NEW YORK, Feb. 25—Tonight more than 100 union members and immigrant rights activists met to discuss how workers can combat President Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations. The rulers are whipping up fascist anti-immigrant hysteria in preparation for wider wars and further attacks on citizens and immigrants alike. Building a fighting movement based on international solidarity, smashing all borders, and taking on local and federal police can build the base of the revolutionary communist Progressive Labor Party on many levels. This was one of dozens of meetings taking place across the area as workers and youth organize to fight back. 

The head of the 28,000-member, mostly Muslim, NY Taxi Worker Alliance (NYTWA) opened the program describing how the migrant crisis has been caused by U.S. imperialism, through wars, poverty/sanctions, gangs and/or climate crisis. She described how NYTWA went on strike and shut down JFK International Airport during Trump’s first term when he announced his Muslim travel ban. More than 700 taxis refused to move, choking off the airport as thousands more activists rushed to JFK to oppose, and defeat the ban. 

A leader of the United Auto Workers (UAW) spoke next about how legal-aid attorneys and legal service workers walked out and shut down the court system to stop ICE agents from patrolling the hallways looking for immigrants who were there on official court business, also during Trump’s first term. These strikes succeeded in keeping ICE out of the courts. A Service Employees International Union (SEIU) member described how 30 percent of all healthcare workers and 20 percent of home healthcare workers are immigrants and how these threats will affect far more than the immigrant workers being targeted. 

The big contradiction here is that while many workers in many unions are open to defending immigrants and taking on Trump, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) leadership and most major unions are politically and financially tied to the Democratic Party that has paved the way for the fascist attacks on migrant workers. The big contradiction here is that while many workers in many unions are open to defending immigrants and taking on Trump, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) leadership and most major unions are politically and financially tied to the Democratic Party, which has paved the way for the attacks on migrant workers (see glossary on page 6). The Democrats built up the deportation apparatus that Trump used to deport our working-class siblings. Big liberal fascist President Barack Obama still holds the record for “deporter-in-chief.” 

UAW President Shawn Fein, who was praised as a militant reformer, is supporting Trump’s tariffs and wrote in the Washington Post of his willingness to work with the new Fuhrer. And despite numerous plane crashes and the firings of thousands of federal workers, the AFL-CIO leadership has yet to call a national action in response. They don’t want us in the streets, they want us trapped in the voting booths and keep this violent system intact. 

By taking this fight to our unions and mass organizations, on our jobs and in our schools and communities, we can help workers break away from this treacherous leadership and get on the road to revolution.

The bosses are delivering nothing but racist, sexist terror to millions of workers worldwide, through mass unemployment, governmental and gang fascism, and environmental change (in other words, another day at their murderous offices). These conditions are caused or worsened by the world’s main imperialist countries. Here in the U.S.,  immigrants face the daily threat of racist deportations. When immigrants seek asylum or government assistance they must often deal with a hostile climate like the failure to provide basic translation services. In New York City, racist Mayor Eric Adams has told city workers not to interfere with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from seizing immigrants.

Progressive Labor Party (PLP) struggles, with our friends and coworkers, to understand events that shape our world and resist the bosses’ plans so we can fight back against this racist murderous capitalist system. Writing for CHALLENGE and including the comments of coworkers is a big step to building interest in our organization. These are new folks who we can ask to come to May Day and other events. With this as a background, a group of city workers that are friendly to the Party recently discussed how they would provide services to immigrants who came to their office. This work, by itself, may not bring a communist revolution, but collectively, and with an international, multiracial  focus, it can help build the foundation to a working class world that expels all the bosses for good!

Antiracist city workers stand with immigrants

Worker 1) Servicing immigrants whether they are refugees, asylum seekers or migrants tends to be a hardship because at times there are language barriers or some do not know how to read and write.

When speaking and brainstorming in group discussions we may speak about a situation one of us encountered. We listen to how someone else would have handled the situation, then we use that as a stepping stone for the next client and how best to assist these clients. We help each other and try to help clients as best we can with their individual outcomes. We work together to help not only the client but each other. When a client comes for an appointment and doesn’t have adequate documentation, we try to help them retrieve documents from the proper agencies. 

Dealing with individuals from different parts of the world teaches you that not everyone has the same knowledge. You learn that not everyone can adjust, learn or even adapt to their new surroundings.

Worker 2) As a social service professional, I serve a variety of clients from different populations. I aim to provide the migrant clientele with the same level of professionalism that I give to all my other clients. To me there is no difference between them or anyone else.

Worker 3) My experience serving the migrants in my office is that there are many discussions among my coworkers. You have some workers who say, “Why are they coming here, taking services from individuals that were born in the USA?” I say that everyone is entitled to receive services, health care, food stamps, and shelter to live. I will not discriminate against individuals who need help as we all will be in need some day. So what if immigrants are of different races, speak different languages, believe in different religions or may have different sexual orientations? They are still people who need help. I am going to assist those individuals in a positive way. I will continue in these discussions to point out how we should open our eyes and hearts to people as we share many things in common, living and surviving in this world today.

Washington, DC, February 16—34 members of Progressive Labor Party (PLP) and friends met at a comrade’s home for our monthly political discussion. Our cadre was multiracial (Black, Latin, Asian, and white), multi-gendered, and intergenerational. Many comrades addressed and challenged valid fears and questions among our friends, while reinforcing that a bold communist collective is the ultimate force to arm our working class against Trump and the impending fascism of the capitalist class.

We began our program with a short speech given by one of our lead area comrades. Taking inspiration from a past CHALLENGE editorial (2/16), our comrade laid out the severe danger and fear that Trump and his administration will continue to submit workers to—while also reminding us that Trump’s current attacks are an expansion of the decades-worth of policies set in motion by the liberal wing of the ruling class, the finance capital Big Fascists (see glossary on page 6). For example, Trump’s racist calls to rebuild luxury resorts on the rubble of Gaza is only a possibility because Big Fascists Biden and Harris armed the Zionist fascists to the teeth in the first place, to carry out their genocidal war.

We grounded our conversation in concrete actions within our various communities and areas of struggle. Historically, DC has held strong ties with Metro workers for several decades, with many who are either Party members or friends of ours (we had at least six Metro-linked workers present!). During the capitalists’ ruthless targeting of immigrants, some comrades have also started linking their primary reform work to solidarity efforts with our at-risk base members—including participation in a rapid response network in Baltimore and community protection in Mount Rainier.

Our lead comrade also emphasized the need to build militancy among industrial workers to disrupt the flow of capitalist industries, both across the nation and internationally. It is our duty to lay the foundation of anti-capitalist worker solidarity so that we can move beyond the base layer of initial—yet important—conversations and reform actions to revolutionary fightback. Another comrade gave a rousing call to those of us who already won to  our Party’s line and communism: If you fully believe in revolution, when will you advocate and mobilize for it?

Fight for the greater good: communist revolution

Our conversation covered a variety of topics, largely thanks to our newer participants—some who interacted with the Party for the first time! As workers feel the force of rising fascism, many expressed a need for urgency in protecting our fellow workers and developing leadership.

One new participant proposed connecting with queer and imprisoned workers—who are already discarded to the fringes of capitalist society—as well as some correctional officers (COs) and police who seem sympathetic to the plight of workers. Two comrades gave respectful yet sharp critiques of collaboration with COs and cops, as they are enforcers of the capitalist state. Regardless of the individual, their role within this oppressive system overpowers any possibility of allegiance to the workers. A comrade drove the point home with the crucial point that historically, today’s contemporary cops descend from the slave patrols of 17th century colonial United States.

Another participant proposed worker cooperatives (co-ops) as another tactic for organizing our base. A worker co-op generally involves all workers collectively owning a business and everyone being involved in production decisions. Our attendee suggested this to cut through the unending bureaucracy and stonewalling by union representatives within our workplaces. Again, comrades countered, explaining that to an extent, co-ops must compete in markets against the already established capitalist businesses.

One veteran comrade directed our attention to current military catastrophes terrorizing our class siblings worldwide. From Congo, to Haiti, to Sudan, to Myanmar, to Gaza, and elsewhere, we in the United States have been witness to U.S.-backed fascism for decades. The tragic instability and horror confronting our fellow workers now is a preview for workers everywhere.

We ended on what many liberals are scared to critically address when working in reform movements: financial support for our political work. One comrade cleverly pointed out the open and tricky swindling done by capitalist businesses, celebrities, and politicians in the name of “the greater good.” As communists, we fight for a world where money won’t decide our fate! We need to prove to our working-class family that the only “greater good” is the destruction of these blood-sucking predators and their racist profit system. Only we, the workers of the world, keep us safe!

The following is an excerpt of a historical presentation given at our Pre May Day/ InternationalWorking Women’s Day celebration.

Many people today are talking about how history repeats itself. When that is said, usually what is being referred to is the results we see from decisions the bosses around the world have made and are making. Like depressions, or world wars or the rise of fascism. But today we want to present to you with a different take. 

We want to focus on the examples of resistance that workers around the world organized and participated in, to smash capitalism. We want to present these so we can learn from them and apply them to the struggles we are involved in, and the ones we are yet to be involved in, to ultimately smash capitalism  once and for all. Instead of the saying “history repeats itself”, we prefer to say “we stand on the shoulders of giants.” 

Today we will present to you four examples of these giants, the millions of workers who organized and built underground, secret resistance that crushed the bosses, at least for a while: The Bolsheviks (the communists) in Czarist Russia, the partisans during WWII, the African National Congress in apartheid South Africa (that was full of communists from the South African Communist Party) and the Eritrean National Liberation Front.

Bolsheviks lead workers to revolution in Russia

The fight to destroy capitalism in Russia involved millions of peasant and industrial workers. Although the 1905 revolution failed, only 12 years later the Bolsheviks (the communists) organized the first successful revolution and established a worker-led socialist society. This first example comes from a memoir called Twenty years in Underground Russia. It was written by Cecilia Bobrovskaya, a Bolshevik,  and it details her life from 1894-1914 and how she and many other regular workers organized secretly. If you haven't read the book, you should! You can get it online for free. In this excerpt she describes how she was able to smuggle leaflets. 

At one time, for example, I was utterly unaware that I was being shadowed. Later I discovered that the police had been following me all summer. But a month before the general arrests, the spies ceased to disguise their activities; they watched my house and persistently dogged my steps quite openly... Once it was imperative for me to deliver a package of leaflets and talk things over with two Lubotin workers. I started off for the station that morning looking cautiously about me. 

When I got into the train I noticed a suspicious-looking man with a flat nose get into the next car. When I got off at Lubotin station, he also got off. I looked about the platform—my workers were waiting for me. I passed them by, demonstratively ignoring them. They immediately understood that something was wrong and made no sign of recognition. I went over to the buffet and ordered a cup of tea. 

I sat at one of the tables drinking tea and thinking what to do next. At another table not far away my friends sat drinking beer.

And at a third table sat the flat-nosed man, also drinking tea. I almost laughed aloud, so ridiculous did the whole situation seem. I sat there until the next Kharkov train pulled in.

I got into the train with the packages of leaflets still safe in my stockings and bosom.

When I returned to the city the flat-nosed man was not to be seen. I walked about the city until I was ready to drop with fatigue. 

Then I decided to go to a friend of mine, a nurse, who lived in the Medical Society hospital on Pushkin Street. There I had a bite and a cup of tea. I hid the leaflets in her room and, when I was sufficiently rested, I went home.

But my day's adventures were not destined to end so happily. That night I was awakened by the police. Among them was the flat-nosed man. This fact upset me so much that I thought it all a part of a nightmare, But I soon came to myself and understood that it was grim reality. 

My turn had come to go to prison. I had had an unusually long run of luck...

Communists lead resistance in Nazi-occupied Europe

The Partisans were worker-led armed resistance fighters, many Jewish, many communists, who organized throughout Europe to defeat Hitler and the Nazis. The partisans engaged in guerrilla warfare and sabotage against the Nazi occupation, instigated ghetto uprisings, and freed prisoners. In Lithuania alone, they killed approximately 3,000 German soldiers. And many were women!
Sara Fortis was born in Chalkis, a small town near Athens, Greece. When the Nazis invaded in 1941, Sara fled. While on the run, she agreed to join the resistance. In her new position, Sara recruited other women and formed an all-female partisan unit.
In the following excerpt from an interview with the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation, Sara describes her pride in the work of her unit.

Once we girls received orders to torch a house. It was the only house in the village. It was very orderly. We were responsible for torching it. They gave us the means, and we went dressed not like partisans—we had other clothes, we had villager outfits. One girl took the left side, one took the right; we threw whatever it was that we were supposed to, burned the house down, and I gave them the location where we would meet up. 

No one guessed that girls were responsible for that. That was the squad's greatness. The next day the partisans were blamed, or in conversations, [people said,] ”The partisans were here at night, torched the house, luckily the fascist wasn't taken, he wasn't at home.” Things like that happened often, and we assisted [with] them often. I was satisfied and my girls were satisfied that they as women could help, be alongside partisans. Very proud.

Communists fought to end Apartheid in South Africa

Apartheid in South Africa lasted almost 50 years from 1948-1994. Apartheid was a violent system of legal segregation, discrimination and inequality, copied off of the racist U.S. Jim Crow laws. The struggle against Apartheid was a heroic struggle involving protests, strikes, civil disobedience, international solidarity and a secret underground movement. Usually when we are taught about the struggle against Apartheid, we learn about Nelson Mandela, but without the courageous organizing of tens of thousands of little known workers, there would have been no movement. Many of these were of course women!

The African National Congress (ANC) began to recruit ‘freelance’ underground operatives, particularly women. They were effective in helping the ANC escalate its opposition against the National Party government. The government’s police and secret police were oblivious to their identities and their activities; they were not openly associated with any political organisation; and they used simple strategies to carry out their underground work. 

One particular operative named Glory came up with a strategy to smuggle anti-Apartheid literature by soliciting the help of some of her friends who lived in Goba village but could easily cross into Mozambique.

Women show the strength of workers’ power in struggle 

The EPLF was a marxist-leninist Party struggling to free Eritrea from Ethiopian occupation and create a worker-led state. Under Ethiopia Eritrean workers were brutally exploited and repressed and so a clandestine movement was organized.

In Eritrea, almost half of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front were women workers fighting for Eritrean Independence. The political program of the EPLF stated explicitly “The role of women is revolution.” Women students and workers organized cells, dug up trenches, gathered intelligence, carried out secret missions, set up and ran health and education systems and fought on the frontlines to transform the country to a revolutionary state that “protects the rights of women workers.“

Unfortunately in all of these places the antiracist, anti-sexist, pro-worker gains made by these heroic workers were either co-opted or have been reversed. As a result we still live under capitalism and our international working class continues to suffer unimaginable attacks. 
Today capitalism’s unavoidable crisis is once again leading to growing fascism and the spiraling towards world war. But that is why learning about and analyzing these past heroic struggles is so important.