisis. They can only be overcome by building a mass international multi-racial Red Army led by a PLP of millions that smashes the capitalist state and its racism, sexism, and inequality, and replaces it with a communist society run by workers that guarantees our needs and development.
Fight for the kids who die
“This is for the kids who die,” begins a classic poem by Black communist poet Langston Hughes. We rise up in revolutionary struggle against racist capitalism, which can only offer death, misery, and alienation to the overwhelming majority of the world’s workers, including 15-year-old children like Steve.
Justice for Steve! Fight for international communist revolution!

LOS ANGELES, August 23—The teachers’ union UTLA is taking a strike authorization vote to demand smaller class sizes, funding for “community schools,” and salary increases. Class sizes in regular subjects are now 42 students per class. In some subjects, it is as high as 55. Many schools have nurses and psychologists only one or two days a week. Working-class Black and Latin students are hit the hardest. Extremely segregated schools, and decades of racist policies against Black and Latin students and communities, has resulted in large racist disparities in education. As Progressive Labor Party always asserted, the teachers’ working conditions are the students learning conditions.
Additionally, teachers struggle with the cost of living and are desperate to get whatever the bosses give them. On average, teachers in California make $4,000 less per year than the national average for teachers, yet cost of living in Los Angeles is 43 percent higher than the national average. The bosses’ media attacked teachers, claiming they are getting overpaid, and that raising salaries and school funding  would “lead to insolvency and state takeover.”
The best way to have an education system worthy of the working class is to overthrow the ruling class through communist revolution. Only under communism will students achieve a meaningful education that will serve our class. In the meantime PLP will help lead the organizing around this potential strike with our students, their families and other school workers. Through fighting to give schools our students deserve, the LA working class can realize the power we have and our potential to lead society.
Beutner serves the ruling class
The new LA Unified Schools District (LAUSD) Superintendent Austin Beutner is ready to “prevent a strike, which will harm students, families and the communities we serve” (Los Angeles Times, 8/28). This is the typical rhetoric used by the ruling class to divide the working class in order to convince us that it is not in our interest to fight together against the system. Capitalism is the enemy of the whole working class, teachers, parents and students alike.
Beutner is no friend of working-class students and families. He was an investment banker, has no experience managing a school or district, and used to work for then-mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (a well-known enemy of the working class in LA). Beutner was also a board member for Inner City Education Foundation’s Public Schools, a charter group with schools in south LA. Many pro-charter groups lobbied for him to become superintendent, and one of the school board members responsible for hiring him was Ref Rodriguez, a charter school backed ruling-class criminal convicted of laundering at least $25,000 in public education funds.
It is no secret that Beutner’s role is to cut funding for public schools and continue to attack students and working-class families. Charter schools have been used to divide student populations into two groups: those who will serve the ruling class in “management” positions, and those who will remain super-exploited workers. In essence, they increase racist exploitation and divisions in order to serve capitalism.
Working-class anger bubbles up
All this has angered students, parents and teachers, especially in working-class Black and Latin schools. Many are ready to fight back. The teachers union is using this righteous anger to “bargain for a better contract” with the school district. As usual, they are attempting to divert our anger away from our true enemies —the ruling class and the racist, exploitative system of capitalism—and focus it on getting a pay raise and a few concessions. Let’s not be taken for a fools by neither the bosses rhetoric,or by the union misleaders.
Our enemy is capitalism, which serves the interests of the ruling class by suppressing the interests of working class teachers, students and families. The only way to combat it is to fight as a united working class. We must strike, not to “bargain” with the capitalists, but to take the power back from them. The more the working-class struggle refuses to be contained within the bosses’ parameters, the more our class—students, parents, and teachers—will learn class-consciousness. No classroom can provide that experience or lesson.
The Progressive Labor Party and friends here will fight hard in the reform movement and use these struggles as a school for communism. Stay tuned for all the exciting details to come. Fight for communism! Power to the working class!