Communist Struggle with Teachers and Students Continues
LOS ANGELES (USA), January 22 — “We got sold out hard on this one,” said a teacher, “The ‘wage increase’ of 5% was effectively a wage cut. Inflation was officially 9.1% in 2022 and we only got a 4.4% raise that year. We are making less now, in terms of purchasing power.”
“It stinks that these deals are made in secrecy,” added another. “Union elections are a sliver of democracy, much like our US electoral system.”
Teachers are angry that the California Faculty Association (CFA) cancelled the planned week-long strike at all 23 CSU campuses. They were even angrier because on Monday, they and some students had enthusiastically picketed in the pouring rain.
Late that night, they were notified that the strike was cancelled because a tentative agreement had been reached. Everyone we talked with agreed with us that the strike was canceled because the CSU Administration, CFA officials, and the rulers were panicked at the specter of hundreds of thousands of students, teachers and other workers striking, picketing, and marching together.
“It could have helped create a potentially revolutionary situation,” said our leaflet, “because workers in struggle, facing the wrath of the state, question capitalism more critically. The union leaders’ job, therefore, is to prevent the fight between us and the capitalists from exploding into open warfare. They must try to persuade or force us to accept whatever serves the rulers’ interests.”
“Their greatest betrayal, however,” it added, “is political. They push the rulers’ rabid anti-communism, patriotism, and belief that voting will solve our problems.”
In conversations with teachers and students, we emphasized that, “Unions only negotiate the terms of our exploitation. They don’t fight to end it.” To end exploitation, they need to join ICWP and organize a communist revolution.
We talked about problems workers and students face, and the need to fight for a communist society. Most agree with some aspects of our communist line. Some are meeting with us and thinking seriously about joining.
Students are demoralized about the CFA officials’ betrayal. Demands to benefit students played no part in the tentative agreement. We discuss the futility of reform struggles, no matter who leads them.
We talk about the revolutionary potential of students if they unite with workers and soldiers to make a revolution for communism. We describe communism. There will be no tuition. Education will be free and a lifelong process. Everyone will contribute what they can based on commitment and ability and receive what they need for free: housing, food, health care.
A student leader questions our ability to organize millions for revolution because we don’t believe in coalition building, but instead building a mass party. Another friend argues that China and Russia are “capitalists, but not imperialists.” She thinks they have no history of militarily invading other nations. These political struggles continue.
Capitalism in crisis means fascism and war.
For this US rulers need docile industrial workers to produce their military weapons and patriotic soldiers to fight and die for their profits and empire.
Therefore, we explained, one reason for the cutbacks and other attacks on students and faculty is that capitalism in crisis doesn’t have jobs, or only low paying ones, for many college graduates.
“This is creating a social time bomb. Tunisian unemployed college graduates in 2011 started the Arab Spring. Massive rebellions and armed uprisings spread throughout the Arab world. The potential for communist revolution was there, but with no communist party to lead it.
“Today, things could be different. Millions of US youths consider themselves anarchists, socialists, or communists. Tens of thousands are protesting the US-backed Israeli government genocide in Gaza. The ICWP is striving to mobilize these masses, together with industrial workers and soldiers, to fight for communism.”
The working-class victory in this reformist struggle: All contacts we made are reading Red Flag. Some who are considering joining us, are distributing it to friends and are inviting their friends to meet with us.
‘A luta continua, vitória é certa’ The struggle continues. Victory is certain.