Seattle May Day: Old Friends and New Bring Communism to the Fore here ♦ APEC Meetings here ♦ Communist Solidarity here ♦ What Will it Take? here ♦
Seattle May Day: Old Friends and New Bring Communism to the Fore
SEATTLE (US), May 1— “How are workers responding to the direct fight for communism?” inquired a Filipino-American May Day marcher. A comrade answered him by describing when he, friends, and comrades shut down production at Boeing to discuss family separations at the US-Mexico border.
“The sight of hundreds of industrial workers debating communist ideas about a world without borders was one of the more inspirational events of my life,” said the ex-Boeing worker.
Similar questions came up repeatedly at the downtown May Day march, the preceding high school rally, and the ICWP potluck the week before. There were more discussions about ICWP’s work than usual, many of them long and intense.
Over the last year, new friends and recruits developed their own Red Flag distribution networks, Communist discussions spread among friends of friends. On May Day, comrades had advanced discussions about communism because of the relationships they had built earlier.
Comrades distribute 200-300 Red Flags each issue to students and staff at three multi-racial high schools with large immigrant populations. A staff member at Franklin HS came to the ICWP May Day potluck. She understood that socialism is just another form of capitalism. She agreed with the communist ideas of “no money, no wage slavery, and collective production for need rather than profit.” She wants to learn more about communism and our party.
She invited us to the morning May Day rally outside the school. The ICWP contingent joined about 30 staff and some young Filipinos who had attended a farmworkers’ May Day march the day before.
The discussion that began at the potluck continued, this time influenced by school cutbacks and staff firings. Filipino activists spoke about the diversion of funds to inter-imperialist rivalry, the trade wars represented by the August Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Seattle and the associated danger of shooting wars.
Two friends distributed Red Flag for the first time. They helped sharpen the discussion. Some educators still think they can win more for their students by cajoling the school board. Our advocacy of communist revolution offered a clear alternative.
One International Working Class, One International Party
The largest and most spirited contingent at the downtown march were Filipino activists. Some had previously participated with ICWP or had met comrades at the school rally. They took extra Red Flags and immigration pamphlets to distribute at the march and at their worksites.
An Uber driver, who is trying to organize Uber and Lyft drivers, was particularly receptive. He moved here from Kenya and has been taken aback by how little money he makes. He said because he is Black, Muslim, and an immigrant, he is very discriminated against. We discussed communism and the idea of a society without money, and he liked those ideas.
A Marxist machinist remembered us from last year’s May Day march. “You guys always have stimulating ideas about communism,” he remarked. After reading the May Day Red Flag he admitted, “I hadn’t thought of building one international party. I always thought you build revolution country by country. I like the international idea.”
A retired Boeing worker agreed. “So, the ICWP is all around the world, not just in the US. That’s really good.”
Two young marchers grilled a comrade about organizing in the army. Others invited comrades to prepare a forum on the lessons of the World Trade Organization demonstrations for the APEC counter summit.
Turn Potential into Reality
Seattle comrades must double down on our communist political work to realize this obvious potential for party growth. The friends and recruits we brought to the school rally, the ex-Boeing workers who came to the potluck, and the group of young activists among whom we have made inroads are just the start.
The party will advance by intentionally focusing on getting to know the newer friends, spending time with them both politically and socially. They see communism as the only possible solution to the horrors of capitalism, and our lives must be interwoven with theirs.
Building on our collective struggle against capitalism, comrades and friends can work though the contradictions that impede party growth. Ideological roadblocks like nationalism, racism, sexism, xenophobia and a fear of boldly fighting for communism hold us back. The stronger the ties with the growing number of potential recruits, the more we will be able to identify and overcome obstacles.
Our plans for the year ahead must answer the question, “How are workers responding to the direct fight for communism?” with significant growth of the ICWP.
May Day, Manila, The Philippines: Cops block marchers trying to reach the US Embassy
APEC Meetings: US Rulers Prepare for Trade Wars and Shooting Wars
The Biden administration is hosting APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) May trade negotiations in Detroit, August ministerial meetings in Seattle, and November summits in San Francisco.
These negotiations aim to develop a new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework to counter spreading Chinese trade pacts throughout Asia. Participants are not allowed to reveal what they have discussed for five years!
As inter-imperialist rivalry intensifies, mass demonstrations and disruptions are planned against this capitalist attack on the global working class. In Seattle, counterdemonstrations and summits will occur on July 29-30.
“Free Trade” or “Fair Trade,” all market relations rest on extracting surplus value from the working class. Whether organized by Chinese or by US imperialists, they are always part of capitalist exploitation and war.
Only communist revolution will end trade wars and the inevitable imperialist shooting wars.
Communist Solidarity with Seattle Educators
I joined several comrades at Franklin High School for a May Day action. I had no idea what to expect. The issues facing educators are many and interconnected. I was so impressed to meet and speak with several of the 30+ educators as well as passing out copies of Red Flag. There is exactly one counselor for a population of several hundred students. All present wore red shirts with Seattle Education Association logos. Today’s May Day coincided with educator cuts: in Franklin’s case, at least four. I came away energized to witness their solidarity. There is much work to be done,
—Seattle Comrade
What Will It Take to Meet Students’ Needs?
On May Day, I went to a rally at a Seattle high school with friends and comrades of ICWP. The educators there have a rally every Tuesday morning before school, to protest the lack of staff and the misspent school funds that are not going to help educate the kids.
One speaker talked about the school district plan to cut Filipino history classes. Another challenged us to come up with ideas of what would benefit our community and students. Some written down were mental health support, green spaces, and urban farms.
I really enjoyed being there. They were very welcoming to us, and I appreciated the solidarity that was shown. I expected to see more people there, but I understand that it might be hard for them to be outside their workplace.
I was not able to get out a lot of Red Flags, but I think that the more we are there and talk with people, the more likely people will want to read the paper. I would like to have known more about their thoughts on better meeting the needs of students and educators. There were lots of ideas about what should happen, but not enough about how to make it happen.
If my work schedule allows, I will try to go with comrades when they distribute papers to the students before school.
Another Seattle Comrade