PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI, October 25—Students at the public and private universities, among others, marched through the streets of the capital city. For weeks on end, they have been engaging in increasingly militant fightback against the ruling class of Haiti, capitalism, and imperialism, which have brought worsening food shortages, unemployment and inflation to the already devastated working class here.
According to government reports (very skewed statistics that hardly show the breadth of the problem), at least 35 percent of workers in Haiti – over three million people – are facing a crisis when it comes to obtaining food (Miami Herald, 11/1). Every month, for one week at least, there’s been a full-stop general strike, and uprisings all over. For the last seven weeks, there has been no respite. Everyone is demanding the resignation of president Jovenel Moïse and a change of system.
Throughout, as always, our Progressive Labor Party (PLP) comrades and friends have been active participants. However, our task as communists in PLP is to clarify that the masses don’t need merely a change in the system—unless we specify that communism and an egalitarian society is the system that we want. We don’t want legislative seats—we want state power!
“We’ve had enough of this system of exploitation!”
Throughout today’s protests, the students and others confronted police, and armed and hooded paramilitary thugs who are responding with increasing violence. It has been reported that up to 700 demonstrators have been killed since the uprisings began last year.
The students attacked certain institutions which symbolize imperialist domination, like the Institut Français en Haiti (IFH). A bus belonging to the State University of Haiti, the vehicle used by the Dean of the School of Ethnology to run over a militant student, was burned. By the end of the day, the running battles had passed by the Law School, the School of Ethnology, and the main police station, where four students were arrested.
Alongside this march, several demonstrations were going on in different parts of the capital and in other towns. Neighbors of president Moïse told him to move out, since, they said, “We’ve never had thieves and criminals of your caliber in our neighborhood.”
PLP was present to give revolutionary communist leadership, as we have become well known to many students and militants. We oriented our speeches towards attacking the bosses and the capitalist system. We handed out a leaflet blaming the imperialist countries for the poverty and misery of Haiti, and concluded correctly that Haitian workers and students need a communist revolution to end this misery once and for all.
We got very positive responses from those who read our literature and heard our chants. One worker responded with, ““Hey, that’s good! A good leaflet. We have to upset the apple-cart (chauvirer la chaudière).” Another exclaimed, “We need another kind of state, a workers’ state! We’ve had enough of the system of exploitation!”
Liberals try to fool workers
The struggle here increasingly taken on the character of struggle between classes. The names of the big bosses and their corporations are buzzing around; people are aware that these are the barons of the social, economic and political system—capitalism. Attacks on businesses and the marches into the corporate areas of Delmas, and into Pétionville, the center of the Haitian and international bourgeoisie, testify to this.
As always, there are politician fakers that are trying to take advantage of the anti-capitalist movement here. Many of these misleaders are the very same politicians who have been serving the ruling class and the imperialists in the government all along. They are also responsible for the deplorable conditions that workers and students in Haiti are facing.
In fact, at least four of them had recently been called to Washington to meet with the U.S. State Department to get their marching orders. These sellouts cannot be trusted to “change” anything. Many of the phony leftists are supporting these traitors because they are willing to accept a few reforms as they try to rob the workers of their militancy and lead them away from revolutionary communism.
Put capitalism in its grave with communist revolution
The economic and political crisis here in Haiti and everywhere can’t be expected to improve as long as capitalism and imperialism exist. In fact, it can only be expected to get worse as economic crisis worsens around the world and the major imperialist powers like the United States, Russia, and China prepare themselves for the next global war.
As communists we need to continue winning the masses away from liberal fascism and towards the end of capitalism through violent revolution and workers’ power. We can convert the class struggle into class war against the bosses. Then, our international PLP and its Red Army will be the force that finally puts this profit system of poverty, exploitation and war in its grave for good.
PHILADELPHIA—As part of a larger fight back against General Motors, several Progressive Labor Party (PLP) comrades and dozens of other workers joined striking United Auto Workers (UAW) outside a distribution plant in Philadelphia last month in a demonstration of solidarity. Even though this strike has come to an end, there are important lessons we can take away. Mainly, that workers need to take a step further than striking for better conditions, and smash this capitalist system with communist revolution!
Workers must fight back together
Workers from numerous fields came out to support the strikers and emphasized the interconnectedness of everyone’s struggle, acknowledging that the General Motors strike was an action that could benefit all workers. CUNY faculty and staff organized in the Professional Staff Congress (PSC) union pointed out that some of the biggest struggles professors are facing are strikingly similar to those that pushed GM workers to strike: unfair treatment of part-time workers, and poor health care benefits. As one worker put it, “your fight is our fight."
Same enemy, same fight!
Bosses will do anything to divide the working class. Some of the striking workers seemed to — for the moment— buy into the racist “America First” narrative and expressed a desire for General Motors to move production back to the United States. However, workers also expressed empathy for their sisters and brothers in Mexico, saying they “didn’t blame them at all” for being upset at recent General Motors layoffs that occurred in Mexico. They also commended Mexican GM workers who refused to work overtime in response to the strike.
It’s the role of communists in PLP to sharpen the internationalist aspect of this contradiction and win auto workers from the U.S. to Mexico into PLP!
The workers also rejected the capitalist notion that some workers deserve more pay than others. In response to lower salary caps for new workers, one striker explicitly stated, “We don’t care if someone new is making the same as us older workers, even if it’s not what we were paid when we started. We are glad for them.” A young worker expressed dismay that he was getting paid more than his part-time coworkers, even though they do the same work. Another added that the bosses lie about how much money GM workers make to turn the community against them, a strategy also used against MTA workers and teachers.
Black workers key to revolution
Workers were positioned at two different entrances, one for managers and one for employees. Some comrades noticed that white workers were stationed at the more comfortable manager entrance, which had a larger shelter, while young Black workers were stationed near the employee entrance by the highway, a location some called “dangerous.” This served as an important reminder that even within a significant action of worker solidarity, workers must be vigilant to ensure multiracial unity.
Three PL’ers spoke to one of the Black strikers at the employee entrance, who told us that they chose this entrance because of the flow of traffic and that they had requested more support to no avail. This is why we say Black workers are key to revolution. These young Black workers were strategic in reaching the community of their fightback instead of opting for the more comfortable picketing station. Despite his worry that he was “not that experienced,” we urged him to take more of a leadership role and exchanged contact info.
The fight for communism marches forward
As comrades began to leave, some of the workers expressed that they hoped their strike would mean that others would not have to strike. A comrade sharply pointed out that the fight will not be over after this strike. He remarked that the ruling class will continue to attack workers. Another worker similarly expressed that we need a “wave of struggle.” The contradiction between boss and worker cannot be destroyed without communist revolution.
When the strike ended, the Black worker we contacted feared that GM workers went on strike “for nothing.” A PL’er disagreed and stressed to the worker the importance of learning about the union’s corruption, the courage of workers, and how far we need to go. What we are fighting for cannot be given to us; it can only be taken. This system will never allow us to live as comfortably as the rulers who exploit us.
When asked, “don’t you think it would be better if workers ran everything and we got rid of bosses?” a young striker replied that his bosses “do nothing. We could run the plant without them.” The international working class does not need bosses. Through communist revolution, we can build a world where workers run everything for ourselves.
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Colombia: communist school analyzes wage slavery
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- 08 November 2019 255 hits
Colombia November 4,–Recently Progressive Labor Party (PLP) organized a revolutionary communist political school in Colombia, which some of our friends and Challenge readers attended. There were good discussions about racist unemployment, sexism, wage slavery, nationalism, and all the horrors of capitalism; and why we need to build a great social base for communism.
Many participated with spirited political discussions. Several workers and students showed great leadership potential to continue advancing our cadre to a new revolutionary leadership in the construction of the PLP.
In the workshops, many discussed their understanding about unemployment, its moral impact on working families, and how under capitalism, unemployment is inevitable, its relation to anti-immigrant nationalism and the war against the workers, and the need for working class unity always, but especially during this period of capitalist crisis.
We discussed the construction of a political base in different organizations, analyzing the imperialist contradictions, where the liberal wing pretends to be friendly and a benefactor to the working class. Our conclusion was that we need to struggle to create study groups and to distribute Challenge.
These are the main points of the discussion on “wage slavery”:
Capitalism can’t provide full employment because of its internal contradictions and the benefits it gets from unemployment.
Even though the working class is the majority, it is ruled by a minority. The bourgeois state and its legislative apparatus lies, cheats and steals the value that workers created through their labor in order to stay in power.
Capitalists create an army of unemployed workers and keep them divided by racism, individualism, and nationalism.
We need to fight for communist internationalism by supporting workers struggles all over the world.
We need to build our communist line and PLP among rural and city workers, students, and soldiers. This is because it is the only way we can destroy the bosses’ system of exploitation and wage slavery. The capitalist system cannot fulfill workers’ needs;
it only brings misery, hunger, police brutality, bad health, and the destruction of nature.
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History: Half a million workers chased out fascists
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- 08 November 2019 248 hits
October 4 marked the 83rd anniversary of a great battle against fascism — the “Battle of Cable Street” in London’s East End. In 1936, under communist leadership, British and immigrant workers broke the ranks of the cops, who protected the fascists, and smashed the fascist attempt to march and freely organize in working-class districts.
The constant communist-led, anti-fascist organizing over many years led to the understanding and empowerment of the working class. This battle also shows that the working class should never give in to nationalist leaders. Both Jewish and Irish community and religious leaders tried to convince the masses not to fight the fascists, fearful of “causing more problems.”
For 300 years, the East End of London had been the home of poor working class immigrants. In 1936 the area’s population was largely Polish and Russian Jewish, Irish Catholics and non-immigrant English workers.
In the midst of a severe depression, Sir Oswald Moseley’s Blackshirts movement (BUF, British Union of Fascists) was growing among the unemployed, white-collar workers and small businessmen. Moseley sent committed fascists into the East End to beat up and terrorize Jewish, made scapegoats for the economic crisis. On the streets, fascists would scream “kill the k….”
Ruling class funds the fascists
Many of Britain’s upper and ruling class funded the BUF. Some of Britain’s big newspapers, such as the Daily Mail, Evening News and Sunday Dispatch, promoted the BUF. The recently crowned King Edward VIII had wealthy fascist friends in Britain, France and Germany. The police often turned a blind eye to the fascists’ beatings of Jewish workers.
Moseley decided to show his strength by marching 10,000 uniformed Blackshirts and thousands of supporters directly through the Jewish/Irish neighborhood. The police commissioner Sir Philip Game ordered his cops to support the march.
On October 4, 10,000 cops were assigned to protect Mosley’s fascists. The official Jewish “leadership” advised Jewish workers to stay indoors and not show aggressiveness towards the cops.
But up to 500,000 people from the East End and other parts of London came out to stop the fascist march. Communists and trade unionists, many themselves Jewish, led the attack on the fascists in the streets. At Cable Street, the police, armed with nightsticks, attacked, while mounted police charged the crowd. Horses stumbled because children were hurling marbles under their hoofs and bursting bags of pepper under their noses. Women threw the contents of chamber pots from windows.
The fascists screamed derogatory names for Jewish workers. But the people chanted, “They will not pass!”
Jewish, Irish dockers unite
The masses erected barricades. A truck was turned on its side to block the street; old mattresses, bricks and pushcarts were thrown on top. An Irish anti-fascist bus driver drove his double-decker bus across the road, forming a barricade between the police and the anti-fascists.
The army of fascists demanded the police escort them through the masses of workers. At Cable Street, the massive wall of workers held their ground and only backed off to pick up bricks or bottles to throw at the cops and fascists.
The fascists were under a constant hail of bricks, bottles and stones. Despite arresting over 100 anti-fascist fighters, still the police could not move the masses as they held the cops in a vise grip.
Eventually, the Police Commissioner canceled the BUF’s march. But now the police had to save them from being killed by the crowd. They attempted to escape. But the anti-fascists, waiting for them, shouted, “Get them!” and crashed through the police lines. They then chased the fascists out of London’s East End.
For days, people celebrated throughout London. The fascists continued to try to organize, but it was clear that workers wouldn’t be easily won to fascism.
Dare to struggle — Dare to win!
DEDHAM, October 25—A hundred-year-old law makes teachers’ strikes illegal in Massachusetts. But Dedham teachers voted to strike anyway—248 to two. It’s this kind of courage that the working class needs to challenge anti-worker laws and put workers on a fight-back footing.
Although reformist, strikes show the potential of working-class unity and strength. When education workers fight for better working conditions, they are in practice also fighting for better learning conditions for students.
Teachers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions
Dedham teachers struck for a strong anti-sexual harassment policy in the contract; for a better healthcare package; for wage increases to make up for the $4,000 per year healthcare deductible imposed in the previous contract; and for a system-wide policy to help students learn by cutting classroom cellphone use.
The teachers were also fed up with the arrogant disrespect from the administration.
Just as West Virginia teachers illegally struck last year, education workers must strike over what they and their students need, legal or not. Capitalist laws are written to keep workers down.
We communists in Progressive Labor Party (PLP) are fighting for workers’ rule: a world free from exploitation and oppression. That means revolution and for that we need to break the bosses’ laws.
Hundreds supported the strikers
Hundreds of union members from across the state, and many parents and students, attended a big support rally on October 26. PLP members walked the picket lines, and, in a small victory, met an educator who may work with us.
Not all issues were covered by the strike. Paraprofessionals and substitutes are poorly paid. And although paras and subs are on strike, they were not even able to vote to strike (they have a separate union).
The union must fight harder for the lowest-paid school workers including substitutes. Higher substitute pay would mean Dedham could hire enough subs, so teachers wouldn’t have to cover classes for absent teachers.
A tentative agreement was drawn up after one day of striking, and the members were sent back to work before the proposed four year contract was ratified. The 10-15 percent raise over four years won’t even cover the healthcare deductible. Such is the nature of union misleadership. They accept minor reforms and then funnel the rank-and-file back into the classroom.
Chicago teachers, who just ended an 11-day strike, have shown that fighting for students, demanding nurses and social workers in every school, fighting for services for immigrant and homeless students, is the way to win.
Parent-student-teacher unity is the key to fighting for decent schools! But in the capitalist system, reform victories can always be taken away. Winning means building the communist movement and the organization that embodies it, the PLP.
