AUSTRALIA $1.50 · canada $1.00 · france 1.00 euro · new zealand $1.50 · uk £.50 · u.s. $1.00 INSIDE René González presses fight to return to Cuba — PAGEs 6-7 A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE vol. 76/no. 32 august 27, 2012 Profit drive, Caterpillar ‘Bosses’ assaults, workers’ China rivalry strikers say, resistance are worldwide’ spur Clinton’s ‘We have to Socialist presidential candidate speaks in NY, NJ Africa tour take a stand’ BY brian williams BY aLYSON kENNEDY U.S. Secretary of State Hillary JOLIET, Ill.—On Aug. 1, members Clinton conducted a nine-nation 11-day of Machinists Local 851 began the African tour in early August, aimed fourth month of their strike against at strengthening U.S. investment and Caterpillar here. After overwhelm- Washington’s military clout through- ingly rejecting a union-gutting con- out the continent and countering China, tract proposal, the workers, who build which overtook the U.S. as Africa’s hydraulic systems for Caterpillar ma- largest trading partner three years ago. chinery, walked off the job May 1. Clinton was accompanied by a siz- Caterpillar bosses are demanding able U.S. business delegation, includ- a six-year contract that would freeze ing representatives of major compa- wages, double the cost of health insur- nies like General Electric, Boeing and ance, eliminate pensions and give the Walmart, anxious to seal profitable company the ability to move workers deals. GE last year made $1.8 billion to any shift at their discretion without in revenue from the continent. regard to seniority. She visited Senegal, Uganda, South In recent weeks a number of arti- Sudan, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, cles on the strike have appeared in the Nigeria, Ghana and Benin. big-business media as the propertied Militant/Arnold Weissberg “Africa offers the highest rate of rulers watch the unfolding labor battle James Harris, Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. president, talks with Dillon St. return on foreign direct investment of with keen interest. Claire and Junita Reed while campaigning in Harlem neighborhood in New York, Aug. 11. any developing region in the world,” “At Caterpillar, Pressing Labor Clinton pitched to a U.S. business fo- While Business Booms,” was the BY REBECCA WILLIAMSON and went well over their goal of 6,000, rum in Washington, D.C., in mid-June headline of a July 22 New York Times NEW YORK—James Harris, collecting 6,658 signatures. prior to her trip. article by Steven Greenhouse. Similar Socialist Workers Party candidate Joining Harris was Callie Miaoulis, In an Aug. 1 speech at the University articles appeared in the Washington for U.S. president, was the featured SWP candidate for the Nebraska Continued on page 9 Continued on page 5 speaker Aug. 11 at a meeting celebrat- Legislature in the 29th District; Róger ing the successful completion of the Calero, SWP candidate for Senate petitioning drive here to get SWP from New York; and César Sanchez, candidate Deborah Liatos on the bal- one of the party’s electors in New Tens of thousands of autoworkers lot in the 13th Congressional District. Jersey. For three weeks supporters of The celebration was part of a week- the campaign fanned out across end visit to the area that included strike Hyundai in South Korea Harlem and Washington Heights in a meeting in Garfield, N.J., where BY seth galinsky ing campaign, especially at plants that Manhattan and a portion of the Bronx Continued on page 3 Some 43,000 workers in South provide parts to the auto giant. Korea at Hyundai Motor Co. began Workers are demanding that tem- a series of two- to four-hour strikes porary workers be made permanent, Socialist Party gov’t in France Aug. 8 in face of an open union-bust- a wage increase and an end to grave- yard shifts, which workers say are a health hazard. scapegoats Roma, immigrants Workers at GM plants in BY Louis Martin migrant workers for the problems fac- South Korea are organiz- Barely three months after being ing the French economy. ing similar rolling work elected president of France, Socialist From Aug. 9 to 14, the French po- stoppages. Party leader François Hollande is lice expelled some 450 Roma from Hyundai, which also firmly engaged in a law and order encampments in a series of cities owns Kia Motors Corp., is campaign aimed at scapegoating im- across the country, including Paris. the fifth-largest automaker Some 240 were put on a charter flight in the world. Autoworkers in Lyons and sent back to Romania, in South Korea have a long Richmond, Calif., their country of origin. history of militant action, Roma are an oppressed national- including going on strike residents confront Continued on page 9 against Hyundai every year from 1987 to 2008. As a result they are among Chevron over fire the best paid workers in the Also Inside: country. at refinery “Emboldened by the ab- BY JOEL BRITTON West Virginia Steelworkers sence of strikes for the past RICHMOND, Calif.—Hundreds strike against concessions 2 three years, the company of angry workers attended a meeting is ignoring our demands,” at Richmond Memorial Auditorium UK: relatives battle cop the Korean Metal Workers organized by Chevron management killings of black men 2 Union said in a statement. Aug. 7, one day after a fire at the com- “Autoworkers usually pany’s large refinery covered this city Labor rally in Philadelphia work 10 hours a day six and nearby areas in the San Francisco protests attacks on workers 4 days a week and they are Bay Area with a huge plume of black Seong joon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty Images Arnaldo Barrón: ‘revolutionary Strike action at Hyundai in Ulsan, South Korea, July 13. on a different shift every smoke. Autoworkers are demanding higher wages, end to night week,” Hyewon Chong, “You are killing us!” resident combatant of old vanguard’ 7 shift work and permanent hiring of temporary workers. Continued on page 9 Continued on page 4 W. Virginia Steelworkers strike against concessions By Tom Nichols younger and on strike for the first time. and Linda Joyce In May 2011, Constellium bought R AV E NSWOOD, W.Va .— Nea rly the Alcan Rolled Products plant, which 700 workers went on strike here Aug. 5 was part of the Ravenswood complex. against Constellium Rolled Products, a The rest of the complex is now Century major manufacturer of aluminum used Aluminum, which closed down in 2009 in airplanes and automobiles. At the end and is seeking to reopen. Local 5778 of July members of United Steelworkers organizes both plants as well as other Local 5668 voted 604-20 to reject the workplaces in the area. company’s contract offer, largely be- Since the early 1990s workers have cause of its proposal to increase the cost given up wages to keep their health care of medical insurance. coverage, Miller said, and prided them- Jason Miller, local union president, selves in maintaining health benefits. told the Militant Aug. 12 that workers “This is our chance to let everyone Militant/Linda Joyce wanted the union bargaining commit- know that these corporations are trying United Steelworkers Local 5668 members picket in Ravenswood, W.Va., Aug. 12. Nearly 700 tee to hold the line on health care costs. to attack the working man,” continued workers went on strike at Constellium Rolled Products Aug. 5 over increased medical costs. Their slogan is “Keep your hands off Miller, who works at the Century plant. our health care!” “They keep inching at us to give up a Constellium has accused union mem- eotaping picket lines and insulting and Under the current plan workers are re- little and then a little more and soon we bers of placing jack rocks on the road, harassing picketers. sponsible for copays. There is no vision will be working for nothing. The most puncturing the tires of trucks entering State police arrested two union mem- care and dental coverage “is so mini- important thing is that we take a stand or leaving the mill. But Randy Moore, bers Aug. 9 accusing them of felony de- mal as to be nonexistent,” Miller said. against the big companies, showing a union negotiator, told the Charleston struction of property. Steelworkers note that the proposed in- them that the workers are the ones mak- Daily Mail Aug. 9 that it’s the company Constellium did not return calls from crease in insurance costs would “more ing the money for them.” guards that are causing problems, vid- the Militant requesting comments. than wipe out” the small wage increase the company offered. Workers are cur- rently paid on average $19 an hour. Miller added that the company also UK: relatives battle cop killings of black men wants to increase its use of outside con- BY TONY HUNT the forefront of these and other fights 40-year-old who suffered from schizo- tractors, which the union opposes. LONDON—Two recent events here against killings by police. phrenia, was the result of a four-year- From 1990 to 1992 workers at the highlight the routine brutality and cover- A specialist firearms cop killed long campaign by Rigg’s family to force Ravenswood Aluminum Corp. com- up methods of the police. Duggan as a police unit on gun crimes in some of the facts to light against a wall plex here were locked out for 20 months. On Aug. 6, a memorial service was the black community tried to arrest him. of obstruction and lies. Through their fight for a contract they held for Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old The Independent Police Complaints In August 2008, staff at a hostel where won solidarity from other workers in the shot and killed by police in August 2011, Commission, the government body Rigg lived called police when he was U.S. and Europe—including workers on in Tottenham, north London. Five days investigating the case, has admitted experiencing a psychotic episode. The strike against the Daily News in New earlier, a coroner’s inquest jury ruled it “misled” the media into reporting cops brutally “hog-tied” Rigg for eight York City—turning the lockout into a that cops used an “unsuitable level of Duggan had fired at the cops. He did minutes. They forced his face down on successful strike. force” in the 2008 death of Sean Rigg. no such thing. Cops then tried to claim the ground with his legs pulled up to his Some of the workers on the picket line The families of Duggan and Rigg, he was carrying a loaded gun, but the buttocks, a potentially fatal procedure. are veterans of that fight, but most are both of whom are black, have been at weapon they produced has no trace of Rigg was dumped in a police van and Duggan’s DNA, fingerprints or blood. taken to Brixton police station instead of No less than 31 cops were present at a hospital. He died half naked on a con- the shooting; all have so far refused to crete floor after losing consciousness. be interviewed by the IPCC. None of the police “called an ambulance The killing sparked widespread un- or got him a blanket,” despite Rigg’s ob- rest here, particularly in Tottenham, as vious injuries, reported the Independent. well as other cities across the country. Following the verdict, Marcia Rigg, “It’s a year since Mark was murdered” one of Sean’s sisters, read a statement Backing the fights of workers behind bars said Carole Duggan, his aunt, speaking on behalf of the family calling for “pros- Inmates in several prisons at the memorial service. “We are still no ecution of those responsible for Sean’s closer to finding out the truth of what death” and “an urgent public inquiry to around the U.S. have carried happened.” An inquest into the death is establish why the system in this country out hunger strikes to protest not scheduled until early next year. consistently fails to deliver justice to the solitary confinement and the The Aug. 1 jury verdict implicat- many families whose loved ones have denial of basic rights. The ing cops in the death of Sean Rigg, a died in police custody.” ‘Militant’ covers these strug- gles and makes the paper send $85 drawn on a U.S. bank to above The Militant address. available to prisoners so they Vol. 76/No. 32 Africa, Asia, and the Middle East: For one Bruce Dixon year send $85 drawn on a U.S. bank to above can follow the working class Closing news date: August 15, 2012 address. July 16 protest outside offices of Georgia Editor: Steve Clark struggle worldwide. Department of Corrections in Forsyth. Canada: For one year send Canadian $45 to Managing editor: Doug Nelson the Militant, 7107 St. Denis #204, Montreal, Business manager: Lea Sherman Quebec H2S 2S5. Editorial volunteers: Róger Calero, Naomi United Kingdom: Send £26 for one year by SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 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2 The Militant August 27, 2012 SWP presidential ticket on ballot in Louisiana BY JACQUIE HENDERSON jail since March.” BATON ROUGE, La.—The Socialist The Baton Rouge Advocate noted Workers Party won Louisiana ballot that “Socialist Workers Party presiden- status for its presidential ticket Aug. 8 tial nominee is James Harris, a trade as it filed its slate of eight electors and unionist who ran in 1996 and 2000,” and paid the required filing fee of $500. that vice presidential candidate Maura Commissioner of Elections Angie DeLuca was campaigning throughout Rogers told the press that the SWP was the state. “‘We are trying to give a voice the first in the state to qualify for the bal- to the struggles of the working people,’ lot. said DeLuca, who worked as a welder The New Orleans Times-Picayune at Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing in quoted SWP vice presidential candi- Lincoln, Neb.,” the paper wrote. date Maura DeLuca, who filed for the “That is us too,” one reporter re- Militant/Jacquie Henderson Eloise Williams, Socialist Workers Party elector in Louisiana and fighter against police brutal- party along with at-large elector Eloise sponded when DeLuca mentioned that ity, receives notice party is on ballot there Aug. 8. In background are Maura DeLuca, SWP Williams, saying that “the party will bosses now demand workers do the job vice presidential candidate, and Steve Warshell, SWP candidate for U.S. Congress from Texas. be on the ballot in at least seven other they previously employed two, three or states, including Washington, New more workers to do. Jersey, Iowa and Florida, and expects “One of the oldest papers here, the to be written in on ballots in other Times-Picayune, is laying off work- states.” ers,” he said, “going to only three days At a press conference on the steps of a week.” the state Capitol, Williams told report- “So you want a public works pro- ers, “We have to stand up for ourselves” gram,” another reporter said. “Would because the “politicians and their police that be like the WPA?” referring to the all organize against working people.” Works Progress Administration in the Williams, a life-long fighter for civil 1930s. rights from the Algiers section of New “No,” DeLuca said. “We have seen Orleans, has organized and participated enough ‘programs.’ We are against big in dozens of protests against police bru- government bureaucracies that invade tality and other attacks. our lives.” “My grandson is in jail for no good “I am talking about federal funding,” reason,” she said. “Like other young she explained. “We need to be able to African-American men here he has put millions to work at union wages. David Rosenfeld, Socialist Workers Party candidate for 3rd C.D. in Iowa, speaks Aug. 14 at Iowa State Fair. “It’s a crisis of the capitalist system, it’s worldwide and it’s only in its begin- been harassed by the police. He was Constructing schools, roads, hospitals, ning,” he said. Rosenfeld distanced himself from those who attempted to disrupt Republican stopped on the excuse of a license plate child care centers—all those things that vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s speech the previous day. “Shouting down those you light being out and has been locked up in are being cut back.” disagree with will ultimately undermine our ability to defend our free speech rights.“ Harris in NY: ‘Bosses’ assaults, workers’ resistance worldwide’ Continued from front page Harris continued. “She took a bunch of about the cops, the politicians, and they cops last December, and Miguel Reyes Harris met with activists involved in top corporate bosses, looking to push learn about their fellow workers, look at de Leon, another leader of the fight to the fight against police brutality and China aside and win investments and them differently, begin to trust each oth- get the cops who killed Malik prosecut- the cop killing of 19-year-old Malik manufacturing contracts. And she went er, and get an inkling of what a workers ed, took part. Williams there. Also in attendance to build up the U.S. military in the re- and farmers government can be.” “I understand there is no solution to were workers from the nearby Crestron gion. Washington says this is to combat Miaoulis described her experiences crime under capitalism and more cops electrical assembly plant. ‘terrorism,’ but down the road its real talking to workers at the Kawasaki plant in the streets are not the solution to it,” “The capitalist crisis, attacks by boss- goal is to protect U.S. markets against in Lincoln, Neb., where she worked. de Leon said after the discussion had es, and workers’ resistance are world- all rivals.” One co-worker explained how he was gone on a while. “So what are we sup- wide phenomena,” Harris said at the Harris also drew out a number of oth- coming to view U.S. politics. “It’s like posed to do? Police ourselves?” New York meeting. “Everywhere they er political points that socialist workers we’re on this bus, and every four years “I grew up in Nicaragua under the are driven to attack us in an effort to be- have been discussing with workers on we know something is wrong but we U.S.-backed Somoza dictatorship,” come more competitive with their rivals strike or battling lockouts, fighting back just change the driver,” he said. “But we Calero said. “His National Guard and inside each country and internationally. against police brutality, and farmers fac- need to change the road!” the police would come into the neighbor- “They have no choice,” he added, “It ing drought conditions and the threat of Socialist Workers candidates cam- hoods and pick you up for no reason and is the very nature of capitalism—com- foreclosure. paign against Democrats, Republicans, beat you. Many were killed. We grew pete or die, and the only thing they know “The one thing you’ll notice about all the capitalist parties. Both the up hating them. There were popular to help them is to make us pay. our campaign is that it goes to these Democratic Party ticket of Barack struggles going on at that time—peas- “You can see this in Hillary Clinton’s struggles because that is where workers Obama and Joe Biden as well as the ants fighting for land, strikes, student trip to Africa over the past week,” are learning to think; they begin to learn Republican Party ticket of Mitt Romney protests—that ultimately grew into a and his newly announced vice presiden- massive popular uprising that overthrew tial candidate Paul Ryan are appealing Somoza and established a workers and to win over working people. Both get farmers government. Special offers a hearing. One says we have too much “We were very young and not po- “big government” that interferes in litically involved, but when the popular workers’ lives, and the other says you insurrection developed, we saw it as Malcolm X, Black Liberation, need more government to take care of an opportunity to get rid of his hated you. Both say they have a plan to im- guards, and we joined the fight,” Calero and the Road to Workers Power prove the economy, while both work to explained. “As the insurrection spread, by Jack Barnes strengthen the bosses’ attacks on work- we armed ourselves any way we could Why the “revolutionary conquest of state power by a ing people. to defend the neighborhoods under our politically class-conscious and organized vanguard of the A meeting for Harris hosted by control against the National Guard and working class—millions strong—is necessary.” United Residents of Garfield Engaging Somoza’s henchmen. There was no loot- $10 with subscription to the Militant or $15 (usually: $20) Neighborhood Transformation in New ing. We organized to feed and look after Jersey the next day drew nine people. each other. As the dictatorship crumbled The Working Class and the Harris was joined by Calero. The wide- and its army and police were smashed, a Transformation of Learning: The Fraud ranging discussion included the role and new police and army were born out of of Education Reform Under Capitalism function of the police under the capital- the people itself. by Jack Barnes ist system, how to combat anti-social be- “This was possible because of the sol- $2 with a subscription (usually $3) havior like crime, the job crisis, immi- idarity that grew with the revolutionary gration, and what lessons workers can struggle to build a different kind of so- draw from the Civil Rights movement ciety,” Calero said. “This can’t be done www. pathfinderpress.com and the Cuban Revolution. living under capitalism. But as we fight Shirley Williams, mother of Malik together against capitalist injustice, we or see distributors on page 8 Williams, who was gunned down by move in this direction.” The Militant August 27, 2012 3 Labor rally in Philadelphia protests attacks on workers BY janet post week strike in August 2011. PHILADELPHIA—Tens of thou- “The companies want to tear up the sands of trade unionists and other work- union contracts and lower wages,” ers from Maine to Ohio, Boston to Michael Neggie, a Verizon worker from Louisville, demonstrated here Aug. 11 New York, told the Militant. “Big busi- at a “Workers Stand for America” rally ness saw that Obama wasn’t standing sponsored by the AFL-CIO. up for working people and is making its They came to protest attacks against moves.” workers being carried out by the bosses Mario Ciardelli, business repre- and the city, state and federal govern- sentative for IBEW Local 683 in ments, including by the Obama admin- Columbus, Ohio, told the Militant that istration. the local has twice sent contributions At the same time, one of the central to the 1,300 sugar workers in the Red purposes of the event was to garner River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota who have been locked out support for the Barack Obama election Militant/Janet Post campaign. Speaking from the platform, by American Crystal Sugar for more Verizon workers march to join AFL-CIO protest after rally outside company headquarters in Democratic Party National Committee than a year. “I am so proud of them Philadelphia, Aug. 11. Some 45,000 Verizon workers have been without contract for a year. Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz told standing for what they believe in,” he workers their problems would get much said. “We want to do more to help. Local 13000 who carried a sign reading, Local 638 in New York City, expressed worse if Republican presidential can- Some of these workers can’t even get “Keep Verizon Jobs in America.” another view. “We have to stop them didate Mitt Romney and his newly an- unemployment compensation.” “They are giving us tools made in from separating us country by coun- nounced running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, Another component of the AFL-CIO China,” said Joe Monroe of IBEW try. These politicians are in a different were to get elected. rally was U.S. nationalism. The rally’s Local 466 in Charleston, W.Va. “If they world,” he said. Hundreds of union locals participat- theme was “Stand for America.” didn’t import so much, we’d be doing “It is also important for our union to ed, including those from the Teamsters, “Exporting jobs only undercuts the better here.” have members of different nationali- Transport Workers Union, United middle class,” said one member of CWA Juan Lopez, a member of Steamfitters ties,” Lopez added. Steelworkers, Communications Workers of America and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. There was a large presence from Richmond, Calif., residents confront Chevron building trades locals of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Sheet Continued from front page The Richmond refinery has been the for the United Steelworkers, the union Marilyn Branford shouted out to Metal Workers, Laborers International site of a series of fires and explosions representing some 600 refinery work- the refinery’s general manager, Nigel Union, International Union of Painters over the last 25 years. ers at Chevron, told reporters about his Hearne, at the meeting. Dozens lined up and Allied Trades, and others. Many area residents at the meeting discussions with workers there. He ex- to ask questions and challenge Hearne’s “Our members have been out of work denounced the official warning system plained that a couple of hours went by claim that for Chevron’s management and they have been stripping us of any of sirens and telephone notification as after the leak that caused the fire was “nothing is more important than safety.” rights that workers have won,” Roxy coming too late, in many cases after discovered, with company officials in Despite persistent questioning, the Mejia, a member of the Painters and residents had already seen the smoke or charge hoping to fix it without having to panel, which included city and county Allied Trades union, told the Militant. had received warning calls from friends shut down the crude processing unit and officials, refused to answer a key ques- One of the reasons for the rally or family. Some called for “Chevron out lose production. tion on everyone’s mind. What was the was to protest the location of the 2012 of Richmond.” Others argued for put- “When you have hydrocarbons out- chemical composition and danger to Democratic National Convention in ting pressure on the company to make side the pipe, you are no longer running health of the cloud of smoke that rose North Carolina, a right-to-work state, its operations safer. at a normal condition,” Nibarger said. and spread ? according to Richard Trumka, the presi- “It’s time to shut the thing off and fix it, Panelist Dr. Wendel Brunner an- Response by United Steelworkers dent of the AFL-CIO, who spoke at the not to try to figure out a way around it.” nounced that 949 residents had so far rally. While few details of what caused “A large number of workers were gone to hospital emergency rooms after Ed Good, a member of the Utility the fire were given at the meeting, the engulfed in the vapor cloud,” the U.S. breathing the smoke. By Aug. 11, this Workers of America, told NBC-10, “At truth began to come out when Kim Chemical Safety Board, which is in- figure had risen to 5,763. times we feel both political parties have Nibarger, a health and safety specialist vestigating the fire, announced Aug. 11. dropped the ball representing working “Workers might have been killed or se- families. I think that’s what this rally is verely injured, had they not escaped the about.” ‘Union struggles important to fight for safety’ cloud as the release rate escalated and Before the event began, more than the cloud ignited, shortly thereafter.” 1,000 Verizon workers, who are mem- The Associated Press reports that the bers of the CWA or IBEW, held a spir- Chemical Safety Board investigators ited demonstration at Verizon’s main of- are “focusing on possible corrosion in a fices here and then marched to the rally decades-old pipe the company inspected site. Some 45,000 Verizon workers in late last year but did not replace.” the Northeast have been working with- The area surrounding the refinery is out a contract since they ended a two- made up of working-class, predomi- nantly Black and Latino, neighbor- hoods. Leobardo Anaya, one of hundreds on line to apply for compensation from militant Chevron for medical expenses and prop- erty damage from the smoke and chemi- labor cals, told the Militant he was at his job at forums a distribution center when he looked up and saw the sky turn black. A coworker california who suffers from asthma was taken to San Francisco the hospital after she began to gasp for Oil Refinery Disasters: Are They air. “We need to get together, the whole Inevitable? What Will It Take to Protect Militant/Eric Simpson Working-Class Communities? How Can RICHMOND, Calif.—“This is not just a Chevron problem. Corporations community, and fight this,” he said. Union Power Be Brought to Bear? Fri., across the country are undermining safety in order to make more profits,” UPS worker Maria Montano said she Aug. 24, program 7:30 p.m., dinner 6:30 went to the hospital after experiencing p.m. 5482 Mission St. Tel.: (415) 584-2135. Gerardo Sánchez, Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. Senate in California, told Channel 14, a Spanish-language TV station, Aug. 11. nausea, headaches and irritated eyes. Sánchez was talking to workers waiting in line seeking compensation “What worries me,” said Verna, a canada from Chevron for medical and property damage caused by an Aug. 6 fire nurse who declined to give her last Montreal at the company’s Richmond refinery. name, “is Chevron is requiring that peo- Unite Workers, Build Movement to Transform Society. Speaker: Maura “Union struggles against the bosses’ productivity drive are an important ple report their medical expenses right DeLuca, Socialist Workers Party candidate part of the fight for safety today and will help pave the way for bigger away. But what if symptoms show up for U.S. vice president. Sun., Aug. 26., 4 struggles tomorrow,” Sánchez said. later?” p.m. 7107 St-Denis, room 204. Tel.: (514) —Joel Britton 272-5840. Betsey Stone contributed to this article.

4 The Militant August 27, 2012 on the picket line Hotel workers in Quebec fight tral demands. bosses’ concession demands Donald Agostino, a porter/bellman, MONTREAL—“We had a big crowd said that since the U.S. economic down- this morning. People went in and got turn tips have dropped from a daily av- people off the floors,” Glen Arseneault erage of about $70 to $20. told the Militant, while picketing the “We fought for eight years to get rid Hilton Bonaventure downtown here of four-hour split shifts. Now, they want Aug. 12. More than one-third of the 210 to go back eight years. We can’t have union members walked the line during that,” Agostino told the Militant. the 12-hour strike. Locked-out hotel “Before the strike we were all in a workers from the nearby Hyatt Regency dog-eat-dog situation,” Jacob Gerow, a came over to join in and enjoy a special bar aide, told the Militant as he picketed brunch. Workers locked out by Holiday the Hyatt Regency Aug. 8. “Now we are Inn Select Sinomonde since Aug. 5 also starting to know each other because we participated. are all together in this fight.” The Confederation of National Trade —Katy LeRougetel Unions (CSN) representing 5,500 ho- tel workers across Quebec is currently Nursing home workers into 2nd conducting coordinated negotiations month of strike in Connecticut with management in 35 hotels. STAMFORD, Conn.—“I never On Aug. 9 the CSN announced that knew what the union was until I start- Militant/Deborah Liatos 108 union members at the hotel Château ed working here,” Alicia Labrosciano Nursing home workers, who have been on strike since July 3 against five HealthBridge Cartier in Gatineau (near Ottawa) will told the Militant Aug. 12. She is one facilities in Connecticut, picket in front of Long Ridge nursing home in Stamford Aug. 12. be voting on a tentative agreement that of some 700 nursing home workers reinforces protection against part-time on strike at five HealthBridge facili- and other staff. new agreement was negotiated with six work and loss of jobs to so-called green ties around Connecticut. The strik- The strike began July 3 after the of the seven companies that employ programs. Under these programs, man- ers, members of Service Employees union rejected the company’s “last, best union janitors. agement suggests that customers choose International Union District 1199, and final offer.” The bosses then broke Guillermina Carreon, a union janitor, not to have their towels and sheets picket outside the Stamford Long off negotiations and unilaterally im- told the Militant that the fight continued changed every day, for example, which Ridge nursing home every day from plemented their offer—cutting work- at the seventh company. “Pritchard jani- is used to cut work hours and eliminate 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. ing hours by eliminating a paid lunch, tors are still in struggle. We’ll support jobs, picketers told the Militant. Passing drivers often honk their slashing vacation and sick time, cutting them until they win,” he said. Maintaining full-time work positions horns in support of the striking work- pensions, and raising health premiums The contract will increase workers’ and increasing employer contributions ers, who include nurses, nurses’ assis- to $8,000 a year for many employees. pay from $8.35 to $9.35 an hour with to pensions are two of the union’s cen- tants, laundry, dietary, housekeeping The nursing homes continue to oper- raises of 25 cents per hour for each year ate with temporary workers. of the contract. “We wanted $2 but we “The union has resorted to calling a did get $1. That’s good,” SEIU member strike because it failed to pressure the Edilia Bastardo explained. “What we Cat strikers ‘take a stand’ affiliated Health Care Centers to accept did was very important, because we Continued from front page viduals from union locals and working unrealistic contract proposals any other won something.” Post, Wall Street Journal and the people from the area regularly visit the way,” the company said in a press state- “I think this is a step to establishing Guardian, published in the United picket line. ment released the day the strike began. the union,” Antonio Vargas, a janitor Kingdom. The widespread support for the strike —Harry D’Agostino for 12 years in the Houston area, said. “Caterpillar is trying to pioneer and disdain for Caterpillar’s assault as “It wasn’t long ago that we were little new territory, seeking steep conces- it rakes in massive profits resulted in After monthlong strike, Houston better than slaves. I knew people fired sions from its workers even when busi- some unusual contributions. On Aug. 10 janitors ratify new contract for drinking water at work, and then the ness is booming,” Greenhouse wrote. Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn visited HOUSTON—Members of Service boss would pocket their pay and make “The showdown, which has no end in the picket line and donated $10,000 from Employees International Union Local us do the extra work. We still have a sight, is being closely watched by cor- his campaign fund. 1 voted unanimously Aug. 11 to ratify long way to go, but now, with the union, porations and unions across the country “People are tired of this,” Marion a contract that would increase most that is possible.” because it involves two often uncom- Modesitt, a picket captain, told the members’ wages by $1 over a four-year Union representatives said they promising antagonists—Caterpillar Militant. “We have to take a stand.” period. agreed to lower pay of $7.25 an hour and the International Association of Send letters of solidarity and contribu- About 400 janitors, among the 3,200 for workers in smaller buildings of less Machinists—that have figured in many tions to IAM Local Lodge 851, 23157 S. covered by the union contract, walked than 200,000 square feet, the Houston high-stakes labor battles.” Thomas Dillon Dr., Ste. B, Channahon, off their jobs July 10, striking seven Chronicle reported. “‘Greed,’ might be the moralist re- IL 60410. Houston area cleaning contractors. The —Steve Warshell sponse,” Michael Paarlberg wrote in the Guardian, asking what drives Caterpillar’s assault on its workers, 25, 50, and 75 years ago “‘capital accumulation’ the Marxist one.” Owners of other companies have been taking similar measures, driving amid increasingly cutthroat competition for profits worldwide. August 28, 1987 August 27, 1962 August 28, 1937 What these articles downplay, or omit MONTREAL—For more than two William Worthy, noted Negro When Japanese imperialism moved entirely, is the resistance and solidarity weeks in July the Canadian government journalist, was convicted of the crime into North China six weeks ago, the workers are receiving. illegally detained 174 Sikhs from India of re-entering the United States, his Gen. Sun Cheh-yuan, the Nanking “What is being stated about us is un- seeking refugee status. They were kept native land, without a passport after a Government’s representative in Peiping, fair. We only want to keep what we’ve in a military barracks in Halifax, Nova two-hour trial in Miami on Aug. 8. unconditionally accepted all the got and Caterpillar is trying to take Scotia. Held incommunicado in virtual The trial’s shortness was because conditions posed by the invaders. He everything away,” striker Bruce Boaz concentration camp conditions they Worthy does not deny the fact on agreed to the withdrawal of all Chinese told the Militant. He has worked as an were branded as suspected terrorists. which the precedent-setting charge is forces from the Peiping Tientsin area assembler at the plant for 39 years. On June 5 the Quebec Provincial based, namely, that he re-entered the and forced some of the units under his “Everyone is looking at this across the Police arrested three leaders of the U.S. from Cuba without a passport. command to evacuate their positions. U.S. It will affect all the unions in the Confederation of National Trade Unions Immediately after Judge Emmett The resistance of the 29th army country. If Caterpillar can do this it will (CSN) on trumped-up criminal charges. Cheate pronounced the verdict of guilty, soldiers to the orders of their own set a precedent.” The attacks against the Sikhs and Worthy’s attorneys announced an appeal. commanders and the revolt of the On Aug. 7, a delegation from the the CSN are part of the most far- Sentencing was deferred, probably until supposedly pro-Japanese Chinese Service Employees International Union reaching offensive against democratic mid-September, and the defendant was militia at Tungchow, however, convinced Health Care Illinois and Indiana, rep- and trade union rights in Canada since continued in the $5,000 bail set earlier. the Japanese imperialists that they could resenting some 91,000 health care and World War II. “If at any time in the past five years I not reliably depend on any Chinese child care providers, visited the picket The brutal treatment of the Sikhs had been willing to go along with a State forces. So they moved in with men, line and contributed a check for $25,000. is part of a campaign by Canada’s Department deal on passport renewal,” planes and tanks and took over Peiping The strikers continue to receive dona- ruling rich to convince working people the veteran newsman declared after the and Tientsin themselves. The soldiers of tions to their food pantry organized by in Canada that people fleeing from trial, “I would not stand convicted now the 29th army put up an heroic but futile the Teamsters, United Auto Workers repressive regimes and severe economic of coming home to the land of my birth resistance. They were smashed by the locals and others. Delegations and indi- hardship “steal Canadian jobs.” ‘without bearing a valid passport.’” enemy in a week.

The Militant August 27, 2012 5 René González, 1 of Cuban 5, presses fight to return to Cuba US gov’t discloses 2010 prison visit by wife, Olga Salanueva BY Louis Martin up on various conspiracy charges. And Doug Nelson The most serious were the charges Recently released court documents brought against Hernández, who led concerning requests by Cuban revo- the group. He was convicted of conspir- lutionary René González to return to acy to gather and transmit national de- his country now that he has served his fense information, otherwise referred prison term in the U.S. illustrate once to as “espionage,” and conspiracy to again the determination of Washington murder and sentenced to two life terms to impose the highest possible price on plus 15 years. The murder conspiracy the men and women of Cuba who have charge was added based on his sup- made and continue to defend a socialist posed role in the Cuban government’s revolution 90 miles from U.S. shores. decision to defend its sovereignty and An international campaign is fight- territorial integrity by shooting down ing to free González and his four com- the Brothers to the Rescue’s intruding rades—Gerardo Hernández, Ramón aircraft. Labañino, Antonio Guerrero and René González was convicted of Bill Hackwell Fernando González—known interna- failure to register as a foreign agent René González, one of five Cuban revolutionaries framed up by Washington for their work tionally as the Cuban Five. and conspiracy to act as the unregis- to keep Cuban government informed of activities of armed counterrevolutionaries in Florida, The five were living and working tered agent of a foreign government. following release from prison in October 2011. In arguing against letting him return to Cuba while on parole, government attorneys expressed view that González shows himself to be in southern Florida where, at the re- He was sentenced to consecutive terms “unrepentant” and has insisted “on right to continue to improve the world as he sees fit.” quest of Cuban security services, they of 10 years and five years. Like the rest monitored activities by armed Cuban- of the five revolutionaries he received cilitate and oversee the re-entry of a term of supervised release in Cuba. American counterrevolutionary the maximum penalty. recently incarcerated defendant into Among the government’s chief ar- groups with a long record of violent After 13 years in prison, René the community,” the request points guments is the fact that González was attacks on Cuba and supporters of the González was released Oct. 7, 2011. He out. It continues to isolate him from “resolutely and expressly unrepentant Cuban Revolution, and kept Havana has since been forced to remain in the his family, especially. This has been during and following his trial.” In its informed. U.S., serving a three-year term of “su- part of the government’s attempt to brief, the government twice quoted After “stealing” a crop-duster plane pervised release.” maximize punishment of the five from from what they refer to as González’s in Cuba and ostensibly defecting to the In February 2011 attorneys for the very beginning because they could “vitriolic sentencing statement, and U.S. in December 1990, González was González filed an initial request that not break them. González’s wife, Olga his explicit insistence on the right to welcomed into counterrevolutionary he be allowed to return to Cuba upon Salanueva, their two daughters and his continue to improve the world as he circles and integrated into paramilitary his release. The motion was rejected parents all live in Cuba. sees fit.” groups dedicated to the overthrow of in September as “premature” by U.S. In 2000, the U.S. government de- “I can only feel proud to be here the Cuban Revolution, a goal shared by District Judge Joan Lenard, the origi- ported Salanueva to bring pretrial and I can only thank the prosecutors Washington. nal trial judge. pressure on González and then denied for giving me this opportunity to con- González became a pilot in Brothers her a visa to visit him in prison for 10 firm that I am on the right path and to the Rescue, an organization estab- González’s June 22 request years. that the world still has a lot of room lished in 1991 by CIA-trained opera- On June 22 González’s attorney, The recent court documents for the left for improvement,” González said tive José Basulto. In the mid-1990s the Philip Horowitz, renewed the request. first time make public the fact that at his sentencing on Dec. 14, 2001. “I group began organizing flights pene- In July the government responded and Salanueva was allowed to return to the would like to believe you will under- trating Cuban airspace and designed to González’s attorneys replied. U.S. to visit González in prison on one stand why I have no reason to be re- provoke a Cuban response, calculating In the case of a foreign national, “de- occasion—in November 2010, though morseful.” that might trigger a military confronta- portation is often a condition of super- “under the most burdensome condi- Since their convictions, the five tion with Washington. vised release,” the request pointed out. tions.” Cuban revolutionaries have tirelessly Despite repeated warnings from González is both a Cuban and a U.S. While Salanueva “was permitted to explained that they acted to defend Havana that the hostile planes would citizen. Born in Chicago, he moved travel with her children, they were kept Cuba’s socialist revolution—a revo- not continue with impunity, the U.S. with his parents to Cuba when he was separated during her visit,” states the lutionary struggle in which workers government did nothing to stop them. five in 1961. June 22 filing. “Olga was confined to a and farmers took state power out of In January 1996 a Brothers to the The government contends that hotel under armed guard, and was able the hands of the U.S.-backed capital- Rescue operation dropped counterrev- because he holds U.S. citizenship, to see her husband briefly only before ist ruling class, and to this day use olutionary propaganda on the island. González should serve his supervised being sent back to Cuba.” that power to defend the interests of The following month, after repeated release in the U.S. It has rejected of- “The brief visit was more traumatic the toilers. They carried out work they warnings to turn back, Cuban fight- fers by González to renounce his U.S. than normal,” stated defense attorney are both proud of and would do again. er jets shot down two of the group’s citizenship if he is allowed to return to Richard Klugh in an email response to The U.S. government’s brief also planes that had once again entered Cuba. questions from the Militant. points to what it characterizes as the Cuban airspace. Forcing González to remain in the The visit was permitted as part of “seriousness of González’s crimes.” The Cuban Five were arrested in FBI U.S. runs counter to the purported a “confidential diplomatic accommo- This includes, the brief said, “using raids in September 1998 and framed purpose of supervised release “to fa- dation” between the U.S. and Cuban his status as a commercial airplane governments “in exchange for a fam- pilot to penetrate and report on activ- ily visit of an American prisoner be- ity in South Florida [of] organizations Canada labor federation backs Cuban Five ing held in Cuba,” explained a subse- the Government of Cuba perceived The following letter was sent July 9 by Ken Georgetti, president of the quent July 30 reply filed on behalf of Continued on page 7 Canadian Labour Congress, the largest union organization in Canada. González. The reply noted that attorneys for Dear President Obama, the U.S. government “violated the On behalf of 3.3 million members of the Canadian Labour Congress agreement between the two countries The Cuban Five: Who They Are, Why They (CLC), I am writing to protest the continued imprisonment of the Cuban 5 to keep this matter private,” by reveal- Were Framed, Why They Should Be Free $5 and to ask you to intervene so as to procure their release from prison and ing in a March 2011 court document be allowed to return to their families in Cuba. … that a visit had taken place. These men were charged with multiple offences including conspiracy to The June 22 request on behalf of Women in Cuba: The Making of a commit espionage. In truth, they were in the United States unarmed and González also notes that being forced Revolution Within the Revolution never posed a threat of any kind to U.S. national security. They were in the to reside in Florida places him in dan- by Vilma Espín, Asela de los Santos, United States to monitor the activities of Cuban exiles who, operating from ger of reprisal by forces hostile to the Yolanda Ferrer - $15 (normally $20) bases in Miami, were planning violent actions against innocent people in Cuban Revolution and points out that Cuba. In fact they were trying to prevent more brutal acts against their González has complied with all his pa- country and save innocent lives. role conditions since his release. From Pathfinder Press The continued incarceration of these Cuban patriots is morally indefen- sible. I urge you to exercise the power of your office and grant a pardon to visit www.pathfinderpress.com to U.S. gov’t asks court to reject motion order and for a full online catalog the Cuban Five, allowing them to return to their families in Cuba. In its July 16 response, the gov- In solidarity, ernment asked the court to reject Kenneth V. Georgetti González’s request to serve out his President Available from distributors listed on page 8

6 The Militant August 27, 2012 Arnaldo Barrón: ‘revolutionary combatant of the old vanguard’

BY MARTÍN KOPPEL to New York, where he worked in con- Arnaldo Barrón, a founding leader struction and other jobs. in New York of the July 26 Movement, “Barrón, alongside thousands of was honored in Havana, Cuba, July Cubans in the U.S. who supported the 24 for his decades-long record be- leader of the revolution, Fidel Castro, fore and after the 1959 victory of the helped lead the way to the victory in Cuban Revolution. Barrón, 88, was 1959,” Alarcón said. Their story “is awarded the Friendship Medal by the an inseparable part of our history but Cuban Institute for Friendship with the it is not well-known today.” He noted Peoples (ICAP). that the U.S. capitalist media hides this “Barrón is a Cuban revolutionary record to falsely portray all Cuban- combatant of the old vanguard,” said Americans as opposed to the revolu- Ricardo Alarcón, president of Cuba’s tion. National Assembly, in awarding him Nancy Cabrero, president of Casa de Arnaldo Barrón, right, awarded Friendship Medal by Ricardo Alarcón, president of Cuba’s National Assembly, July 24. Barrón was founding leader of July 26 Movement in New York. the medal. las Américas, told those in attendance The ceremony was held at ICAP’s that in the fall of 1955 Fidel Castro copies of History Will Absolve Me, The case made national head- national headquarters. Also attending visited New York and other U.S. cities the 1953 courtroom speech by Fidel lines as the 36 combatants, jailed in were ICAP president Kenia Serrano; to organize local units of the July 26 Castro that popularized the aims of the Brownsville, Texas, launched a hunger Pedro Núñez Mosquera, Cuba’s am- Movement. Castro and other revolu- revolutionary struggle led by the July strike together with July 26 Movement bassador at the United Nations; and tionaries in Cuba had launched the or- 26 Movement and Rebel Army. members in New York. leaders of the New York-based orga- ganization a few months earlier to lead “The little band’s fiery commander, nization that Barrón helped found, the mass struggle against the Batista N.Y. expedition backs Rebel Army Arnaldo G. Barron, said all 36 had Casa de las Américas, led by Cuban- dictatorship. Units were organized in In March 1958 Barrón led an expe- saved for months to buy the $20,000 Americans who support the revolu- New York; Bridgeport, Conn.; Union dition of 36 supporters of the armed in arms seized with the men,” AP re- tion. Accompanying the honored guest City, N.J.; and Miami, Tampa and Key insurrection from New York. They ported. was Gloria Barrón, his wife and life- West, Fla. were attempting to deliver munitions “Barron, in a jail interview, told the long comrade-in-arms. In New York, the July 26 Movement and weapons to the Rebel Army in Associated Press that most of the men Alarcón noted that in the 1940s and unit was a merger of three groups, in- Cuba aboard a rented boat, El Orión, are United States citizens. All were ’50s thousands of Cuban workers emi- cluding the local support committee of which set off from a beach on the Gulf born in Cuba except one Puerto Rican. grated to the United States in search of the Orthodox Party, of which Barrón of Mexico. Some fought for the United States in work and, after the 1952 military coup was chairperson. Two years later they The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted World War II.” by Fulgencio Batista, fleeing the re- founded Casa Cuba as a broader for- the 83-foot trawler off Padre Island, After winning their release on bond, pression under the U.S.-backed Batista mation to win support for the revolu- Texas, and arrested the men, “all uni- “the rebels launched a wave of hand- regime. Many of them became active tionary struggle. formed and heavily armed,” according bill propaganda, apparently to drum in the fight against the dictatorship. The working-class militants of Casa to a March 28, 1958, Associated Press up popular support for their position,” Among them was Barrón, who was Cuba carried out fundraising and other dispatch. They were charged with vio- the Brownsville Herald wrote. “The born in Camagüey, Cuba, and moved activities. They printed and distributed lating the U.S. Neutrality Act. rebels’ newest ‘manifesto’ asked that ‘the people of Brownsville be present at Federal Court when we stand ac- René González presses fight to return to Cuba cused of fighting for liberty and de- Continued from page 6 ments to his wife … visiting him in brother in Havana which this court mocracy in our country.’” as ‘counter-revolutionary,’ includ- the United States are particularly ill granted over their objection … shows The defendants were convicted in ing at Brothers to the Rescue and placed,” the government response the punitive nature of Rene Gonzalez May 1958. The judge gave them three Movimiento Democracía, a Cuban claims, in light of her involvement in being on supervised release in the to five years’ probation. exile group where Gonzalez’s false his activities and the visit she was al- United States.” “This expedition was stopped by the depiction of himself as an anti-Castro lowed in November 2010. In March, González traveled to United States Coast Guard but there sympathizer was so successful that he “The fact that a prison visit was Cuba for two weeks to see his termi- will be lots of others,” Barrón told the was proposed to head an intelligence granted should not be used to block nally ill brother Roberto González, press from the Brownsville jail. division of its aviation group.” his rights postrelease to be with his who died of cancer June 22. The reply Later that year, Barrón was again The government also argues that family,” Klugh told the Militant, say- cited the fact that González returned indicted by the U.S. government, this González’s request to serve the re- ing this represented an unprecedented to the U.S. following that visit as fur- time on charges of acting “as an agent of mainder of his supervised release in “violation of human rights standards.” ther proof that he would fulfill his Fidel Castro and the July 26 Movement Cuba is essentially a request to ter- promise to renounce his U.S. citizen- of Cuba without having filed the reg- minate it. And that cannot be consid- Answer to government’s response ship upon his return to Cuba. He will istration statement required” under ered before serving at least one year, On July 30, González’s lawyers not give up this citizenship before he the Foreign Agents Registration Act. it claims. submitted a reply to the government’s touches Cuban soil, explained Klugh, He pleaded no contest and was given Moreover, his compliance with the July 16 filing. It emphasized that because “he would be imprisoned in- a suspended sentence and five years’ conditions of his parole don’t amount González’s request is to modify, not definitely as an illegal alien.” probation. to the ‘“exceptionally good behavior’ terminate, the conditions of his parole González’s reply also documents Government harassment did not that courts look for in considering in a manner consistent with his for- the conditions he faces under parole deter Barrón and his comrades. With claims of early termination.” eign citizenship. restrictions. the overthrow of the Batista regime González’s complaints of “impedi- As to the assertion that González He is required to notify every in January 1959 and the opening of a remains unrepentant, the reply notes new acquaintance of his legal status, deep-going revolutionary transforma- that “each and every defendant who is which would reveal his identity and tion of Cuba, they stepped up their charged with a crime has the right to potentially place him in danger. work in the United States. The Cuban Five: Who They Are, Why They maintain their innocence.” This has imposed an extraordinary Over the years Casa Cuba organized Were Framed, Why They Should Be Free $5 González’s reply also “set the record isolation as he “cannot befriend his many public actions in defense of the straight” on the character of the con- most immediate neighbors, or even Cuban Revolution. It successfully ditions set on Salanueva’s November establish any form of casual friend- stood up to police victimization and to Women in Cuba: The Making of a 2010 visit. In its March 2011 brief op- ship,” the reply said. Likewise, he has violent assaults by counterrevolution- Revolution Within the Revolution posing González’s request to return been unable to obtain a driver’s li- ary Cuban groups. In 1962, at the urg- by Vilma Espín, Asela de los Santos, to Cuba upon his release from prison cense because the state of Florida re- ing of Argentine revolutionary leader Yolanda Ferrer - $15 (normally $20) the government revealed the visit as quires that he reveal his address. And, Ernesto Che Guevara, the organiza- part of claims it was addressing the the reply added, his “access to health tion changed its name to Casa de las “humanitarian” issues and “suggested care was remarkably and unexpected- Américas to underscore its solidarity From Pathfinder Press that there would be further accommo- ly much higher in prison that it could with popular struggles across the con- visit www.pathfinderpress.com to dations.” But no such “accommoda- ever be under the current conditions.” tinent. order and for a full online catalog tion” has been allowed since then. González’s request to return to At the July 25 tribute to Barrón, The reply pointed out that the gov- Cuba to serve out his term of super- Cabrero pledged Casa’s commitment ernment attorneys “even opposed the vised release is now in the hands of to continue along the road that Barrón defendant’s request to visit his dying Judge Lenard. and others forged. Available from distributors listed on page 8

The Militant August 27, 2012 7 Marx: ‘Trade Unions: Their Past, Present, and Future’ Printed below is “Trade Unions: en to some sense of their great histori- Their Past, Present, and Future” by Karl cal mission, as appears, for instance, Marx the prologue to Trade Unions in from their participation, in England, in the Epoch of Imperialist Decay by Leon the recent political movement, from the Trotsky, one of Pathfinder’s Books of enlarged views taken of their function the Month for August. in the United States, and from the fol- Marx was the central leader of lowing resolution passed at the recent the International Working Men’s great conference of trades’ delegates at Association, better known as the First Sheffield:* International, from its founding in “That this conference, fully appreciat- London in 1864. “Trade Unions: Their ing the efforts made by the International Past, Present, and Future” was drafted by [Working Men’s] Association to unite in Marx and adopted by the International’s one common bond of brotherhood the 1866 congress in Geneva, Switzerland, working men of all countries, most ear- to guide its trade union work. It was nestly recommend to the various societ- published in early 1867 in the associa- ies here represented, the advisability of tion’s journal International Courier. becoming affiliated to that body, believ- It has been invaluable for union fight- ing that it is essential to the progress and ers ever since and was used by V.I. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper prosperity of the entire working com- Illustration of labor demonstration for eight-hour day in New York, September 1871. munity.” Banner to the left says “8 hours peaceably if possible—forcibly if we must.” Books of unions “must not remain aloof from competition, in order to conquer such (C) THEIR FUTURE the general political and social move- terms of contract as might raise them at Apart from their original purpos- the month ment of the working class,” Lenin said, least above the condition of mere slaves. es, they must now learn to act delib- but “must strive for the general eman- The immediate object of trades’ erately as organizing centers of the cipation of the millions of oppressed unions was therefore confined to every- working class in the broad interest Lenin in organizing the union work of of its complete emancipation. They the Bolshevik Party, which led the work- workers.” day necessities, to expediences for the The conviction central to the resolu- obstruction of the incessant encroach- must aid every social and political ers and peasants to power in Russia in movement tending in that direction. the October Revolution of 1917. tion “that the class struggle must neces- ments of capital, in one word, to ques- sarily combine the political and the eco- tions of wages and time of labor. This Considering themselves and acting as “The resolution,” Lenin wrote in 1899, the champions and representatives of “recognised that the trade unions were nomic struggle into one integral whole activity of the trades’ unions is not only has entered into the flesh and blood” of legitimate, it is necessary. It cannot be the whole working class, they cannot not only a natural, but also an essen- fail to enlist the nonsociety [unorga- tial phenomenon under capitalism and the world revolutionary workers’ move- dispensed with so long as the present ment, Lenin concluded. system of production lasts. On the con- nized] men into their ranks. considered them an extremely impor- They must look carefully after the in- tant means for organising the work- Copyright © 1969 by Pathfinder trary, it must be generalized by the for- Press. Reprinted by permission. mation and the combination of trades’ terests of the worst-paid trades, such as ing class in its daily struggle against the agricultural laborers, rendered pow- capital and for the abolition of wage- unions throughout all countries. BY karl marx On the other hand, unconsciously erless by exceptional circumstances. labour.” They must convince the world at large The resolution underlined that the (A) THEIR PAST to themselves, the trades’ unions were Capital is concentrated social force, forming centers of organization of the that their efforts, far from being narrow while the workman has only to dispose working class, as the medieval mu- and selfish, aim at the emancipation of of his working force [labor power]. The nicipalities and communes did for the the downtrodden millions. August Books contract between capital and labor can middle class. If the trades’ unions are of the Month therefore never be struck on equitable required for the guerrilla fights between terms, equitable even in the sense of a capital and labor, they are still more im- * The Sheffield conference, held July 17- PATHFINDER society which places the ownership of portant as organized agencies for super- 21, 1866, brought together 138 delegates READERS CLUB 25% discount the material means of life and labor on seding the very system of wages labor representing 200,000 organized workers SPECIALS one side and the vital productive ener- and capital rule. in Britain. From 1865 to 1867, British gies on the opposite side. unions helped lead a broad campaign for Trade Unions in the The only social power of the work- (B) THEIR PRESENT expanded voting rights. Epoch of Too exclusively bent upon the local In early 1861, following moves by the men is their number. The force of num- southern slave states to secede from the Imperialist Decay bers, however, is broken by disunion. and immediate struggles with capital, by Leon Trotsky United States, unions in cities through- The disunion of the workmen is created the trades’ unions have not yet fully un- out the northern and border states held Invaluable to militant workers who derstood their power of acting against are relearning how a strike is fought and perpetuated by their unavoidable meetings and demonstrations supporting and how it can be won. competition among themselves. the system of wages slavery itself. They the federal government and urging its de- $16. Special price: $12 Trades’ unions originally sprang up therefore kept too much aloof from gen- fense. During the 1861-65 Civil War, new from the spontaneous attempts of work- eral social and political movements. unions were organized and union activity Cointelpro: The FBI’s Secret men at removing or at least checking that Of late, however, they seem to awak- for the eight-hour day increased. War on Political Freedom by Nelson Blackstock $15. Special price: $11.25 Malcolm X: The Last Speeches if you like this paper, look us up $17. Special price: $12.75 Where to find distributors of the E-mail: [email protected] AUSTRALIA Militant, New International, and a full Sydney: 1st Flr, 3/281-287 Beamish In Defense of Socialism display of Pathfinder books. MINNESOTA: Minneapolis: 416 E. St., Campsie, NSW 2194. Mailing by Fidel Castro Hennepin Ave., Suite 214. Zip: 55414. Tel: (612) address: P.O. Box 164, Campsie, NSW 2194. Four speeches around the 30th anniversary of UNITED STATES 729-1205. E-mail: [email protected] Tel: (02) 9718 9698. E-mail: cl_australia@ the Cuban Revolution. 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8 The Militant August 27, 2012 Editorial Clinton in Africa Continued from front page of Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal, the first stop Why bosses ‘go after workers so hard’ on her tour, Clinton, while not mentioning China by One of the most frequent questions James Harris mulate more and more profits to plow back into fiercer name, took aim at its role in Africa. She asserted that and Maura DeLuca, the Socialist Workers Party can- and fiercer competition with each other. This drives Washington and U.S. corporations “will stand up for didates for president and vice president, are asked by profit margins down, and the struggle escalates. The democracy and universal human rights even when it workers on the picket line is “Why are the bosses go- capitalists desperately need some new markets for in- might be easier to look the other way and keep the re- ing after us so hard?” vestment—but there are none. sources coming. … Across the country, and around the world, workers The only place they can turn is to take it out of the “The days of having outsiders come and extract the face attacks on their wages; jacked-up productivity working class, the class that creates all wealth by our wealth of Africa for themselves leaving nothing or and longer hours, wearing on life and limb; slashes labor. And as their crisis deepens, this is exactly what very little behind should be over in the 21st century,” in health and retirement benefits; demands for ever- they are doing. Clinton stated. “America’s commitment” to Africa deeper divisions between wages for new workers and The crisis intensifies the competition among capi- “adds value rather than extracts it.” those with more seniority; increased use of temporary talists on a national and international scale. This is In response, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua workers at lower pay and no benefits; union busting why we see U.S. imperialism working from Africa in an Aug. 3 article said Clinton’s remarks were “an and assaults on our dignity. to the South China Sea to battle their Chinese com- attempt to drive a wedge between China and Africa.” This is not an explosion of greediness among cor- petitors and to shift its military machine to the East. Her “implication that China has been extracting porate executives. It is a product of the very nature of This is behind the crisis of the European Union, the Africa’s wealth for itself is utterly wide of the truth,” capitalism. conflicting class interests of the stronger exploiting the article stated. “It was the Western colonial pow- We are living in the early stages of a worldwide cri- classes in Germany, France and the United Kingdom ers that were exactly the so-called outsiders, which sis of capitalist accumulation unlike anything since vs. the weaker in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and in Clinton’s words, came and extracted the wealth of the Great Depression. elsewhere. Africa for themselves.” Capitalism dominates the world like never before. The employers seek to draw workers into backing In 2011, China’s exports to Africa were $73.4 billion, In the 1930s, most of China, India, Africa and much U.S. moves abroad, arguing we all benefit when they more than double U.S. exports to the continent. China- of Latin America were organized around subsistence clobber their rivals. But we and workers worldwide Africa trade that year reached $166 billion—$40 bil- peasant farming, isolated from the world market. face exactly the same attacks everywhere, for the lion more than U.S.-Africa trade. Today, capitalist relations dominate every corner of same reasons. It is in our interest to fight together. In June, the White House issued a new “U.S. the world, drawing millions of toilers into factory pro- It is only by coming to understand this reality from Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa.” In the in- duction—and into the class struggle. our experiences in struggle that we can begin to chart troduction Barack Obama says, “We will encour- We do not face a downturn in the “boom and bust’ an independent working-class political course of age American companies to seize trade and invest- of the business cycle, but a deep-going, long-term cri- battle, a road toward taking political power and trans- ment opportunities in Africa.” The Chinese gov- sis engendered by the bosses’ relentless drive to accu- forming the world. ernment promptly responded with a promise of $20 billion in loans to African countries over the next three years. Washington has also been expanding its military Autoworkers strike Hyundai in S. Korea operations in Africa. It maintains 3,500 U.S. mili- Continued from front page work stoppages over the last week. tary personnel in Djibouti in Northeast Africa. The director of the union’s international department, told Bloomberg News reported that Hyundai made air base is a center for launching armed aerial drone the Militant in a phone interview. “We want an eight- profits of $49,730 per worker last year compared to attacks targeting the Islamist group al-Shabab in hour day and to abolish the graveyard shift.” Toyota’s $17,250. Prior to the strike it was on course Somalia and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in “The union walkout is counterproductive and to increase its already record profits by 12 percent Yemen. harms the workers and Hyundai customers, as well this year. In addition, National Guard units are being sent to as the company,” Frank Ahrens, Hyundai Motor “Workers reel from violent union busting,” said various African countries. Next March another 3,000 spokesperson, told the Militant via email, complain- a July 31 article in Hankyoreh, referring to an an- U.S. soldiers will be deployed to Africa. ing the company had lost $640 million in production ti-union offensive over the last several years. The Last October, the Obama administration sent in five days. South Korean daily reported that in 2010 and 2011 100 special operations troops to four countries in “Hyundai didn’t make any counterproposals on the bosses succeeded in replacing the Korean Metal Central Africa—Uganda, South Sudan, the Central wages until today,” Chong said Aug. 14. “And even Workers Union with pro-company locals at key African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the proposals on the precarious [temporary] workers workplaces, including at Valeo Electrical Systems. the Congo—as part of a military action targeting the is really far off. They should not be surprised we At the SJM auto parts factory in Ansan, accord- Lord’s Resistance Army, a group of armed bandits op- went on strike.” ing to Hankyoreh, “hired goons violently broke up a erating in the region. In 2000 Hyundai’s factories in South Korea ac- sit-in protest after storming into the plant early in the In Kenya, Clinton met with President Mwai Kibaki, counted for 92 percent of the company’s output. morning on July 27.” in Nairobi, in talks aimed at strengthening military Today it’s less than half, as Hyundai has expanded Mando Corporation, which makes parts for ties. With Washington’s backing , some 4,000 Kenyan and shifted production to Turkey, India, Russia, Hyundai and Kia, locked out workers July 27 and set troops invaded southern Somalia last October in a China, the Czech Republic and the U.S. Its first fac- up a new company union. Mando is now demanding drive against supporters of al-Shabab. tory in Brazil will open in November. that workers sign no-strike pledges before allowing Similarly, in Uganda Clinton sought to tighten ties Auto companies are increasing the hiring of tem- them to return. with the nation’s military, which comprises a major porary workers both to boost profits and weaken the “There is speculation that Hyundai is the invis- component of the 10,000-strong African Union oc- unions. Temp workers account for about 25 percent ible hand behind the attacks by goons at SJM and cupation force in Somalia. Ugandan troops are work- of Hyundai’s workforce and are paid just 65 percent at three Mando plants,” said Chong. “Would any ing closely with U.S. special forces operating inside of the wage of permanent employees, Chong said. employer decide on an all-out war with their work- Uganda. Temporary workers went on strike last November ers that risks a stable supply of parts to Hyundai on Clinton also visited the newly created state of South demanding permanent positions and have also held their own?” Sudan. Gen. Carter Ham, commander of the U.S. Africa Command, recently announced that plans are in the works to establish a base for surveillance flights in Nzara there. French gov’t scapegoats Roma, immigrants In Nigeria Aug. 9, Clinton characterized the coun- Continued from front page “The state will mobilize all its means to combat try, the most populous on the continent, as one of ity in central and eastern Europe. Referred to dis- these violent acts,” Hollande said the next day, an- Washington’s “most vitally important strategic part- paragingly as “gypsies,” they have been a target of nouncing additional resources in the next budget for nerships in sub-Saharan Africa.” Nigeria is Africa’s racist discrimination and violence across the con- the cops and the gendarmerie, a special policing force top oil producer and a major exporter of light crude tinent. under the ministry of defense. to the U.S. In an Aug. 14 opinion column, Minister of Interior In 2005, there were monthlong protests across She also offered to aid President Goodluck Jonathan Manuel Valls stated that as far as these Roma encamp- France in working-class neighborhoods inhabited by in creating an “intelligence fusion cell” to combine spy- ments are concerned, “laissez-faire [non-intervention- immigrants—largely of African descent—against ing information from the military and federal, state and ism] solves nothing” and firmness is “necessary.” police harassment and brutality, as well as racist dis- local police agencies, with Washington providing train- In a separate development, clashes between some crimination in employment, housing and education. ing and equipment, and assistance tracking “suspects.” 100 youth and 150 cops broke out Aug. 13 in the Nord “Little has changed [since] for France’s margin- Washington’s aim is to deepen ties with the Nigerian working-class neighborhood of Amiens, mostly im- alised youth,” commented an Aug. 14 BBC article. government in its drive against the Islamist group migrants from North Africa, after what witnesses Boko Haram, which operates in the northern part of described as an abusive police spot check and arrest. the country. The ensuing hourslong street battle resulted in 16 cops Attacks by Nigerian forces in these areas are in- injured and several cars and public buildings torched. ‘Militant’ holiday schedule creasingly unpopular. “The army is raiding our houses Youth unemployment in the area is around 60 percent. This issue of the Militant, mailed out on one after the other, beating and brutalizing people,” Amiens-Nord is one of 15 areas across France that Aug. 16, will be a two-week issue, as we Rahamman Bello, a resident of Adavi village near the government had earmarked earlier in August for will be taking a one-week break. Okene, told Reuters. “Many of our people are being increased policing. arrested and molested.”

The Militant August 27, 2012 9