Baltimore, MD, April 12—On a cloudy Saturday, Baltimore members of the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) hosted a pre-May Day, International Workers' Day, dinner. We had many engaging conversations and made new connections. These ranged from experiences in study groups to class struggle in our neighborhoods. Twenty-one people were present once the program started (as well as three online attendees). Building for a revolutionary, communist May Day is even more urgent during this period of fascist attacks on workers. Only communist revolution can defeat fascism and capitalism once and for all.

Stories of fightback

A veteran member of PLP shared their experience as a healthcare worker fighting for the American Public Health Association (APHA) to acknowledge the genocide in Gaza and pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire. They went into detail about how the leadership of APHA was insistent on not only ignoring the atrocities but also limiting the advocacy of those who oppose the genocide. Despite the intense repression, our comrades and friends successfully won that fight, with a section referring to the need for humanitarian aid and accessible healthcare for our working-class members in Palestine.

We also pushed our area’s largest and longest-running struggle among industrial workers. One of our lead comrades talked about her years of struggle and base building as a Metro worker in D.C., as well as her role within the union. She emphasized the importance of raising class consciousness and putting our sharpest communist politics at the forefront of our work. She then welcomed those who have not yet joined the Party to fight alongside us to build the future that the international working class needs and deserves.

Another friend summarized their nearly year-long involvement within the West Coalition—an organization which for over a decade has advocated for the jailing of all killer KKKops and an end to state-sanctioned violence, especially within Baltimore City. Our friend has learned many important lessons while being in various rallies, attending community solidarity events, and—most importantly—putting the Party’s line into practice among masses of workers. As they explained, “[T]he reason why I believe it’s important to fight police brutality is so that we can get rid of the system that perpetuates police violence and [to] build a system that works for us, not against us.” With this being their first time fully expressing their view of our Party’s work in Baltimore, comrades were proud of and inspired by our friend’s clear analysis and appreciation for our fighting spirit.

There was also discussion of historic and current international workers' struggles, including the origin of the first May Day with the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, Illinois in 1886. Other friends shared their memories of active moments of battle among the workers against fascist forces within and outside of their home country during the 20th century. They also expressed awe at the international protest movement that has re-emerged since Israel escalated their slaughter of workers in Palestine in October 2023. PLP wants an end to all capitalist terror, and the only way to ensure that is by uniting workers in Palestine and Israel with our international movement for an egalitarian communist world. 

We continued with lively performances. One long-time base member read a poem called “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay. A younger comrade sang “Commonwealth in Toil” and “Bandiera Rossa.” Another comrade—a local Party leader and our event facilitator—also read a poem called “A New Direction.” This was written by another PL’er during the height of the solidarity movement opposing Israel’s genocide against workers in Palestine (https://multiracialunity.org/2024/08/04/a-new-direction-2/#more-5428).

With a multi generational, multiracial group, our pre-May Day dinner was a success for our small Baltimore collective. The attendees stayed for a while longer, having fruitful conversations and enjoying the remaining food. The event has prepared the guests for the upcoming May Day dinner. This will be our second Party-led May Day celebration since having younger leadership take on the responsibilities of the clubs in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. We recognize the importance of not only showing but giving leadership to our working-class siblings; so, as part of our base building, we have included base members in the planning and facilitation of the event. PLP continues to raise the red flag for a truly communist-led May Day.

We’re not benefiting from what the Chinese are mining. It feels like all the jobless people in China come here to work while our own people suffer... In fact, we’re being underdeveloped by what they’re taking, said a Congolese worker in the documentary Blood Cobalt, which we screened during our Spring Project.

Leading up to our spring break project, the Party held a national call discussing the inter-imperialist rivalry between China and the U.S. in Congo. The panel-style discussion included Congolese workers we’ve been organizing with. The main takeaway: to Congolese workers, there’s no such thing as a “good” imperialist—a title often handed to China for its “development” projects in Africa.

Capitalism, driven by profit, will never solve Congo’s problems. The working class must organize to overthrow the system—building a communist society based on solidarity, collective ownership, and stewardship of the planet.

The Progressive Labor Party’s (PLP) goal is to unite workers, soldiers, and students to fight for a communist world—and Congo is no exception. Armed with communist ideas and leadership, Congolese workers have the power to disrupt global supply chains and bring imperialist warmakers to their knees. The only real path forward for Congolese workers is to join the PLP and unite with the international working class.

Film Discussion Destroys the “China Is Better” Myth

During our Spring Break Project, we screened the Australian documentary Blood Cobalt with a multiracial, multigenerational group of 25–30 PL’ers and friends. The film does a powerful job exposing Chinese imperialism and its devastating impact on Congolese workers. Of the 19 cobalt mines in the DRC, 15 are run or financed by China. These mines offer no safety for workers, many of whom dig as deep as 25 meters underground. The film shows how mining causes cancer, black lung disease, and frequent fatal tunnel collapses—deaths often hidden and ignored by bosses.

One of the most heartbreaking stories follows Mama Nicole, whose village borders the Chinese-operated Congo Dongfang International Mining (CDM) mine. With no barriers or fences, her 13-year-old son, Neomba, entered to collect cobalt from waste heaps. He and a friend died when the embankment collapsed.

The film left us deeply saddened and enraged. Many of us were struck by the impossible choices workers face—like a mother having to choose between sending her kids to religious school or risking their lives in the mines to avoid starvation. While the film effectively shatters the myth of a more benevolent Chinese imperialism compared to the U.S., some attendees, including a PL’er and a friend, rightly criticized its failure to address the U.S.’s long-standing role in Congo’s destabilization. 

Climate Crisis Is a Capitalist Crisis

We also discussed how climate catastrophe is a direct result of capitalism. The DRC and the Central African Republic are seeing the worst forest destruction tied to mining. Deforestation for large-scale mining infrastructure causes direct harm (biodiversity loss) and indirect damage (pollution of aquatic ecosystems). Even more alarming: if deforestation continues, 27% of the Congo Basin’s undisturbed rainforest could vanish by 2050 (Forest News, 11/16/22) As the world’s second-largest rainforest, its destruction will only accelerate the climate crisis for the global working class. During the film discussion, another PL’er argued that capitalism’s solutions can never resolve the climate crisis. They pointed out that the idea of "ethical consumption" is a myth, emphasizing that choosing not to buy an electric car to spare the children of Congo ultimately means bombs will fall on the children of Gaza instead because imperialist laws of competition and profit require the brutal exploitation of our class around the world.

Internationalism: Workers struggles are the same

During our study group on internationalism, a Congolese friend emphasized that no matter which imperialist power controls the mines, conditions for workers remain the same: super-exploitation, entrenched poverty, and a lack of access to education—while billions are extracted from the minerals beneath their feet.One clear takeaway emerged from these two learning packed days: while capitalism may wear different masks across the globe, workers face the same core struggles. From the mines of Appalachia—where bosses profit from coal while towns are devastated by unemployment and opioid addiction—to the mining towns of Congo, which remain underdeveloped, and to Ecuador, where gold miners are killed by cancer or cartels and their children trapped in poverty, the pattern repeats. 

Inter-Imperialist rivalry fuels proxy wars

In March, the M23 militia—backed by Rwanda, and supported by the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Israel—took control of Goma and Bukavu in Eastern Congo. This is not a regional conflict. It’s a proxy war waged by imperialist powers to secure resource flows, displacing millions and deepening the humanitarian crisis. The Congolese government is complicit—paying Romanian mercenaries $5,000 a month while Congolese soldiers earn $100. This betrayal exposes how local bosses serve imperialist interests and multinational corporations. While the bosses profit, the working class is misled into fighting nationalist wars that serve imperialist agendas. 

The dark night of capitalism has a communist horizon

Yet even amid these horrors, there’s hope. Workers in the Congo are fighting back (see our upcoming article from workers in the Congo). We’re also planning a teach-in and fundraiser with our base members and allied organizations.

In the Party, we say Black workers are key—because we understand that the leadership of Black workers is essential to smashing this racist, sexist, genocidal system.

We must win over our Congolese siblings to communist ideas. As Lenin wrote, imperialist competition inevitably leads to war. Our task is to turn that rivalry into a revolutionary struggle for communism. It’s time to build the Party, raise class consciousness, and fight for a future where Congo’s wealth benefits all humanity—not the imperialist bosses.

The choice is clear: either we unite and fight for communism, or continue to suffer under capitalism and imperialism. The future of the international working class depends on the path we choose. Let us choose revolution.

Haiti

Listen, comrades and friends: the bosses’ world is becoming increasingly aggressive to save their dying system. As the living conditions of workers and immigrants continue to deteriorate everywhere, the imperialists try to silence the working class at all costs by creating a climate of terror. The bourgeois politicians use their political power to impose the ruling class’s will on the international working class. And when workers and students rebel, the bosses deploy the most violent means to try to sabotage all forms of resistance to capitalism.

So, on this May Day 2025, as a greeting for International Workers’ Day, we launch a rallying cry from Haiti, where the working class has been petrified and wounded by indescribable violence for several years in the name of the interests of capitalism and imperialism. Comrades! The founder of the first Haitian Communist Party, Jacques Roumain, addressing Black workers who were victims of racism in the United States on their own soil during the first half of the 20th century, wrote: “We are all brothers.” Today, we repeat this phrase and proclaim it even louder. Again and even louder, let us chant, comrades: we are all sisters and brothers, regardless of our color or gender, in the face of capitalist exploitation.

Comrades, the hour is grave!

Yes, comrades, the hour is grave. The future of humanity is threatened, and it is up to our class to save it together in revolutionary comradeship. By standing up together to smash racism, the persecution of immigrants, and the genocide against the workers of the world (in Palestine, Haiti, and so many places) we must turn the bosses’ imperialist wars for profit and control of the world’s resources into class war for communism. We must put the international working class first. We have no choice but to come together to destroy the bosses’ plan to decimate our class and annihilate our planet.

Comrades, we have fought back for centuries and we know how to win. Let us strengthen our ranks to lead the class struggle. We have a world to win!

Long live the unity of the global working class! Long live the class struggle! Long live the revolution! Long live communism!

Colombia

Comradely greetings of struggle from Bogotá, Colombia! On the eve of commemorating the International Workers Day and its historic struggle against wage slavery, racism, slavery, sexism, child labor exploitation -- in general, against all forms of oppression imposed by capitalism -- we unite in this celebration of the international working class. Now is the time for people to commit to the revolutionary communist struggle, actively engaging against school closures, healthcare cuts, imperialist wars and police terror, deportations, and the persecution of migrant workers.

We urgently call on the international working class to unite their efforts and vehemently reject the fascist onslaught of imperialism and its nationalist lackeys. This rejection must range from militant demonstrations to refusing the corrupt and mafia-like electoral system of capitalist democracy.

Political preparation under PLP and the qualitative and quantitative growth of the Party are our priorities. There are advances and setbacks, but our motivation remains intact, and we will continue to fight, supporting our class, guiding and directing it toward future struggles for our liberation from the capitalist yoke.

Our Party, the PLP, chosen by rural and urban workers and students, fights to build communist consciousness with a long-term, revolutionary style of work to create a communist society, without bosses or profits, without racism or politicians, introducing revolutionary consciousness and combating the dishonest nature of capitalism.

With our newspaper, CHALLENGE-DESAFIO, we carry out mass work in working-class neighborhoods, in marches and protests, educating ourselves in collectivity and proletarian internationalism. Only by strengthening our international party can we emerge from this capitalist electoral quagmire, crushing these fascists and defeating the ruling class with communist revolution.

Brazil

In this year 2025, the working class of Brazil continues to suffer from both the state and the local bourgeoisie. Public schools and universities are suffering budget cuts from the state, leading to strikes in the education sector, including teachers and administrative staff. Public schools are functioning badly, lacking work materials; many schools lack chairs for their students; students can only go to school every other day. There are also environmental and climatic disasters affecting the working class due to the exploitation of raw materials by the bourgeoisie and the state, as was the case in Rio Grande do Sul last year and in São Paulo at the beginning of this year.

The local bourgeoisie, for its part, wants to generalize modern slavery. It’s not a number of hours to be worked, but a number of days of work per week. Thus, local bosses want workers to submit to the domination of this 6/1 law, which means working 6 days of work and having one day to stay home. This day spent at home is simply to replenish some of one’s strength, wash one’s clothes, get some sleep, and return to the modern fields that are the industries and large capitalist institutions. In this case, workers have no rest, no social life, no time for study, and even no time for recreation. It’s a life devoted entirely to capitalist exploitation. And to make matters worse for our class, the minimum wage is adjusted at the beginning of each year, but this has no impact on workers’ purchasing power, and since December, prices have steadily been rising.

The situation of the working class in Brazil is similar to that of the entire working class worldwide, regardless of the country in question. The application of exploitative policies may change, but the exploitation of the masses remains the same in all countries.

Thus, we, the members of the PLP in Brazil, continue to affirm that only revolutionary communist struggle can liberate our class from our common enemy, capitalism. Let us join the PLP—we have a world to win

Mexico

Comrades,

I’m sending you and the international working class  greetings from our Progressive Labor Party collective in Mexico. We wish you a large and enthusiastic May Day celebration. Amid the rise of fascism around the world and threats of imperialist war, our active participation in the struggle for the leadership of our class is key to keeping liberals, fake leftists, and fascists away. But above all, it keeps us on the revolutionary path toward a communist society.

Trade wars eventually turn into wars with bombs, most likely nuclear. To try to win our class to fight their battles, the bosses will use their entire arsenal of racist, sexist, and nationalist ideological weapons, as well as state violence to force us to fight for their interests. Our Party has the antidote to this genocidal poison: our red flags and literature in the streets, in the neighborhoods, in the factories, and in the fields; our revolutionary communist line and most importantly, our unwavering trust and love for our class sisters and brothers.

These days we, like you, will gather in modest but meaningful dinners to talk about May Day, communism, and our organization. And like you, we will take to the streets to proudly wave our flags, shout out slogans, and sing our anthems. Like you, we will distribute our literature, we will speak with our brothers and sisters. Like you, with these and many other actions, we reaffirm our commitment to a red future. Have a communist and revolutionary May Day!

Easter offers no respite from Israeli attacks

Al Jazeera, 4/20–Palestinian Christians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem have marked a second sombre Easter under punishing conditions and Israel’s war on Gaza. In the Gaza Strip, where no food or aid has been allowed in by the Israeli military for nearly 50 days, people observed Easter on Sunday at the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City amid death and destruction. Easter celebrations were limited to religious rituals as families cancelled other gatherings fearing more bombs would be dropped by Israeli warplanes, which killed dozens of people in the besieged enclave on Sunday…Israeli authorities prevented many Christians, including Palestinians, from accessing holy sites for Easter in the occupied West Bank…people were beaten, and Israeli officers and onlookers directed insults and slurs towards Christians.

Colleges jump on board the ICE attacks on students

The Guardian, 4/21–Fears of a new wave of deportations and student visa cancellations are rising at a number of Florida’s most diverse universities after administrators signed agreements recasting campus police as federal immigration agents…The partnerships give campus officers broad new powers to stop, question and detain students about their immigration status, and share information directly with Ice…More than 1,400 international students and recent graduates perceived by the government to be pro-Palestinian have had their F-1 or J-1 visas canceled by the homeland security department…

College political organizer kicked out of college

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, 4/18–Two words jumped off the page: Interim ban. Guerra knew what it meant…Over the last year, students and officials from the University of Rochester have repeatedly clashed over the handling of protests related to the Israel-Hamas War. “The University retains the right to suspend, ban, or otherwise constrain or restrict students, groups, and organizations on an interim basis until the formal conduct process is completed, if they pose a perceived or actual threat to themselves, others, or to the orderly processes of the University community.” It offered no evidence of his involvement. He had two hours to collect his belongings and leave campus…

Food workers protest factory speed up

MPR News, 4/18–Hundreds of meatpacking workers marched in shifts outside of the JBS Foods plant in Worthington throughout Thursday afternoon and into the early evening. They carried signs and demanded safer work conditions at the pork plant…Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture extended waivers for increased speeds while also moving to make the increases permanent…Line speeds have increased significantly over the last few decades, according to Stull. He said in the poultry industry the rate of birds processed per minute was about 90 in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Now it’s 140 birds a minute.

Think-tank hacks remind us that capitalism is about competition

Foreign Affairs, April/May 2025–Success in great-power competition requires rigorous and unsentimental net assessment…On critical metrics, China has already outmatched the United States. Economically, it boasts twice the manufacturing capacity. Technologically, it dominates everything from electric vehicles to fourth-generation nuclear reactors and now produces more active patents and top-cited scientific publications annually. Militarily, it features the world’s largest navy, bolstered by shipbuilding capacity 200 times as large as that of the United States; vastly greater missile stocks; and the world’s most advanced hypersonic capabilities…Washington would be particularly unwise to go it alone in a complex global competition.

Healthcare workers in Pakistan take to the streets

Daily Times, 4/20–Pakistan’s healthcare system is in crisis, and the Punjab government’s plan to privatize hospitals is making things worse. With only one doctor for every 1,764 people…Many doctors are leaving the country, and strict rules make it hard for students to become doctors. This leaves people without the medical help they need. The recent protests in Lahore…show how serious the problem is. Doctors, nurses, and health workers marched to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat to demand that public hospitals stay public. They were met with violence from police, who beat and injured protesters…