The Socialist Taking on Magazine of the SocialiSt Party USa The KingPage 4 May Day 2008 Vol. 34, no. 2 | SUMMer 2008 | $1.00 The May Day 2008 Socialist Vol. 34, no. 2 | SUMMer 2008 | $1.00 Magazine of the SocialiSt Party USa Editor editorial 3 Billy Wharton Editorial Board Mal Herbert, Convener Jim Marra FEATUreS 4 tina Phillips taking on “the King” by Darius C. Engel 4 Steve rossignol remembering ralph by David McReynolds 6 SubscriPtion rates 1-year individual - $10 Children as “Collateral damage” in the War on iraq by Dan Jakopovich 8 1-year institution - $25 a Socialist alternative? Going from Green to red by Rev. José M. Tirado 9 Bulk rate no.1: 25 copies/issue - $45 Bulk rate no.2: 50 copies/issue - $80 SuBMiSSionS & lEttErS SECTION: accumulation by Dispossession 6 The Socialist is always looking for interesting, insightful, well-written material. in particular, “Accumulation by dispossession is about plundering, robbing other people of their rights. we are looking for work that highlights the When we start to look at what has happened to the global economy for the past thirty struggles and triumphs of the working class. years, a lot of that has been going on all over the place.” - David Harvey We will accept news articles and stories about organizing and protests, but we are also looking for short fiction, poetry, and letter 1: the Making of the First “Super Max” by Pablo Pina 10 music/arts/theater/film review. Please mark Free trade and transportation: the trouble with trade Corridors by Michael Yoder 11 all letters to the editor as such and limit let- ters to 250 words; articles should not exceed Health Care is a right! act up! by Brent Nicholson Earle 12 1,500 words. Submit as e-mail attachments in Homelessness in Capitalist america by Todd Vachon 13 Microsoft Word .doc or .rtf format. GHi/HiP Privatization threatens the Healthcare of Millions of new Yorkers by Billy Wharton 14 ContaCt tHE SPuSa Greg Pason national Secretary news & opinion 16 Socialist Party uSa 339 lafayette St, room 303 Vermont v. George W. by Mary-Alice Herbert 16 new York, nY 10012 rick Perry’s Corporate Kingdom Phone (212) 982-4586 by Steve Rossignol 16 e-mail: [email protected] Starting now to Build a Socialist Electoral Front by Peter Moody 17 web: www.sp-usa.org a digital revolution on Your desktop by Christian Fernandez; diSClaiMEr Translation by Erik Carlos Torén 18 The Socialist is published by the Socialist Party uSa. unless otherwise noted, views expressed in this publication are those of the Poetry 20 authors and not necessarily of the Socialist Party. The Socialist may be reprinted with a new doctrine by Jerry Williams 20 permission for non-profit purposes. Beloved Palestine by Hugo Hernandez 20 dESiGn Shirari industries | shirari.com Statements & letters 20 PrintinG Saltus Press, a unionized printshop in an open letter in Support of third Party or independent Candidates and Minor Parties Worcester, Massachusetts by Brian P. Moore 22 Statement on the 2008 american axle Strike CoVEr PHOTO CiW protest, Miami by Socialist Party of Michigan/Socialist Party USA Labor Commission 22 Statement on israel-Palestine by International Commission of the Socialist Party USA 23 Statement of Principles & Directory 24 the Power of class Solidarity and the return of May Day Editorial Golding Shira Photo: May day celebrations in the united States (u.S.) have been resusci- May day celebrations were portable; any venue small or large would tated. notes on May day’s demise proliferated following the collapse do, and were open as any worker could spontaneously participate. of Soviet bloc in the late 80s and 90s. Commemorations in the u.S. Coldwell and his imprisoned comrades, including Eugene debs, did limped along held together only by the noble yet not particularly not need celebrations “…in gaily decorated halls.” one year when effective efforts of anarchists and socialists. Workers mostly disre- Coldwell was the only radical in jail a red ribbon sufficed as a com- garded the day while trade union leaders remained married to the memoration. in another, a smuggled violin allowed for a perfor- Macarthyite inspired September labor day. mance of “the internationale” and “the red Flag.” a revolutionary slogan written in the sand in the prison courtyard, along with the this situation was transformed rapidly, and perhaps permanently, in music, alerted other prisoners to the meaning of the day. 2006 as immigrant workers moved onto the national scene through mass rallies in cities throughout the u.S. this new May day celebra- Finally Coldwell argued that May day managed to freeze historical tion was dubbed “a day Without immigrants” and amounted to a time. Writing about May day reminded Coldwell that all of his fellow mass strike of millions of immigrant workers operating outside of prisoners had been released from jail, less the anarchist nick Zogg the structures of organized labor. (released in July 1924). He further recognized the importance of supporting the new class-war prisoners including Mooney and Bill- With May day back on the political map, socialists have a duty to ings and Sacco and Vanzetti. the day linked the heroes of the past, attempt to synthesize the experiences of the past and the present. with actors in the present who were determined to transform the the writings of early socialists are particularly helpful since they future. capture the manner in which May day served to focus the rising militancy of the working class. now in 2008 both Joseph Coldwell and the immigrant workers who engineered the recovery of May day offer important lessons to the Particularly noteworthy is a letter penned by Socialist Joseph left in the uS. For the day to thrive we must find ways to encourage Coldwell and published in the daily Worker (May 1924). after a sense of common purpose across capitalist borders, to increase experiencing numerous May days as a “class-war prisoner,” in u.S. the number and locations of commemorations and to unite our col- jails, Coldwell understood the day as the highest expression of “…the lective past and present to build a progressive future. to accomplish power of class solidarity.” this we would do well to recognize that May day was created, “not Coldwell argued that the commemorations provided workers with by the grace of God, or by act of parliament, but by the power of a sense of commonality in the global struggle against capitalism. class solidarity.” For one day each year the typical divisions fomented by capital- Joseph Coldwell was a member of the Socialist Party active in Mas- ism based upon “land and language,” “on land or on the seas, sick sachusetts and Rhode Island. Coldwell led many militant actions in- or well, imprisoned or at liberty,” were replaced by a collectively cluding the 1913 Draper Textile Strike and was the Socialist candidate shared desire for liberation. despite attempts of varying severity to for governor of Rhode Island in 1934 and for the U.S. Senate in 1936. eliminate May day celebrations by what Coldwell described as the “master class,” wage-laborers emptied their worksites en-masse for parades, meetings, picnics and dances. The Socialist | SuMMEr 2008 3 S FEATURE 4 The Socialist | SuMMEr 2008 taking on “the King” Darius C. Engel Burger King is the most recent fast food conglomerate target in a Burger King has refused to negotiate. Steven Grover, Burger King’s campaign organized by the Coalition of immokalee Workers (CiW). “vice-president” in charge of food safety and quality assurance, said thus far, CiW workers have won an increase of one penny per pound the “door is open,” to negotiations, but little if any real dialogue of tomatoes picked from Mcdonald’s Corp and YuM Brands inc (KFC, has been offered. instead they have responded with obstacles, Pizza Hut and taco Bell). CiW members and supporters organized a dismissiveness, and even attacks on past successes. CiW spokes- mass demonstration in Miami in december 2007 to focus efforts for woman Julia Perkins said “Burger King has been actively working a positive resolution with the burger serving conglomerate. to undermine and ultimately end the Yum and Mcdonalds’ pacts reached through fair negotiations in 2005. Workers are demanding the march started in downtown Miami at the Miami headquarters of Burger King to stop immediately. it’s like stealing, just stealing what Goldman Sachs, one of the private equity firms which owns a large they won,” said Perkins, “they are actually working to take those stake in Burger King. the nine mile march consisted of nearly a gains away.” thousand protesters, many wearing yellow t-shirts that read “Exploi- tation King: Burger King Exploits Farm workers.” Yellow flags were taking its usual anti-union stand, FoX news went so far as to change waved in the air reading “Esperanza” (Hope), and signs read “fair the number of attendees from nearly a thousand to “about 300,” wages for farm workers.” the march was headed by a ten foot tall a figure that can be quashed with a simple look at event photos. Burger King puppet crying “liar liar.” included in this “unbiased” report was more than a lion’s share of quotes from Burger King Management damning and dismissing the truck was preceded by a flat bed. Many of the workers, fearing the march and its goals. as to the large shoe display, Burger King for their jobs and livelihood could not attend; however, they sent argued that the reason those workers were not in attendance was their shoes which filled the flat bed, displaying a sign reading, because, “most field pickers are illegal immigrants.” Steven Grover “doubt our Poverty, Walk in our Shoes.” the display was poignant, explained that the one-cent increase (which would only cost Burger and moving by its simplicity.