CHICAGO, August 11—Over 200 multiracial workers ended their strike with Loretto Hospital today, capping off 11 bold days of militant defiance towards the capitalist bosses’ rotten, racist healthcare system. By withholding their labor through striking, the workers were able to gain wage increases, steps towards safer staffing, and the recognition of Juneteenth as a paid holiday.
Comrades from the international communist Progressive Labor Party (PLP) were proud to support and learn from our fellow workers as we visited the picket line almost daily. We brought hundreds of CHALLENGE to distribute, dozens of tamales, as well as a letter of support with signatures from another nearby hospital. Most importantly, we shared the powerful ideas of communist revolution and multiracial unity as the best means to challenge this profit system.
By organizing on the job and joining unions, we can certainly force the bosses to give up some concessions they wouldn’t otherwise give up. But as long as healthcare or any other industry remains in the hands of the capitalist bosses, they will have the upper hand to make their profits primary over our needs. We invite all workers worldwide to join and help build PLP as the force that will destroy racist, sexist capitalism and replace it with a worker-run communist society!
Capitalism kills — heat up the class struggle
The dangerous racist conditions inside Loretto Hospital were brewing for some time before they boiled over in the form of this strike. As a safety-net hospital that serves mainly Black residents on the city’s west side, the workers at Loretto serve as a crucial resource to those going through mental health crises or struggling with substance abuse. The fact that the hospital bosses would cry broke and allow conditions to worsen so bad inside is a plain racist attack on both the workers and the patients.
Like many other capitalist institutions, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 greatly sped up the decline inside Loretto. In 2021, the hospital bosses found themselves under federal investigation after it was discovered that top executives were funneling scarce vaccines away from workers to wealthy residents downtown (Block Club Chicago, 11/2/21).
Recently, there has been a staff turnover rate of around 60 percent, which leads to chronic understaffing of departments, overwork, and injuries (WGN9, 7/31). Earlier this year, a patient in the Emergency Room overdosed in the bathroom and afterwards died because there were not enough staff to work the department (WBEZ, 8/2). One thing is clear: capitalism kills!
These attacks and countless others from the bosses helped stir an above average level of urgency and militancy among these strikers. Even though the strike lasted eleven days, they kept up their energy and resolve. Beyond just chanting and marching, they pushed the limits by being openly confrontational with the hospital bosses.
In one instance, workers pasted printouts of safety violations all over a hospital vehicle. As security attempted to tear down the notices, even more workers came forward to replace the ones taken down! On another day, strikers banded together to block deliveries from entering the hospital in order to apply more pressure.
The length and boldness of the strike definitely got to the bosses. On one of the last days, an off-duty kkkop/security guard got openly confrontational with strikers on the picket line, threatening “I’ve got two [ammunition] clips for every one of you” and even putting his hands on the neck of one of the workers! All the other workers immediately rushed to the defense of their fellow striker.
It was a scary and despicable act, but it no doubt exposed the clear connection between the bosses and their attack dogs in the cops and the military to enforce their class rule. As capitalism slides deeper into global crisis and more open fascism, we need to be prepared as workers to confront the bosses’ physical attacks through the organized force of a Party.
Reform and revolution
The outcome of the Loretto strike shows both the potential and the limits of fighting for change under capitalism. On the one hand, workers were able to band together and gain a glimpse of our power and our essential role to make the system run. On the other hand, the hospital was allowed to stay open the entire length of the strike with many non-union workers still crossing the picket line without the union leadership making any real effort to win them over to the side of the strikers. Even with a new contract, many of the working conditions are still at the whim of the bosses who will violate them in no time.
PLP fights openly for a communist society where we don’t share any power with the bosses. It would be working people – like those of us on the Loretto picket line – who would be in charge of making decisions and running society collectively based on our needs as a class, without any money, wages or profit. Although under communism we would still have plenty of difficulties, it truly represents the interests of the international working class and a future free from racism, sexism, and exploitation.
A communist salute
We raise a salute to the workers of Loretto for sharpening the class struggle against the racist bosses! We are excited to follow up with new friends that we’ve made on the picket and are ready to advance with you on the long but rewarding path to a communist world!
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Striking hotel workers face police & union misleaders
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- 17 August 2023 372 hits
SANTA MONICA, CA, August 12—The summer of 2023 continues to see workers’ struggles all over the Los Angeles area coming to a head. From striking writers and actors to education workers at the Los Angeles Unified School District and the University of California systems, hotel workers of Unite Here Local 11 have joined the fight back, beginning a series of multi-day, rolling pickets on July 2nd. While the rolling pickets make it difficult to sustain regular support as the locations are constantly changing, Progressive Labor Party (PLP) members and friends have joined the various picket lines around the city learning about their struggle, distributing Party leaflets and CHALLENGE to reinforce the fact that their struggle remains interconnected with the struggle of all workers. The vast majority of workers we spoke to welcomed our support and took our literature.
Bosses attack!
On Saturday, August 5, PLP members and friends joined the picket lines of hotel workers of the Viceroy and Fairmont Miramar hotels in downtown Santa Monica. Not long after we showed up to the picket line at the Viceroy, the union led a 1-mile march down Ocean Drive, a busy street full of tourists, to the Fairmont Miramar. Shortly after the march arrived, the hotel bosses had their security attack the workers which was quickly followed by the Santa Monica KKKops, who arrived to protect hotel property and try to intimidate the workers. They effectively split the march in two and kettled (surround protestors for a time and not allow them to leave) them with a barrier and wall of cops and cop cars.
After being released without any arrests, the workers continued with their rally. The hotel bosses tried to drown it out by cranking up the volume of their music but the union leaders continued with their speeches, and demonstrators stood their ground. However, as expected, these misleaders made no connection between the role of police as protectors of private property nor of the politicians (their keynote speaker was a former mayor of Santa Monica) in maintaining capitalism and all its horrors. Two members of the Flores family also joined us and spoke to workers which helped reinforce our point about the role of the cops. One base member, a Black healthcare worker who was trapped with the workers in front of the hotel, also found being in solidarity with the workers powerful. Another young base member thought the Party’s presence helped workers begin to acknowledge the link between their struggle and the capitalist system. He also participated in the 2022 University of California student worker strike in Davis. He noted that the Party’s presence there could have had the same effect on the consciousness of those workers too.
Pacifism is not the answer
Hotel workers were not only attacked by security and KKKops at the Fairmont Miramar, picketers at hotels in Long Beach and Dana Point were also viciously attacked by security, management, guests, and a “celebrity” chef. In response, the union organized three peaceful protests at these hotels over the weekend. PL’ers and friends joined 200 workers and community supporters at the Fairmont Miramar rally. As expected the union misleaders pushed pacifism and non-violence as a response to the violent attacks. Going so far as to say workers should not defend themselves if attacked. They even pointed out the scum security guard who led the attack to say that they are on the same side as the hotel workers even though they obviously made a choice to be in solidarity with hotel management. Most of the speakers were union reps and clergy. The only worker who spoke repeated the call for non-violence and praised the union leadership. Despite this we were able to distribute 20 CHALLENGEs and leaflets and make good connections with workers.
Record profits = record exploitation
Hotel workers in Los Angeles (LA) County make a dismal $19.73 per hour and can’t even afford to live in the areas where they service hotels that charge rates that reach over $400-600 per night! It’s disgusting!
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a single mother would need to make over $40 an hour to afford a 2-bedroom apartment in LA County, still well above the proposed $30 an hour minimum in Santa Monica that the union is pushing for. In a survey by the union, 53 percent of workers said that they either have moved in the past five years or will move in the near future because of soaring housing costs (www.businesswire.com, 7/18). Meanwhile, the hotel industry in Santa Monica is booming, with revenue exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
Many workers already live more than two hours away due to the exorbitant cost of living in LA County. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of hotel workers are Latin women, illustrating the gross sexism and racism built into capitalism’s profit system. A political and economic system that can’t meet the basic needs of the working class does not deserve to exist and needs to be smashed. That is why PLP calls for communist revolution, to smash these lousy conditions and put the working class in command.
Our leaflet emphasized how these workers’ fight remains especially interconnected with many recent struggles of workers who have struck or are currently striking. Strike fever here is spreading- LA City workers also conducted a one day walkout on August 8th. The leaflet also highlighted the limited power of strikes led by reformist union leaders who are loyal to a capitalist system which requires exploitation in order that profits be maximized. Even if union demands result in temporary gains, in a few years hotel bosses along with their allies in the bosses’ government will again resist providing even minimally decent conditions for the workers.
Moreover, the leaflet exposed the importance of racism and sexism in justifying the super exploitation of marginalized workers. As the strikes continue, Party members and friends in LA will remain committed to supporting hotel workers, writers, and actors throughout the summer.
PAKISTAN, July 23—Thirty-three families participated in a Progressive Labor Party (PLP) Summer Cadre School in Pakistan for one week in July. Some of the topics that were discussed included: How establishing a classless society is the only way the working class can get rid of poverty and exploitation. How communism is the only way to make this world a prosperous and peaceful place to live without prejudices and slavery. How the bosses are making the working class emotionally enslaved by injecting religious and racial prejudices. How the bosses are spreading fundamentalism, nationalism, racism and sectarianism to keep the working class divided and fighting with each other. How to build the fight against ethnic and racial divisions that the bosses spread in the working class. How to build a communist party and movement for a workers led revolution. The school was held at a hilly station at the border of India and Pakistan.
It was very nice to see the people on the other side of the border waving their hands and exchanging good words with us. People from India and Pakistan were separated by a 25-30 meters wide river. We showed them the small banner displaying the PLP monogram with “Fight for Communism” and “One flag, one fight…Workers of the world unite.” We also threw some CHALLENGEs in English and Urdu by wrapping stones with them and it was very fascinating when some people kissed them to show their love for us and communism.
Discussing plans for fightback
We chalked out a plan of activities for the remaining months; we analyzed the tactics we used to meet new people and evaluated our struggle while participating/organizing reform activities. Young and senior comrades were excited to explore new ways to strengthen our struggle at the workplaces, campuses, shops and farms.
We also discussed the political situation in Pakistan and reached the point that the political chaos, devastating economic situation, terrorism and surveillance is a result of inter-imperialist rivalry as well as the enmity among the pro-China and pro-U.S. groups in the bureaucracy, establishment and ruling class.
We, the working class, know that bosses are also using misleaders from the trade unions to protect the interests of the capitalist class. These misleaders are being supported by every means to spread illusion and fear among the workers. They never talk against the contractual workforce being employed by the bosses to earn more profit without fear of strikes, they never struggle for unionizing the workers and they never help the harassed, tortured or injured workers.
Most of the discussion was led by young comrades. They took interest in the history of the Party and how our Party matured our line from nationalism to communism. Participants were enthusiastic while discussing base building and participating/organizing reform struggles. Young students and senior workers shared the experiences they got while participating in strikes and sit-ins. Comrades were keen to share their experiences and learn lessons from international comrades.
We concluded our summer camp by endorsing, appreciating and congratulating the new leadership collective at the 2023 PLP convention. After singing The Internationale and chanting slogans like “Long live communism, down with imperialism”, “One flag one fight, workers of world unite” and “Long live PLP” our summer camp was over.
HAWAII, August 15—Real estate developers, bankers, and tourist billionaires were exploiting the natural beauty of Maui and the labor of local workers. Seventy thousand visitors were on the island on any given day. Everything was cool, right?
In fact, there was plenty to worry about. An initial fire broke out on August 8 at 12.22 a.m. in Upcountry Maui. Another brush fire was reported near the Lahaina elementary school at 6:37 a.m. Subsequent fires started nearby. Horrific flames began tearing through the small town just after 5 p.m., lasting through the night. What seems like a disaster of nature is actually the result of the failure of capitalism to safeguard lives and the environment.
The only way to break out of traps like this is to end the capitalist system which sets the stage for the wars, disasters and tragedies we experience all over the globe. And for this, a revolutionary communist party is needed. Progressive Labor Party is a workers’ party, organizing to build a movement for communist revolution worldwide; everyone who wants to see this system end once and for all should join. Disasters like the Lahaina inferno should be a wake-up call.
State, media, and business neglect our class
Actually, the government was aware of the potential for disaster. Local scientists had published warnings well in advance of the inferno that took too many lives and disappeared 1,300 people. Hurricane Lane in 2018 was the immediate cause of multiple fires on Maui and Oahu. Scientists from the University of Hawaii (UH) analyzed all the causes, warning anyone who would listen of the dangers ahead. See their warnings in “Fire and Rain: The Legacy of Hurricane Lane in Hawaii” (June, 2020).
Vast tracts of grasses cover thousands of acres of unmanaged land in Hawaii. This makes the islands vulnerable to fires. This should, of course, raise serious questions. Why was the land around Lahaina unmanaged? Who actually owns that land? Why was it abandoned to the point where human life was placed at such grave risk?
Disaster prevention did not seem to be on the agenda for the state’s well-paid officials. An ecosystem fire specialist at UH had for years warned that a growing acreage of invasive, fire-prone grasses and brush had overtaken the abandoned agricultural lands once used for sugar and pineapple plantations.
The media and opportunistic lawyers seeking clients seem eager to only blame Hawaiian Electric Company for the disaster. Power lines blown over by strong winds might have sparked the fire, and the company hadn’t bothered to invest in preventive systems. However, there is plenty of blame to go around. It should be clear that the problem was more basic than a few dozen fallen power poles.
The cause is capitalism
The fundamental cause of the tragedy is the economic and social system we are trapped in—the system that leads to dangerously unmanaged land next to over-developed tourist facilities. Capitalism produces a government that cares not about protecting the lives of workers. In fact, it is an obstacle we must overthrow, fight for revolution, and build a new society based on communist principles.
It is clear that Maui has been overdeveloped only to benefit the owners of a multi-billion-dollar tourist industry. Hawaii’s Department of Business Development and Tourism reported that, during the first half of the year, Maui drew more than 1.48 million visitors, or 30 percent of all Hawaii tourists. Visitor spending was $3.5 billion in the same period. That is clearly enough capital for adequate fire-prevention and sufficient fire-fighting personnel and equipment.
No escape from a global system
Despite the priorities of profit, enough of historic Lahaina, with its breathtaking views of offshore islands, remained to attract visitors seeking to briefly escape the capitalist rat race. But, we are trapped in a global system from which there is no escape. Surviving Lahaina workers and visitors have learned a bitter lesson.
A 74-year-old survivor doesn’t blame firefighters for not warning him in advance. He said a long line of politicians allowed fire stations to be understaffed. Firefighting efforts were hampered by a small staff — 65 firefighters at most working at any given time in Maui. The Fire Chief pointed out that they're responsible for three whole islands — Maui, Molokai and Lanai. They had 13 fire engines and two ladder trucks, all designed for on-road use. The department doesn't have any off-road vehicles, which are needed to attack brush fires thoroughly before they reach populated areas.
Maui County’s 2020 Hazard Mitigation Plan identified 132,000 acres with burnable vegetation requiring long-term management with practices such as those used in agriculture. Seventy miles of fire breaks and 90 miles of fuel breaks were needed. However, under capitalism, politicians are induced to put profit first, public safety second. Even though the potential for destruction far outweighed the cost of prevention, political leaders were encouraged by big business to keep taxes down and budgets low.
It is important to learn why this failure occurred. Even more important is the need to learn how the capitalist system set the stage for catastrophe, and why and how this system must be brought to an end.
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Students, not suspects! Fight racist policing in schools
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- 17 August 2023 394 hits
Prince George’s County, MD. August 12—There’s a new Black “sheriff” in Prince George’s County—Superintendent of PGC Schools, Millard House, who quickly outed himself as serving ruling-class interests. His first racist policy is putting metal detectors in county high schools and some middle schools and requiring clear backpacks for students. As if having cops in the schools wasn’t enough, he wants to perfect the racist school-to-prison pipeline! We reject our working-class students being treated like suspects and criminals!
Progressive Labor Party (PLP) calls on all readers to join the fight to defeat the entire capitalist system which generates systemic racism like these policies, which are aimed at weakening our unity and terrorizing our class, the working class. Our class needs to take power through communist revolution, where we will determine educational policies that ensure the full development of each of us to better serve our class globally.
Quick to respond
A news article in the local Hyattsville Life and Times (HLT) newspaper alerted that House would appear at an open house at Hyattsville Middle School (HMS), so PLP members moved into action. We made protest signs and copies of the HLT article critical of the new policy. We reached out to the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) at HMS and talked to the parents at the open house, sharing the HLT article widely.
Several parents gave us their names and contact information, angry at this new racist policy. One woman who had been a student in Brooklyn when metal detectors were put in the schools was furious to learn that this is still happening. She knew firsthand how it felt to be a student treated like a criminal! PLP has been fighting this same fight in Brooklyn for years (CHALLENGE, 10/9/2020).
PLP members have helped lead anti-police terror groups in Prince George’s County for 50 years. Racist police brutality and the criminal (in)justice system are major weapons of the ruling class to kill, terrorize and intimidate our working class brothers and sisters. We have been part of the struggle to keep cops out of the schools. Today we continue the struggle for justice for William Green, murdered by police in January 2020, as the trial of this murdering cop comes up this fall.
We are spreading the word of these fights at the upcoming Greenbelt Labor Day festival on September 2 with a booth opposing the metal detector and backpack policies, while sharing copies of CHALLENGE to stress the need to build a long-term solution to racism: communist revolution!
