USA, June 14— A dozen industrial workers, some from Boeing, friends of ICWP, traveled together to the annual Labor Notes conference in Chicago. They were among thousands of rank-and-file union activists and union reformers.
On the way, a 26-year-old blue-collar worker summarized the program in a group chat. Others complained that his report did not include war or ICE. Frank, a Boeing worker, shouted in all-caps, “NO reform!”
Boeing is the biggest manufacturer of weapons and ammo for the US military. US “defense” spending is rising due to inter-imperialist conflicts around the globe, including continual wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. Now Boeing is hiring more than 140 blue-collar factory workers every week. Two hundred thousand industrial workers are on the frontlines.
Building a Communist Base is Essential
When our friends’ contingent arrived at the conference, it was packed to overflowing. Many couldn’t get into workshops.
This would not have been a problem for ICWP members, who would have been prepared to distribute hundreds of copies of Red Flag and thousands of communist leaflets. Maybe next time!
Returning home, the contingent organized a Zoom meeting. Most of those in that meeting, which included ICWP comrades, announced their communist politics and revolutionary beliefs.
One parent said it was his duty to reject the Labor Notes conferences because he had young children and war was on the horizon. He followed the might of proletariat and the will of the working class. Class consciousness was also necessary.
Our comrades and friends recognize the global power of class and the party. Meetings are full of struggle about how to fight to advance internationally, especially among workers who produce weapons for capitalist wars. Some want to contact activists in Italy and Brazilian factory workers.
They are defying IAM union officials who want to indoctrinate tens of thousands of industrial workers with appeals for more weapons that will mean more deaths. These officials say, “Workers must sacrifice industrial support for US nationalism and allies.”
As global wars escalate, International Association of Machinists (IAM) Union President Brian Bryant focuses on standing for a “fair contract” and nothing more. All contracts set terms of wage slavery. None are “fair” to the workers who produce the bosses’ profits.
The reformist Labor Notes conference included and even featured programs about fighting ICE and opposing war and genocide. But most participants spent most of their time learning about how to fight for that illusory “fair contract.”
Industrial Workers Reject Capitalism
The industrial activists who are friends of ICWP reject reformism. These comrades have witnessed the power of our class and our party. At meetings we struggle with the contradictions we face to win international advances, especially amid capitalist war production.
They understand the need for communist ideas and revolutionary practice among blue-collar workers. They read Red Flag and appreciate the growing communist work. That includes discussions on the factory floor, distribution at Boeing gates, and workers’ meetings, debates, and struggle against useless reform.
Communist revolution is on their minds.
“I will never forget the needs of global industrial workers,” Frank pledged. “Industrial workers must eliminate capitalism.”
Read more about reformism here