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Los Angeles Transit:

Win Workers & Soldiers to Communism: Don’t Vote for “Lesser Evil” Politicians

Text Size:  ABC  ABC

Our pamphlet: Soldiers, Sailors, Marines: Crucial to a Communist Workers’ Revolution, is available here.

LOS ANGELES, CA—A few days ago a multiracial group of MTA mechanics discussed several topics. We began talking about the recent monthly magazine of our union, ATU. In the magazine the union President calls on the workers to vote for Hillary Clinton, because according to him, “she is the most qualified and an advocate for working families and for the unions.” The opposite of Trump, in his words.
Two of the mechanics present thought that there was not much difference between Hillary and Trump, but that between two evils it was better to vote for the lesser evil (referring to Hillary Clinton) since nothing else could be done. Others of us said that this wasn’t true, that we workers do not have to participate in the electoral circus where we know full well that no matter who wins, we workers will always lose. That is why is it very important to build the International Communist Workers’ Party and develop Red Flag networks.
Another worker answered, “I’m not sure if that is possible.”
One of the other participants in the meeting answered that it was possible, that in the history of the working class’ struggle, the workers have been capable of taking power especially when they have been led and organized by communists.
The previous worker answered, “What can we workers do if they have the weapons? They have the power in their hands. We are not organized, but even if we were, they still have control.”
A member of the party explained that we workers have the power to make a communist revolution because we are the ones who produce everything in the society, and because the majority of soldiers are part of our class. With determined, intense political work, we can win them to our ranks.
One of the workers laughed and called the comrade a “dreamer” because, he said, winning soldiers was impossible.
Another party member assured him that it was not impossible. During the Vietnam War, thousands of US soldiers rebelled and were willing to fight against the system but since a revolutionary communist organization didn’t exist, this struggle became lost in reform. This shows however, that workers, students, farmworkers and soldiers can be won to our ranks. The important thing is that we organize in the factories, the shops, the schools, and the barracks.
Most of the participants agreed. That same day we organized a committee of mechanics readers of Red Flag. The next week we met to discuss how we can advance the party in the different shifts, how to advance our ideas among the drivers, and how to contact workers from other divisions. That same day a worker joined the party and is taking a lot of leadership.
All of this is due to the fact that many workers understand that capitalism is in decline, that the sharpening of the worldwide economic crisis will bring war, poverty, and mass murder, and because these evils are part of the capitalist imperialist process and not caused by a few dictators as the traitor union president wants to portray.
We have planned another meeting for this week to discuss why Communism is the only real alternative for the international working class.

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