Comrade Ira Wechsler died on December 9, 2024, at the age of 75. Ira was part of a host of young people who were attracted to the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) in the late 1960s. He attended the State University of New York at Stony Brook and was part of the worker-student alliance Students for a Democratic Society ( SDS) there. He hated capitalism, racism, sexism and imperialist war. Ira not only talked, he walked the walk.

He was a fighter and was arrested for making “good trouble.” He joined the PLP to fight for the world he wanted to see: an egalitarian communist world built and run by the international working class so all humanity will benefit and flourish.

After graduating, Ira became a welfare worker in New York City. He fought for worker-client unity. He was active in his union, becoming a shop steward for Local 1549, DC37 and later CWA 1180. Later  Ira became a hospital worker. He brought that same passion to his work at Woodhull Hospital. He believed in participating in these organizations. He was an 1199 steward as well. Throughout, Ira never shied away from a fight.

Ira loved to sing. He loved to update songs with lyrics about current struggles. Taking a bus back and forth to work, he would sing his updated songs. In doing so, he hoped to strike up conversations with his fellow riders.

After Ira retired due to a stroke, he continued to be active in community issues like fights to stop the closings of Brooklyn Hospitals (Downstate, Long Island College and Kingsbrook Jewish Hospitals) and against racist police terror.

Ira is survived by his wife, Yvonne, daughter Daneeka, son Adam and granddaughter Saniyah. He leaves his brother Bruce and numerous friends and Comrades.

The following letters are reflections from PL’ers who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with striking Amazon workers on the picket line last month.

This is what community looks like

When I arrived at the Staten Island Amazon fulfillment center on that cold, unforgiving morning, a question and its answer echoed in my mind.

Why strike and why now? The strike line wasn’t just a cluster of people; it was a living, breathing example of solidarity, a testament to the collective power of the working class. 

So why did I want to join the strike? I needed to be there because standing shoulder to shoulder with workers and comrades felt like claiming my part in something bigger. It wasn’t just about one company, one contract, or one demand. It was about exposing the predatory systems that sustain capitalism and imagining what could replace it communist revolution. The labor movement has long been a crucible for these fights. My own involvement stemmed not only from anger at Amazon’s exploitation but from a deep commitment to building the Progressive Labor Party’s (PLP) potential reach in neighborhoods, and in the workplace.

The frigid air cut through every layer of clothing we wore. Yet, that physical discomfort felt small compared to the warmth of our shared mission: stop the production line and join the resisting fighters in the picket line. Organizers passed out sandwiches, scarves, and gloves to the picketers, while a bus retrofitted as a warming station provided brief respite. The workers were relentless; we chanted, we marched, and we made ourselves impossible to ignore. 

Those of us with the Progressive Labor Party distributed CHALLENGE newspapers, designed to spark conversation and broaden perspectives.

Through chants like “The workers united will never be defeated!” we tapped into the energy of the moment. And even though some of the slogans from others leaned reformist, the openness of the crowd toward our revolutionary ideas was clear. 

Being in that crowd wasn’t just symbolic. It was practical, critical work. Seeing the Amazon Labor Union, Teamsters, Socialist Party, and our own members of PLP standing together sent a message: the fight wasn’t confined to any one group, but united through a common purpose of worker power.

The strike did more than amplify grievances; it reconnected me with the broader aims of the Party. It also reaffirmed the necessity of disciplined communist leadership to channel the collective outrage of workers into sustained, revolutionary action. PLP’s role here wasn’t merely to support it was to agitate, to educate, and to organize.

When I think back on historical strikes, from the Paris Commune to Blair Mountain, I see how worker-led struggles reshaped our understanding of resistance. The Staten Island strike wasn’t the same scale, but it shared the DNA of those efforts—ordinary people rejecting exploitation and envisioning a new world. 

Capitalism thrives by isolating workers and convincing us that we are powerless. Strikes, especially militant ones, prove otherwise. They show that when workers unite across industries and borders, we have the ability not just to demand better but to overthrow the entire system. Reformist fights for incremental change won’t suffice. This system cannot be fixed, it must be dismantled.

My takeaway from that day was clear: being present matters. Revolutionary change will never happen in isolation. Strikes create opportunities for recruitment, growth, and action. These are the opportunities we must seize.

This is what a community looks like. A community of workers determined to take what’s ours. A community of revolutionary leaders ready to light the way forward. PLP will always be there for these fights, ready to sharpen every action toward building the strength necessary for a communist revolution. If there’s a picket line near you, join in. And look for us, we’ll be there. 

Let’s continue building the community that will take back the world. Join us.
*****

Amazon workers ready to fight

Amazon workers walked out and picketed the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island shortly before Christmas, joining Amazon workers in Queens and around the country also on strike. It’s encouraging to see Amazon workers flexing their muscles during one of the most profitable periods of the year for the bosses and a time when warehouse workers and drivers are doubly exploited due to increased workloads, longer hours, increased pace and mandatory overtime. 

Progressive Labor Party members from New York and New Jersey joined the picketing workers to join them in their fight against some of the most powerful bosses in the country. Workers and Party members picketted for hours in the cold with class solidarity and a lively picket line, helping keep us warm, even if some of the reformist Teamster chants at times felt a little forced and repetitive. It was heartwarming to see workers enthusiastically join in when Party members introduced class-conscious chants like “down, down, DOWN with the bosses! Up, up, UP with the workers!” and “las luchas obreras, no tienen fronteras.” Even some of the teamster leaders sang these chants when we introduced them. We used this opportunity to distribute several dozen CHALLENGES and workers let us know they appreciated us being there to stand with them.

Workers at Amazon deserve better wages and working conditions but the working class cannot stop there. Sweatshop workers making many of the products Amazon ships along with workers around the world suffering from the bosses’ genocides and wars won’t be having a happy holiday season this year. We must fight to make every worker see it is our job to be on the front lines with every worker until we rule the world instead of greedy capitalists like Jeff Bezos. 
*****

Solidarity with Amazon workers

I was born not scared. If I believe in something I’m gonna do it.

You put a bug in them and it makes them think. It makes you happy if you are fighting for something. It makes you feel dead to just work. They signed the cards but they’re scared to come out.

They will take advantage of the benefits once we win. They must be brainwashed by Amazon and their training sessions. $425/day for these trainers.

I barely get to know my coworkers. Being on strike I get to know my coworkers. We only see each-other at work during the morning stretches and the mandatory anti-union meetings.

I was scared but I see all my guys are outside. If my team does something, I support them.

Better pay, more respect, safety, benefits, need a day off once in a while. Other drivers don’t go out because they can’t lose one paycheck. 

My perspective is you have to give up something to get something.

When I had a hot dog stand, I was the one who invented putting a hot-dog in a knish.

[at my high school] we had a quote unquote riot because the principal was gonna stop letting us go to the bathroom. We organized on blackberries.

These quotes are all from striking Amazon workers at DBK4 in Maspeth, Queens. I was inspired by our document Build a Base in The Working Class to work hard to be present and approachable and ask thoughtful questions of the striking workers. This was an inspiring and rewarding experience. It was better than reading a book about strikes! Being in the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) gives you the chance to be a part of history. I also shared messages of support I had gathered from workers and students in China, where I live and work at a university. A Chinese construction worker from my base sent the following poem from the Song dynasty, 

In the blink of an eye, we haven’t seen each other for a month, time flies like an arrow and days pass like a shuttle. Please take a look at the flowing water in the east, I understand the long-lasting separation between people. Do not worry about having no friends on your journey ahead, who in the world does not know you? 

One of the striking workers read the messages of support including the poem over the PA system. The same worker later encouraged other workers to give speeches about their perspective and commitment, which sharpened the ideological level of the picket action.

After the speeches the workers took turns spitting freestyle raps on the PA. “There’s a moral to the story” was a particularly poignant line one worker repeated. There were contradictions. One worker said that Amazon could only be defeated by another business, not by a working class movement. As is often the case at picket lines, a union organizer discouraged me from distributing CHALLENGE newspapers “they’re not ready for that. Political education comes later. We have to do something for the workers first.” This organizer was very kind and thoughtful and had spent a year base building to organize and motivate workers to join the Teamsters and to go out on strike. But the PLP line is that the working class is ready to choose critical thinking and commitment over material rewards. 

This is why we want to lead the fight for revolution not reform. In spite of this discouraging word, I was able to give out about 12 newspapers to striking workers and supporters by building rapport and getting contact information from almost everyone who took a paper. There’s a moral to the story! Being in the Party and doing Party work is a joyful way to spend any day including the holidays! Onward to the revolution!
*****

Palestinian Christians mark second Christmas of genocide

BBC, 12/24/24–The little town of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank has good reason to consider itself the capital of Christmas but this year it does not feel like it…Public celebrations of Christmas have been cancelled for a second year because of the war in Gaza. Palestinian Christians are only attending religious ceremonies and family gatherings… “It’s hard to believe that another Christmas has come upon us and the genocide has not stopped”...”Decision makers are content to let this continue. To them, Palestinians are dispensable.”

Sweden prepares for expanded war in Europe

AP News, 12/28/24–Burial associations in Sweden are looking to acquire enough land for something they hope they’ll never have to do: bury thousands of people in the event of war. The search follows recommendations from the Church of Sweden’s national secretariat, which reflect crisis preparedness guidelines from the…Swedish Armed Forces…The preparedness guidelines have been put in a new light by Sweden’s decision to join NATO and tensions with Russia in the Baltic Sea region…“Unfortunately it is the case that we are reminded to a greater degree that war could happen and that we simply need to be prepared for that,” Olsson said. 

Senator Mitch McConnell argues U.S. should fight on all fronts

Foreign Affairs, January/February 2025–When he begins his second term as president, Donald Trump will inherit a world far more hostile to U.S. interests than the one he left behind four years ago. China has intensified its efforts…Russia is fighting…a…war in Ukraine. Iran remains undeterred in its campaign to…dominate the Middle East…the competition with China and Russia is a global challenge, Trump will…hear from some that he should prioritize a single theater…Most of these voices will argue for focusing on Asia at the expense of interests in Europe or the Middle East…If the United States continues to retreat, its enemies will be only too happy to fill the void.

Amazon workers strike as Jeff Bozo steals billions from their labor

CNN, 12/26/24–Thousands of Amazon workers have ended their days-long strike against the company, according to the Teamsters union. But tensions persist, with the union saying its efforts aren’t over…Thousands of Amazon delivery drivers across a handful of states went on strike late last week in the thick of the holiday package season, with the strike ending on Christmas Eve…The union claims to represent 7,000 Amazon workers nationwide…Amazon is the nation’s second-largest private employer, with a headcount of 740,000 workers across 1,000 warehouses and distribution centers.

Exploitation in DRC mines desperately needed by U.S. tech companies

Al Jazeera, 12/20/24–The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has filed criminal complaints against tech giant Apple’s subsidiaries in France and Belgium over the use of “conflict minerals” in their supply chains…“Conflict minerals is a term given by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold sourced from so-called conflict-affected and high-risk areas,”…At least 200 armed groups there have been vying for control of the mines from which these minerals are sourced…“they [rebels] occupy mines and also the trading routes. They basically force the workers in the mines to work for free…and they illegally smuggle the minerals through places like Rwanda. The minerals then get exported legally and may end up in the supply chains of big electronic and tech companies.”

Trump’s Greenland statements rooted in U.S. imperialism

The Hill, 12/28/24–President-elect Trump’s vision of American ownership of Greenland is not merely a whimsical notion; it is grounded in the historical and legal framework established by the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement. This agreement empowers the U.S. to significantly influence and potentially control this strategically vital territory…allows for the establishment of “defense areas” in Greenland, where the United States can construct and operate military facilities…Greenland’s strategic importance has only increased [since 1951]. A warming Arctic is opening new shipping routes and exposing vast mineral resources, attracting the attention of global powers like China and Russia. 

After a 54-year reign of state terror and a 12-year civil war, Syria’s gangster Bashar al-Assad's regime collapsed after a siege of just 11 days. As opposing forces, led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and backed by Turkey, took control of the capital city of Damascus, a volatile situation in the Middle East became even more precarious.

After Israel obliterated Syria’s military infrastructure from the air and reportedly moved ground forces as close as 15 miles from Damascus (cnn.com, 12/11), the U.S. rushed additional troops to the country (Newsweek, 12/11). With tens of millions of workers caught between rival capitalists and their ruthless drive for profit, the potential for this latest upheaval to trigger an all-out regional war—and even world war—is a real danger.

As a critical crossroads in the region with the world’s richest reserves of oil and gas, sitting between Iran and Israel, Syria for decades has been a centerpiece in the constant fight among the biggest imperialist powers. After a quarter-century of French colonial rule and a series of coups, the two-generation Assad regime seized power in 1970. It quickly aligned with the Soviet Unión—which had already slid back to capitalism—and positioned itself as a counter to U.S. power in the region. Both Hafez al-Assad (the father) and Bashar al-Assad (the son) brutally suppressed any opposition, gassing and bombing workers and children. In 2012, a full-scale civil war broke out, with a host of anti-Assad factions backed by the U.S., Turkey, and Al Qaeda, where HTS originated. Russia and Iran came to the military aid of Assad and managed to keep his despised regime afloat. 

But in recent years, the big picture has shifted. After a string of military failures from Vietnam to Afghanistan and Iraq, and with the rise of the Chinese ruling class, the U.S. has declined as a world power. Russia is focused on its war in Ukraine, while Iran has been weakened by U.S. sanctions, its ongoing war with Israel, and the decimation of Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned militia based in Lebanon. Seeing the power vacuum in Syria, HTS set its sights on toppling Assad—with significant help from Turkey, which is eager to kick out three million Syrian refugees (AP, 12/9), weaken the U.S.-backed Kurdish opposition on the Turkish border, and became a bigger player in the Middle East.

The old U.S.-dominated, liberal world order is dying. A fundamental reshaping has been set into motion. As the imperialist bosses’ competition intensifies, war is inevitable. History shows that it’s the only way they can settle their disagreements; it’s the very nature of the profit system. But workers have no stake or allegiance in this vicious fight among capitalists. The bosses are ready and willing to sacrifice millions of workers' lives to keep themselves in power. It’s up to us to turn the guns around! Only a mass working-class revolution and a communist society can end this deadly cycle.

These rebels are not revolutionaries

Depending on their agenda, the bosses’ media have called the groups that ousted Assad either “rebels” or “terrorists.” In fact, they are small-time capitalists who have built a mass base by providing some security with a brand of religious fundamentalism—and, most significantly, by crushing any opposition (BBC, 12/10). We need to remember that not all rebels are revolutionaries! The anti-Assad opposition has controlled one third of Syria for the last 10 years. Like Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, they have oppressed and exploited the workers in these areas for their own benefit. Progressive Labor Party calls on the international working class to not be fooled by these junior gangsters who—along with the Assad regime—are responsible for the slaughter of more than half a million people in a country of 23 million (aljazeera.com, 12/2/23). 

The lightning fall of Assad in Syria caught the imperialists by surprise. No one seemed to anticipate how easily the Syrian military would fold and Assad would fall. Now all of the bosses, big and small, are scrambling to grab what they can and to protect their own interests. As we go to press, Israel launched over 480 air strikes in Syria to terrorize the population and destroy what’s left of the Syrian military before HTS could use it. Both the Israeli and Turkish militaries have entered Syria and expanded their direct control over parts of the country (Guardian, 12/10). While Iran has withdrawn for the moment, Russia has declared it will keep its naval and air bases in Syria and defend them against any attack (New York Times, 12/10).

Once again, Syria is the place where capitalist powers have converged to fight for control. It seems unlikely that the latest developments will mark the end of war there, and more likely that they could herald a much wider battle. As the world saw with the initial fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001 and the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003, what seems to be happening at first may not be the way things end up. While we can’t predict how or when or where the bosses’ dogfights will escalate into a global conflict, we can be confident of one thing: A united, international working class with communist leadership cannot be defeated!

U.S. bosses’ split adds more chaos

The disarray within the U.S. ruling class adds another level of chaos to the crisis in Syria. One big difference between President-Elect Donald Trump and the big finance capitalists fronted by the Democratic Party is over the role of the U.S. military. Seeking to lower their tax burden, the domestic-based bosses backing Trump have long sought to let other countries deploy costly ground forces in the Middle East while the U.S. uses the threat of bombs and nuclear weapons to protect their interests. By contrast, the finance capitalists—the multinational oil companies and the banks that finance them—recognize that U.S. imperialism relies on military control over the flow of oil and gas to their competitors. 

Trump sent a shock wave through the main wing’s board rooms by declaring that the U.S. has no interest in any involvement in Syria and would let the factions fight it out among themselves (NYT, 12/8). He seemed to forget that 900 U.S. soldiers are stationed in the country to protect oil wells under Kurdish control.

A communist opportunity

We live in a period of looming world war and rising fascism, which the capitalists will need to force the working class onto the battlefield. We also live in a period of tremendous opportunity for our class. Historically, workers have turned world war into class war. We can build a better world if the working class seizes the future by organizing for communist revolution.

None of the factions in Syria serve the interests of the working class. All of them represent competing imperialists and regional powers. Workers in Syria and beyond deserve a world where we own, share, and run all of society—a communist world. A world without borders, and without migrants fleeing the bosses’ terror. In short, workers deserve communism. We call on all workers to choose each other to keep us safe in these perilous times—to choose a communist future.