Labor and Unions

Rail Road Struggle – 2022/23

We were ready to participate in an organized manner in this nation-wide class struggle. The effort was abortive because of the Biden government’s efforts to enforce a sell out agreement. But we were prepared to leaflet as best we could, identifying strike locations and union offices.

 

Portland, Or City Workers’ strike – February 2023

We conducted an organized intervention in a city workers’ strike held in Portland, Oregon. 600 sewer and water workers went on strike. Militants blockaded sludge tankers. Our party was able to write and distribute 3 different leaflets to the strikers as well as distribute our newspaper despite efforts by the DSA’s Labor leadership in the AFL trying to exclude us.

 

Rutgers – April 2023

A comrade who’s an labor militant active in New Jersey/New York unions was involved in the Rutgers University strike – the strike involved all 3 locations of Rutgers, the major New Jersey state university. The strike involved 9,000 staff members and 67,000 student were affected.

The Rutgers strike was called on the night of Sunday, April 9th, to commence on Monday, April 10th. It involved three unions: AAUP-AFT, which represents full-time faculty and graduate workers; Rutgers PTLFC, the Adjunct Faculty Union (part-time lecturers); and AAUP-BHSNJ, representing biomedical and health sciences researchers, teachers, and librarians. These unions are spread across three campuses located in the cities of Newark, New Brunswick (the largest campus), and Camden.

Nationwide Meetings - 2023

 

The ICP has initiated what we call “informal meetings”. We hold them in a cafe or libraries, publicized in The Communist Party and on social media. At this they have been very successful, attracting more interest in the party from accross the USA every month.

Currently these informal meetings have been held in Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago; Denver; Milwaukee; Minneapolis; New Brunswick, New Jersey; Pittsburg; Seattle and Portland, Oregon. We are discussing “informals” in several more cities – Boston; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Ventura, California (Los Angeles).

Strike Wave Interventions - Summer 2023

Party Militants in North America have been seeding the principles of Class Unionism into our own work places as well as showing solidarity to bridge struggles with other workers. Recently in Wisconsin, when workers at New Dairy Select went on strike, the Party was there on the picket line to help hold the picket, distribute food donations to support the resiliency of the workers, and otherwise discuss various other strikes occurring to further contextualize and highlight the importance of the principles and practical tactics and strategies of Class Unionism. Additionally comrades have recently attended strike pickets for union and non-union workers for SAG-AFTRA (actors), WGA (screenwriters), CEA, and the ILWU (Pacific Coast dock workers).

On September 15, auto workers from General Motors and Stellantis in the United Auto Workers union (UAW) went on strike. Comrades compiled a lively leaflet applauding the 18,300 UAW workers currently on strike for taking strike action against the auto giants, reminding workers of their militant history, the importance of spreading the strike to other workplaces and sectors, stating the necessity of the International Communist Party in the fight for the emancipation of the working class, and calling for the building of a class unionist current and encouraging workers to join the Class Struggle Action Network. So far Party comrades and sympathizers in 9 states have attended picket lines and distributed Party and sometimes Class Struggle Action Network propaganda.

On the first day of the UAW picket line in Beaverton, Oregon, comrades arrived with drinks to share. A fraternal air of solidarity could be felt among the workers on the line immediately. Earlier in the day, workers had blocked managers trying to leave the facility for 45 minutes. Politicians also showed up trying to gain workers’ support. Overall, workers on the line felt that their presence, along with that of President Biden on the picket line in Michigan, was unwelcome. Most workers understood that the interests of politicians are those of the bourgeois class and not of the working class. This sentiment has been different from picket line to picket line.

UAW workers have 10 weeks of strike pay available. Workers in Oregon remembered the UAW strike in Tigard, Oregon in 2002, at the Williams Air Control facility, which lasted 11 months but ended successfully for the workers. Workers discussed lessons to be learned from that strike. We supported workers in learning the relevant labor laws they wanted to know the limits of, while confirming that they would ultimately do what they needed to in order to win. A sort of “war council” was convened between party militants and workers to discuss further ways in which they could apply pressure on employers to win their battles. From this, it was learned that there is another facility in Portland that receives automotive parts. It was decided to organize workers inside and outside the UAW to also apply pressure within that structure to try to convince non-union workers to support the strike. It was also decided to extend strike hours to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, because the company had adjusted the hours to bring in scabs during non-strike periods.

 

Birth of CSAN – May First 2023

In order to promote and strive for workers’ unity of action in the economic class struggle—up to the international level—our comrades, together with other workers, promoted the formation of a coordination which was given the name Class Struggle Action Network, or CSAN. CSAN is not a party body; it is open to all workers—employed, unemployed, retired—of all political views who share its goals. Neither is it a new union: workers from every union and non-unionized workers can join it. CSAN wants to promote the unity of action of workers in every labor organization. Having launched in May 2023, the militant minority of workers drawn to our class unionist principles have flocked to CSAN like a spring in a desert of opportunism and treachery.

Over the past 5 months, CSAN has hosted 5 public events promoting class unionism among workers and supporting the networking of workers across sectors. The website, which can be found at https://class-struggle-action.net/, has a resource page which contains multiple booklets of original content on the subject along with various leaflets targeting workers in specific professions. The network has mobilized solidarity for a number of strikes. It has connected internationally with union militants in other countries. Workers in CSAN are networking and collaborating on the clarifications and promotion of action relating to building class unionism via various communication platforms.

CSAN has begun promoting the construction of class struggle committees. The committee is an organization of workers in a particular workplace, or with a shared employer, coming together under class unionist principles to take action either inside or outside of their unions, or both. A number of workers in various industries have taken up the work of forming these committees. The last public meeting brought together workers to discuss the formation of these committees. This meeting was additionally an opportunity for these committees to coordinate their activity with other committees, and to otherwise report on and get support for their activity. One of the most developed committees is that of a grocery store chain. Their committee has not only been collectively mobilizing for solidarity strike actions, but have been collectively visiting other locations of the business that employs them to inform workers about CSAN and their class struggle committee, in part to prepare workers for their contract negotiations coming up in January. In support of this work, an event is being planned where workers from the historical militant strike in 1995 by workers at the same grocery company in Portland, Oregon will give a presentation on their experience. There are other workers in CSAN with experience in militant solidarity action during that strike who will speak as well. This event will bring in not only workers across the city who work for the company, but all workers interested in solidarity actions. CSAN will help distribute flyers to workers at each facility.

CSAN is working to create an educational event where workers can get support learning about various tactics for organizing in their workplace. This too will support potential strike activity for the grocery workers.

 

Providence Nurses Strike in Portland, Oregon

1800 workers at Providence hospitals in Portland walked off the job last June. We distributed about 400 leaflets as Class Struggle Action Network at the kick off rally. Comrades quickly gained respect and trust from rank and file as well as union organizers. We hung a banner at the main scab entrance/exit reading “picket lines mean do not cross”. Here we, as a network, held our own picketline, helping to turn away a supply truck driven by an uninformed Teamsters driver and inconvieniance 10 vans full of scabs as they came and went. Picket captains and union organizers wore CSAN badges by their request and are likely to join the network.

 

 

 

In Memoriam

Its been a difficult couple of months. Our party has lost two young comrades.

Sarah, a comrade in the North of Germany, lost her life in October. She had joined the party in 2022 and had jumped into the party’s translation work with enthusiasm, aiding the years long study of the German Revolution.

A month later, we were informed that party member, Lena, a comrade from Almaty, Kazakhstan, had also died. Lena had joined the party in 2021 and was participating in our research on the Third International’s efforts in the Caucasus during the 1920s.

Capital, it has been said, leaves its marks all over our bodies, but also on our minds. We urge our comrades and readers to take care of themselves, lest this world take any more of us as martyrs.

A Eulogy Read for Comrade Mauro, in Turin, Italy

 

We will miss you dearly, comrades.

We are here today to greet and remember, also on behalf of those who could not come, our dearest Mauro.

Dearest Mauro, first a long illness separated you from your (and our) beloved Silvana. Today it is you who leave us: Donatella, Manuela, your beloved grandchildren, and all of us comrades in the party.

With us you have been a soldier of the communist revolution. You enthusiastically devoted your energies to the cause of Communism by militating all your life in our Party of International Communism in preparation for the revolution of the working class. That revolution and Communism which you and we have not yet been able to see, and which the older among us will not see, but which, like everyone in the Party, of yesteryear and today, you have been able to live and enjoy already in our collective and daily social battle, alongside the sufferings, courageous assaults and numerous defeats of workers all over the world, lessons for new victorious assaults tomorrow.

We also remember your long commitment, constant attention, keen sensitivity in workers’ activities and struggles for the defense of working conditions and for the formation and imposition of genuine and combative class organizations, arousing the affection, appreciation and solidarity of fellow railroaders.

We all find ourselves more alone now, we who needed you, and would still need you, your generosity, your intelligence, your good-natured sweet and joyful irony, your understanding, helpfulness and closeness for all.

Also for you, to remain faithful to you and to remember you, we Communists will continue the study and propaganda of Communism, for which here we reaffirm that unscathed faith of ours that for a lifetime we shared with you. Your enthusiasm will remain for us as an example.

Thank you, Mauro.