SEATTLE, WA--"The union just waits for the company to attack and then reacts," complained a Machinist and Red Flag distributer to the candidate for the International Association of Machinists (IAM) Boeing district president. "The union has no strategy."
"The union doesn't have--and cannot have--any answer to the crisis of capitalism," added a comrade. "In fact, they are part of the system." "You got that right!" agreed a third.
There are 33,000 workers in the IAM Boeing union. Three people-- from the select few dozen that are eligible--are running for president in a special election March 6th. The past president resigned after the contract extension debacle.
No candidate ventures outside the confines of trade union philosophy. Each candidate tries to outdo the other crying for more democracy and to stand up to the company. None, however, can come up with a convincing plan to address the bosses' assault.
"The only plan that can work is to grow the International Communist Workers' Party (ICWP) in order to mobilize the masses for communism," a party member argued.
"I'm sick of the whole joke," agreed a fourth, a friendly union official who distributes a few of our papers. "Your plan is the only one that makes sense."
If this plan makes sense, now is the time to join. Mobilizing the Masses for Communism requires the active participation of every Red Flag reader and friend.

Will Unions or Communist Union Leaders Make Workers Better Off?
This friendly union official was bombarded with demands that he support the establishment candidate. He refused.
"So they're threatening your career in the union," observed a comrade. "Who cares!" he answered emphatically.
This from a worker who has spent many years trying to be a principled, honest, anti-racist union leader.
Then we got to talking about unions and union leaders. We both agreed the Tennessee autoworkers would be no better off if they had a union and certainly not if they had a joint companyunion "workers" council.
He has often said the union would be better off if some of our comrades led it. This time our comrade argued, "It wouldn't matter."
"Unions are reform organizations. They are forced to be part of the capitalist system. We need a different kind of organization. We need a bigger ICWP. We need a party to mobilize the masses for communism." "That sounds about right!" he admitted in front of friends.

Communist Political Leadership
When a fifth worker who distributes more papers heard about this conversation, he had some questions.
"I understand winning official union positions is not the goal. It's like the government. Democrat or Republican, it is still the same system. That's why I told my daughter I don't vote anymore.
"Even if someone got in to do good for workers, they would be hemmed in by capitalism. "But that doesn't mean we don't need leadership, does it?"
"Of course not," answered our comrade. "We need communist political leadership on the shop floor and in the streets among the masses of workers. Our tactics must serve that purpose."
"Look," continued our friend. "Everywhere in the world people are revolting. It's already come here a little bit. It will come to this country in a big way."
"You're right! Masses are revolting. The key question is: are they aimed at a real solution? Are they aiming at a communist revolution?
"We can't wait until the mass revolts to come here. We have to build the leadership and base to mobilize for communism now."
He agreed to help lead our Red Flag study group. The aim is to help Boeing distributers answer the questions of their fellow workers. These distributers are zeroing in on the details of building our movement. When they join ICWP we'll be on our way to creating the industrial leadership we need.

Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn. rejected the United Auto Workers (UAW) last month, 712 to 626.
Volkswagen supported the union because the company wanted a joint company-union "workers" council in the plant. All other 105 Volkswagen plants around the world have them. It needed a union to establish this council according to U.S. law.
The UAW was more than willing to go along. The union campaign praised this council because it "would increase productivity" (i.e. speed-up and fewer jobs). With friends like these, who needs enemies?
Various politicians from Tennessee came out against unionization. Their scare tactics worked when they pointed to Detroit, blaming the union for the loss of jobs and wages there. The UAW hogtied the working class with concession after concession, while at the same time, the capitalists decimated the city. Just like the IAM, when the crisis hit they sprang into action to save the bosses and their system.
Trade unionism has shown its true colors during this crisis of capitalism. Mobilizing the masses for communism has been pushed to the top of the agenda.

Dear Red Flag,

Boeing and the union ganged up on us in December and January. They eliminated defined pensions, cut pay and gutted benefits. They extended the contract until 2024. New hires bear the brunt of the attack.
Now management has embarked on a campaign of harassment and disciplinary actions. They are suspending workers for minor attendance infractions and scrapping parts. Suspensions are the first step to eventual firings.
Often the scrapped parts aren't even the fault of machinists suspended, but the bosses don't care. The main point is to scare the rest of us, particularly the growing new-hire workforce.
Veteran workers remember this game. "Two Auburn bosses ganged up on one guy in our learner program every 6 months or so," recalled a 30-year veteran. "They'd ride him for everything until he was fired."
They also remember the racist content of this harassment. Black workers were more often the victims of company harassment and firings.
Workers have complained to the union to no avail. Business representatives promise to look into it, but nothing ever comes of it. Their failure to fight racist harassment is part and parcel of the no-strike contract extension they pushed through.
The bosses have used this kind of scare tactic for as long as anybody can remember. It will always be part of the capitalist system.
Capitalism is a dog-eat dog system. We do the company's bidding if we fall for the bosses' trap of trying to separate us according to who is a "good" worker and who isn't. We end up divided, while the bosses laugh all the way to the bank.
Communism would organize production for our collective needs, not the bosses profits. Today, mistakes put your job in jeopardy. Under communism, each would contribute according to their ability and commitment and get according to their needs.
Everybody has strengths and weakness. We can build on each worker's strengths to overcome weaknesses. The unity built on our collective strength can overcome any obstacles.
Communism would not tolerate a backbiting culture. We'll all reach our potential. But we have to get rid of the bosses' culture first.
Join the ICWP for a future free of harassment and full of individual and collective potential.

⎯ A Machinist who's seen it before