Israel's Zionist monsters, wholly enabled by the U.S., are now attempting the final annihilation of all Gazans. Since ending the ceasefire six weeks ago, nearly 1700 more Gazans, largely women and children, have been killed by U.S. made bombs, more hospitals obliterated, and all food, water and medicine denied entry. Those that are not killed by bombings are dying of untreated wounds, thirst, malnutrition and diseases without remedies. 

While the world's rulers do nothing, hundreds of thousands of workers around the globe are protesting this genocide. In the U.S., comrades and friends of Progressive Labor Party (PLP) are organizing with many in various ways. Some of us belong to Jewish Voice for Peace and other Jewish anti-Zionist groups. Last week hundreds held a liberation Passover seder on the street in front of ICE headquarters in downtown New York City. Some of us belong to HealthCareWorkers4Palestine in various cities, who frequently demonstrate and act to protect those targeted for protesting Zionism. Many health worker comrades are active in the American Public Health Association, where we campaign along with the Palestine Caucus to force the organization to officially reject genocide. Many students, teachers and professors are organizing to defend those threatened with job loss or deportation for defending Palestinians.

Our struggles are the same

The weaknesses in the pro-Palestine movement are several. There continues to be a separation between the movement to defend Gaza and that to defend immigrant workers, fired workers, and cutbacks in government services in the U.S. This is as much the fault of trade union and Democratic Party hacks as anyone else, but all the major protests, from the Hands Off marches of April 5 to the planned May 1 demonstrations in NYC have kept these issues entirely separate. It is imperative that we recognize that capitalism, rapidly devolving to fascism in the U.S. as well as in the Middle East and Europe, is to blame for all these disasters. United together, and with bolder tactics like strikes and walkouts, our movement would be much stronger.

Much of the Palestine movement also suffers from nationalism. The rhetoric is all for self-determination, when virtually all national liberation struggles of the past century have simply led to continued capitalist exploitation, only with oppressors of the same ethnicity as the workers. What Palestinian workers need is a communist society in which their interests are united with all workers, including Israeli workers, in a society they lead for themselves in their own interests. 

Other conflicts that are killing thousands of civilians, as in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, are receiving much less pushback. This may reflect the fact that the U.S. is less overtly involved and that fewer U.S. residents have ties to these countries than to Israel and Palestine, but doubtless anti-Black racism is also a major factor. But in both areas in Africa, U.S. capitalists are interested in obtaining more mineral wealth for themselves, just as they back Israel to keep their hold on Mideast oil and gas.

As communists in PLP, our role is to oppose and expose nationalism, racism and capitalist greed and build an international multiracial working class struggle to overthrow capitalism and imperialism around the globe. NO WAR BUT CLASS WAR!

What follows is a day-by-day account of how dozens of students and workers spent the week—some during our Spring Break—dedicating their time to revolutionary work. In preparation for Progressive Labor Party’s powerful May Day celebration on May 3rd, we came together to learn, build, and organize side by side.

Day one: banner making

We kicked off our project with a celebration of communist art! Comrades and friends of all ages gathered to paint two banners for our upcoming May Day march. After sharing pizza, we discussed the history and significance of May Day—International Workers’ Day. Though we didn’t quite finish both banners, we experienced firsthand the joy and power of collectivity: people working not for profit, but for shared purpose. Without a boss over us, our labor was joyful, creative, and free—showing a glimpse of the communist world we are fighting for.

Day two: Film screening – Blood Cobalt

A multiracial, multigenerational group of 25–30 PL’ers and friends came together to watch Blood Cobalt, a harrowing documentary on imperialist exploitation in the Congo. The film exposes the so-called “green revolution” as capitalist greed fueled by racist violence, with Chinese and Congolese bosses profiting from mass suffering. The documentary sparked deep discussions on the international nature of our fight and the urgent need for working-class solidarity across borders. (see article on page 5). 

Day Three: Game Day

Tuesday featured a political game day led by two newer educators who designed activities to build connection and camaraderie. Using familiar formats like the NYTimes’s Connections and Family Feud, games introduced us to PLP history and politics. A missed opportunity was not acknowledging a student and educator who helped lead the successful defense of a teacher targeted for anti-genocide organizing. Their efforts reflect the long tradition of communists standing up against fascist attacks—something we’ll celebrate fully on May Day.

Day four: Study Group on Internationalism

We held a study group focused on the dangers of nationalism and the importance of internationalism. Nationalism divides the working class, pushing workers to identify with their rulers instead of each other. One comrade shared powerful insights from a struggle abroad, reminding us that workers’ battles are deeply connected around the world. True solidarity means seeing every fight—from Gaza to the Bronx—as our fight.

Day five: College Club Meeting

Fifteen students and educators gathered to explore how to build a broader political base and root current campus fights in CUNY’s radical history. We watched The Five Demands, a documentary about the 1969 City College occupation led by Black and Puerto Rican students fighting for access. This history inspired conversations about increasing our militancy today—including a recent fight for a cafeteria, where students disrupted a senate meeting to confront administrative lies. We have a long way to go to consider occupying the campus, but that’s the vision that the attendees came away with.

We also discussed the critical importance of community support. Unlike in 1969, the recent Gaza encampment at City College lacked this key ingredient, which made it much easier for the liberal bosses’ attack dogs of the NYPD to attack and defeat the encampment. 
We ended the meeting with an invitation for everyone to attend our upcoming May Day march, to see a slice of communism in action and to consider the need for communist revolution to not only end racist austerity on our campuses, but to create a world where the true education of the working class is primary. 

Day six: Uptown March

On Saturday, we marched 33 blocks through Washington Heights protesting the fascist deportation of immigrants. Our chants—“Los obreros unidos jamás serán vencidos!” and “Luchamos contra el racismo!”—drew workers into our ranks, with some joining us on the spot. We also distributed over 400 CHALLENGES and 1,000 leaflets. This showed that despite capitalist propaganda, the working class can unite and fight back. The march energized us for our upcoming May Day march and reminded us of our power when we hit the streets together.
Join us on May 3rd as we take to Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn to celebrate May Day—International Workers’ Day. Every marcher is another nail in the bosses’ coffin. Let’s hit the streets and show the power of the working class!

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.