Only Smashing Capitalism Will End ICE Terror
SEATTLE, February 6— Last month, towards the end of a district council meeting, IAM Boeing District President Jon Holden talked briefly about ICE attacks on immigrants and their supporters. He had conferred with other organizations about helping with demonstrations but refused to even consider a general strike.
About the same time, the largest federation of US unions, the AFL-CIO, announced “peacekeeper” trainings from February through April to support non-violent demonstrations.
“This represented a turning tide,” said an Industrial Workers’ Committee member. Massive numbers of rank-and-file workers were forcing AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler to recognize the need for direct action. The pacifist shift is an attempt to keep the working class tied to capitalist leadership.
President Claude Cummings Jr. of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) released another statement after ICE murdered Alex Pretti. In recent discussions, CWA leadership has been publicly preoccupied with the legality of calling a strike. It prioritizes the maintenance of “order” over urgent needs of the working class. This keeps the capitalists in power.
Rank-and-file Industrial Workers Refuse to Accept Nonsense
The industrial working class has been breaking away from corruption and control, rejecting static union “reforms.”
M, a young Boeing worker, always takes Red Flag when he goes into work. He is more concerned with what Red Flag has to say than with what the unions say. Every issue of Red Flag is distributed at the Boeing gates.
At the last rank-and-file Industrial Workers’ Committee a comrade shared that young workers want to learn more and understand more. Other members agreed and insisted on the need to develop and reach more advanced co-workers. Activists from Minneapolis to Seattle and all over the US are building ways to fight back.
In the Pacific Northwest, four percent of the Boeing workforce have lost their jobs. On the other hand, in St. Louis, Missouri, where weapons are made, Boeing has hired large numbers of new workers. Industrial workers, young and older, have taken notice.
Industrial workers have seen imperialist violence abroad and increasing attacks at home. We can’t focus on bread-and-butter improvements in our workplaces. We must fight against the on-going violence the capitalist system inflicts on us.
Understanding the international nature of the working class is necessary to create a foundation for our communist future. We are one class. We cannot allow our class to be divided by nation, color, or anything else. In this crisis we all have to prepare for communist revolution.
The international fight against on-going genocide in Palestine remains. Industrial workers in Belgium, Barcelona, and the US have refused to load arms shipments for Israel. Workers in over twenty Mediterranean ports coordinated action on February 6 to oppose “the militarization of the ports.”
We must create communist collectives of industrial workers out of these struggles. This will create opportunities for more political struggles, which are already spreading internationally.
Stand With the Working Class and Our Communist Future
But just what are we standing for? Beyond Minneapolis, deadly force by ICE and other federal agents is rising across the US.
Young Boeing industrial workers are pressuring union leadership to use their power to stop the fascists. But we have seen how the union leadership bows to capitalism.
Political struggles in the factories and meetings can bring friends closer to our party. We are participating in the Industrial Workers Committee, hosting potlucks, and meeting with workers one-on-one to build communist relationships. These will enable us to recruit many more people to ICWP and deepen our understanding of communism.
With communism, factories will be built to meet the needs of the working class. Capitalism focuses on individual competition, inequality, exploitation, and profits. Communists focus on collectivity, equity, and meeting the needs of the masses.
ICWP calls on industrial workers around the world to embrace communism. We can advance based on the needs of the international working class, to destroy capitalism and pave the way to build a new communist society.