Members of our Progressive Labor Party (PLP) club in Kentucky recently hosted a trip to the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum in Matewan to learn about one of the biggest labor uprisings in history known as the Battle of Blair Mountain. Among the key lessons we learned was the central role of multiracial unity in labor struggles, the need for militancy and even armed struggle in the battle against the bosses, and the danger of betrayal by union leaders. We held a cadre school after the visit and another friend showed interest in joining the ranks of the PLP.

PLP members and friends from Washington D.C., Kentucky, and Tennessee toured the Mine Wars Museum in Matewan and gravesites of Sid Hatfield. The museum tour summarized the history of union organizing in West Virginia that led up to the Battle of Blair Mountain. The early United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) was one of the first unions to employ Black organizers. One of them, Dan Chain (AKA “Few-clothes Johnson”), was featured in the 1980s movie “Matewan” and was a prominent organizer during key strikes leading up to Blair Mountain. He was also one of the “dirty-eleven”, a group of militants  who used armed resistance against the coal companies.

Miners showed the way to workers in militancy against the bosses

We moved on to the gravesite of Sid Hatfield, the sheriff who had a shootout with anti-miner thugs, killing Baldwins-Felts agents who were trying to evict miners living within city-limits. At the gravesite, a PLP member from Kentucky gave a speech linking the global warming impacts of coal mining to the working class struggle and the broader analysis of the need for communist revolution, something the miners had missed. 

The miners who fought at Blair Mountain made the naive mistake of thinking that the U.S. National Guard was not their enemy, despite the fact that they were prepared to drop bombs on the miners in the event that they did not surrender to the coal bosses. We also learned that the iconic Mother Jones misled the miners after supporting them initially. She claimed that she had a telegram from President Harding promising an end to the coal bosses’ tyranny on the condition that the miners return home, but this was a lie! The miners marched on Blair Mountain despite this confusion. What an education!

PLP members study worker-led fights to learn how to defeat the bosses

The next day Kentucky PL’ers hosted a cadre school in Williamsburg, centered around Palestine and nationalism. Members from Kentucky explained how the current genocide in Gaza will not be solved through nationalism, and how workers can only end war and imperialism and racism through internationalist class struggle against both the Israeli and Palestinian bosses. 

The conversation shifted towards unions and how there is a need to bring internationalism into the workplace, and link up local struggles with the wider class struggle, creating a sense of solidarity between workers in the U.S. and Gaza. A worker at the cadre school shared her struggles with her own union and started a wider conversation about how unions can betray the rank and file and seek to make deals with the bosses, and how unless we bring revolutionary politics into the workplace we are stuck fighting for reforms that eventually get taken away over time. 

The history of our class is filled with stories of militancy, multi-racial unity, betrayal by union leaders, and the prospects for revolutionary struggle. Long live the Battle of Blair Mountain!

This Black August, we are spotlighting an article from our 2014 Summer Project in Ferguson, Missouri. On August 9, racist killer kkkop Darren Wilson murdered Mike Brown, a Black teen who had just graduated high school eight days prior. Wilson had fired 12 bullets, 8 of which pierced 18-year-old Mike. 

The racist disposal of his life, along with countless other Black youth and workers' lives, sparked a 10-day rebellion from Ferguson and what the bosses called a year of “unrest.” The ripple effect of that rebellion spread as far as Baltimore, Maryland for Tyrone West to New York City for Eric Garner to Omar Abrego and Ezell Ford in Los Angeles, just to name a few. 

Progressive Labor Party (PLP), taking the leadership of Black youth, marched alongside with youth and workers in Ferguson. Over the span of a year, every time a PLP contingent visited Ferguson, the communists and CHALLENGE were welcomed. We had built a relationship with a group of youth who organized themselves under the name of Lost Voices. The Ferguson Rebellion was a key historical event that shaped the antiracist consciousness of those who participated. 

Since then, that generation has experienced the non-indictment of killer kkkop Wilson, the gutter racist Donald Trump presidency, the #metoo movement, a pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, record deportations, the Genocide Joe Biden presidency, the Jan. 6 Insurrection, countless wars, a raging genocide in Gaza, and more. A decade later, Black members of the working class are still three times more likely to be killed by police than their white counterpart (Mapping Police Violence, 8/1). What was true then is still true today—racist police terror is part and parcel of the profit system. 

In this period of ever-spiraling capitalist crises (see editorial, page 2), many of our class siblings are searching for answers. PLP urges workers to unite based on our class interests, and antiracism and antisexism are prerequisites in the final defeat of the bosses’ system. The only way we can rid the world of exploitation is through running these bosses into the ground, while building for a communist society. 

Ferguson, Mo, August 29 — During the recent rebellions here, a young multiracial team from Progressive Labor Party visited the area to support these antiracist actions and put forward the idea that communism is the only way to defeat racism and capitalism. Here is one account. 

The bosses’ media keep spreading the lie that “outside agitators” aren’t wanted in Ferguson, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Hundreds of workers and students received CHALLENGE and a PL leaflet calling for more rebellion against racist police murders. They embraced communist ideas and calls for communist revolution. An older couple contributed to our lunch after a brief discussion on the history of racism in Ferguson and the U.S. and the lack of opportunities for working-class youth. 

During our time here, we connected with a group of young freedom fighters that formed a new organization during the rebellion following Michael Brown’s murder. The group consists of youth who met night after night to battle the cops. Calling themselves The Lost Voices, they are dedicated to preventing racist police murder from becoming the norm.

The Lost Voices have camped out on Florissant Avenue, Ferguson’s main strip, where protests have persisted for two weeks. One leader of the group said they march daily so that workers in Ferguson and around the world know that “we out here.” 

One of the most exciting developments was a PLP study group with these youth, where we discussed the Our Fight section in CHALLENGE. Beyond outright agreement with our antiracist stance, these young workers echoed our idea that the abolition of money will aid in creating a new, worker-led world.  

On our last night, we had a rally of 50 through the streets of Ferguson. Workers responded by joining the march with their kids, holding signs from balconies, honking as we marched, and yelling out words of solidarity. It was a powerful experience. After a brief water break from the heat, we rallied again and received even more overwhelming support from local workers. 

People’s fightback spirit against police harassment and the murder of black people was unwavering and inspirational: “The whole system is guilty!” We heard this statement over and over during our time in Ferguson. The ruling class and misleaders like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson pushed for peace and more black cops and politicians, but the working class wasn’t falling for it. Jackson was confronted by workers and youth who asked him, “When are you going to stop selling us out?” They told him, “Get out — we don’t want you here!” This trip to Ferguson has taught the young people who went a lesson on how to work among the masses. Two of them have joined PLP.

East Africa: revolutionary ideas hold water with new members

We held a Progressive Labor Party (PLP) meeting in a flooded area to discuss the progress of the committee of families affected by the flood and what they’ve learned from it. Most of them are brand new to PLP.  I asked them, “What’s the difference between NGO’s and PLP?” They understood well that NGOs don’t exist to solve the problems the working class faces. 

Most of the flood victims are homeless and their livelihoods disrupted. They have been left alone with these devastating circumstances. They need help to dig out of the hole, but as long as the system is in place, more devastation to them or others is a guarantee. Charitable help provides a necessary band aid but leaves the disease alive to strike again. We discussed how to use crises and suffering of the working class as opportunities to forge unity and attain the knowledge necessary to build our movement to destroy capitalism. This can only be accomplished through struggle, not just “education.”

The working class needs to organize to make demands from the government and capitalist entities.  Then we talked about the obstacles to doing that. One comrade said the government is an agent of the ruling class and could just refuse—throw it in the trash. Or, they say “We shall do it” and then they don’t. “Then where are we?” The comrade was reflecting on the contradiction communists face when fighting for reforms. 

One comrade talked about people in the government who are socialists and not as bad as others. He said they know what is right and care about workers. He thought they should talk to these leaders about the PLP.  I shared how the Kenyan protesters refused to allow the Members of Parliament (MP) to join their movement unless they first quit being MPs. We concluded that the “better” leaders still belong to the system and first and foremost want to get reelected. They will have to continue playing the game and selling out workers unless they are willing to quit being politicians. 

We discussed how the demands are best won when the pressure on the bosses is so great that it’s more advantageous for them to concede rather than resist. But, regardless of whether we win the reform demands, organizing class struggle is a crucial way our movement gets built. It is how workers best learn about the enemy and how to prepare ourselves for revolution. It is how class is steeled for the long haul. And it is how our communist Party grows.

We also discussed various class struggles they could wage around this flood: demand loan forgiveness from the banks. (Many families are paying the banks for homes that were destroyed). Demand land and services from the government. Demand transportation for students who can’t attend school after the flood forced their families to relocate. 

They reported on the 100 percent successful distribution of needed items to nine affected families and how, in the process, they met six other families in even worse shape. We need to raise more money.  We have a world to win!
*****

Retirees put labor fakers on notice

It has been over three years since NYC retirees began their fight to stop city bosses and the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) from forcing us from traditional medicare and into inferior Medicare (Dis)advantage. This struggle has been characterized by street demonstrations, court challenges, state, local and federal level efforts to pass laws that would protect retiree rights and political struggles within unions that are part of the MLC coalition. All of this is taking place as the U.S. ruling class prepares for the possibility of war with their main challengers for control of the world’s wealth and the political development towards fascism in the U.S. Members of the Progressive Labor Party have been active in this struggle from its beginning taking part in the fightback as well as bringing our understanding that communist revolution is ultimately the only way to build a society where workers control how the wealth we produce is used to meet the needs of the working class.

Changes in the health care program for city retirees and changes likely to be made for the current workers and pre-Medicare age retirees are meant to shift costs to workers and to limit access to healthcare services. These changes affect the entire city workforce as well as retirees but will hit those with low income the hardest. This means Black and Latin workers as well as women workers will most affected as they are most represented in lower paid positions.

Currently, the proposed changes have been blocked by court orders. Most recently, the court lifted an order to stop the imposing of copays in addition to the deductibles we already shoulder. This would go into effect 1/1/2025. Our response is to keep on fighting.

The pro-boss labor leaders organized us to lead us into the arms of the bosses agents in the Democratic Party. They want us to believe that the Democrats will get us a decent life under capitalism. They have been saying that for decades but unions are weaker than ever and our lives and those of workers around the world are more than ever at risk. As we march in NYC’s Labor Day Parade, we will be serving notice to the highly paid labor fakers and the bosses they serve that their days are numbered.
*****

Mass reform work: be in it, not of it 

I recently had the opportunity to travel downstate in Illinois on a bus full of healthcare workers. The trip was organized by our union, which represents workers from several different hospitals in the region. We went down to make statements at a state review board meeting that approves different projects for the healthcare systems, deciding which ones will get funding. 

True to the capitalist bosses’ racist nature, the Advocate health system wants to invest millions of dollars in modernizing spaces at a hospital in a wealthier suburb. This while minimizing what they spend on the hospitals in their network in urban areas, which serve majority Black, Latin and Asian workers. 

Although our handful of statements opposing Advocate’s plans may not be enough to stop their plans this time, the effort provided me with the opportunity to engage with other workers about the racist nature of the system. The union leaders will refer to this racism (sometimes) but will always stop far short of putting the entire blame where it deserves, on capitalism. But given the union’s position under the umbrella of the Democratic Party machine, this makes complete sense.

Notably, there were many workers on the trip who work for Loretto Hospital, who just made a year since their 11-day strike against their exploiting bosses (see CHALLENGE, 8/17/23). Based on conversations that I had with some of these workers, the working and staffing conditions were the same if not worse than when they began their strike!

This experience reinforced two important truths for me. The first is that these unions can be masterful about making a lot of noise and acting like they have a plan to better workers’ lives, but when the smoke clears, we see they barely move the needle in improving our material conditions. The second is that as communists we still need to be in these spaces, fighting for reform, because we can introduce the revolutionary alternative (the Party and revolution!) which will in fact create an existence worth fighting for.

It was good to reconnect with my fellow healthcare workers after supporting them on the picket line last year, and to be able to invite them to upcoming activities around the Democratic National Convention here in Chicago. Workers everywhere are open to more revolutionary ideas – let’s lead with antiracism and communist fightback!
*****

Condemn massacre of Gaza media workers

After meeting with Biden, Harris, Trump, in the U.S., Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu returned to Tel Aviv and went on an assassination spree, including killing the lead negotiator for Hamas in the cease-fire talks. Maybe less known among those murdered were Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and photographer Rami al-Rifi. They were killed while covering events in al-Shati Refugee Camp in Gaza City. According to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS), this brings the total to at least 157 journalists killed in the Gaza war. These Palestinian media workers are the eyewitnesses to the massacre in Gaza, as international journalists are not allowed to enter unless embedded with the Israeli Occupation Force  (IOF). These murders represent the most extreme form of retaliation faced by media workers around the world for coverage or speech that is critical of Israel and their U.S. masters.

My union, the National Writers Union (NWU), issued a statement condemning the assassinations of our comrades and urging all media outlets and their unions to denounce these gruesome assassinations. About a dozen young freelance media workers took part in the production and distribution of the statement. NWU is an affiliate of the International Federation of Journalists and a sister-union to the PJS.

The statement reads in part, “Israel’s war on Gaza has been the deadliest for journalists in modern history. These killings are a blatant violation of the international law that is meant to protect journalists and ensure our freedom of work and the public’s right to know… As a U.S.-based union, we have a duty to highlight that these continuing violations of international law would not be possible without billions of dollars in U.S.-supplied weapons and the support of U.S. political leaders in both parties…”

These young media workers and the millions like them who have demonstrated against the U.S. and Israeli slaughter of civilians will not go willingly to a future of war and fascism.  Engaging our colleagues in our unions around antiracist and anti-imperialist struggles can serve to introduce more of them to Progressive Labor Party (PLP) and lay the foundation for turning this next world war into the last with communist revolution.
*****

Japan: workers protest genocide

On a near weekly basis, a group of mostly retired workers in Nagoya, Japan are rallying downtown against the ongoing genocide in Gaza. I had the opportunity to join them while visiting my family who live here, in Japan’s third largest city.

The small but spirited group gave speeches to passersby who were on their lunch breaks or leaving town for national holidays. Many of the protestors were pacifists and called attention to the hypocrisy of Japan’s so called “defense force” partnering with Israel’s.

During the protest, I asked to hold a Japanese sign that read “Israel, stop killing children! Stop the massacre in Gaza! Ceasefire now! America, stop sending weapons to Israel!” I also gave a short bilingual speech (in English and Japanese), pointing out our need to act as children in Gaza are being killed everyday. I highlighted the united struggle of workers in New York, Nagoya, and Gaza. Afterwards, I made contact with a local muslim woman worker and discussed doing multi-lingual chants with the group.

The group rallied for about an hour in front of the city’s busiest train station. Then the group moved to a nearby office building on a quiet street. This location was targeted by the protestors because it is home to a Japanese company that buys drones from an Israeli military contractor. The protest also called out a local government program that sends money to Israel. These connections point to the importance of internationalism and growing Progressive Labor Party (PLP) as a worldwide party. 

Let’s continue to unite with workers around the world when we have a chance to go to other countries! This is part of how we are a party on five continents. I’m hoping to go to a larger protest next week with my family, at a time when more workers are off work and can participate.
*****

Define to fight it

Capitalists compete by any means necessary. Much like smaller criminal gangs, different groups of capitalists battle one another to secure territory, resources, and exploitable labor–the basis of their profits.They have created the state as a mechanism to manage and protect this ruthless profit-driven system. Through laws, police, prisons, elections, the military, schools, the media, and other institutions, the bosses have built a dictatorship to keep themselves in power—and keep the working class out of power. 

Fascism is a stage of late capitalism in crisis where the liberal democratic veil peels away to reveal a rotting dictatorship. The bosses use state terror to discipline their own class and enforce compliance by the working class–both essential conditions for waging global war. Fascism is marked by more direct and centralized rule, with intensified racism, sexism, and nationalism. 

The Big Fascists are the dominant finance capitalists, principally the multinational banks and oil companies (JPMorganChase, ExxonMobil). They’re trying to build a multiracial, patriotic coalition to back U.S. imperialism and protect their far-flung profits. This is the wing that plays the drums of World War III. 

The Small Fascists are mostly domestically oriented capitalists, spearheaded by the Koch, Mercer, DeVos, and Coors families, along with Richard Mellon Scaife, Harry and Lynde Bradley, John Olin, Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch and a cast of other billionaires. They want to cut taxes for short-term profits and are reluctant to invest in costly ground wars to defend the global U.S. empire. Their agenda includes a racist gutting of social services at home and a retreat from U.S. imperialist alliances, including NATO. 

U.S.-Israeli forces prepare to battle Iran

Al Jazeera, 8/12–United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided missile submarine to the Middle East and the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area…Austin “reiterated the United States’ commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel and noted the strengthening of U.S. military force posture and capabilities throughout the Middle East in light of escalating regional tensions”, the Pentagon said in a statement…

The Abraham Lincoln has been in the Asia Pacific, and had already been ordered to the Middle East to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group, which is scheduled to begin heading home. Last week, Austin said it was expected to arrive in the area by the end of the month. The carrier has F-35 and F/A-18 fighter jets on board. The US military had already said it will deploy additional fighter aircraft and warships to the Middle East as Washington seeks to reinforce Israeli defenses from possible attack by Iran.

Imperialist competition for Africa continues

Reuters, 8/5–The United States military has completed its withdrawal from air base 201 in Niger, officials said on Monday, after Niger's ruling junta ordered nearly 1,000 U.S. military personnel to leave following a coup last year. Air base 201, a drone base near Agadez in central Niger that was built at a cost of $100 million, had provided crucial intelligence about Islamist militant groups before the coup. A joint statement from Niger's defense ministry and the U.S. military said personnel and equipment from the base had been withdrawn and coordination would continue over the coming weeks to make sure the pullout is complete. Niger's decision to ask for the removal of U.S. troops came after a meeting in Niamey in mid-March when senior U.S. officials raised concerns about issues such as the expected arrival of Russian forces and reports of Iran seeking raw materials in the country, including uranium. In April, Russia sent military trainers to Niger.

World War I analogy for U.S.-Chinese relations

Foreign Affairs, July/August–In The Rise of the Anglo-German Antagonism, 1860–1914, the British historian Paul Kennedy explained how two traditionally friendly peoples ended up in a downward spiral of mutual hostility that led to World War I. Major structural forces drove the competition between Germany and Britain: economic imperatives, geography, and ideology… Like Germany and Britain before World War I, China and the United States seem to be locked in a downward spiral, one that may end in disaster for both countries and for the world at large. Similar to the situation a century ago, profound structural factors fuel the antagonism. Economic competition, geopolitical fears, and deep mistrust work to make conflict more likely…The United States, meanwhile, has been trying to develop a China policy that combines deterrence with limited cooperation, similar to what Britain did when developing policy toward Germany in the early twentieth century…In the British-German relationship, three main conditions led from rising antagonism to war…All these conditions now seem to be in place in the U.S.-Chinese relationship.

European war expands into Russia

The Guardian, 8/11–Ukrainian sources have indicated that thousands of troops have been committed to its incursion into Russia’s Kursk province, as Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations about a fire at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant 250 miles to the south...A Ukrainian security official told the Agence France-Presse that the aim of the incursion was to destabilise Russia and string out Russian forces with light, fast-moving attacks…Several Ukrainian brigades are said to be involved in the operation, according to a range of sources. Kyiv caught Russia off guard by striking at a lightly defended sector of the front that had seen no significant fighting since the spring of 2022 – and broke through limited border defences.