LOS ANGELES, February 19 - The bosses give President's Day off to many workers every year. What better way for communists and their friends to celebrate that long weekend than to plan how to get rid of the bosses' presidents for good! Every year, Progressive Labor Party (PLP) in Los Angeles organizes a retreat to study our line, evaluate our work, and plan for May Day and other upcoming struggles. This year comrades from Northern California were able to join us for the first time in many years. Most were base members or new members. Their willingness to attend a weekend of long travel while also balancing their life responsibilities demonstrated a commitment to learning and growing with the Party.
We had three study sessions: Introduction to Dialectical Materialism, The Trap of Nationalism, and No War but Class War and ended the weekend with a planning session for May Day and beyond. Participants appreciated the engaging nature of the sessions. Small group discussions made room for contradictions to arise and be discussed in a comradely manner. There were many entry points into the content so that newer friends and members felt confident to participate, while also advancing the understanding of veteran members. We were also intentional about connecting theoretical conversations to the work that is happening and the mass struggle among our class (strikes, anti-war protests, etc).
Altogether we had a multiracial and multigenerational group of over 15, including friends. During the retreat we shared reports of our regional struggles, studied Party literature, built solidarity, and received feedback on our organizing and base building. The result? A more unified plan of communist action across various sectors of labor— higher education, K-12 education, healthcare, and more— from the Party’s critical antiracist, anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist lens. Exciting plans were made! The Northern California Party concentration has set up a study group planning committee to produce visual aids and vocabulary lists as a support to campus outreach. Comrades from LA started a twice a month study group with education workers and students from across the state. We will use this to continue to study the line of the Party together and share updates about labor struggles and a state-wide strategy for direct action on campuses.
One area for growth was that the content was created and led by our more seasoned Party members and didn’t involve our base and new members in its development. The Northern California contingent was grateful for the leadership of LA and longtime Party members in organizing the meeting and offering valuable historical context for many of the discussions. Simultaneously, NorCal hopes to support more in the organizing process for future retreats so as to spread the labor out more fairly and to lessen the stress of organizing. Going forward, California as a whole will involve our base and new comrades in the content creation and leadership of upcoming events.
After the retreat, two friends officially joined PLP and another friend is joining a club. Our May Day organizing is in full swing and the future of struggle in California is bright.
