Anti-Imperialist Youth Eager to Learn About Communism here ♦ ICWP Comrade’s Speech to Conference planning protests against APEC here ♦
Anti-Imperialist Youth Eager to Learn More about Communism
SEATTLE (US), May 24— “I want to know more about the International Communist Workers’ Party,” said the facilitator of a meeting planning to protest the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Seattle in July. This was in front of everyone during the final session.
APEC, a multilateral trade bloc, emerged after the Cold War. Biden is desperate to revitalize it to counter China’s growing influence. So far, APEC won’t even mildly criticize Russia or China.
About 125 people met in Seattle, Portland, and Zoom to focus on the 1999 “Battle in Seattle” that forced the city to declare martial law as over thirty thousand protested the World Trade Organization (WTO). Comrade D, who participated in that battle, was the guest speaker. Ten other ICWP comrades and close friends attended. Several had also fought for communism during the Battle.
D compared the world situation in 1999 to today. U.S. imperialism has weakened, and US unions have less clout. China has become a world power. The anti-Asian line pushed by the Biden administration is, in today’s climate, war propaganda.
In 1999, the largest US union federation, the AFL-CIO, planted the seeds of this propaganda. Union officials openly built anti-China hysteria. The unions and NGOs spent time and money trying to persuade the masses that a kinder capitalism would assure their safety and survival. The protestors wanted no part of that.
Today, as a new generation prepares for another “Battle in Seattle,” D called for the end of wage slavery, the termination of capitalism, and a fight directly for communism.
Sitting at the Workers’ Tables
In 1999, top union officials demanded “a place at the table.” That table was where the ruling class decides how to advance its imperialist agenda.
“I would be embarrassed to be at that table!” declared D. Instead, he and other ICWP forces joined workers and youth in round-table discussions about defeating capitalism. The Seattle facilitators made sure every group included at least one comrade and one party friend.
“We could really use the experience and guidance of revolutionary elders” who fought in 1999, said an activist. A comrade replied, “And we need the energy, enthusiasm, and potential of revolutionary young people!”
Some participants feared that APEC would write a global constitution securing the right to profit. An ICWP member proposed a world without money, so no profits. Communism would be shared hardship and shared prosperity. Participants were particularly excited when the comrade stressed internationalism.
One declared that because of the ICWP speech and getting to know us a little, she is more interested in communism. Many Red Flags were distributed.
Another comrade talked with a young Filipino who works with farmworkers and immigrants. She discussed her experiences among immigrant farmworkers in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
Many in Seattle and in Portland expressed frustration about not maintaining momentum after huge mobilizations like the “Battle” and Black Lives Matter. We offered the fight for communism, not socialism, as the solution.
Those in Zoom debated what intensifying imperialist rivalry in Asia meant for the near future and the fight for communism.
A Filipino-American organizer, a close friend, remarked later that he understood the theoretical justification for communist revolution and ending wage slavery. He wants to concentrate on how to mobilize his friends and co-workers. We discussed building communist relationships constantly, not only when big things happen.
If we let them, capitalists and their lackeys will continue to sit at their tables formulating plans to intensify inter-imperialist rivalry and the exploitation of the global working class. Today’s discussions will help build the relationships we need to end trade wars and imperialist wars with communist revolution.
Never Underestimate the Communist Potential
Comrades were surprised by the open interest in ICWP. No doubt the struggle will sharpen as events unfold. Comrades and friends must be prepared.
In 1999, comrades were self-critical. They didn’t follow up quickly and intensely enough to build the communist relationships that would grow the party. Fighting for our communist ideas among the masses will fuel the growth we need.
Our collectives must quickly follow up with over a dozen young people who asked to be contacted. Some have already called comrades, asking for advice. The potential for growth is there and we must turn it into reality.
ICWP Comrade’s Speech to Conference Planning Protests Against APEC:
Organize Against Imperialism by Mobilizing for Communism
I’d like to thank the organizers for inviting me to speak here today. There are other comrades attending who also marched and organized during the “Battle In Seattle” against the WTO meeting some 24 years ago. They have a lot to contribute. They can answer questions.
As exciting as the “Battle In Seattle” was, the key reason I think we should go over this history is to ferret out how its lessons will help us organize against APEC this summer and fall. In 1999, US imperialism under the Clinton regime was stronger economically and politically than it is now. US unions had more influence and China was not the world power it is now. Developments over the past 24 years have intensified inter-imperialist rivalry: the NATO-Russian war being a clear example.
That is not to say that the largest federation of US unions, the AFL-CIO, along with all the other major unions, did not work for US imperialism at the “Battle.” The head of the AFL-CIO signed a letter to support US interests. He hooked up with Thomas Donohue, then president of the US Chamber of Commerce and a bigwig at the anti-communist National Endowment for Democracy, to issue a call supporting US objectives. The only internationalism these guys wanted was the domination of US imperialism.
So let me turn from this partial list of players to the revolt of the working class. Before the actual march that led to martial law, various groups financed by rich NGOs held counter-meetings and forums.
For example, a Global Exchange workshop panelist said he wasn’t against the accumulation of wealth (multi-billionaires). He just wanted better wealth distribution. A young garment worker explained how capitalist accumulation leads to greater exploitation, economic crisis and eventually war. The Global Exchange organizer responded by advocating for “cool capitalism.” Don’t ask me what that is!
The next day this garment worker comrade brought more friends with him. He confronted a panelist who said communism was too simplistic. The group the worker brought explained how to build a new system without wage slavery and commodity production. The majority of the 400 participants gave the communist group a standing ovation.
Now, this was interesting to those of us who were staying at my house. The workshop participants were what the US press calls the “left.” The next day we were going to see how the mostly union workers—including many industrial workers—would react.
Workers began flooding into Memorial Stadium early in the day. Many looked bored after a long wait for the union leaders to take the podium until some comrades marched into the stadium carrying a banner that that boldly said, “WTO means: Workers of the world unite, fight for communism.” The debates and discussions about whether communism was the answer spread throughout the north bleachers.
These discussions continued as AFL-CIO President Sweeney and his cronies began their speeches. It was not long before they lost the audience. Tens of thousands left the stadium ready to march. But the march didn’t begin right away for two reasons.
First, marshals at the front of the crowd were having a huge debate about prison labor.
Most of these marshals—600 to be exact— came from the Boeing blue-collar workforce. The IAM union leadership had failed to inform us that Boeing was exploiting prison labor at Monroe prison, about an hour north of Seattle. Rank-and-file workers in alliance with prisoners from Monroe answered by leafleting the plants and raised resolutions in several union meetings to get the word out. Instead, the industrial unions tried to put the blame on China.
“No, no! Boeing doesn’t use prison labor here, only in foreign countries, like China,” many astonished marshals told us.
“Ya wanna bet!”
The second reason was that when the AFL-CIO leaders saw that they had lost the crowd they came running out of the stadium. They demanded the marshals who remained outside the stadium form a flying wedge to get these discredited misleaders to the front of the march and in front of the TV cameras.
“Fat chance. I’m not going to risk my neck for him!” was the universal response. The remaining marshals left the misleaders to their own resources and the march finally started.
As fate would have it, the AFL-CIO organizers demanded that my friends and I block off the street leading to downtown and direct the tens of thousands of union members to passively sit down In front of the Westin Hotel where Clinton and Secretary of State Albright was supposedly holding meetings.
Instead of blocking off the street, we offered the marchers an alternative.
“The union leaders want you to turn down to the Westin Hotel and passively sit down outside. The fight is downtown straight ahead.” Guess where the 50,000 went!
I could bore you for hours with tales of the “Battle in Seattle.” Others who are here today have their own experiences.
But there are some universal lessons to be learned from the Battle that might be useful for organizing against the APEC meetings.
Rather than advocating that workers of the world unite as the Memorial Stadium banner said, the misleaders of the biggest unions—including the Steelworks, Teamsters and United Auto Workers—initiated xenophobic anti-Chinese campaigns. The Steelworkers demonstration at the port that was shown in the film was, in truth, a hysterical attempt to spread anti-Chinese propaganda.
Over and over, the misleaders blamed Chinese workers for the decline of US manufacturing. Trade unions have historically promoted racism, sexism, xenophobia, and murder. This continuation of anti-Asia propaganda was abhorrent.
Today, intensified inter-imperialist rivalry makes accepting propaganda like that even more dangerous.
Some say the Battle in Seattle was a huge success. How then do we find ourselves in an even worse predicament?
To me, the answer is that capitalism still exists. Free trade or Fair trade, APEC or the Indo-Pacific Economic Foundation that the Biden administration is pushing, are all about exploitation of the world’s workers. Wage slavery will always result in trade wars and eventually shooting wars.
One more story. When I finally went back to work, a friend asked me if I burned trash like the anarchists.
I answered by saying that I did something even more radical. “I helped many distribute thousands upon thousands of pieces of communist literature.”
As I wrote this talk, I looked outside my window. The weeds were taking over the lawn. I hadn’t pulled those weeds out by the roots.
The same goes for capitalism. I think we must end it by pulling out the roots of this system. Huge war-mongering corporations like Boeing are based on wage slavery. We need a revolution that changes this story.
The things we need must come from collective production for the collective needs of the world’s workers. That is how I view the material basis of communism and what I think we should fight for directly. That’s why I am a member of the International Communist Workers’ Party. No more imperialist, exploitative trade pacts that only magnify the horrors of capitalism.
I hope some of these stories from the “Battle in Seattle” will help us formulate a program for the July 29th counter-summit, the demonstration the next day and other protests.
Once again, thank you for the invitation. I’m looking forward to your questions and comments.