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In the face of attacks, we’re driven to organize!
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- 13 December 2024 542 hits
Public transportation is the life blood of every major city globally, and millions depend on it. It is also a major employer of Black workers who make up about 40 percent of the U.S. transit industry, and 47 percent here in New York City (Gothamist, 2/28/23).
Racist transit bosses can't fix subway
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)’s New York City Transit fare has risen to $2.90, as a way for the transit bosses to gouge more money from workers. Which isn’t only a racist attack on workers by harassing and profiling Black and Latin workers, but it also stands as a method to divide transit workers and the ridership. This method has led to the anger towards this capitalist system to be directed at transit workers. When capitalism is in crisis, the ruling class has no real answer to the racist unemployment, lack of housing, mental health, and drug addiction ailments their system creates. In response to the bosses’ lack of safety after a conductor was brutally slashed in the neck, train operators and conductors stuck back by refusing to operate their trains in February, causing mass service disruptions on several subway lines for a day (New York Times, 2/29)!
Union hangs workers to dry
The bosses used their state power to deploy 1,000 state police and National Guard to patrol the subway in response to these anti-social attacks (Politico, 3/7).The Transportation Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 saw this as a victory and requested more cops to patrol the platforms in the stations. This has only led to more attacks on our class. In September, transit cops shot four people in a Brooklyn subway station over a Black worker not paying $2.90. One of the bystanders shot now has permanent brain damage. This proves two things: when workers want safety, the bosses will only use that safety to protect their rule and the racist cops they claim are here to protect are prepared to kill workers to protect that rule.
The transit union has a long history of leading workers into the bosses’ hands, which is the path into further poverty. Our current contract has left us with 3 percent raises which don't keep up with inflation and a new way to deduct money from workers if they are sick and want to work overtime, but worst of all they have changed our medical insurance once we retire. Medicare Advantage is what the bosses have instituted to replace traditional Medicare. Medicare Advantage leaves retired workers paying more into their medical with hidden fees. The workers now are also the majority under Tier 6 which caps what we can earn towards our pensions. On top of all of this, many of us in different departments have had our overtime cut, and there has been a surge of non-unionized subcontract workers doing the jobs that were once ours.
Direct engagement with workers
I have recently joined with a union opposition candidate running for union president against the current leadership. I’m trying to see how I can use this as a way to organize workers to strike back and hopefully fight for a communist revolution.
Running against the TWU union leadership has reminded me of lessons from past struggles I've learned: No one running for union president can be trusted. If you're choosing to fight back, you can't leave anything for the union or bosses to use against you. Working with the aspiring union leadership makes workers question your motives, but campaigning has offered an opportunity to organize the workers.
Over the course of the last 7 years all these attacks and struggles had been slow and frustrating. Our transit comrades have been base building and struggling with other workers to take action. As our union election comes to an end we have been bringing our line to the forefront of organizing by incorporating the U.S. presidential election result. Stating to the workers that the ruling class only cares about their interests and they will use us however to achieve their goals however wins. Which is the same for this union election.
We are in a great position now to organize the workers. This will be the first anti racist anti sexist transit worker meeting with over 40 members willing to join. The plan is to start in one department and bring all the other departments close to a dozen into the fold, sharing information, struggles and actions! This is very inspiring and exciting and it's only the beginning.
I've been going out to different quarters collecting names and numbers of workers willing to fight back by starting workers’ meetings. I've gotten close to 40 contacts so far, with the enthusiasm ranging from “I don't give a f***” attitude to “Thanks for bringing the hope.” Many workers are very cynical and don't trust me, at least not until I give them a reason to. I've told them that these meetings will be built on antiracism and antisexism with the purpose of getting strike ready. I've told the candidate who I’m campaigning for that during our campaigning we need to fight for the workers now and not wait until later. She said,”We Can't do anything until we get into power.” Spoken like a true scheming boss. So I've made it a point to tell the workers it doesn't matter who wins this election; if we're not organized, then we’ve already lost. The election results are due back by the end of the month. Worker meetings will kick off in January. I'll keep y’all updated. Power to the working class!
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Smash racist deportations— working people have no nations!
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- 13 December 2024 823 hits
NYC, December 1 – Trump was elected in large part, on the promise of carrying out mass deportations of migrant workers and their families, refugees seeking some safety from terrorists, civil wars, climate disasters, drug cartels and more. Basically, seeking higher ground from the perils of imperialist rivalries. While Obama and Biden have carried out their own mass deportations, and Biden and Harris sealed the border and told refugees, “Don’t come here,” Trump’s “America First” campaign of open racism and xenophobia won the votes of more than 75 million people, a big goose-step on the road to fascism straight out of Hitler’s playbook.
This affects us all directly, from high school teachers and students, college students and professors, workers on almost every job. Every Progressive Labor Party collective must prepare to confront mass deportations and the use of the military with international solidarity, boldness, and bravery in the face of fascist terror. This is “how the steel is tempered.”
Small Fascist Trump to out-goosestep Obama’s deportation plan?
Trump appointed Tom Homan as "border czar" and Stephen Miller as his deputy chief of staff. These two were the architects of Trump’s previous family separation policy, which involved tearing children away from their families at the border. This time, they are promising to cancel the temporary protected status for millions of immigrants from Haiti and Afghanistan, and use the National Guard to carry out mass arrests of immigrants, confining them in military camps as part of an "historic deportation operation." Although he once proposed ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects young people brought to the United States, Trump—both a Small Fascist and a big hypocrite—claims he is open to working with Democrats to preserve the law, even as he threatens to overturn birthright citizenship. This would mean that children of immigrant or migrant workers born in the U.S. would no longer automatically receive citizenship (AP News, 12/9).
Recently my union, the National Writers Union (NWU), set up a committee to respond to these threats, based on what we were able to do during Trump’s first term. Back then journalists covering the border crisis in Mexico had their devices seized and copied before being allowed to return to the U.S. NWU organized an International Committee and sent members directly into the fight. At the time we were in UAW Region 9A, and this became an issue among its 45,000 members. The UAW leadership tried to get in front of this and decided to subsidize travel for any member who wanted to go to the border to help in the crisis.
Labor united against anti-immigrant racism
We worked closely with New Sanctuary City and participated in escorting workers to their asylum hearings, helping to fill out asylum applications, and took part in mass rallies to close the immigrant detention centers and stop deportations. When Trump threatened to target sanctuary cities, NWU convened a meeting of representatives from ten unions, including RWDSU, LiUNA, 32BJ, PSC, NYSNA, 1199 and others to develop a labor rapid response to any mass roundups in NYC. We are going to try to renew and expand this work to Los Angeles, Tucson, and Springfield, Ohio, raising the issue within other local unions and Central Labor Councils.
Some Party collectives are already immersed in mass organizations doing this kind of work. We can all learn from them. Every Party collective must develop a plan, a way to respond to the coming crisis. The workers are not going to roll over and play dead for Trump, he is in for a fight. The more we are involved in this struggle, leading with our revolutionary politics, the more we can build PLP and become more of a force in the class struggle. All hands on deck!
CHICAGO, November 16 - “I will build for revolution by fighting racism.” “I will build for revolution by fighting for unions to be led by communists.” These were a couple of the pledges that workers shared during the conclusion of our annual Bolshevik Revolution celebration this evening in a local fieldhouse. This event celebrated the first time in history where workers, with communist leadership, seized state power from the capitalist class in the year 1917. Its monumental impact spread far and wide, as other workers around the world were inspired to rise up and fight back. We are still seeing the inspiration and power of the Bolshevik Revolution today and carry on its revolutionary fight through the international communist Progressive Labor Party (PLP).
Revolutionary lessons, past and present
It was an inspiring program, kicked off with a comrade reading the classic poem “Good Morning, Revolution” from communist artist Langston Hughes. Next came a skit where Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin was transported to the present day to offer advice to youth on the daily work and discipline needed to build the mass movement for revolution.
We heard about historical class struggle inspired by the Bolshevik Revolution, including when soldiers refused to continue fighting for the German imperialists as well as an uprising by workers in Egypt that won them independence from British colonial rule. There were enthusiastic table discussions about inspiring collective action that workers had taken part in. Young workers who happened to be passing through the fieldhouse after a nearby event even stopped to check out the program, liking what they heard!
Workers come together for fightback
Comrades who have been facing censorship in the American Public Health Association for speaking out about the genocide in Gaza did a report back on their bold action during this this year’s conference (see CHALLENGE, 11/27). Led by comrades from the PLP, workers from across the country organized to protest outside the convention and march through the convention hall. Other workers who happened to be in the hall were inspired to join the march. Workers are ready to join a movement that will fight back. These comrades showed our fellow workers that following the bosses’ rules will never achieve anything meaningful and the importance of banding together with other workers.
With attacks on workers from all sides and the ruling class moving us closer to an imperialist war, the lessons of the Bolshevik Revolution and knowing what workers taking state power can accomplish are more important than ever. In their keynote speech, a veteran PL’er offered wisdom and inspiration:
“I want to focus on the beauty of revolution. Many times we think about death, destruction, misery, or pain and yes, that’s a part of it but it’s what we do it for. Why would we go through such a thing and the Bolshevik Revolution showed us. The aftermath of that revolution showed us what a glimpse of what the world could be if the working class was in power under communist principles and leadership.”
“Women were given the right to divorce. Racism was outlawed in the Soviet Union. They created new art forms to promote pro working-class culture. The Bolsheviks focused on unifying the workers. We have to commit ourselves to rebuilding the only movement that can get our class free, a communist movement, a movement led by Progressive Labor Party that will get our class liberated from the terror, from the genocide, from the racism, from the sexism of global capitalism. The capitalists are taking our world to hell in a handbasket and there is not a lesser evil. That means we have to commit ourselves to be the alternative. We have to join Progressive Labor Party if we are not in it yet and if you are in it, we have to recommit ourselves to building an army to take state power once again, so that our class can once again experience the beauty of communist revolution.”
Communist culture inspires the masses
We capped off our celebration by singing the communist anthem “The Internationale,” which got the multiracial crowd of workers and youth on their feet. While the racist bosses want to spread fear and division among the international working class, we communists want to spread revolutionary culture that motivates the masses to unite, stand up and fight back – Join us!
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Johns Hopkins Students, community protest thugs for capital
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- 13 December 2024 422 hits
A mixed group of Johns Hopkins students and community members gathered Wednesday evening to protest Johns Hopkins University's (JHU) Police Accountability Board meeting. This group would oversee the private police force of JHU, which students, faculty, and community members have been strongly against since 2018.
One member of Progressive Labor Party (PLP) and a friend to the Party joined the rally in front of the university's Public Safety Office. We continued with a march around the neighborhood that ended at Wyman Park. The official meeting was hosted on Zoom, which was decided based on claims of death threats to board members. The panelists droned on about community-based policies and feedback, but the protest's organizers had a clever plan. Speakers could use pre-made speeches to call out the board's hypocrisy and link to oppressing workers through this proposed police force. Some spoke freely, whether giving their personal experiences on campus with profiling or stating that a private police force echoes the use of police across the world: protection of property and worker suppression.
The West Coalition, an organization fighting for police accountability and the end of police violence, joined later. Tawanda Jones, the group's lead organizer, also bashed the board's claims of community safety and gave specific examples of police terror in Baltimore. She laid out her personal battle with the city's government since her brother was killed by 17 officers in 2013. Capitalist fact is truly stranger than fiction. Tawanda's experience with the (in)justice system proves that working in the system is as threatening as working against it. Any opposition to police terror is only met with more attacks and threats to our safety.
One organizer made a clear reflection of the meeting, saying, "[E]very time we attend one of these meetings, their brazen complicity with a plan that will undoubtedly lead to terrible violence is even more and more obvious."
PLP supports and recognizes the bold actions of the Hopkins student-led protests over the years. Tonight clearly showed that there are people in our community with political consciousness. It is our job as builders of a communist movement to sharpen that into a clear class consciousness. That is what's needed to shut down any of JHU's attempts to create a private police force of terror and build toward a broader shut down of Baltimore's capitalist thieves.
What we fight for:
The former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and China returned to capitalism many years ago. Capitalism, not communism, is failing all over the world.
The two-stage strategy of first socialism, then communism, failed to lead to communism. It led back to capitalism. Therefore, we must fight directly for communism.
Communism means abolishing nation states, which are an expression of capitalism. One working class, one party, one world
Communism means abolishing racism by building multi-racial unity and internationalism.
Communism means abolishing sexism.
Communism means equality. No money. No wages. People working based on their commitment to each other and to building a communist society. Just as we do now in the Party.
Communism means the Party leads society. Millions of workers-eventually everybody-must be won to be communist organizers for this to work.
We must all give and receive leadership from each other.
Communism can be won only through armed struggle by masses of workers, soldiers, students and others, to destroy the dictatorship of the capitalist class and set up a dictatorship of the working class.
Fight for Communism!
The following is an excerpt of a Progressive Labor Party pamphlet. To read the rest please visit https://plp.org/key-documents/key-document/12602-why-we-fight-for-communism-2
"I agree with a lot of your ideas. But why do you have to call it communism? If you would just use a different word, you could get more people to support the PLP."
Many people have read Challenge-Desafio, have spoken with members of the PLP, worked together with PLP members, and fought against the evils of capitalism alongside PLP members. And many people ask the question: "Why do you use the word "communism?"
The capitalist rulers, their schools and media, attack communism and blame it for everything bad in the world. Furthermore, some people and groups who really support the policies of capitalism have sometimes used the words of communism to fool people. And genuine communists have made some mistakes also. But the struggle for communism represents the hope for the working class of all nations to build a world free from exploitation, which means a world free from racism, sexism, hunger, police terror, and war! Why do we use the word "communism?" Because that is the word that best expresses this struggle. Communism means an end to the capitalist profit system, and communism means an end to all forms of class exploitation and inequality. Besides, if we didn't call ourselves communists, the capitalists would still call us "communists" and accuse us of hiding it! Or they'd call us "terrorists" or some other word. We are part of a struggle that goes back thousands of years.
Background to Communism
For hundreds of thousands of years, humans lived without economic classes-- a society without government, laws, or private property. This period is called "primitive communism." We call it "communism" because there were no classes, but we call it "primitive" because it was not based on collective struggle and collective science. Eventually groups accumulated power and wealth and organized society into classes. One result of this was more development of science and technology.
Around 500 years ago, capitalism began to develop more rapidly. Capitalism is the most direct form of class exploitation, where the ruling class exploits the laboring class in order to make maximum profits as quickly as possible. As capitalism developed, so did modern racism. Capitalism is very unstable and needs to make profits as quickly as possible. One way they do this is to divide the laboring classes into different sections so that they can exploit certain sections extra hard. We call this "super-exploitation", and it is the basis for modern slavery and modern racism. This racism was especially intense against slaves kidnapped from Africa, but it was also used against people from other places as well.
Capitalism came to dominate the world during the 1800's and brought with it more economic and social crises. Two men from Germany — Karl Marx and Frederick Engels —studied economics, politics, and history from the point of view of the working class and wrote The Communist Manifesto in 1848. Marx and Engels pointed out that all class societies are dictatorships because the ruling class will always use the law, prisons, and violence to maintain its rule. Marx said that capitalist dictatorship -- the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie had to be replaced by a society run by the working class--the dictatorship of the proletariat. After many years of creating an economy, an educational system, and a culture without exploitation, eventually all of humanity would understand that true egalitarian communism is the best way to organize human society.
Communism versus Capitalism
The capitalist bosses immediately declared communism their number one enemy! Communists were active in the labor movement, in the movement against slavery and racism, and in movements against the oppression of women. Communists were not for reforming capitalism or just trying to help one particular group. Communists said that the whole capitalist system had to be destroyed and a classless society based on "From each according to ability, to each according to need" be set up.
In 1871, the capitalists of France were at war against the capitalists of Germany. The working class of Paris rose up in revolution against capitalism and set up a system of socialism as a step towards communism. Power and wealth were taken out of the hands of the rich by the working class. For two months the working class ran Paris effectively and humanely, with crime way down and people's needs taken care of.
The Russian Revolution
In 1917 the capitalist world was again at war. In Russia, a revolutionary communist movement (the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin) organized a revolution and set up socialism in the USSR. Lenin and others realized that the working class needed an organized communist party to develop communist theory and organize the struggle. Today, PLP, with branches worldwide, is the Party rebuilding the international communist revolution— All we need is YOU—Join today!
What Happened to Revolution?
Today we hear that communism is dead, because capitalism has taken over the former USSR and Eastern Europe. What happened? It wasn’t the capitalists that defeated the communists. It was because the communist movement made some mistakes. This should not be a surprise. After all, the Russian and Chinese revolutions were the first time in the history of the world that the working class took control and tried to set up a world based on no exploitation. The communists set up a system of socialism as a halfway step to communism. Socialism allowed some inequalities to go on, with the excuse that they would be eliminated later.
Socialism also sometimes supported nationalism and other forms of anti-communist, selfish philosophy. Does this mean that communism must always fail because of “human nature?” Of course not! It is capitalism that is failing all over the world, with increased racism, police terror and the rise of more fascism, hunger, disease, and many small wars that will lead to bigger wars. Communism is needed more than ever, and more than ever, the working class of the world is looking for solutions.
We say: “The only solution is communist revolution!” PLP is not a closed party of experts. PLP is the tool of the working class -- tens of millions of working class people from all over the world must join the PLP and help lead it, to shape it into the tool which will end capitalism once and for all and establish a world free from exploitation, racism, terror and war!
