AUSTRALIA $1.50 · canada $1.50 · france 1.00 euro · new zealand $1.50 · uk £.50 · u.s. $1.00 INSIDE As US, Tehran open talks, Iran’s rulers continue weapons program — PAGE 4 A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE vol. 85/no. 16 April 26, 2021 ‘Join in drive Protests defy Solidarity with miners, to put SWP assaults by steelworkers on strike! candidates military junta on NJ ballot!’ in Myanmar BY VIVIAN SAHNER by seth galinsky UNION CITY, N.J. — Socialist In its deadliest massacre since seiz- Workers Party campaigners are find- ing power Feb. 1, the military junta in ing widespread interest in learning Myanmar killed more than 80 people about a working-class road forward in the southwestern city of Bago April out of today’s capitalist economic and 10, bringing the total killed since their social crisis, and an alternative to the coup to more than 700. bosses’ twin parties, the Democrats In a sign of the generals’ inability and Republicans. They’ve knocked on to stop the protests and stabilize their doors and met workers and farmers as dictatorial rule, the next day protest- they collect signatures to put Joanne ers marched once more in Bago car- Kuniansky and Candace Wagner, the rying a banner that said, “Spring SWP’s candidates for governor and Revolution. On strike.” lieutenant governor of New Jersey, on The junta’s forces had launched the ballot. their attack before dawn, firing rocket Many are glad to hear that Kunian- propelled grenades and machine guns sky, a worker at Walmart, and Wag- at protesters manning a sandbagged Townsquare Media/Tessa Worley Picket line in Brookwood, Alabama, of miners on strike against Warrior Met Coal. Miner Mike ner, a worker on a freight railroad, barricade. They also raided at least Wright told WVUA TV, “We basically want to let the company know: No contract, no coal.” are building solidarity with workers five Bago neighborhoods where daily on strike today and putting forward protests have taken place. ‘ATI is trying to bust our Striking Alabama miners a program to defend the interests of The crackdown, strikes and protests union,’ steelworkers say vote down ‘insulting’ offer all working people against those of have shut down significant parts of the bosses. the economy. Many Chinese-owned By TONY LANE By susan lamont Campaign supporters collected 342 garment shops were hit with arson at- LOUISVILLE, Ohio — “They’re ATLANTA — Some 1,100 union signatures in a dozen towns and cities tacks by unknown forces who blame trying to break the union,” Dave Bur- coal miners at Warrior Met Coal in over the April 10-12 weekend, bring- Beijing for the coup. Over 100,000 gess told the Militant at the Allegheny Brookwood, Alabama, voted over- ing the total collected to 1,315. They workers have fled Yangon back to Technologies Inc. plant here where close whelmingly April 9 to reject a tenta- Continued on page 3 Continued on page 9 to 100 union steelworkers work. “The tive contract proposal and continue majority of ATI’s plants are nonunion their strike. The United Mine Work- today.” Company bosses announced in ers of America members struck War- December plans to shut down their plant Continued on page 4 Build fight against cop killings of here in Louisville, as well as facilities in Waterbury, Connecticut, and the No. 3 George Floyd and Daunte Wright Finishing Department at Brackenridge, Workers, unions Pennsylvania. Some 1,300 members of the United need to fight for Steelworkers are on strike at nine mills and other ATI facilities in five states. Most are in the greater Pittsburgh area. jobs for all who Burgess, a driver with four years in the plant, said he came to ATI from an- need them! other union steel mill in nearby Massil- by terry evans Continued on page 9 For over a year, since the onset of the coronavirus epidemic and ensuing gov- ernment lockdowns, U.S. bosses have thrown millions out of work to defend on the their profits. Neither Democratic nor Republican administrations have done picket line anything to reverse this. The only way forward for workers and our unions is to Back locked-out Minnesota oil Continued on page 6 refinery workers’ fight for safety! ST. PAUL PARK, Minn. — Two hundred Teamsters, members of Local 120, have been locked out by Marathon Inside Pioneer Press/Scott Takushi Petroleum here since January 22. While Mural in Minneapolis near where George Floyd was killed. Millions of working people and Philippine gov’t steps up raids youth — of all skin colors — joined protests after his death, demanding prosecution of cops. negotiations continue, the company, the biggest refinery owner in the U.S., has on labor, political activists 2 by Mary Martin From their statements so far, it ap- refused to budge, especially on its de- MINNEAPOLIS — As the state pears the cop’s defense strategy will mand to use more nonunion workers. SWP ‘stimulus’ donations up prosecution in the trial of fired police be character assassination aimed at “No matter what the cost to the $20,000, now at $118,500 2 officer Derek Chauvin comes to an end, smearing Floyd. community and the workers, Mara- damning testimony by prosecution wit- Floyd, a 46-year-old African Ameri- thon will do anything just to make a Gerald Reed freed, decades nesses — including the Minneapolis can, had been apprehended by police few more bucks,” Ken Schwebach, a after cop torture, frame-up 5 police chief, the medical examiner who outside a grocery store on suspicion union retiree who worked 30 years at conducted the autopsy, and other offi- of passing a counterfeit $20 bill to buy the refinery, told this Militant worker- Death penalty abolished in cials — points to Chauvin’s responsibil- cigarettes. A chilling video taken by a correspondent on the picket line April Virginia, victory for workers 6 ity in the killing of George Floyd here bystander shows Chauvin forced Floyd 9. “This place can do a lot of damage.” last May 25. The trial began March 29. Continued on page 7 Continued on page 5 SWP statement: We need our own party, a labor party 9 Philippine gov’t steps up deadly raids on labor, political activists BY JANET ROTH where, the Duterte regime has used AUCKLAND, New Zealand — the coronavirus pandemic to bolster its Working people in the Philippines face powers, imposing a brutally enforced deadly repression as they look for ways lockdown. After hungry protesters in to defend themselves from the impact of Manila defied the lockdown demand- the worldwide capitalist crisis. President ing food, Duterte gave orders to the Rodrigo Duterte’s government is step- police and military: “If they fight you, ping up its assaults, including the killing shoot them dead.” of trade union and political activists. Duterte ordered state forces to “ig- Workers protest job cuts nore human rights” and kill “commu- “The question of jobs is central,” nist rebels” March 5, targeting the Com- Genoveva Valdez, a teacher in the Phil- munist Party of the Philippines and its ippines, wrote the Militant discussing armed wing, the New People’s Army. the impact on working people of the Two days later, cops, backed by the mili- government’s response to the pandemic. tary, shot dead nine unarmed labor and “Taxi and jeepney drivers, construction Reuters/Eloisa Lopez political organizers in coordinated raids workers and vendors initially took much Students protest in January at University of Philippines in Manila over attack on political rights by President Rodrigo Duterte. His government scrapped 1989 agreement barring near Manila. Six others were arrested. of the hit, but many more Filipinos are cops from entering campus, alleging Maoist armed group, the NPA, was recruiting there. Over 300 labor and political activ- now without jobs.” ists opposed to Duterte’s regime have This includes 400,000 Filipinos who worker here in New Zealand originally pines and New People’s Army. This cre- been killed since he became president have had to return home after losing from the Philippines. ates a hit list of unionists, political activ- in 2016, according to Philippine rights jobs overseas. But people “are only scared for a short ists and other critics of the government. group Karapatan. Hundreds of workers protested out- time,” he said. “If there is something For over half a century, NPA groups Government forces shot dead nine side the First Glory Philippines gar- wrong with a government policy, if you have been engaged in armed clashes farmers Dec. 30 on Panay island in the ment factory in the Mactan Economic are fighting for what is right, there is no against government troops in mountain- central Philippines. All were unarmed Zone in Cebu Nov. 30 after the compa- reason to stop.” The term “red tagging” ous parts of the countryside. The CPP leaders of the indigenous Tumandok ny fired 300. This included the union is given to the government’s labeling of and the NPA are Maoist, the dominant people, who were defending their lands president, Cristito Pangan, and other individuals who it alleges are supporters version of Stalinism in the Philippines. against government plans to construct workers involved in an effort to orga- of the Communist Party of the Philip- Continued on page 3 a dam that would force thousands from nize a trade union. their homes. Cops have set up special units to tar- For years Duterte has waged a “war get workers organizing unions, saying SWP ‘stimulus’ donations up $20,000, now at $118,500 on drugs,” unleashing cops and armed these units were “the first line of de- thugs who have killed thousands, par- fense from radical labor infiltration of Over the last week 18 new contributors have brought the growing total of contri- ticularly young people in working-class the labor force.” butions to the SWP from U.S. government $1,400 “stimulus” payments to $118,500 neighborhoods. The government says its “When you say any opinion against from 95 contributors around the country. assaults have led to 6,000 deaths, while the government, the next day you might We look forward to a growing total! Join the effort! rights groups say the toll is more than be ‘red tagged’ as a leftist or even worse, The notes from the many contributors welcome the opportunity to contribute, 27,000. During the past year these kill- a communist,” Jose Fernandez told the and capture political confidence in the working class and commitment to building ings have surged. Militant. “Your point of view might en- a revolutionary working-class party in the U.S. Like capitalist governments else- danger your life.” He is a supermarket Carole Lesnick, from Oakland writes: “Here’s my contribution along with many others to build the communist movement. Happy to be part of the effort.” A similar note from Gale Shangold and Craig Honts in New Jersey: “Happy to be able to send the contributions!” And from Dean Peoples in Seattle: “Build the working-class party!” These contributions are making a tremendous difference toward expanding the ability of the party to bring its program to many thousands of workers and exploited toilers, and to join with other fighters in labor and social struggles. To build on a course toward the working class taking political power in the U.S. and joining with The ‘Militant’ covers crisis facing fishermen toilers worldwide to end social relations based on exploitation — class vs. class — and build a socialist society based on human solidarity. In commercial fishing all Send your contribution! To contribute, make out your check to the Socialist Work- ers Party and send it to SWP, 306 W. 37th St., 13th Floor, New York, NY 10018. The over the world, small fisher- Militant will report weekly on the progress of the appeal. men are being crushed by the — brian williams big capitalist fishing fleets, aided by government regula- tions. The ‘Militant’ calls for Latin America, Caribbean: For one year send the labor movement to back The Militant $85 drawn on a U.S. bank to above address. Vol. 85/No. 16 Africa, Asia, and the Middle East: For the struggles of fishermen one year send $85 drawn on a U.S. bank to Militant/Jonathan Silberman Closing news date: April 14, 2021 above address. and working farmers for a Andrés Mendoza, left, and Lee Colgan, Editor: John Studer Canada: For one year send Canadian $45 guaranteed income. small fishing boat crewman, Hastings, U.K. to the Militant, 7107 St. Denis #204, Mon- Managing Editor: Terry Evans treal, Quebec H2S 2S5. Editorial volunteers: Róger Calero, Seth Ga- United Kingdom: Send £30 for one year SUBSCRIBE TODAY! linsky, Emma Johnson, Martín Koppel, Roy by check or international money order Landersen, Jacob Perasso, Brian Williams. made out to CL London, 5 Norman Road (first floor), Seven Sisters, London, N15 Published weekly except for one week in 4ND, England. January. NEW READERS NAME Republic of Ireland and Continental Business Manager: Valerie Johnson Europe: Send £85 for one year by check or international money order made out to CL q.$5 for 12 issues ADDRESS The Militant (ISSN 0026-3885), 306 W. 37th London at above address. Street, 13th floor, New York, NY 10018. France: Send 100 euros for one year to Telephone: (212) 244-4899 Diffusion du Militant, BP 10130, 75723 RENEWAL CITY STATE ZIP Fax: (212) 244-4947 Paris Cedex 15. E-mail: [email protected] New Zealand and the Pacific Islands: q.$10 for 12 weeks PHONE e-mail Website: www.themilitant.com Send NZ$55 for one year to P.O. Box Correspondence concerning subscriptions 13857, Auckland 1643, New Zealand. q $20 for 6 months UNION/SCHOOL/ORGANIZATION or changes of address should be addressed Australia: Send A$70 for one year to P.O. Box . to the Militant, 306 W. 37th Street, 13th 73 Campsie, NSW 2194 Australia. floor, New York, NY 10018. 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2 The Militant April 26, 2021 ‘Help put SWP on NJ ballot’ Continued from front page capitalists, when they don’t think plan to get another 185 signatures we are producing enough profits for to be able to turn in nearly double them, just use us up and spit us out.” the state’s requirement in early May. Kuniansky also met 22-year-old Working people and youth they’ve Tasim Cook, who told her he thought met have purchased 65 subscriptions that bosses and many in government to the Militant, and 33 books by lead- look down on working-class youth. ers of the Socialist Workers Party and “They don’t think you can be any other revolutionaries. more than you already are,” he said. “I need a job. The stimulus money Cook is not keen on the government’s doesn’t even keep you afloat,” Kyon- “stimulus” money. “It just makes peo- dra Porterfield, a single mother with ple dependent,” he said. He’d rather be twin 2 year olds, told Kuniansky working. “You connect with more peo- when the SWP candidate knocked on ple and different kinds of people.” her door in Elizabeth. With business- “That’s right,” Kuniansky agreed. es still shuttered because of the pan- “We need to be back at work so that demic and affordable child care hard we can fight together and stand up to to come by, Porterfield has not been the bosses.” She pointed to the ex- able to go back to work. ample set by striking workers at ATI “I’ve met many women like you steel and coal miners at Warrior Met who’ve been forced to stay home in Alabama. Militant/Seth Galinsky because there is no affordable child “I have a friend who told me it’s Tasim Cook told Joanne Kuniansky, Socialist Workers Party candidate for governor of New Jersey, that government “stimulus” payments just make people dependent. “We need to be care, or schools are closed,” Kunian- different in Cuba,” Cook said. “That’s back at work, so that we can fight together and stand up to the bosses,” Kuniansky said. sky said. “That’s why workers and our true,” Kuniansky answered. “In 1959 unions need to fight for a government- workers and farmers in Cuba over- orders. For education that really meets factory when the owners moved pro- funded public works program to put threw the Batista dictatorship and our needs, we need to fight for a workers duction to Israel. “The government millions to work building the things took power into their own hands.” and farmers government.” should stop companies moving jobs we need, like schools, child care facil- Cook and Kuniansky traded phone abroad,” he said, “or make them pay ities and roads, at union-scale wages.” numbers to continue the discussion. Fight for shorter workweek when they do.” Porterfield signed to put Kuniansky The next day Kuniansky spoke to “Workers and our unions need to “Bosses go where our labor is cheap- on the ballot. Gladys Cornieo in Passaic. “I’m car- fight for a shorter workweek with no est. We can’t stop that,” Evans said. Just a few doors down, Lorinda ing for 10 children and grandchil- cut in weekly pay to share the avail- “But workers need to organize wher- Williams invited Kuniansky into her dren,” Cornieo said, “and there is no able work around,” SWP campaigner ever we are to defend ourselves and apartment. “I’ve been disabled since school for any of them. There is zoom Terry Evans said when he and Eliza- build unions and to back the struggles 2014,” Williams said, but still has — but they learn nothing on it.” beth Lariscy met Miguel Perrez at his of fellow workers worldwide.” not been able to get government dis- “We live in a society ruled by the apartment in Newark April 11. “The “You’re different to the other par- ability payments, an enormously dif- wealthy few who do not care about what SWP campaign offers proposals to tie ties. You don’t say vote for me and I’ll ficult proposition for workers. “Every working people face,” Kuniansky said. together workers who are employed do everything for you,” Perrez noted month you have to choose between “They don’t care if we get an education. and unemployed, to fight for what we as he signed up to put Kuniansky on feeding the kids or paying the rent,” They just want workers who will follow need.” Perrez lost his job at a food the ballot. she said. “Of course, feeding the kids “A lot of people around here hate comes first.” the government,” he said. “But they Williams had worked in a nurs- need to hear what you are saying. ing home and would like to go back SWP campaign wins support for Marathon workers That way they’ll start to get organized to work. “But nobody wants to hire to do something about it.” someone who can’t stay on their feet During the weekend a lively cam- all day,” she said. paign forum here was addressed by “Everyone who wants to work Kuniansky, Wagner and Róger Calero, should be able to get a job,” Kunian- the SWP’s candidate for New York sky said. “If workers controlled pro- City mayor. Six of the 22 participants duction, we would organize work so were attending a Militant Labor Forum that everyone can contribute to pro- for the first time after hearing the SWP ducing the things we need. But the was organizing to get on the ballot. Aparna Chowdhury, a middle-school teacher who met Wagner at a protest against police brutality earlier in the Philippine raids month, came and then joined a cam- Continued from page 2 paign team in Trenton the next day. Their political course has prevented “No one else is addressing the many working people — looking for problems and challenges of labor,” ways to fight successive capitalist gov- she said. “You are the strongest sup- ernments — from finding a revolution- porters of the labor movement.” ary road forward. Militant/Hank Scheer To join campaign teams in New Duterte included figures nominated MARTINEZ, Calif. — Three campaign supporters joined Joel Britton, Jersey or other places across the coun- Socialist Workers Party candidate for California Assembly in the San Le- by the CPP in his cabinet for a year try, contact the nearest party branch, andro area, above, campaigning at the afternoon shift change in front of after his election. But then he ended listed on page 8. peace talks with the Maoist groups the Martinez Refining Co. here April 8. Nov. 23, 2017, after armed clashes be- “We explained that the campaign was organizing to win support for tween them and government forces. refinery workers locked out by Marathon Petroleum in Minnesota and for Twelve days later he signed a procla- ATI workers on strike at steel mills in five states,” Britton told the Militant. calendar mation designating both the CPP and “The response of a number of operators and maintenance workers at this oil refinery was enthusiastic.” NPA as “terrorist” organizations. new york Last year PBF Energy bought this refinery from Royal Dutch Shell. Last June the government passed New York Workers told Britton that the new bosses immediately went after the em- 60 Years Since Cuba’s Victory at the a new anti-terrorism law. “Suspected ployees’ retirement plans, forcing workers to stay more years on the job Bay of Pigs and Launching of the Cam- ‘terrorists’ can be arrested without to get their pension. They also said cutbacks in preventive and general paign that Ended Illiteracy! Cuba’s So- any warrant,” Valdez told the Militant. cialist Revolution: Its Impact in the U.S. maintenance had increased the risks of explosions and fires and placed and World. Speakers: Ambassador Pedro It’s obvious “the law is not to squelch workers and the community in serious jeopardy. Luis Pedroso Cuesta, permanent repre- terror but to squelch dissent, to shut “Several workers told us that they knew about the Marathon lockout, sentative of Cuba to U.N.; Mary-Alice down protests.” having received an email about it from United Steelworkers Local 5,” Waters, Socialist Workers Party National Committee, editor of Bay of Pigs/Playa Recent protests against the govern- Britton said. “The safety questions they are fighting around are the same Girón: 1961, Washington’s First Military ment have mostly taken place on cam- as here in the Martinez refinery.” Defeat in the Americas; Catherine Mur- puses, Valdez wrote. In January the gov- He reported that “14 workers got single copies of the Militant, and one phy, director of new documentary on ernment tore up a 1989 agreement bar- Cuba’s literacy drive, who will introduce got a Militant subscription and In Defense of the US Working Class by clip from her new video Maestros Volun- ring cops from entering the University Mary-Alice Waters. A number of the workers who stopped gave us con- tarios (Volunteer teachers). Sun., April 18. of the Philippines, alleging the NPA was tributions. One drove to a nearby ATM and returned with $10 to buy the Reception, 3 p.m.; program, 4 p.m. 307 W. recruiting people there. A large crowd subscription and the book.” 36th St. 13th floor. Tel.: (646) 434-8117 or (551) 240-1512. Sponsored by New York gathered at the university to protest the — Jeff Powers and New Jersey Socialist Workers Party. attack on political rights.

The Militant April 26, 2021 3 As US, Tehran open talks, Iran’s rulers continue weapons program by Roy Landersen in order to expand their clout against ri- An explosion that disabled parts of val Arab rulers and also to target Israel. the Iranian rulers’ main nuclear facility Iranian officials called the April 11 at Natanz April 11 was blamed on Israe- attack an act of “nuclear terrorism” li government forces by Tehran. Most and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif media in Israel attributed the attack to vowed revenge. The White House Mossad, the Israeli rulers’ spy agency. quickly denied any involvement. Less than a week before, indirect The attack is the latest in a series of talks began between Washington, clashes between the Israeli rulers and Tehran and other governments, seek- Tehran, including an explosion in Na- ing to revive the 2015 nuclear deal tanz last July; the assassination of Iran’s that aimed to limit the Iranian rulers’ top nuclear scientist in November; at- acquisition of nuclear weapons in ex- tacks on Iranian and Israeli ships in the change for an end to sanctions. Gulf region; a missile and drone strike The talks are unfolding as Tehran, on Saudi oil facilities in 2019 by Tehran; Washington and other capitalist pow- and repeated airstrikes by the Israeli Demonstration in Mashhad, Iran, December 2018, protests government’s wars, economic crisis and attacks on political rights. Actions spread to scores of cities across the country. ers are jockeying to strengthen their military against Tehran-backed militia economic and political interests in and missile bases in Syria. tests for jobs and political rights in 2019. leader Steve Clark wrote in the Militant the region. In Iran itself working people took to article “Revolution, Counterrevolution Former President Donald Trump Iran’s rulers target working people the streets at the end of the same year to and War in Iran” in April 2018. “To the pulled Washington out of that deal in Iranian workers and farmers made protest the financial and human costs of contrary, weapons of mass destruction 2018, citing Tehran’s intervention in a deep-going popular revolution in the regime’s wars and its refusal to meet would merely provide a rationalization Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen and 1979, overthrowing the U.S.-backed the needs of the population. for the Saudi Arabian and other re- its continuing ballistic missile pro- rule of the shah. Over years, capitalist “Rival ruling classes throughout gimes in the region to enter the nuclear gram. On April 6 talks began between forces led by Shiite clerics stifled that the region know that, despite the 2015 arms race, as well as for the Israeli delegations from Washington and Teh- revolution and pushed working people agreement, Tehran is close to being able government to maintain and bolster its ran along with representatives from out of politics. to produce nuclear weapons and deliv- existing nuclear arsenal. France, Germany and the U.K., as well They launched a counterrevolution- ery systems. Such arms, however, would “The Socialist Workers Party de- as European Union officials. ary expansionist course that has brought provide no defense for Iran against mili- mands Washington’s immediate State Department officials said them into greater conflict with working tary threats from U.S. imperialism and unilateral nuclear disarmament. We April 7 that Washington would con- people across the region. Tehran-backed other nuclear powers, nor any relief call on the eight other regimes in the sider lifting an unspecified number of militias brutally defended the Bashar from the inhumane and unconscionable world that currently have these cata- sanctions it imposes on Iran that have al-Assad regime in Syria after an upris- sanctions Washington and other imperi- strophic weapons to get rid of them, crippled the Iranian rulers’ trade and ing against his rule. They aided the Iraqi alist governments have imposed on the and we oppose their development and fall hardest on working people. government’s bloody repression of pro- Iranian people,” Socialist Workers Party deployment by any government.” Tehran, backed by both Moscow and Beijing, demands all the sanctions go. While it continues to claim its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, the Striking Alabama miners vote down ‘insulting’ offer Iranian government had abandoned Continued from front page people in the UMWA fought for 90 to says negotiations with the company compliance with the 2015 pact by openly rior Met Coal April 1, after their pre- 100 years ago fade into obscurity. Our are ongoing. enriching uranium to 20% purity. After vious five-year contract expired. The sacrifices pale in comparison to those Roberts announced April 12 that the the attack, Tehran announced April 13 new proposal was announced April 5, at the start of the labor movement and union will begin organizing “Unity that it would now begin enriching ura- and miners held union meetings two the early years of the UMWA.” Rallies” in the Brookwood area for nium to 60%, closer to bomb-grade, and days later to discuss the offer. “I owe it to miners of days gone members, families and community activate 1,000 advanced centrifuge ma- They found out the proposal con- by, my family and myself to fight for supporters to build solidarity. chines at the underground Natanz plant. sisted of a $1.50 raise over the next five what we deserve,” he said. Messages of support and solidarity The regime in Iran calls for the de- years and little else. “This strike is helping educate the should be sent to UMWA District 20, struction of Israel. Warrior Met Coal was formed in young miners on what the union is all 21922 Hwy. 216 (Miners Memorial As the talks between Washington and 2016 out of the bankruptcy of Jim Wal- about,” veteran miner Steve Mote told Parkway), McCalla, AL 35111. Email: Tehran began, Israeli Prime Minister ter Resources in Tuscaloosa County. the Militant before the vote. [email protected]. Phone Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out against The “new” mine owners, hedge fund UMWA President Cecil Roberts (205) 477-7500. Fax: (205) 477-0004. reviving the 2015 pact. He said his gov- bosses and others owed money by ernment would “never allow Iran to ob- Jim Walters got help from the capital- tain the nuclear capability to carry out ist bankruptcy court to take over and Anti-labor outfit attacks miners strike, union its genocidal goal of eliminating Israel.” reorganize the company. They de- He pledged to continue to take action manded major givebacks on wages and Union coal miners in Brookwood, Alabama; steelworkers at ATI; and nurs- against Tehran’s deployment of militias working conditions. es in Worcester, Massachusetts, are on strike today, fighting against attacks and missiles across the region. The Ira- The bosses insisted these sacrifices by their bosses. They set an example to millions of workers and need and nian rulers have entrenched their forces were necessary to keep the company deserve solidarity. In the midst of these struggles the so-called World Social- in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere, afloat and preserve miners’ jobs as ist Web Site says that the workers’ unions are worthless and tells workers to well as benefits for retirees. Wage leave them — doing the work of the bosses. cuts, loss of sick days and holidays, The website is run by a notoriously anti-labor outfit calling itself the Social- Washington’s assault on Iraq higher costs for health care, moves ist Equality Party. It has nothing to do with the working class. Despite its name, Opening Guns of World War III to shortcut safety to speed up pro- the party has nothing to do with the fight of workers and our allies to defend by Jack Barnes duction and other concessions were ourselves on the road to replace capitalist rule with our own power. forced on the union. The Socialist Equality Party has a long record of trying to demoralize In New International no. 7 Jeff Fleenor, who has worked at workers involved in labor struggles. It takes advantage of real difficulties ““The Gulf Warrior Met and its predecessor for facing striking workers and defaults by union leaders in order to promote War held a 16 years, told the Tuscaloosa Thread the bosses’ slander of the labor movement. that the contract they voted down In an April 10 article, the World Socialist Web Site celebrates the defeat mirror to the of efforts by workers at Amazon’s Bessemer warehouse to organize a union. April 9 was an “insult.” declining They say the union lost because “workers rightly see that these corrupt orga- One of the major issues is the boss- capitalist nizations will do nothing to defend them.” world es’ efforts to use greater numbers of The same post urges miners on strike at Warrior Met Coal in Brookwood order and nonunion contract workers. Fleenor to quit their union, the United Mine Workers. An April 7 WSWS article accelerated its said he is standing up for future min- demands steelworkers at ATI break away from their union, the United contradictions. ers who get hired at Warrior Met. Steelworkers, claiming it’s “not a workers organization” and “cannot be $14 It sounded the “I understand the concerns of some transformed into one.” opening guns people being out of work for a while This is the opposite of what is needed to advance workers’ struggles. We [during the bankruptcy], however I of sharpening need unions. We need them to be stronger and to fight harder. Workers need didn’t come back to roll over on this to discuss how to do that effectively as we build much-needed labor solidarity. conflicts and contract,” he said. “I specifically came class battles.” Don’t fall for the WSWS attacks! Workers can solve our own problems, and back for this day to ensure we got a use our unions to defend ourselves and join in broader struggles. pathfinderpress.com fair contract and that I wasn’t the gen- — Terry Evans eration that let all the sacrifices that

4 The Militant April 26, 2021 on the picket line Continued from front page “We’ve dealt with PPE shortages, The question of safety is a key part CDC and Allina constantly chang- of the strike. The refining process here ing guidelines, we’ve endangered uses highly volatile chemicals that if not our lives and our families’ lives,” handled carefully by experienced work- Harry O’Mara, a patient transport ers could lead to a disaster. aide at Abbott Northwestern, said at “We are getting unbelievable support. the rally. “If they will not negotiate a Volunteers come out here, day and night, fair contract, we stand ready to con- to walk the line with us,” a locked-out tinue to fight. We have overwhelm- worker told me. ingly authorized a strike, if necessary, Laborers Local 153 has set up ban- throughout every Allina facility.” ners of support along the road into the Tracey Pittrich, a registered nurse plant. Local members staff their tractor- at Children’s Minnesota hospital and trailer across from the refinery and use it member of the Minnesota Nurses Asso- to feed all the pickets. ciation, said she came to show solidarity. Ilona Gersh, a Walmart worker from “We share similar struggles and I want Chicago and member of the Socialist to let them know they are not alone,” she Workers Party, joined the picket line told the Militant. Militant/Doug Nelson April 9, bringing a solidarity card signed Socialist Workers Party Minneapo- Several hundred SEIU members and supporters picket Abbott Northwestern Hospital in by over 20 of her co-workers. lis mayoral candidate Doug Nelson Minneapolis April 7 in fight for new contract, more staffing to ensure safety, higher wages. Given the standoff — 200 workers vs. also joined the picket. He took the op- a worldwide oil company behemoth — portunity to learn more about the hos- and we were lucky that no one got too day,” Nelson said. “The Socialist Work- support is crucial. Come and join the pital workers’ struggle and to discuss sick,” Jeff Sarro, an SEIU union steward ers Party campaign is going to build 24/7 picket line. Tell your co-workers, the fight for safe working conditions at Abbott Northwestern, told Nelson. solidarity and help bring workers who union and any other group you’re part being waged by locked-out Teamster “They want to offer them nothing, dur- are fighting together.” of about the strike. Send messages and members against Marathon Petroleum ing a pandemic, no extra pay, nothing. More pickets are slated for St. Fran- contributions to Teamsters Local 120, in nearby St. Paul Park. That’s why all these people are out here.” cis Regional Medical Center April 14 at 9422 Ulysses St. NE, Blaine, MN 55434. “The reason we’re out here is because “It’s important that workers are draw- 2:30 p.m., United Hospital April 21 at — Helen Meyers workers are being disrespected. I got ing a line, like the locked-out Teamsters 2 p.m. and Mercy Hospital April 28. COVID here, I gave my family COVID, and what you guys are doing here to- — Nick Neeser Minnesota hospital workers picket for safety, higher wages MINNEAPOLIS — A crowd of several hundred members of Service Gerald Reed freed, decades after cop torture, frame-up Employees International Union and BY MARK CLEMENTS arrived outside Stateville Correction- to gain false confessions. their supporters picketed outside Ab- CHICAGO — Four days after his al Center, they burst into cheers. It took until December 2018 before bott Northwestern Hospital here April release from prison, Gerald Reed, ac- Reed had been incarcerated for Cook County Judge Thomas Gainer 7 in support of the union’s demand for companied by supporters, told a news nearly 31 years following his wrong- overturned Reed’s 1991 conviction, a new contract. When union members conference here, “This is a dream ful conviction for a double murder on ruling his “confession” had been ex- chanted, “When we fight,” the crowd come true. I always told my family Chicago’s South Side in 1990. The de- tracted through torture. But prosecu- answered, “We win!” members that I’d come home, but I tectives who arrested Reed — part of tors blocked his release, demanding The workers have been in contract was wondering when.” notorious Chicago police Cmdr. Jon a new trial. negotiations with Allina Health since Reed was freed following the com- Burge’s “midnight crew” — took him In a blow to Reed and to the Bill of January. There are some 4,000 techni- mutation of his life sentence by Illi- to a police station where they tortured Rights, Circuit Court Judge Thomas cians, nursing assistants, pharmacists, nois Gov. J.B. Pritzker April 1. him into confessing to murders he Hennelly reversed Gainer’s ruling janitors and other hospital workers “I left part of my heart back there” had not committed. in February 2020, ordering Reed to represented by SEIU at the eight Al- in prison, he said. “It’s hard leaving The Illinois Torture Inquiry and serve the remainder of the life sen- lina facilities in the area. The work- somebody behind, and on top of that, Relief Commission, created in 2009 tence. Hennelly had been assigned ers are fighting against staffing short- they are innocent as well. They don’t after protests forced out the facts to take over Reed’s case after Gainer ages, a lack of safety and for higher have the same attention I have. My about Burge’s cop torture operation, retired. wages, as well as job and pension se- shoutout is for them.” examined Reed’s case in 2012 and It was only the governor’s com- curity. So far the bosses have refused Reed’s supporters waited six hours ruled his claims of torture as credible. mutation that finally set him free. any wage increase in the first year of outside the prison, chanting for him to Burge and his subordinates tortured Though released, his 1991 conviction the contract. be released. As the car carrying him dozens of people — mainly Blacks — still stands. Elliot Zinger, one of Reed’s attor- neys, has petitioned the state Supreme Court seeking to overturn Hennelly’s 25, 50, and 75 years ago ruling and vacate his conviction once and for all. Speaking at Reed’s news confer- ence, Armanda Shackelford, his mother, thanked all those who helped April 29, 1996 April 30, 1971 April 27, 1946 in the fight to free her son. She said The following greetings were sent The Nixon administration’s latest “in- We celebrate this May Day amidst the fight was not just for him. to the Korean people by Jack Barnes, flation alert” is mainly directed against a powerful resurgence of worldwide national secretary of the Socialist steelworkers who will be negotiating struggle against capitalist exploitation Mark Clements is an organizer for the Workers Party. new contracts beginning July 1. and rule. Chicago Torture Justice Center. As Washington and Seoul step up There is not one shred of justifica- Here in the United States the orga- their military threats and provocations, tion to the demagogic attack on steel- nized industrial workers have met the we stand with the Korean people in workers that the wage increases they Big Business onslaught with a mighty support of your unconditional determi- are seeking are inflationary. The cen- series of militant strike actions. The Teamster Politics nation to win national sovereignty and tral causes of the inflation are the mo- masses of Europe are desperately seek- by Farrell Dobbs reunification. The true aggressor on the nopolistic pricing policies of the domi- ing a release from capitalist barbarism. Korean peninsula for the last fifty years nant U.S. corporations, of which the Armed uprisings for independence Unionism and has been U.S. imperialism, backed by steel industry is a paramount example, are being fought out in Indonesia and politics cannot Washington’s client regime in Seoul as and the government’s massive deficit Indochina. Strikes, mass demonstra- be separated. well as imperial Tokyo. financing of the Vietnam war. tions, and large-scale mutinies in the Workers must Washington’s war drive extends to the This inflation is in reality an in- Indian Navy and armed forces testify to enter the politi- socialist revolution in Cuba as well. The direct tax that falls most heavily on the strength of the liberation movements cal arena as an U.S. rulers know they have failed in all working people. within the British Empire. The peoples their attempts over more than thirty-five Workers not only need to catch up of Puerto Rico and the Philippines are independent years to bring the workers and farmers with the price rises that occurred dur- demanding complete freedom from class force, with of Cuba to their knees. ing the term of their old contracts. Wall Street domination. their own party. Our party pledges to continue to tell They need protection against future All these struggles have a common $16 the truth about Korea and join with oth- price rises. The steelworkers will be source in the revulsion and protest of the er workers and young people in champi- demanding a return of a cost-of-living toiling masses against the terrible con- pathfinderpress.com oning the struggle for reunification. clause in their contracts. sequences of World War II.

The Militant April 26, 2021 5 Fight for jobs for all workers! 18.2 million unemployed US workers on gov’t benefits Continued from front page rary shutdowns and extended existing organize to defend our jobs, wages and ones April 8, affecting 10,000 workers. working conditions and to wage a class Other auto bosses have done likewise. battle for every worker to have a job. McDonald’s bosses announced Everywhere workers resist the attacks plans to close hundreds of outlets in of the bosses and their government, they Walmart stores April 8. Last year win broad support. Striking ATI steel- bosses at Dunkin’ Donuts said they workers, Marathon oil refinery workers were shutting 450 locations by the end in Minnesota, Warrior Met Coal miners of the year. Starbucks said 400 outlets in Alabama, nurses in Worcester, Mas- would go by the end of 2021. sachusetts, and others have gotten soli- darity from working people whenever ‘Cut workweek with no cut in pay’ the word gets out about their fights. “Workers and our unions need to “No workers should be left to fight the fight for a shorter workweek with no bosses on their own,” Joanne Kunian- cut in pay, to share the available work around,” Kuniansky said. “Our unions sky, Socialist Workers Party candidate DOL/Haver Analytics, TD Economics for New Jersey governor, tells fellow need to lead a fight for a federally fund- Graph shows millions of workers remain unemployed today, majority dependent on temporary workers as she campaigns around the ed public works program at union-scale gov’t “pandemic” handouts — 43% for more than six months; nearly 25% for over a year. state. “Workers and our unions need to pay to put millions back to work build- champion these struggles, spread the ing the hospitals, schools, housing and one on their 2021 list is Amazon owner The “long drought in worker pro- word about them and expand the support other things working people need. Jeff Bezos, who just fought off efforts ductivity” can now be ended, Sarah they get. We can make a difference!” “All President Joseph Biden and the by workers at the company’s Bessemer, Chaney Cambon argues in the April New jobless claims rose for the government discuss is more money for Alabama, warehouse to unionize. 4 Wall Street Journal, “thanks to second straight week April 8, hitting the employers and government bodies, As working people organize to de- pandemic-induced technological 744,000. The total number of people and a little more welfare-like handouts fend ourselves from the assaults of adoption.” What she means by that depending on state or federal unem- to workers,” she said. “We need jobs, Bezos and his class, we also face the mouthful is eliminating “brick and ployment benefits is 18.2 million. to be shoulder to shoulder with our co- growing impact of inflation, driving mortar stores” and their workers by The number of workers on long-term workers and able to fight together.” down the value of our wages. The expanding e-commerce and reduc- government’s official Consumer Price ing hands-on medical care to a mini- unemployment is rising. Some 43% of As vaccinations spread and govern- ment lockdowns are cut back, there has Index — at 2.6% today — masks the mum. If doctors and nurses work by all unemployed workers today have been been an uptick in hiring. This is good reality workers face: steep increases in video conference, she says, they can out of work for over six months, close to for the working class. All workers the cost of food and fuel. “move quickly between patient calls.” an all-time record. Nearly a quarter have should fight through the red tape and Bouts of inflation are endemic to the All steps in that direction are aimed been out of work for more than a year. delays to get vaccinated. cycles of capitalist exploitation. “To pro- at increasing the bosses’ share of the Workers isolated at home without a job In sharp contrast to the devastating tect our wages, workers and our unions wealth that workers’ labor creates. can get demoralized and lose their sense impact of the capitalist crisis on work- need to fight for cost-of-living escalator “To strengthen our struggles against of being part of the working class. ing people, the number of newly minted clauses in every contract to raise wages, bosses’ attacks today and against those The jobs crisis has hit especially billionaires swelled by 30% last year, retirement pay and Social Security ev- they will inflict tomorrow, workers need hard on women workers, accounting Forbes magazine says in its annual sur- ery time prices go up,” Kuniansky said. to build our own party, a labor party,” for 55% of U.S. job losses. Millions vey. And their list doesn’t even count As they see signs of revival in their Kuniansky said. “It would act in the in- more women face reduced work hours. the dominant ruling class families, who capitalist economy, bosses are look- terests of all the exploited and oppressed Under capitalism, women bear the conceal their wealth in foundations and ing for ways to intensify the exploita- and organize to lead millions to take po- most responsibility for caring for chil- trusts, like the Rockefellers. Number tion of working people. litical power into our own hands.” dren, as well as the elderly. This is great- ly exacerbated by the widespread clos- ings of schools and child care centers. Millions of workers and their fami- Death penalty abolished in Virginia, victory for workers lies don’t need these statistics to know by janet post in front of the Greensville Correction- Some 2,500 working people remain the crisis they face. “There is no place for the death pen- al Center, where the state’s execution on death row in the U.S., 45 on fed- Disruptions in “just in time” supply alty in this commonwealth, in the South chamber is located. That made the state eral death row in Terre Haute, Indiana. lines, which profit-hungry bosses use, or in this nation,” Virginia Gov. Ralph the 23rd to abolish the barbaric practice. There have been 13 federal executions led General Motors to announce tempo- Northam told the press as he signed a bill Virginia’s rulers carried out 1,300 over the last 10 months. abolishing capital punishment March 24 executions, more than any other state, The next state execution, of Quin- Books workers since the first recorded execution in tin Phillippe Jones, is set for May 19 need today… …ABOUT BUILDING THE ONLY KIND 1608. The state government executed at the Tarrant County Corrections OF PARTY WORTHY OF THE NAME 113 people since 1976 when the U.S. Su- Center in Texas. “REVOLUTIONARY” preme Court reinstated capital punish- ment, second only to Texas. Demand end to federal executions The Turn to Industry: Forging a Proletarian Party “No state that has used the death Led by the Leadership Conference by Jack Barnes $8 with a subscription penalty that long and that often has on Civil and Human Rights, 82 or- ever before abolished capital punish- ganizations, including the American Tribunes of the People ment,” Robert Dunham, executive Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP and the Trade Unions director of the Death Penalty Informa- Legal Defense and Educational Fund, by Karl Marx, V.I. Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Farrell Dobbs and Jack Barnes tion Center, told CNN. sent a letter Feb. 9 to President Joseph $7 with a subscription The sentences of the two men on Biden calling on the administration to Virginia’s death row will be changed immediately halt federal executions Malcolm X, Black Liberation, to life without parole. and dismantle the death-chamber and the Road to Workers Power by Jack Barnes $10 with a subscription Of the 377 inmates executed in Vir- building in Terre Haute. ginia in the 20th century, 296 of them During the 2020 election campaign SPECIAL OFFER — 79% — were Black. Today 41% of Biden claimed he had changed his mind $25 death-row inmates in the U.S. are Black. on the death penalty after 30 years in FOR ALL THREE BOOKS These were significant factors in the the Senate as a proponent. In 1994 With a Militant subscription Virginia legislature’s debate of the bill. Biden co-authored the Violent Crime “The capitalist rulers use the death Control and Law Enforcement Act, The Jewish Question penalty as a class weapon to terror- which added 60 new offenses subject to PLUS A Marxist Interpretation ize and break the spirit of workers and the federal death penalty. by Abram Leon farmers, in hope of preventing them In a March 22 Associated Press ar- 20% $12 with a subscription from standing up and fighting against ticle, “On Federal Death Row, Inmates off Red Zone: Cuba and the Battle their exploitation and oppression,” Os- Talk About Biden, Executions,” four All OTHER Against Ebola in West Africa borne Hart, Socialist Workers Party federal death-row inmates at the Terre Pathfinder by Enrique Ubieta candidate for Philadelphia district attor- Haute prison exchanged emails with the $12 with a subscription books ney, told the Militant. “The U.S. has the reporters. “I don’t trust Biden,” wrote Are They Rich Because They’re Smart? highest incarceration rate in the world, Daniel Troya, sentenced to death in Class, Privilege, and Learning under Capitalism by Jack Barnes $5 with a subscription overwhelmingly working class and dis- 2009. “He set the rules to get us all here proportionately Black.” in the first place.” See distributors page 8 or visit pathfindeRpress.com

6 The Militant April 26, 2021 Build fight against cop killings ‘Charge and prosecute cop who killed Daunte Wright’ Continued from front page pline as part of those battles, including onto the ground, put his knee on Floyd’s the fight against police brutality, and neck as he’s handcuffed and kept it there any other forms of exploitation and op- for over nine minutes until Floyd stops pression. Our goal has to be to draw in crying out for help and then becomes the majority of working people, who are lifeless. Seeing Floyd suffer, numerous increasingly looking for a working-class eyewitnesses pled with Chauvin to get road forward,” said Nelson. off Floyd. Chauvin is charged with second- Deep discussion on road forward and third-degree murder and man- SWP candidates and campaign sup- slaughter. Three additional fired offi- porters in the Upper Midwest — those cers, who helped restrain Floyd — J. who back Nelson’s campaign and those Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and supporting Joe Swanson for City Coun- Tou Thao — face trial in August on cil in Lincoln, Nebraska, as well as Il- charges of aiding and abetting second- linois SWP state campaign chair Dan Militant photos: Above, Nick Neeser; inset, Mary Martin degree murder and manslaughter. Fein — are collaborating and campaign- BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — In response to the “Once Mr. Floyd had stopped resist- ing to spread working-class solidarity police killing of Daunte Wright here, thousands of ing — and certainly once he was in and the SWP’s program to meet today’s people joined a 30-minute candlelight vigil April distress and trying to verbalize that — attacks by the boss class. 12 organized by Wright’s family at the intersection that should have stopped,” Minneapo- On April 10 a team of campaign sup- where he died. The family set the protest to be over lis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo porters, including Ilona Gersh from before the 7 p.m. curfew imposed by the governor testified April 5. Chicago, campaigned in North Min- after the killing. The medical examiner who pre- neapolis where they met Lloyd Greer Teamsters Local 120, the union of 200 locked-out formed the autopsy and other medical on his porch. Marathon Petroleum refinery workers, participated, personnel testified that Floyd was killed They introduced the SWP campaign using two of the union’s trucks to help block off the by the cops’ actions. platform, including the need for our vigil area, above. “The activities of the law enforcement unions to fight for a government-funded Doug Nelson, inset, Socialist Workers Party candidate for Minneapolis officers resulted in Mr. Floyd’s death, public works program to create millions mayor, and campaign supporters participated in the gathering. Nelson and specifically those activities were the of jobs at union-scale wages to build held a sign that read, “Charge and prosecute the killer cop!” Several par- subdual restraint and the neck compres- hospitals, schools, housing and other ticipants asked to take photos of the sign and expressed their agreement. Two miles away over 1,000 people gathered and heard speeches in sion,” testified Dr. Lindsey Thomas, a things workers need. They urged work- front of the Brooklyn Center police station. The majority of participants medical examiner for 37 years who re- ers to join in building solidarity with the left the rally to comply with the curfew, but some stayed and, under the tired from the Hennepin County Medi- locked-out workers at Marathon Petro- cover of darkness, jumped up and down on top of police cars and threw cal Examiner’s Office and still works leum in nearby St. Paul Park. rocks and bottles at the police. Cops responded with tear gas and flash- part time as a forensic pathologist. Gersh told Greer she had participat- bang grenades. Many businesses have boarded up their windows. The video of Floyd’s death at the hands ed in protests in Chicago against the — Mary martin of police was seen around the world and cop killing of Floyd. sparked protests across the U.S. and in- Greer is a long-term resident of the ternationally. The protests drew in mil- neighborhood. “The police don’t know class-conscious political people. Anti- and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright, lions — Black and Caucasian alike — in the neighborhood, they don’t know the social behavior goes down.” who is African American. They claim small towns and large cities, including people who live here, they don’t engage Also campaigning in North Minne- they pulled him over for an out-of-date many young people participating in so- with us,” he said. “In George Floyd’s apolis, David Rosenfeld and Helen Mey- registration sticker and then saw he had cial protest for the first time. case, if they knew him, maybe they ers met Sandy Roy-Carter who wanted an outstanding warrant. The cops say he Contrary to the desire of millions would’ve talked with him first. It’s hard to know what the SWP campaign had to tried to drive away. to take a disciplined, effective stand for me to trust the police to protect me say on how to fight against racism. The city’s police chief, Tim Gannon, against police violence, antifa forces from the monsters out there when they’re “We explain that the fight against rac- says it was a horrible accident, that the and elements in the Black Lives Mat- acting like monsters themselves.” ism is class versus class, not race against cop — later identified as Kimberly Pot- ter leadership instead led and justified “The cops and the capitalist rulers race,” Rosenfeld said. ter, a 26-year veteran and president of an anti-working-class course, including they serve think all of us are ‘deplora- “I agree it’s a class thing,” Roy- Carter the Brooklyn Center Police Officers As- violence, looting and race baiting. Many bles’ and criminals,” Gersh said. “I be- said. “People get separated and divided.” sociation — meant to shoot her Taser, working people who wanted to protest lieve that without the public demonstra- Pointing to the testimony so far in the but pulled her gun instead. the cop killing of Floyd were repulsed by tions, there wouldn’t be a trial today.” trial of Derek Chauvin, she said, “It’s the violence and destruction and stayed “Yes, when we make them hear us, good to finally be vindicated about what He played her police body camera away. Protests shrank, then stopped. it makes things happen,” said Greer. “I the cops really do. But this trial won’t video, and Potter can be heard saying, Doug Nelson, Socialist Workers Par- don’t know if he’ll be convicted.” solve police brutality or racism.” “I’ll tase you. Taser! Taser! Taser!” ty candidate for mayor of Minneapolis, “The police are rarely prosecuted be- Jessica Little, a member of the United then fires. Hearing the shot, she says, lives near where Floyd was killed and cause the bosses and politicians use po- Food and Commercial Workers union “Holy s--t! I just shot him.” joined in many of the protests. “There lice intimidation and brutality to try and who works as a cashier at a grocery co- Protests broke out that night, marked is a deep discussion going on in the keep workers in line,” Gersh said. op, recalled the protests in Minneapo- by looting and violence. Some 20 stores working class about how to fight racist “I went to George Floyd Square, but I lis last summer. But then groups who were broken into. violence and police brutality and how to didn’t participate. It was too dangerous, wanted to commit violence went into “All the violence, if it keeps going, most effectively defend our interests as and I was bringing my kids,” said Greer. action. “It scared the crap out of me and it’s only going to be about the violence,” workers,” Nelson told the Militant. “You “I support the movement, though.” other people when sections of the city Katie Wright, Daunte’s mother, told pro- won’t find any of this in the big-busi- “Malcolm X said his aim was to were burned and shut down,” Little said. testers. “We need it to be about why my ness media, but you will if you knock wake people up to our worth, our ca- “Those who destroyed things under- son got shot for no reason. We need to on doors and engage people worker to pabilities, not our oppression,” Gersh mined the ability of others to organize.” make sure it’s about him and not about worker — as SWP campaigners do. said. “Whenever we organize to fight smashing police cars, because that’s not Cops kill Daunte Wright “A couple of days ago I was cam- together — whether in a strike battle or going to bring my son back.” paigning in a racially mixed, work- against police brutality — we begin to On April 11, cops in a city near Min- Both Gannon and Potter resigned ing-class neighborhood near George transform ourselves into stronger, more neapolis, Brooklyn Center, stopped, shot April 13. Floyd Square. Like much of Min- “The police killing of Daunte neapolis today, many houses display Wright is just the latest incident lay- signs supporting the fight against po- Chicago: ing bare the fundamental anti-work- lice brutality,” Nelson said. Socialist Workers Party Midwest Meeting “People we talked with wanted to dis- ing-class character of the cops, whose cuss what to do about the issues posed in Cuba and the Coming American Revolution brutality has always been brought the trial and about the broader economic The 60th anniversary of two historic victories of the Cuban Revolution and down particularly hard on the Black and social crisis working people face. their significance for building a revolutionary party in the U.S. — then and now. community,” SWP candidate Nel- “To find the answers we must look to Learn about the SWP 2021 campaigns in the Midwest and nationally. son said April 12. “It highlights the ourselves as workers, not to the bosses’ Speaker: Mary-Alice Waters, Socialist Workers Party need for the kinds of protests that government, their parties and their ‘solu- National Committee can mobilize the largest outpourings tions,’ I told people. We must strengthen possible against this brutality. This our unions in the coming fights against Saturday, April 24. Dinner, 6 p.m.; Program, 7 p.m. requires the organization of a broad, the boss attacks,” he said. Donation: $10 dinner, $5 program popular and disciplined working- “We must organize and instill disci- University Church, 2nd floor, 5655 S. University Ave. class movement.” For more information: (312) 792-6160

The Militant April 26, 2021 7 Mobilizing working people, Cuba defeats Bay of Pigs invasion This week’s special book feature Latin American countries.” is Playa Girón/Bay of Pigs: Wash- The mercenaries came well orga- ington’s First Military Defeat in the nized, well armed, and well supported. Americas by Fidel Castro and José What they lacked was a just cause to de- Ramón Fernández, marking the 60th fend. That is why they did not fight with anniversary of this historic event. the same passion, courage, conviction, Fernández was one of a group of army valor, firmness, bravery, and spirit of officers who revolted against the U.S.- victory as did the revolutionary forces. backed Batista police dictatorship in Hence the surprise at the scope of 1956. He was imprisoned alongside, the Cuban people’s victory. This must and joined, members of Fidel Castro’s have surprised the U.S. government, July 26 Movement. Under Castro, he which expected a different result. The was the commander of Cuban forces outcome can be explained only by the that defeated the U.S.-backed invasion courage of a people who saw the Janu- in April 1961 in less than 72 hours. ary 1 triumph as the genuine opportu- The excerpt is from his 1999 testimo- nity to determine their own future. This ny, “The Cuban people, rifles in hand, is why they proudly wore the militia were convinced of their cause.” Copy- uniforms and were on alert, and willing right © 2001 by Pathfinder Press. Re- to fight, with the firm conviction they printed by permission. Granma would win. José Ramón Fernández walks ahead of Cuban soldiers aiding captured mercenary in April 1961. U.S.-backed invasion was “well organized, well armed and well supported, but lacked a The men and women, the people who th just cause to defend,” Fernández said. “Firm support for the revolution and Fidel was decisive.” in early January 1959 cheered Fidel 60 anniversary Castro in his triumphant tour of nearly entire country including the use of ter- prior to Giron; Fidel’s success in clari- the entire island, were the same ones celebration rorism; attempts to create a psychologi- fying the situation in face of the plans who on April 17, 1961 — convinced of cal climate conducive to the objective to intimidate the people through psy- their cause, rifles in hand, conscious of By José Ramón Fernández of destroying the Revolution; recruit- chological means, using a whole arsenal the declaration of the socialist character We cannot discuss Playa Giron and ment and training centers to ensure of methods and propaganda techniques of our revolution — were determined to its meaning without going back to its the optimal preparation of the merce- of subversive warfare; Radio Swan, the resist and repel the U.S. attack. roots and viewing it as the culmination nary brigade for conventional limited- lies and the rumors — completely un- Over that brief period, the Revolu- of a stage of the U.S. effort to destroy range battles, including supplying it ethical, brazenly cynical, and malicious tion’s work, and Fidel’s words in par- the Cuban Revolution, a stage whose with technical resources, i.e., weapons — such as those that promoted the cam- ticular, reached deeply into the hearts final outcome was the defeat of Brigade and equipment of all types, including paign around child custody, which was of the Cuban people, who identified 2506 on the sands of Playa Giron. fighter planes and heavily armed ships; designed to trample on the most cher- with the ideas of national sovereignty, Most striking and surprising is the the assembling and structuring of these ished values of the Cuban family. social justice, equality, and dignity. magnitude of the CIA plan, with not forces; the manipulative and deceptive From a strategic and tactical point of The Revolution had resolved the land a single detail overlooked, whether — and, at the same time, domineer- view, the concept of the operation was question. It was taking sure, tangible military, economic, or political. These ing — role of U.S. military and political not flawed. They chose an area where steps to put an end to racial discrimi- include: efforts to prepare and trigger leaders in working with the members of they could disembark, where there nation and the discrimination against an insurgency in mountainous regions; these forces; and many other aspects. was an airstrip and buildings, and that women. It was assuring access by the efforts to destabilize and subvert the The magnitude of these plans has was separated from solid ground by a masses to employment, education, been covered up by the enemies of the swamp, across which there were only health care, sports, and culture. The Revolution, who are more concerned three roads, on which they were to goal of eradicating all forms of cor- TheApril Books with attributing the defeat to the mis- drop paratroopers. … ruption took hold in the collective con- of the Month takes and deficiencies of the U.S. ad- What we have said about the adequa- sciousness, a concrete manifestation of ministrations involved rather than find- cy of their choice for the zone of opera- the economic and social gains made in PATHFINDER ing the true causes of the debacle. tions is valid. … This is corroborated such a short period of time. READERS CLUB 30% It is also necessary to mention here by José Pérez San Román, leader of the Fidel personally led the fight against discount SPECIALS the measures taken by the Revolution, mercenary brigade, in his book Respu- the imperialist attack at Giron. This ag- under Fidel’s leadership, to foil the en- esta: La verdad sobre Giron: “The goal gression was waged by the mercenary Problems of Everyday Life emy’s plans. To be noted are the actions of the Cuban mission was to assure this brigade and saboteurs, by bandits in the by Leon Trotsky against banditry and against infiltration beachhead and establish itself on a por- countryside and CIA agents, by reac- Social and cultural issues in the struggle to create the founda- by the CIA and by counterrevolution- tion of free Cuban territory on which to tionaries and traitors of all stripes who tions of a new society by a cen- ary organizations operating both in immediately bring in the broadly rep- had sold themselves to the empire. In tral leader of the 1917 October Cuba and the United States; the fight resentative Cuban Exile Government, this fight, the Cuban people knew what Revolution. against sabotage, which reduced to to convert it into a Cuban Government they were defending, and they did so $20. Special price: $14 ashes some of the country’s most im- in Arms that would be granted inter- with a sense of patriotism and revolu- Dynamics of the portant retail and industrial establish- national recognition … along with the tionary fervor. Their firm support of the Cuban Revolution ments; the crushing of all the truly re- accompanying political, economic, and Revolution and Fidel was a decisive fac- by Joseph Hansen cord number of attempts to assassinate military support already arranged by tor in the lightning-quick victory over $23. Special price: $16 the Commander in Chief in the period the U.S. government and a number of the mercenary invasion. 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8 The Militant April 26, 2021 Socialist Workers Party statement Support ATI strikers Continued from front page lon, where the bosses kept chipping away at contract We need our own party, a labor party gains workers had made. “Don’t let them open that Statement by Róger Calero, Socialist Workers they can afford or what Democratic and Republi- door. You won’t get it back,” he said. Party candidate for New York City mayor, April 14. can politicians say is “realistic.” He said the company had been using “scare tactics” Working-class struggle offers the road to deepen to try and intimidate workers before the strike. Bur- There are two Americas. One that belongs to our self-confidence and our understanding that we gess said bosses took out a machine saying they were the propertied ruling families who own the banks, are part of an international working class. We will going to scrap it, though it had been idle for years. land, mines, factories, hospitals and other means of transform our attitudes toward life, work and each The picket line here is on a main street in this town production — a class defended by their Democratic other as we fight to change intolerable conditions, of 10,000, and strikers report they get a lot of support: and Republican parties, and the other, that of work- seeing ever more clearly we have the capacity to cars and trucks honking, and pizza, other food and ing people who own only their labor power. reorganize and run society ourselves. things strikers need being dropped off. To defend ourselves and to chart a course to wrest Along that road millions will be won to building We spoke with picket captain Rick Jones, who political power out of the hands of the capitalist a movement to replace capitalist rule with a work- works on the bright anneal line with 27 years in the class, workers need our own party, a labor party. ers and farmers government. mill. He told us they’ve gotten support from nearby We would use our own party to champion the fight Working people in Cuba showed this is not only union steelworkers at two TimkenSteel plants and a for jobs, uniting employed and unemployed workers necessary but can be done, when they overthrew Republic Steel mill, in the Canton-Massillon area. together in a struggle to get millions out of isola- the U.S.-backed Fulgencio Batista dictatorship in The local teachers union, a nearby local of the national tion in their home and back into work and the class 1959, taking power into their own hands. air traffic controllers, and a plumbers and pipefitters struggle. It’s there that we can build fighting unions, Led by Fidel Castro and the July 26 Movement, union local have visited their picket line, he said. fight for better wages and workers control over pro- Cuban workers and farmers used their state power Strikers on picket lines and union halls at other ATI duction, and for the needs of all working people. to take over the land, banks and factories; provided mills Militant worker-correspondents have visited re- A labor party would mobilize far-reaching soli- land to all who wanted to farm it; enforced an end port a similar response — lots of contributions from darity for workers forced on strike — like steel- to racial segregation; and drew millions of women individual workers, their families and small-business workers at ATI, coal miners at Warrior Met, St. into social and political life for the first time. owners, and visits from union locals. Vincent nurses in Massachusetts and locked-out This month we celebrate the 60th anniversary of The bosses’ announcement they planned to shut Marathon Petroleum refinery workers today. Vic- two key battles in the Cuban Revolution. One is the down here in Louisville had a big impact on workers. tory in these struggles would advance the interests 1961 drive led by the new Cuban government that Jones said at least 20 workers with less time in the mill of all workers and farmers. mobilized 100,000 volunteers to wipe out illiteracy had quit since the announcement. A labor party would champion the fight against on the island, which transformed both the volun- “They won’t give us a date” for the closing, said cop brutality, building on the example set by Team- teers and those they helped learn to read, drawing Karl Brendle, a maintenance worker with 29 years in sters Local 120, the union of the oil refinery work- them more deeply into the revolution. the plant and former local union president. “They want ers. They organized to join a 1,000-strong vigil The second was the defeat of the U.S.-backed to carve us out of a shutdown pension or a severance called by the family of Daunte Wright after he was mercenary invasion at the Bay of Pigs in April package. They want to deny us the right to transfer.” shot dead by a cop this week in Minnesota. 1961. The Cuban people mobilized and routed the A United Steelworkers fact sheet posted on the wall Such a party would attract millions by standing mercenaries in three days. As Castro said, “There of the picket trailer says the company “will hold [work- up for all the exploited and oppressed, drawing will be a victorious revolution in the United States ers] hostage and not grant the shutdown pensions until them into united struggle. It would provide work- before a victorious counterrevolution in Cuba.” or unless we ratify the agreement.” ing people with an instrument to advance our own Join us emulating the inspiring example of the Brendle and Jones both said they thought that nearly class interests, and not accept what the bosses say Cuban Revolution! half the workers in the plant were very close to having the 30 years needed to qualify for their pension.

Need to organize, strengthen unions The need for the union movement to take steps to Protesters defy Myanmar military assaults organize more workers was also part of our discus- 10-Mile Market in Yangon realized for- sion. Brendle said he understood that less than 10% of eign reporters were there. Within seconds ATI’s workforce is unionized. they started banging on pots and pans and In addition to past and threatened closures of holding their hands up in a three-finger Steelworkers-organized plants, ATI management — salute, a symbol of defiance to the regime. through mergers and expansion — now has a large Despite the risk of being seen talking nonunion operation in North Carolina, which makes to reporters, a retired seaman approached more profitable metals for the aerospace industry. The Mendelson and said, “All Myanmar company says it has over 4,500 employees in the Char- people don’t like the military coup. They lotte area alone. want an elected government.” “That’s why they hire these ‘union avoidance’ peo- He was referring to the deposed gov- ple. They want to get rid of the union,” Brendle said. ernment of Aung San Suu Kyi and the He described being part of a successful organizing ef- National League for Democracy, the fort at an ATI forging plant outside Lexington, Ken- bourgeois party she leads, which won last tucky, where workers won a contract in 2008. year’s election in a landslide. The generals We talked about the recent organizing fight by claim the vote was fraudulent. workers at Amazon in Alabama, and what workers at On April 11 and 12 thousands pro- Tachileik News Agency Walmart — where I work — face. “Workers are going Demonstrators in Mandalay march April 14 demanding end to military rule. tested across the country, including in to organize,” Brendle said. “What they need is three to the southeastern region of Tanintharyi, four thousand rowdy steelworkers to get them going.” Continued from front page in the northern Jade mining area of Hpakant, in the Strikers pointed to efforts by ATI to use scabs to their peasant villages or into exile. eastern city of Loikaw and in the more central towns gear up operations at a number of plants. A company The regime has shut down newspapers, radio of Ye-U and Mogok. spokesperson said ATI will restart critical operations and TV stations and frequently cuts off internet The generals don’t trust the loyalty of many of the using salaried employees and interim replacement service. Now it’s confiscating satellite dishes to rank-and-file soldiers, made up mostly from farm workers, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. prevent people from viewing anything except jun- families and workers from the Bamar ethnic majority. Vans transporting scabs have been seen at some ta-approved propaganda. They’ve been forced to rely on notorious elite army of the plants. When I visited the picket line at the But the regime’s actions have backfired. “We have units along with the police to attack protests. Latrobe plant, east of Pittsburgh, workers told me to follow the old-fashioned methods,” one activist told The demonstrations are having an impact on the that a van full of strikebreakers had shown up for the Myanmar Now. Student activists have started their army, and a small number of soldiers have deserted, first time that day. own print journals with names like Towards, The most recently Capt. Lin Htet Aung and several soldiers Picket captain Pete Gaynor, an electrician with Voice of Spring and Molotov. under his command. He told the press that most sol- 33 years in the mill, said they hadn’t started up the The regime has another problem. It can’t shut every- diers don’t support the repression but are too intimi- mill yet. “They’re not melting. I assume they’re just thing down all the time if it hopes to keep commercial dated to stand up to the brass. training.” He explained the company is focusing ef- and financial relations going with the outside world. forts there because the Latrobe plant has more modern Every time it turns the internet back on, opponents of James Khyne in Houston contributed to this article. equipment where they can turn out products with less the regime use it to get out news of their struggle. impurities that are more profitable. At the end of March, the military regime — appar- ‘Militant’ Prisoners’ Fund Help win solidarity for the strike! Join the picket ently believing its own propaganda that the protests The fund makes it possible to send prisoners reduced lines. Send your support or contributions to USW Lo- were dwindling — invited CNN and other big capital- rate subscriptions. Send a check or money order pay- cal 1196 at 1080 Brackenridge Ave., Brackenridge, PA ist news media to visit. able to the ‘Militant’ and earmarked “Prisoners’ Fund” 15014, or USW Local 1046, 925 W. St. Louis Ct., Lou- Allegra Mendelson, a reporter for the Washington to 306 W. 37th St., 13th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Or isville, OH 44641. Post who was on the tour, wrote that the junta’s care- donate online at www.themilitant.com fully orchestrated trip came apart when people at the Malcolm Jarrett contributed to this article. The Militant April 26, 2021 9