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We Support the Uprising in Baltimore
This is a war that will not end. It is only growing more deadly. In 2013 767 people were killed by police (64 a month, most of the them African Americans); in 2014 1101 people were killed by police (92 a month, most of them African Americans); in the 4 months of 2015 380 people have so far been killed police, (95 a month, most of them African Americans).
The militarization of the police has had a predictable outcome: the police are now behaving like the military would in their policing function. The rules of martial law are now (unofficially) in effect and anyone who violates those laws is The Enemy; the “insurgents”; the “terrorists” etc. and subject to summary execution. If by chance that person happens to be a Black Man, so much the better. The role of the police, their true role, has always been to protect the property of the Master Class from any defilement by rebel slaves.
Now, thanks to the grassroots organizing of the Black Lives Matter movement, people have risen up and are fighting back as best they can. In Baltimore the people are taking the fight to the oppressors. We can only hope this flame spreads like wildfire, and that the murderous police forces feel the heat in Philadelphia, New York, Memphis and Los Angeles, and all the other places they have decided to engage in ethnic cleansing.
In America, the capitalist system was founded on slavery and white supremacy. The only way to end the insanity of white supremacy is to end the American capitalist system. We need to build a new society, one based on true egalitarianism, where everyone, EVERY ONE, is actually and finally equal forever.
Posted on April 30, 2015
Filed Under Anti-Racism | 2 Comments
Reply to ISO on Syndicalism
By Tom Wetzel
The International Socialist Organization’s webzine socialistworker.org recently published a critique of revolutionary syndicalism in the form of a review of Radical Unionism by Ralph Darlington. The review, by Tom Goulet, makes a number of mistaken claims.
The claim that “syndicalist unions broke off from mainstream federations to form ‘purely revolutionary’ unions, cutting themselves off from the mass of workers” doesn’t hold up, though it does conform to the Leninist orthodoxy of Leftwing Communism: An Infantile Disorder. There were many countries where the syndicalist unions were the majority – such as Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Brazil. Syndicalist unions in South Africa, such as the Industrial Workers of Africa (modeled on the IWW) were the only union that organized native African workers, who were excluded from the white craft unions. Continue reading “Reply to ISO on Syndicalism” »
Posted on April 27, 2015
Filed Under Debate, History, Ideas, Labor, Syndicalism | 2 Comments
Why solidarity is necessary – but it’s not just about class
By Geoff
“An injury to one is an injury to all”. This IWW slogan characterizes the solidarity necessitated by class struggle. It characterizes the idea that it’s necessary for the working class to cooperate and work together towards their individual interests, as these are also class interests. The interests of gaining control over economic, social and work decisions which affect the working class directly is made necessary due to the odious nature of our current global economic conditions.
But this slogan really goes further than just class. It is also an embodiment of the solidarity necessitated by intersecting forms of oppression which divide the working class and hinder their ability to fight back in the global class war. Intersectional, meaning, issues concerned with intersections between forms or systems of oppression, domination or discrimination. These issues also create various social hierarchies which marginalize and disempower people. Examples of these issues include, but are not limited to, racism, sexism, queerphobia and gender essentialism. For instance, sexual harassment in the workplace, workplace discrimination on bounds of race or gender, and gender essentialism when it comes to the dignity of transgender folks who often experience terrible cruelty from others when they need to use public restrooms.
Continue reading “Why solidarity is necessary – but it’s not just about class” »
Posted on April 9, 2015
Filed Under Anti-Racism, Culture, Gender & Sexuality, Labor | Leave a Comment
On RailCon15: the Future of Railroads
By Tom Wetzel
More than 120 people attended the Future of Railroads Conference (RailCon15) in Richmond, California, March 14th, organized by Railroad Workers United, with support from local environmental groups and others.
Ron Kaminkow of Railroad Workers United talked about the history of railway worker attempts to build industry wide solidarity and unity, going back to the American Railway Union of Gene Debs in the 1890s. These efforts were stymied by the persistence of the conservative craft unions. The railroads are able to play one craft union off against the other to the detriment of rail workers. Railroad Workers United is an effort to build solidarity and unity of the workers across occupations and unions. Continue reading “On RailCon15: the Future of Railroads” »
Posted on March 26, 2015
Filed Under Economy | Leave a Comment
What is Class Oppression? Who is the Working Class?
Modern Slavery and the Triumph of Capitalism, (Part One)
WSA Memories
Recalling WSA
Why Consensus Decision-making Won’t Work for Grassroots Unionism
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Ideas and Action is a publication of the Workers Solidarity Alliance, a revolutionary group rooted in the anarcho-syndicalist tradition.