OAKLAND, CA, July 6 –Over two thousand workers at Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) went out on strike on July 1st. They had no contract. Five days later the Union ordered them back to work, still without a contract. They were furious. "They're trying to impose a contract on us," one worker predicted.
The anger was justified. They were being channeled back to work just as the full force of their strike was being felt. Anger, too, was on the lips of A/C Transit workers (East Bay bus drivers and mechanics) who were disgusted that their Union (ATU Local 192) refused to walk out alongside BART despite a 97.1% vote in favor of striking.
There was anger, too, among Oakland city workers, who staged a one-day strike the same day BART went out. And to a lesser extent there was anger among those who weren't striking as heated arguments flared up over support or nonsupport of the strikers.
In one way or another, workers' power was at the center of debate this week. In short, it was a great opportunity to introduce a revolutionary class analysis. There was heightened interest in our strategy of developing a communist movement now.
On Sunday, June 30 there was an anticipatory buzz around Oakland. The idea of three unions striking together created a powerful image. "The freeways would be a giant parking lot," one driver said. "Nothing could move!" No one acted as though workers were marginal that night. Everyone understood they were central to productive life. The buzz, though, became a fizzle. Bowing to pressures from the powers that be, the A/C Transit Union (Local 192 ATU) not only refused to strike but agreed to add extra buses and thus undercut the effect of the BART strike. To their credit many A/C drivers called in sick. "Yvonne," a driver said, referring to Local 192's president, "is getting something out of it." "Maybe," we argued, "but it doesn't matter whether Unions are led by honest militants or slick tricksters. By the very way they are organized they hold back the working class. They only negotiate the terms of our exploitation. They imply that money, capital and profits are all important. Unions insist that our demands can never upset the circulation of the bosses' capital. They insist our role in society is secondary." "Still, I'd prefer an honest militant," the driver replied, unconvinced, but he took a Red Flag to check out.
"It's in the Bible," another driver told us. "A group of powerful rich people will declare war on the poor," she went on, more to the point. "I've seen it happen and I pray for survival." "Well, Red Flag agrees with you that it is allout war," we replied, "but we haven't given up on Humanity. We're organizing for a revolution." And there followed a discussion on organizing a society without money. This driver, too, took a copy of Red Flag, promising to read the article on organizing a communist society. The masses are in motion and that means nothing is certain. No doubt the bosses aim to demoralize the BART workers with a 30-day cooling-off period but it's not a sure bet they can. In those 30 days, capital, profit and money will circulate and the politicians, media and Unions will act as if workers are indeed secondary to the functioning of the world. But in those 30 days, Red Flag will also circulate among Bay Area transit workers. We will intensify its circulation and deepen our ties and struggles for a revolutionary communist outlook among our fellow workers and students.