RAY O. LIGHT Newsletter
May-June 2009
Number 54
Publication of the Revolutionary Organization of Labor, USA
The Global Capitalist Collapse and the Awakening of the World’s Workers
Over the past few months, the world capitalist economic crisis has
deepened everywhere. From China and India to Poland and Latvia, tens of
millions of workers have lost their jobs and their livelihoods. In most
of the countries of Eastern Europe, the numbers and percentages of
unemployed have already reached staggering proportions. In the USA,
November and December each saw over five hundred thousand new
unemployed workers; and over six hundred thousand lost their jobs in
each of the first three months of 2009. When the large number of
self-employed and the underemployed are included, an estimated five
million workers in the USA alone have been drastically impacted.
The initial response of the imperialist and other reactionary
governments to the crisis has been to provide multi-billion dollar
(euro, pound, yen) bailout giveaways to the wealthiest, greediest and
most guilty ruling class bankers and businessmen, the very people most
responsible for the depth of the crisis. This boondoggle has been
squeezed out of the sweat and blood of the working class in every
country. Indeed, the amount of dollars, euro, etc. involved in the
bailouts will still be coming out of the children and grandchildren of
those of us in today’s working class, if we allow the system of
monopoly capitalism and imperialism to survive.
In this setting, the international working class is being jolted into action – as if shaken out of slumber.*
*In the first half of the twentieth century, the international
communist movement, under Lenin-Stalin Bolshevik leadership, had been
the pathfinder, trailblazer, organizer and leader of the most advanced
class in the struggle for world progress – the international working
class. For most of the past fifty years, the international communist
and workers movement has been led by collaborators with imperialism,
headed by U.S. imperialism.
Within the USA itself, for sixty years U.S. imperialism’s post World
War II hegemony in the capitalist world allowed for a situation to
develop in which the organized labor movement has been almost totally
subservient to U.S. imperialism, and the U.S. working class has been
loyal to the U.S. imperialist ruling class as it became almost
completely caught up in the consumer culture. For about twenty-five
years after World War II (approximately 1947-1972), the organized
section of the U.S. working class was able to win wage increases (and
material gains) without the bitter and bloody struggles normally
associated with such working class advance. This fact of life was
precisely in accordance with Lenin’s teachings on the imperialist
bribery of “its own” working class by major imperialist powers.
For the past thirty-five years or so, since then, the real wages of
U.S. workers have not increased. Yet working people here have continued
to experience significant material gains. This has been largely due to
the inflation bubble and especially inflation in the housing sector on
which most working class family wealth is based. In recent years the
consumer spending of U.S. working people, largely on the basis of the
proceeds from housing inflation, has been the engine driving much of
the world capitalist system’s economic production.
It is no wonder, then, that, over these sixty years, the U.S. working
class and its labor movement have been almost completely won over to
the “virtues” of capitalism, U.S. imperialism style.
Now this is no longer the case! The subprime mortgage crisis in the USA
has led to a housing crisis which has led to a U.S. financial crisis,
to a world financial crisis, and finally to a world capitalist economic
crisis. The subsequent massive job loss and the wiping out of private
pensions, along with the U.S. government bailout of the rich ruling
class financial criminal organizations like Bank of America, Citigroup
and Goldman Sachs is awakening the U.S. working class to the fact that
the system is rotten. Certainly, if we don’t yet know it, we feel it in
our bones.
In the USA, the growing mass disaffection with the system of monopoly
capitalism and imperialism is a fundamentally new condition that
dramatically impacts every clash between labor and capital, between the
oppressed and the oppressor, between the police and the oppressed
nationalities, between the workers and the opportunists leading the
U.S. labor movement.
This has already been evidenced by the victorious union election at the
giant Smithfield hog slaughtering plant in rural Tarheel, North
Carolina after a sixteen year campaign. It was shown by the UE
union-led victory of the Republic Windows workers in Chicago after a
six day sit-down strike at the factory, a militant workers’ tactic
unseen in the U.S. labor movement since the 1930’s.
It is demonstrated by the deepening struggle of health care, hospital
and home care workers in California in opposition to the dictatorial,
sell-out leadership of Andy Stern and the Washington D.C.-based Service
Employees International Union (SEIU) leadership. Stern had attempted to
dismember the democratically run, San Francisco-based 150,000 member
United Health Care local of SEIU led by its progressive President, Sal
Roselli. But the membership and leadership of SEIU local #250 mobilized
and defended its rank and file-led union and its decent contracts. In
late January, after Stern trusteed the local, more than a hundred union
staffers led by Roselli, in consultation with 5,000 local union
stewards, resigned from the SEIU and launched the formation of the new
National Union of Health Care Workers (NUHW). Thus far, while the
workers in bargaining units representing almost one hundred thousand
workers have indicated a majority commitment to NUHW, the U.S. Labor
Department, influenced by Stern and his Democratic Party political
connections, have delayed and denied most rank and file attempts to
hold votes on union affiliation at this time. But, with dedicated
unionists volunteering their time, the struggle continues.
The protracted and mass struggle for union democracy being carried out
by NUHW, occurring in this period of economic crisis and nascent
working class ferment, has the potential for helping to pave the way
for class struggle-oriented, democratically-run, rank and file-led
unions, capable of leading a crusade of working class organization and
struggle against capital such as were born and thrived in the last
Great Depression with the rise of the Congress of Industrial
Organization (CIO). NUHW needs and deserves our support.
In the past few months, the working class of the French colonies of
Guadeloupe and Martinique have waged powerful workers strike struggles
organized through their trade unions, spearheading their islands’
masses in their demand for economic relief from this global capitalist
crisis. The general strikes on both these Caribbean islands, with
overwhelming popular support, have succeeded in winning their immediate
wage and price demands and have raised the fundamental question of
political power, including the question of national sovereignty
vis-à-vis French imperialism. Their struggle has inspired a
similar struggle with similar demands in the French island colony of La
Réunion in the Indian Ocean on the other side of the world.
No doubt, too, the strong uprisings of the exploited and oppressed
masses of Guadeloupe and Martinique have helped provide backbone to the
increasingly independent stands of Latin American countries such as
Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador in opposition to U.S. imperialism. More
dramatically, the defeat of the Arena Party government in the March
2009 election in El Salvador represents a resurgence of mass
anti-imperialist sentiment among the workers in this Central American
country, a former center of revolutionary activity. For more than two
decades, prior to this victory, the Salvadoran working people had been
living under the Arena party-led state of terror.
At the same time, the French working class, inspired at least in part
by their class brothers and sisters in Guadeloupe and Martinique, has
undertaken massive and militant demonstrations within that important
imperialist country itself, resisting the efforts of the French ruling
class to put the burden of the crisis on their shoulders. Likewise, the
working people of Greece, along with the students, have been staging
massive protests against police brutality and in defense of popular
education, also fueled by the economic crisis. The street
demonstrations of the Greek masses have shaken the roots of the
reactionary regime there.
The working class militancy being exhibited in oppressed colonies and
neo-colonies and major imperialist countries, as well as countries in
between, is a reflection of the mass disaffection with the world system
of monopoly capitalism and imperialism. Even without the existence of a
viable alternative socialist camp at this time, the toiling masses’
fascination with global capitalism has been broken.
Workers of Guadeloupe and Martinique Stand Up to World Capitalism in Crisis
Among the most powerful expressions of mass working class disaffection
with the world capitalist system in this new crisis period have been
the victorious general strikes of the working class in Guadeloupe and
Martinique.
Sparked by the devastating impact of the current world economic crisis
on rising costs of living and fueled by centuries of oppression at the
hands of French colonialism and the local ruling elite, a 44 day
general strike was launched in Guadeloupe on January 20th, followed, on
February 5th, by a 38 day general strike in the neighboring island of
Martinique.
The tourism bureau of Martinique beckons tourists to “The Caribbean
Island with French Flair” and calls it one of the most alluring and
enchanting destinations in the world. Visitors to Guadeloupe are
promised a “tropical Garden of Eden” and “an island of beautiful
waters.” Both Caribbean islands are tourist-dependent for much of their
economy. For the holiday tourist looking for the enjoyment of boating,
diving, idyllic beaches, luxury resorts and French cooking, these
islands are a taste of paradise on earth.
They are also a “paradise” for the ruling elite. One percent of the
population of Martinique, descended directly from the colonial white
French settlers, controls over ninety percent of the wealth, most of
the land and all the levers of business and government. This ruling
class lords over the vast majority of the 400,000 plus inhabitants of
each island who are descendants of African slaves, imported through
brutal force to labor on the sugarcane and other plantations of the
French Empire.
For the working class, the oppressed masses, the paradise ends at the
glossy photos of the Tourist Bureaus and Cruise Line advertisements.
“Official” unemployment runs at 23-25% with actual levels estimated at
close to 40%, the highest unemployment in the European Union. (Both
islands remain direct colonies of imperialist France, categorized as
“overseas departments,” and are thus part of the European Union.) There
are few jobs for the youth with official unemployment at 50% for the
15-24 age group (for those not in school). Prices of basic commodities
and food staples are 30-60% higher than in France while wages on the
islands are lower. Escalating fuel and food prices, aggravated by the
economic crisis with its epicenter on Wall Street, have led to a
further and rapid deterioration of living standards.
In response, the toiling populations of these two small islands have stood up!
The strike in Guadeloupe was called and led by the LKP (“Collective
Against Exploitation” or “Unity Against Exploitation”). The LKP is a
united front of some 49 organizations representing trade unions,
political parties, environmental and community groups, farmers and
peasants and nationalist and cultural associations. The leadership core
of the coalition is the General Union of the Workers of Guadeloupe
(UGTC), the trade union of choice of the majority of Guadeloupe working
class. LKP’s main leader and spokesperson is Elie Demoto, the
General-Secretary of the UGTC. The UGTC was itself born of struggle as
part of a popular nationalist upsurge in the aftermath of the murderous
suppression of the movement for wage hikes in 1967 during which over 80
people were killed by the French police.
Led by the working class, the LKP issued a platform representing the
aspirations of the broad masses of the people. At the intersection of
class struggle and national liberation, LKP demands included: a
substantial raise of the minimum wage and trade union rights, lower
taxes and the reduction of prices on necessities and transportation and
more jobs for young workers, as well as land reform, promotion of the
majority peoples’ Creole language and culture, government jobs for the
local population and an end to colonial economic relations. In an
interview in Le Figaro, Demoto stated, “But we Blacks, the island’s
majority people, still live as in the time of slavery, under the same
social structure and the same cultural and economic domination.”
Clearly the general strike sparked by immediate economic issues rapidly
developed into a political strike, a general uprising!
With the rallying cry of “Guadeloupe is Ours!”, the imagination and
energy of the people of Guadeloupe was unleashed. The general
strike/rebellion shut down businesses, roads, transportation, gas
stations, schools, banks, government and the tourist industry. The
popular masses held firm. An indication of the popular support for the
general strike and the determination of the people in the face of the
growing repressive response of the French state was a demonstration of
100,000 participants in support of the strike demands held on February
18th. (To give some perspective, this is the equivalent of a
demonstration of some five million people in the New York City
metropolitan area!)
Day after day, the general strike was a well-organized, determined but
peaceful action. Violence flared up only in response to the violent
aggression and provocations (tear gassing, beatings and arrests) of the
special police/security forces. They were rushed in by the Sarkozy-led
French government to subdue the strike on behalf of the employers and
to keep the “contagion” of mass militant fight-back against the world
economic crisis from spreading to other French possessions and the
French mainland. (The strike struggle has already spread to La
Réunion in the Indian Ocean.) The major French bourgeois
newspaper Le Monde of February 10th commented that the general strike
in Guadeloupe and Martinique “aroused the most strongly felt anxiety at
the top of the state ... the government dreads that the measures in
favor of purchasing power which might be agreed in the islands could be
used, in metropolitan France, as a reference point by the trade
unions.”*
*French President Sarkozy is a strong ally of U.S. imperialism and its
wars of terror against the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan and, as
Interior Minister in 2005, advocated a bill that required textbooks to
teach the “positive role” of colonialism.
Inspired by, and in coordination with, the militant struggle of the
LKP-led Guadeloupe uprisings, the toilers of the island of Martinique
launched a general strike on February 5th. This strike struggle was led
by the “February 5th Collective,” another broad coalition headed by the
trade unions. Its demands on the French and local governments and
business organizations mirrored the just and broad demands of the LKP
movement in Guadeloupe.
Forty-four days of organized rebellion through general strike action in
Guadeloupe ended with a far reaching victory that reflected the deep
unity of the people behind that militant action, forged under the
leadership of the organized working class: A “Jacques Bino
Accord” (named after a union activist murdered during the strike) was
signed between the main trade union federations, the government and a
number of employer organizations. With a Preamble that set the tone
with the statements: “Considering that the economic and social
conditions in Guadeloupe are a result of the persistence of the
plantation economy model; considering that this economy is based on
monopoly profits and the abuse of a dominant position, which generates
injustice...” the Accord included:
- A 200 euro monthly increase to the minimum wage
- Up to 20% price reductions on basic staples including water, food and fuel
- A moratorium on housing foreclosures, freezing rent costs and ban on evictions
- Bill of Rights for Trade Unions
- 20% reduction in student cafeteria costs
- A fund to subsidize housing for seniors and disabled people
- Creation of 8,000 jobs for youth
- Environmental protections for fisheries and agricultural lands
- Lower cost of bank service and loan rates
- The Creole language to be placed on equal par with the French language
Meanwhile, on the Island of Martinique, the 38 day general strike
concluded on March 14th with a victory no less stunning. A protocol
agreement was reached between the government and the February 5
Collective. It contained similar provisions to the Jacques Bino Accord
in Guadeloupe and met the key demands of the Martinique people
including an agreement with business owners for a 20% reduction in the
cost of 400 basic necessities and an increase in the minimum wage by
$250/month for 47,000 low wage workers. At the victory celebration
25,000 demonstrators chanted, “Martinique Stand Up!” in the local
Creole language, reflecting the national aspirations for respect and
dignity.
While both general strikes ended in decisive victories, the movements
remain rightly vigilant. Leaders of the respective united front
coalitions have warned the French government and islands’ business
community that if there is any hesitation in the implementation of the
agreements, the general strikes will resume. In fact, in Guadeloupe,
targeted strikes have continued against businesses that have refused to
sign and/or implement the Accord.
In the 1970’s the rising national liberation struggles of the oppressed
Portuguese colonies of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea Bissau on the
continent of Africa inspired the working class of the oppressor
Portuguese nation to throw off the yoke of the decades-long fascist
government of the Salazar-Caetano dictatorship. Likewise, today, the
struggle of the oppressed people of Martinique and Guadeloupe are
undoubtedly helping to inspire and arouse the working class of France.
While the initial response of the official trade union movement of
France to a principled call of the LKP for international working class
solidarity was apparently limited to general resolutions with few teeth
or coordinated actions with the unions of Guadeloupe and Martinique,
strong support has come from the powerful immigrant rights movement in
France, San Papiers (Without Papers). By February 21st, it was reported
that tens of thousands of trade unionists joined in a solidarity march
in support of the struggling people of the Islands. On March 19th, a
one day general strike in France brought 3 million people into the
streets in response to the economic crisis and to the French
government’s bailout of the bankers and monopoly corporations. Of
course, little had been done for the well-being of the workers. The
English Guardian newspaper reported, “The [French] government is
concerned about the increasingly radical nature of the protesters with
Sony factory workers holding a chief executive hostage over
redundancies last week. Some French protesters are looking to the
French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe where a six-week general strike
and one death eventually forced the government to back down and raise
wages.”
We, the workers and oppressed nationalities within the United States as
well as all over the world, should indeed look to the people of these
two small French imperialist-controlled islands whose struggle helps us
all chart the path of militant resistance to the rising and rapidly
deepening economic crisis. While the people of Martinique and
Guadeloupe have thus far stopped short of freeing their islands from
imperialist control, they won a broad array of immediate demands for
wage increases, jobs and housing rights while at the same time lowering
the costs of basic necessities.* All sectors of the society, the young,
the old, the infirm, the workers, the peasants and fisherfolks all
benefited, reflecting the broad United Front movement, under the
leadership of the working class, which represents the most organized
and disciplined sector of the exploited and oppressed.
*Successful national and social liberation of the small Caribbean
nations will likely take the path of the kind of Caribbean unity
displayed by the peoples of Martinique and Guadeloupe on a much broader
scale, in particular with the long suffering people of Haiti. This
former French colony is now in the clutches of a U.S./U.N. military
occupation used to suppress the Aristide-led peoples freedom movement.
While no one small island of the Caribbean can sustain full national
development on its own, together, the colonized and neo-colonized
people of the Caribbean can rise as a powerful and free “nation” that
can successfully fight for and win national liberation and socialism in
unity with the workers and oppressed peoples of the entire Caribbean
region.
The people of Guadeloupe and Martinique, in opposition to French
imperialism, are living proof that, if we get organized, “Yes We Can!”
We can fight Wall Street and the world capitalist economic crisis. We
can win wage increases and price reductions. We can stop home
foreclosures and evictions. We can unite broad sectors of the exploited
in society, under the leadership of the working class. United we can
fight back against the Wall Street Rich and their economic system and
win, on the road to national liberation and workers’ power, on the road
to socialism.
“For the proletariat needs the truth
and there is nothing so harmful to its cause as plausible, respectable
petty-bourgeois lies.”
– V.I. Lenin,
Selected Works, Vol. X, p. 41
For other materials from the Revolutionary Organization of Labor, USA
(formerly Ray O. Light Group) opposing the U.S. imperialist generated
economic crisis and U.S. imperialist-led war of terror on the world’s
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