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Thinking Globally • Labor and the Left • Election Strategy

Vol. XLIV, No. 2, Labor Day/Fall 2016 • the magazine of the Democratic Socialists of • www.dsausa.org From the National Director Struggle and Victory By Maria Svart

hat does it mean that ocratic Left to exploring issues facing organized —a man workers today, and why we look to support- Wwho has built his career ing and seeing where Labor for Bernie goes next. on stiffi ng small businesses and But we must also discuss our role as open social- his own workers, on exploiting ists, even outside of labor. We think systemically. We racialized fears and pro-corpo- look at the world as it is, we compare it to the world rate loopholes in fi nancial regu- we wish to create, and we develop a strategy that lations—is sounding a faux popu- accounts for the true balance of power and the real list message that combines the barriers in our way. usual right-wing talking points about “parasitic” Right now, we have a weak, but growing left. people of color with attacks on free trade and the Some 13 million people voted for in declining standard of living of most of us? the presidential primaries. There is a hunger for an It means that he sees our pain, he sees our frus- alternative to capitalism, and he moved us several tration with a political system rigged by the bil- steps forward in the war of position, to use a term lionaire class, and he sees an opportunity. Yes, it is from theorist Antonio Gramsci. rigged, but Trump’s policies would make it worse. Our job is to continue building our power. The neoliberal capitalist We can not do so by fi ght- class, including many Demo- ing among ourselves. Not one cratic politicians, pushes for of us has all the answers, and free trade agreements such we need each other for the as the North American Free Our job is to battles ahead. In fact, listen- Trade Agreement and poten- continue“ building ing to each others’ stories of tially the Trans Pacifi c Part- how we came to our different nership, for example. Trump’s points of view can make us support comes from speaking our power. better organizers as well as to this reality, as well as to the build a stronger movement. racialized fears and hatred ” Debate about strategy and that are ingrained in the fabric of U.S. culture and tactics must be done in a comradely way. reinforced by institutions. We don’t need to be in unquestioned unity behind The ability to fi ght against these fears is one rea- . We do need to be in unity behind son why labor unions matter. Unions are the only the short-term goal of strengthening the left by de- large institutions in this country that are led by feating the far right and in distinguishing between and for working people and that demand a voice in and neofascism. We need to be in uni- workplaces, politics, and the economy. Thus, unions ty about building a army of democratic can play a unique and critical role in building an socialist organizers. We need to be in unity about antiracist, anticapitalist class consciousness. That’s winning real power, independent power, through why we devote the annual Labor Day issue of Dem- concrete local fi ghts. We need to be in unity about making racial justice central to our fi ght for eco- nomic justice and part of all the work we do, wheth- er electoral, issue, or , in the coming Contents months and years. Unions Turn to Global Campaigns ...... 3 People become empowered through struggle and Labor, the Left, and the After-Bern ...... 5 victory, and the wounds and distrust that divide us Victory at Verizon Is a Victory for All ...... 8 are healed through solidarity. None of this is easy. Socialists Crowd Caucus at DNC ...... 9 It’s complicated. We all have lessons to learn. Our Stronger Together: Bianca Cunningham Interview ...... 10 Rediscovering Socialist Unionism ...... 12 future depends on our learning those lessons to- Legacy in the U.S. Labor Movement ...... 13 gether. NPC 2016 Election Statement ...... 15 And we have a duty to win.  Cover art by Frank Reynoso page 2 • Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 Unions Turn to Global Campaigns By Kate Bronfenbrenner

orker actions and community and labor ary 29, 2003, the workers at Brylane won card-check support remain essential in union orga- neutrality (meaning that the employer agrees not to Wnizing campaigns, but the success of orga- interfere with the union’s efforts to form a union) nizing in a global economy also depends on global and a fi rst contract. But they did not stop within the strategies. In 2001, the Union of Needletrades, In- borders of the . The global campaign dustrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) began a continued until they won a code of conduct agree- drive to organize 800 workers at Brylane’s - ment with Brylane to address substandard working napolis distribution center. Brylane, an apparel and conditions in the sourcing factories in the Global home furnishing distribution South and Eastern Europe. center for nine mail order The ripple effect of the cam- catalogs, was a major sub- paign helped workers in oth- sidiary of French catalog and er companies. When UNITE retail apparel giant Pinault- began to organize Sweden- Printemps-Redoute (PPR). based H&M, the possibility of PPR also owned luxury fi rms a Brylane-like global OECD Gucci, FNAC, and Conafor- campaign was enough to get ma, with lines by big name H&M to agree quickly to the designers Stella McCartney same card-check and neutral- and Alexander McQueen. ity agreement that was won According to Brylane’s own at Brylane. records, in 2000, one in ten Research found that there workers at the Indianapolis were three key elements to distribution center suffered the Brylane victory. First, a repetitive motion injury, a the supply chain research rate nearly 18 times higher gave the Brylane workers a Frank Reynoso than the industry-wide aver- connection to workers in the age. It was this issue that jumpstarted the organiz- supplier factories and the retail stores that was es- ing campaign. sential both for the success of the Gucci campaign Both Brylane management and PPR responded and to keep Brylane workers and their allies mo- by intimidating and harassing employees. Faced tivated to hold out for the code of conduct for the with aggressive opposition from the employer, the suppliers after the Indianapolis victory had been union recognized that it would need to run a cam- won. Second, the strategic shift away from catalog paign that reached well beyond Indianapolis. Re- sales toward luxury goods gave the campaign lever- searchers at UNITE had learned that workers in the age that it did not have with a catalog company, be- supplier countries were organizing with the Clean cause McCartney and McQueen were public fi gures Clothes Campaign against sweatshop conditions in with a brand and an image that could be damaged their factories that included cases of sexual harass- with an association with sweatshop labor. Third, ment, child labor, and subsistence wages. Thus, the the Gucci investment was highly leveraged, which fi rst step of the international campaign was a glob- meant PPR had to maintain high profi t margins or al customer campaign followed by a multi-country the lenders might call in the loans. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Devel- UNITE succeeded at Brylane because the cam- opment (OECD) complaint linking the health and paign was based on in-depth, strategic research safety conditions and labor law violations in the analysis of the entire corporation combined with a United States with the labor and vio- multifaceted, escalating campaign that built on that lations in the supplier countries. research. The campaign was carried out by workers Opening another front, Brylane workers and and their labor and community allies locally, nation- their global labor allies began picketing and leafl et- ally, and internationally. This story has been repeat- ting Gucci stores and designers Stella McCartney ed over and over again in organizing campaigns in and Alexander McQueen, asking them to tell PPR to the United States and around the world, whether “get in fashion—respect workers’ rights.” On Janu- with security guards organizing in South Africa or

Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 • page 3 3,000 TÜMTIS members in gaining union Challenging Transnational Capital Through Cross- recognition and a fi rst contract from United Parcel Border Campaigns (Cornell University Press, 2007, Service (UPS). Unions are learning, and my research Kate Bronfenbrenner, ed.). The other reason is that has confi rmed, that these elements together—strate- for the last 17 years, at least 30 or more students gic corporate research, escalating multifaceted cam- each year have been trained in strategic corporate paign, involvement of workers and allies—are key to research at the Cornell School of Industrial and La- the comprehensive campaigns necessary for unions bor Relations Summer Program and have moved to win in the hostile organizing climate that workers into strategic corporate research and/or strategic face today. campaign positions in the la- Today, 50% of all organizing bor movement. That does not campaigns (including NLRB, include the students gradu- the National Mediation Board, Today, 50% of all ating from the residential public-sector, and private- organizing campaigns programs of the University sector non-board campaigns “ of Massachusetts and Cor- combined) involve multina- involve multinational nell University, which include tional corporations, and 30% classes in the same subject. involve foreign-owned corpo- corporations, and 30% Strategic corporate re- rations. Organizers depend on search is not easy, particu- researchers more than ever. involve foreign-owned larly when one is researching But few local unions have re- privately held companies and searchers on staff, and only corporations. closely held publicly held com- the top 20 organizing unions panies. Much of the work is have fully staffed research old-style detective work—go- departments. Even then, they ” ing to courthouses, reading are stretched thin rescuing through loan agreements and locals that move forward on deeds, and talking to workers. campaigns unaware of wheth- Unions cannot afford a re- er the parent company is a searcher for every organizer. huge multinational traded on Instead of organizers, more a foreign exchange or a small and more unions are hiring U.S.-based private equity fi rm. what are now called “strategic Earlier corporate research campaigners,” staff who can was focused more on collecting do both research and organiz- as much information as possi- UPS Deliver Justice Not Abuse! ing. They are fi lling those jobs. ble on the company as quickly Young people are choosing as possible from as many sources as possible both to go after strategic corporate research and strate- on and offl ine. Today’s strategic corporate research gic campaign jobs, and there are enough good jobs follows a specifi c order based on corporate structure: in both categories to keep stoking the growing in- starting with ownership, followed by operations, and terest. Even though many in the academy, media, then stakeholders, which then allows the researcher and some in the labor movement itself are saying to develop a critique of the company that will be most that labor’s time is up, the new approaches feed useful for designing a comprehensive campaign. The sparks of optimism. Those sparks are good for the most commonly used model for strategic corporate new blood coming in to the labor movement and for research is the one originally developed for the Cor- the movement.  nell/AFL-CIO Strategic Corporate Research Sum- Kate Bronfenbrenner is director mer School Program by the original instructors in of Labor Education Research that program. [Full disclosure: I am director of Labor and senior lecturer, Cornell Education Research at the Cornell University School School of Industrial and of Industrial and Labor Relations.] Labor Relations. To learn more Part of the reason for widespread use of the about the Cornell Summer model is that it was the one presented at the Global School program, visit www.ilr. Companies, Global Unions, Global Research, Glob- cornell.edu/worker-institute/ al Campaigns Conference attended by more than education-training/strategic- 700 trade unionists and labor academics in 2006 corporate-research-summer-course/course-details. in City. The conference proceedings were Footnotes are available upon request. published the following year as Global Unions: page 4 • Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 Labor, the Left, and the After-Bern Bob Master talks with Joseph M. Schwartz

Bob Master is legislative and political director of Dis- must make racial and gender justice central to its trict One of the Communications Workers of Ameri- agenda. Second, the meaning of the phrase “politi- ca (CWA) and special adviser to the CWA national cal revolution,” while stirring to millions, is also po- president on national politics. He also serves as co- tentially disorienting to the left. The idea of revolu- chair of the New York State . tion connotes sudden, radical, sweeping change—a At 700,000 members, CWA was the largest interna- rapid, fundamental restructuring of government tional union to endorse Senator Bernie Sanders for and politics. But the actual meaning of Sanders’s president in the Democratic presidential primary. political revolution is surely less the storming of the Master played a leading role in defi ning CWA’s elec- Winter Palace—or even the mass popular uprisings toral strategy and is a leader in discussions among that erupted across Eastern Europe in 1989 or the labor, electoral, and community activists as to how Middle East in 2011—than it is 1866-1870, 1933-38 to build out of the Sanders campaign a long-term, or 1964-66 in the halls of Congress. Those were mo- more multiracial left trend in mainstream U.S. poli- ments of profound legal, social, and economic non- tics. DSA Vice-Chair Joseph Schwartz interviewed revolutionary change within the system. And the Master shortly after he addressed DSA’s Socialist advances achieved in those remarkable moments Caucus (attended by more than 300 people, includ- required huge governing majorities as well as mass ing more than 100 Sanders delegates) at the Demo- movements capable of bringing irresistible pressure cratic National Conven- to bear on legislators. tion in July. Talk of “revolution” runs the risk of creating impa- tience or overreach, and JS: How would you The main task our movement needs to summarize the gains understand that we’ve got for the left and U.S. for“ labor and the left a huge amount of work to politics from the Sand- do—both at the ballot box ers campaign? between now and and in the streets—to cre- RM: Bernie Sanders November 8 is to defeat ate the conditions for the took the sweeping social, kind of change envisioned political, and especially Donald Trump. by the Sanders move- economic critique that ment. emerged from in 2011; in- ” JS: Now that Hill- jected it into mainstream political discourse; and ary Clinton is the Democratic nominee, what demonstrated that the hunger for transformative approach to the 2016 elections, including the change extends far beyond a scruffy band of mostly presidential, do you think the left should white, mostly college-educated bur- adopt? dened by a crushing load of . He called RM: I am 100% clear that the main task for la- the question on nearly four decades of neoliberal bor and the left between now and November 8 is assault on working people, and a clear verdict was to defeat Donald Trump, who is the most danger- returned—the country needs a new direction—even ous fi gure in mainstream American politics since “a political revolution.” If we build on the achieve- George Wallace. A Trump victory would not only ments of the Sanders campaign—and the critical put an unqualifi ed, know-nothing, narcissistic, au- gains of social movements like thoritarian jerk in the , it would em- and the Dreamers in recent years—the potential for power and invigorate the most malign tendencies in signifi cant social may be greater than at U.S. society. It would close off space for social reform any time in decades. and put us on defense for four years. Not to mention A few caveats. First, Sanders failed to build a what it would do to the Supreme Court. In contrast, suffi ciently multiracial coalition, which is requi- the election of Hillary Clinton, while no panacea, site to building a movement powerful enough to will enable us to build on the electoral and social- achieve the sweeping transformation to which the movement gains that have taken place since 2011 campaign aspired. The next phase of the movement and keep building pressure for more fundamental

Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 • page 5 change. This is truly a no-brainer. ment and what are the main barriers to that At the same time, we need to be laying the revival? groundwork now for the movement-building work RM: The past 30 years have been among the most that will be necessary to pressure a new Democratic challenging in the history of the U.S. labor move- administration on issues like reining in Wall Street, ment. I do not see any magic bullets for revival. But creating a health care public option, ending mass I share the analysis put forward by historians such incarceration, criminal justice reform, restoration as Nelson Lichtenstein and Steve Fraser, who have of the Voting Rights Act, and citizenship for 11 mil- argued that the key to working-class upsurge is not lion undocumented U.S. residents. None of this will primarily new organizing techniques or strategies happen without mass pressure and electoral mobi- but ideological shifts that seed the soil for working lization, and we need to start plan- people to reconceptualize their ning for that even as we mobilize to role in society. As Lichtenstein defeat Trump. I have has written, “Trade unionism re- JS: How can a post-Bernie quires a compelling set of ideas progressive political trend best always“ felt and institutions, both self-made be built? and governmental, to give labor’s RM: I am a proponent of the “In- that there cause power and legitimacy.” The side-Outside Strategy” articulated Sanders campaign, with its em- by Dan Cantor, Working Families was a need phasis on fi ghting inequality and Party national director, and Jodeen building greater working-class Olguín-Taylor, vice president of for a socialist political power, has been very Demos Action, in maga- important in that regard. I think zine’s August symposium on “How current within the social movements that have to Build the Political Revolution.” gripped the nation since 2011 Cantor and Olguín-Taylor advocate the labor also contribute to an environ- mounting a handful of ambitious ment in which increased work- national issue campaigns—tax- movement. ing-class mobilization is possible. ing Wall Street to fund free pub- The “Fight for $15 and a Union” lic higher education, getting Big has re-introduced the relevance Money out of politics, restoring ” of unions to millions of Ameri- the Voting Rights Act are possi- cans who knew almost nothing bilities—at the scale of the 2009- about unionism or picket lines, 2010 Health Care for America and SEIU (Service Employees Now campaign in support of the International Union) deserves . In this vi- enormous credit for its commit- sion, a broad coalition of commu- ment to this campaign. And I am nity, labor, netroots, racial justice, encouraged by polling that shows youth, immigrant, and labor orga- that young people are decidedly nizations, including whatever new more pro-union than older Amer- formations might emerge from icans, something we see refl ected the Bernie 2016 campaign, would in a spurt of organizing among come together around an agenda workers at digital media outlets designed to sustain and advance such as online and the issues that drove the excite- Al-Jazeera, where CWA over- ment of the Sanders campaign. We whelmingly won union elections would work with progressive allies last year. All of these are posi- in Congress to make 2018 a referendum on racial tive signs, but the legal system remains stacked in and economic justice in the same way that the Tea favor of employers, and a climate of fear still per- Party made 2010 a referendum on socialized medi- vades most organizing efforts. If progressive social cine, big government, and the fi rst black president. and economic movements continue to grow, there is The challenge is to nationalize an anticorporate, an- reason to hope that they will spread to workplaces tiracist agenda. as well. JS: Labor is always a key part of any pro- JS: Your own political origins come out of gressive movement. What hopeful signs do the mid-late 1970s student labor solidarity you see for a revival of the U.S. labor move- movement and the page 6 • Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016

Victory at Verizon Is a Victory for All By Dan DiMaggio

he strike this past spring by 39,000 Verizon of 300 a year between 1947 and 1979.) workers in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast First, skilled workers in vital such Twas the largest and most signifi cant since as telecommunications still have some power. Man- United Parcel Service workers struck the package agers and scab replacement workers proved unable giant in 1997. After decades of retreat in the face of to maintain Verizon’s network or install FiOS. Veri- attacks by employers and right-wing politicians, it’s zon CEO Lowell McAdam was forced to admit the a hopeful sign. strike’s impact on the company’s bottom line, with Verizon infuriated landline and call-center work- analysts estimating that the strike cost the compa- ers from Massachusetts to Virginia with demands ny $200 million in profi ts. to outsource more jobs, cap pension contributions at Second, the timing was right. Bernie Sanders’s 30 years of service, and force workers to live away campaign gave the strike more publicity, boosted from home for months at a time. strikers’ confi dence, and framed the strike as a clear After 45 days on the picket lines, the unions beat battle against corporate greed. “We should remind back these concessions. In the end, Verizon commit- ourselves never to call a strike again unless it’s one ted to adding 1,300 more jobs in the United States, week before a competitive New York state primary in doing away with a hated disciplinary program, and which a socialist is running,” joked CWA’s Bob Mas- phasing in 10.5% raises over four years. Although ter, a key architect of the strike, in . the unions still took a hit on healthcare, workers One hundred and fi fty strikers were given front emerged feeling that they had achieved an over- row seats to Sanders’s Manhattan rally on day one whelming victory against a corporate behemoth. of the strike, and Sanders repeatedly called out Ve- What made this strike succeed, at a time when rizon’s $1.8 billion in profi ts a month and McAdam’s strikes are at an all-time low, with most unions hes- $18 million salary. With corporate greed in the news, itant to walk out for fear of suffering a crippling de- union members kept up relentless and public pres- feat? (There were just 12 work stoppages involving sure on the company, picketing (and being arrested more than 1,000 workers in 2015, versus an average at) a shareholder meeting and organizing demon-

Members and friends of the NYC DSA Branch picket in solidarity with Verizon strikers. From left to right: Laura Moya, Neal Meyer, Mariah Montgomery , Dan DiMaggio, Dave Hancock, Sam Rosenthal, Ben Bennett, Rick Fudge, Chris Maisano, Chris Brooks, Katrina Forman. Photo by the picket captain. page 8 • Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 strations against scabs and company executives. ing of socialists’ role in a struggle like this. Above all Third, with Verizon Wireless retail workers on else, it’s to help the strikers win. strike at seven stores in Brooklyn, New York, and In New York, our recently established Labor Everett, Massachusetts, the union picketed Wire- Branch formed the backbone of the Verizon Strike less stores across the entire United States, affecting Solidarity Committee (alongside the International sales and raising concerns among investors about Socialist Organization). We reached out to numer- longer-term damage to the company’s brand. Work- ous local unions and community organizations who ers at the struck stores—who voted to join CWA in adopted stores for picketing, in addition to the pick- 2014 but had been stymied by management—won ets organized by our Brooklyn branch. their fi rst contract and, it is hoped, paved the way Many of our younger members said this was their toward organizing more fi rst time on a picket line. Wireless workers in the It certainly won’t be their future. last. There’s no doubt Solidarity was key. Solidarity was that Corporate America Workers told me they’d “key. Workers told will continue its decades- never felt such an out- long war on workers. pouring of community But, as our strike solidar- support. “You don’t feel me they’d never felt ity committee T-shirts like you’re alone,” said said, “A victory for one is Dennis Dunn, chief such an outpouring of a victory for all.” The win steward with CWA Lo- at Verizon should boost cal 1108 on Long Is- community support. all workers’ confi dence land. “We had bagels in their own power. And delivered almost daily ” DSAers should be proud on the picket line, pizza from other unions, contri- that we played a part, and be ready to play an even big- butions from retirees. . . . It helps when you don’t ger role in future struggles.  have people driving by yelling, ‘Get a job! Go back Dan DiMaggio is the assistant editor of Labor to work!’” Notes and a member of the Brooklyn Branch and That support included the many groups—among Labor Branch of NYC DSA. The opinions expressed them many locals and organizing committees of here are his own. To read more of his coverage on DSA—that answered CWA’s call to “adopt a Wire- the strike, visit labornotes.org or e-mail him at dan. less store” to picket. The eagerness of DSAers to or- [email protected]. ganize pickets at stores shows a solid understand-

Socialists Crowd Caucus at Democratic National Convention rapidly growing DSA held a coming-out party cal trend would have to broaden its racial basis and Aof sorts at the Democratic National Conven- coordinate work around several key racial and eco- tion. More than 300 Sanders activists attended nomic justice demands. DSA National Director Ma- DSA’s “Socialist Caucus” on July 27, of whom at ria Svart, El Paso DSA activist and Sanders dele- least 100 were Sanders delegates. Fifty-fi ve of those gate Ashley Rodriguez, and DSA Co- delegates were DSA members. At the caucus were chair Rahel Biru outlined the role DSA locals play Levi Sanders, the senator’s son, and Larry Sanders, in multiracial coalitions and electoral campaigns to his brother. fi ght for immigrant rights, affordable housing, and The standing-room audience heard from leaders democratic public education. José Laluz, DSA vice of the two largest unions that backed Sanders. Mi- chair and veteran labor activist, brought down the chael Lighty, political director of National Nurses house with an impassioned plea to end U. S. colonial United (and former DSA national director), ana- rule in Puerto Rico. lyzed the “transformative,” anticorporate nature of Numerous participants remarked on social me- Sanders’s call for single-payer healthcare and a fi - dia that the caucus represented one of the most sub- nancial transactions tax to fi nance free public high- stantive meetings at the convention. Many joined er education. Communications Workers of America DSA on the spot, and the DSA table rapidly sold out District One Legislative Director Bob Master [see of its fi fty bright red DSA “Continuing the Political interview on p. 6] argued that a post–Sanders politi- Revolution T-shirts.”

Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 • page 9 Stronger Together Bianca Cunningham talks to Russ Weiss-Irwin

Bianca Cunningham is a DSA member in Brooklyn, manager to the side, look her square in the eye, and NY, and chair of the NYC DSA Labor Branch. She tell her, “I’m not the one to be f___ed with!” led her coworkers to join Communications Workers “Well,” I told him, “You’re a businessman who of America (CWA) Local 1109 in 2014, becoming the owns a multimillion-dollar business: it’s easy for fi rst ever Verizon Wireless retail workers to union- you to say that. But for us regular folks, that would ize. Verizon fi red her for organizing, and during the never work.” But I kept thinking about it, and think- recent Verizon strike, picketers across the country ing of ways that I could do it. When I reached out to chanted “Bring Back Bianca!” She now works as [CWA Local 1109], that was my subliminal f___ you a staff organizer for CWA. This interview was con- to the company! ducted by email and phone in July, shortly before the RW: How did it feel when Verizon fi red you NLRB ruled in her favor. —RW for organizing and suddenly Verizon workers across the country knew your name? RW: Why did you fi rst decide to form a union BC: When I was fi red, I was really shocked and in your Verizon Wireless store? felt betrayed. I had worked so hard for Verizon for BC: I had been dealing with bullying and sexual fi ve years. I got awards and always did what they harassment from some of my managers to the point asked of me and more. When I fi rst got fi red, I that I felt sick going into work almost every day. Fi- thought, “What could I have done to avoid this?” But nally, my grandfather gave me the advice to pull the the answer really was nothing—it wasn’t me, it was

From left: Bianca Cunningham, Sen. Bernie Sanders, CWA District 1 vice president Dennis Trainor, and former CWA president Larry Cohen. Photo courtesy of CWA. page 10 • Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 just the movement. [Becoming nationally known] RW: How did the NYC Labor Branch—a was so surreal. All the support from the union and group of socialist union staff and rank-and- local elected offi cials made me feel supported and fi le leaders—get started? What has it done and empowered, and kept me fi ghting. It was amazing. what do you think is next? When we went on strike with Verizon landline BC: We had put so much energy into the Sand- workers, we saw such an outpouring of support— ers campaign and reached out to so many people. from the public, from DSA, from retail workers at We experienced the enthusiasm with millennials as AT&T who are already union, and even from Bernie well as the lack of enthusiasm in communities of Sanders! We really felt the love. And fi nally, after color. We wanted to use that to educate three years, Brooklyn Verizon Wireless retail work- and really engage with these disenfranchised rank- ers won our fi rst union and-fi le members who contract. were looking for answers RW: Did you already Going forward, we and looking for a way in see yourself as social- which they could take ist before that experi- “all want to get behind action that can, we hope, ence, or only after? lead to real change down BC: I grew up in a the Black Lives Matter the line. Christian household. My We felt a labor branch grandparents made me movement. We want to was the appropriate way read The Negro by W.E.B. to go. Most of us had re- Du Bois and listen to old do member education lationships with other speeches from Martin Lu- folks in unions and access ther , Jr. There are a and mobilize a larger to members. We believe lot of socialist principles that making the connec- taught in a Southern rank-and- le presence tion between a union and black church: the idea of a grander idea of social- collectivity, the principle behind the movement ism is important for the that things should come future of unions and for from the people them- inside and outside the people to get a greater selves, ideas about race. understanding of why I was able to connect the workplace. unions are important, not dots once I started read- just in the public sector. ing more in high school and college. Even now, Mar- Going forward, we all tin Luther King is the best example for me of chan- want ” to get behind the Black Lives Matter move- neling Christian love and principles into socialist ment. We want to do member education and mo- politics. bilize a larger rank-and-fi le presence behind the movement inside and outside the workplace. I hope RW: What made you decide to join DSA? that we will really affect our city and become a real How do you see being a socialist activist as player in this process of trying to build a socialist connected to being a leader in CWA? movement by supporting politicians who support BC: I share an offi ce with a number of other CWA our ideals and educating the community as a whole organizers; we had been part of a group called the about , starting with the workplace.  “Project for Working Class Power.” It was good, but it was too much talk. When people started to talk about joining DSA, I asked, “Will this be about action?” We knew DSA people from the Bernie campaign—CWA Labor Day solidarity to all endorsed Bernie—and we saw they had the same things in mind as we did. By joining DSA, we’re part comrades and friends from the of a larger network and a bigger movement. As far as the connection with my union work, it’s Central New Jersey Democratic important to be able to help my co-workers connect Socialists of America Organizing the dots between their day-to-day frustrations at work and in their personal lives to a greater move- Committee, Princeton Branch ment, especially for forming leaders in communities of color. and New Brunswick Branch.

Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 • page 11 Rediscovering Socialist Unionism By Elaine Bernard

ith all that is being written in the main- one is an injury to all” and promote a unionism that stream press about the 2016 election sea- supports and gives aid to those who are struggling Wson, an important aspect of the massive for worker rights and human rights wherever they turnout and public support for Bernie Sanders are organizing or under threat. seems to have gone unnoticed. Among the thou- Socialists advocate a union practice that reaches sands of unionists drawn to the Sanders campaign, well beyond workplace relations and joins with peo- there’s new interest in talking about democratic ple struggling in the wider community. In recent socialism. For some, it’s an exciting new inquiry— years, this type of unionism is sometimes referred what does it mean to be a socialist and a - to as “social unionism.” This term stands in sharp ist? For others, with sad contrast to a narrower memories of U.S. labor’s union perspective that cold-war red-baiting, it’s For socialists, deals only with wages an opening to reexamine and benefi ts and ignores our union history and re- “ isn’t just the many other problems claim the broader, trans- facing working people. formational agenda that about the right to vote For socialists, bringing socialists have fought for democracy into the eco- both in their unions and for representatives nomic sphere is a prior- in society at large. ity. Simply put, to be a every two or four condemns millions to pov- socialist is to be for de- erty and starvation while mocracy, but a radical years. [It] is about the a tiny minority dictates democracy that seeks to how the productive capac- eliminate racism, sexism, right to participate in ity of society will be used. and the multiple forms Socialists, however, are in- of chauvinism and op- decisions that affect terested in more than just pression that undermine an equitable distribution solidarity and compas- us every day. of the wealth produced by sionate human relations. all of us. For socialists, the To be a socialist is to join narrow focus on the redis- the struggle on the side of equity-seeking groups tribution” of goods after production ignores the waste, against the oppressive poisons that divide us and destruction, and harm done in the profi t-driven pro- choke off the creation of a truly democratic and just duction process. Under capitalism, profi ts, not human society. needs, drive production and the economy and even For socialists, democracy isn’t just about the right cloak the human decision-makers with an aura of de- to vote for representatives every two or four years. niability (the boss has no choice, the market dictates!). Democracy is about the right to participate in deci- Distribution decisions are important and worth sions that affect us every day, and many of these de- fi ghting for. But until human needs, environmental cisions are made at work. That’s why socialists sup- justice, and sustainable development eclipse profi ts, port building powerful organizations of producers of we will not have a truly just and democratic soci- goods, services, and care giving—unions—that act ety. Socialists join the fi ght for economic justice and in solidarity with customers, clients, and patients. equality at every opportunity, in every venue, and The world of work is an important terrain where recognize that we will never be a democratic and just workers can challenge the power of capital and the society until human priorities role of markets in controlling our lives. drive the economy.  Socialists work to build unions that are democrat- DSA member Elaine Bernard ic and to create a community of interest with each is the executive director of the other and the community. Socialists also seek to ex- Labor & Worklife Program at pand the mission of unions, so that they are not just . representing their current members. Unions must champion the solidarity philosophy of “an injury to page 12 • Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 The Socialist Party’s Legacy In the U.S. Labor Movement By Lawrence Wittner

he U.S. labor movement has been fueled by the passion and fi re of socialists, anarchists, Tcommunists, and leftists of many types. So- cialists have been active since the very beginnings of the nationally organized movement. Probably the best-known among them is Eugene V. Debs. A moving orator and staunch union activ- ist, Debs began his career as a leader of the Brother- hood of Locomotive Firemen and after as the found- er and guiding light of the American Railway Union. During the great Pullman Strike of 1894, a power- Eugene V. Debs ful corporate-U.S. government alliance smashed the strike, imprisoned Debs and other union lead- ers, and destroyed this early industrial union. But Debs emerged from the ordeal as a popular symbol of unfl inching class struggle, as well as the Social- ist Party’s candidate for president in the fi rst two decades of the twentieth century. Another prominent early SP member was Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, who, with Debs, co-founded the SP’s predecessor, the . Although for the most part she preferred to be in- dependent of party labels, she was called “the most Sidney Hillman dangerous woman in America” for her success in or- ganizing mine workers and their families to fi ght the mine owners. She also helped found the Indus- trial Workers of the World, a very radical union. In the following decades, former SP members rose to top positions in their unions and, sometimes, in the broader labor movement. These include Walter Reuther (president, and president, CIO; vice-president, AFL-CIO); his brother Victor (international director, UAW); and Sidney Hillman (president, Amalgamated Clothing Workers and vice-president, CIO). Later, prominent members of the Democratic Socialist Organizing William Winpisinger Committee, a predecessor to DSA, included Jerry Wurf (president, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees) and William Winpisinger (president, International Associa- tion of Machinists). As leaders of major industrial unions, they often had a signifi cant role in Demo- cratic Party politics, meeting with U.S. presidents and promoting important social legislation. Walter Reuther supported the civil rights move- ment with union organizers and funding. He became a key backer of the National Committee for a Sane Fannia Cohn

Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 • page 13 Nuclear Policy (SANE) and a sharp critic of the War. Winpisinger, a DSA honorary chair, called for economic conversion from military to ci- vilian production and served as a co-chair of SANE. Although the U.S. labor movement was tradi- tionally dominated by men, socialist women broke through to the middle levels of power, particularly in the garment unions. During the fi rst two decades of the twentieth century, Fannia Cohn became a leading organizer, strike leader, and the fi rst wom- an vice-president of the International Ladies Gar- ment Workers Union. Rose Schneiderman worked A. Philip Randolph briefl y for the ILGWU, but was even more promi- nent in the 1909 Uprising of the 20,000, as an agita- tween the racial justice tor following the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, and movement and the labor as national president of the Women’s Trade Union movement. DSA mem- League—a post that led to her close friendship with ber Raoul Teilhet was and to service in the Roosevelt president of the Califor- administration’s “Brains Trust.” nia Federation of Teach- Socialists were also prominent among union ers and a driving force leaders of color. Starting in the 1920s, A. Philip Ran- behind the successful ef- Raoul Teilhet dolph organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping fort to legalize collective Car Porters and, in 1941, used the union’s power to bargaining in public education. promote the on Washington Movement that Although socialists and social democrats never pressured the Roosevelt administration into creat- produced an explicitly socialist labor movement, ing a Fair Employment Practices Commission. In their infl uence continues as many unions look be- 1963, Randolph chaired the August 1963 March on yond “bread-and-butter” issues to con- Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which compelled cerns that affect all working people.  the federal government to fi nally enact civil rights legislation. Bayard Rustin, the great civil rights Lawrence Wittner is professor leader, joined Randolph in founding the A. Philip of history emeritus at SUNY/ Randolph Institute, a constituency group within Albany and executive the AFL-CIO that worked to forge an alliance be- secretary of the Albany County Central Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. His latest book is a satirical novel about university FOR FURTHER READING corporatization and Jervis Anderson, A. Philip Randolph: A Bio- rebellion, What’s Going On graphical Portrait at UAardvark? John D’Emilio, Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin Steve Fraser, Labor Will Rule: Sidney Hillman and the Rise of American Labor Joshua Freeman, Working Class New York: Get Life and Labor since World War II your Ray Ginger, The Bending Cross: A Biography of Eugene V. Debs DSA Elliot J. Gorn, Mother Jones: The Most Dan- gerous Woman in America swag Nelson Lichtenstein, Walter Reuther: The now! Most Dangerous Man in Nick Salvatore, Eugene V. Debs: Citizen and dsausa.org Socialist page 14 • Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 NPC 2016 Election Statement

Below is a condensed version of the DSA National Po- brutality, mass incarceration, and white supremacy, litical Committee’s statement on the fall 2016 elec- and for affordable housing and high quality K-12 tions, adopted August 4, 2016. The complete state- education. Finally, while many DSAers in contested ment can be found online at dsausa.org.—Ed. states will likely vote for Clinton, some members in non-contested states will vote for . DSA be- emocratic Socialists of America believes that lieves, however, that for any third party effort to be the left must balance two crucial tasks in the viable in the long-term, it will fi rst focus on building November 2016 elections. On the one hand, D the grassroots base necessary to win partisan races the progressive movement must roundly defeat at the local and state level. After November 8, DSA Donald Trump’s racist, nativist, Islamophobic and hopes to be building left social-movement pressure misogynist presidential campaign, as well as isolate on a neoliberal Clinton administration. and delegitimize the far-right hate groups that his campaign has strengthened. On the other hand, the Building a Multiracial, Antiracist “Post-Bernie” Trend left must sustain and expand elec- Both before and after November, DSA’s more toral and social-movement capacity built by the in- general objective will be to broaden the base of “the surgent Sanders campaign, while broadening it out post-Sanders trend,” both within and outside of in an explicitly antiracist and multiracial direction. electoral politics, and especially beyond Sanders’s DSA does not normally endorse presidential can- largely white base. The Sanders campaign showed didates. We decided to encourage Bernie Sanders to that millions and millions of Americans have an in- run for president—and proudly participated in his creasingly favorable view of the “s” word, and are movement—because he offered a political program ready for real, structural change. This is a base that advanced the democratic socialist vision. Hill- from which to build a powerful, multiracial socialist ary Clinton’s neoliberal and imperialist politics are movement that fi ghts to expand political, civil, and quite different, and therefore DSA will not offer her social rights while fi ghting to democratize control our endorsement. over the economy and social life. Nonetheless, DSA recognizes that a Trump “law Further, while it is highly unlikely that a Clinton and order” authoritarian administration would presidency would free itself from corporate infl uence threaten the most elemental rights of immigrants, and champion the relatively progressive platform people of color, Muslims, women, workers, and the won by the Sanders movement, and while it is clear LGBTQ community—as well as bring greater re- that the Democratic establishment remains very pression upon #Black Lives Matter. Even brack- powerful within the party, the progressive platform eting the actions he could take through executive fought for and won by Sanders’s political revolution agencies and with a possibly Republican-controlled does provide some momentum for social movements Congress, Trump’s capacity to appoint at least two to press for the enactment of these promises. Supreme Court justices alone would spell disaster for many communities. Building a Strong Socialist Left DSA views the November elections as just one Dump Trump, Build a Multiracial Movement tactical stage in a long-term effort to build an in- Many DSA chapters, particularly in swing states, dependent grassroots, antiracist, and feminist left will work within an emerging independent “Dump capable of exercising political power. Given the Trump” movement. Through this work, which will structural biases of the federal and state electoral consist largely of registering voters in black and system in favor of two major parties, much of this immigrant communities, fi ghting voter suppres- activity will come through insurgent campaigns in sion and organizing anti-Trump rallies, DSA can Democratic primaries. Going forward, DSA believes increase the likelihood of a Trump defeat without that it is only by prioritizing work around issues of working with the offi cial Clinton campaign. While racial justice—broadly conceived—that the emerg- many DSA chapters in swing states will focus on ing Sanders trend in U.S. politics can become a mul- Dumping Trump, many chapters in non-contested tiracial, majoritarian movement. Only by legitimat- states will focus on down-ballot races that feature ing antiracist and feminist democratic socialist poli- Bernie Democrats, as well as those of socialist can- tics and fi ghting for the ultimate democratization didates both within and outside of the Democrat- of economic and social life—what is known around ic Party. Many chapters will continue focusing on the world as “”—can we build a grassroots, multiracial campaigns against police society that serves the needs of the 99%.

Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 • page 15 page 16 • Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 • page 17 Labor Day Greetings to Democratic Left* CADRE Phyllis Arist John Lane and Grandson David E. Bonior Wayles Browne Lee Levin and Marshall Mayer Barbara Carlson Michael Hirsch Jonathan Milton Jack Clark Terrence T. Lewis Eugene Teselle Barbara Joye Jonathan Macy Renée Greene Levitt Spencer Matthews BOOSTERS Steve Mayhugh Mark Maxey Paul J. Baicich Jim Phillips and Peter Selz Louise B. Brown Dorothy Billings Father Clark Shackelford Carl Schwartz and Penny Schantz Wilda Luttermoser SUSTAINERS David Sprintzen Gillian Talwar Bill Barclay and Renée Weitzner Peg Strobel Kathryn Vitek Robert G. Wright Virginia Franco and *We tried to include every ad or name Herbert B. Shore READERS received as of press time. If we missed you, we apologize. Please let us know so James Norwood Pratt Mark S. Alper that we can recognize you in the Winter issue. William Cashin SUPPORTERS Carl Goldman Theresa Alt Selma E. Goode

Today, workers In honor of have more to BOGDAN DENITCH 1929-2016 lose than their chains, but From Mark Finkel we still have a Greetings and world to win! Congratulations to Democratic Left ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From Democratic Socialists Greetings from of Central Timothy Sears The Revolution Starts at the Local Level

page 18 • Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016

A Project of the DSA Labor Network

Talking Union is a project of the labor network of Democratic Socialists of America. We report on the activities and views of DSA and Young Democratic Socialists of America labor activists. We seek to be a place for a broad range of labor activists to discuss ideas for the renewal and strengthening of the labor movement.

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page 20 • Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 • page 21 page 22 • Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 Democratic Left • Labor Day/Fall 2016 • page 23 Democratic Left (ISSN 1643207) is published quarterly at 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 702, New York, NY 10038. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY (Publication No. 701-960). Subscriptions: $10 regular; $15 institutional. Postmaster: Send address changes to 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 702, New York, NY 10038. Democratic Left is published by the Democratic Socialists of America, 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 702, New York, NY 10038. (212) 727-8610. Signed articles express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the organization. Executive Editor: Maria Svart Editor: Maxine Phillips Blog Editors: Duane Campbell, Dustin Guastella, Elizabeth Henderson, Simone Morgen, and Barbara Joye Editorial Committee: Michael Baker, Elizabeth Henderson, Michael Hirsch, Barbara Joye Editorial Advisory Committee: Duane Campbell, Jeffrey Gold, José Gutierrez, Frank Llewellyn, Simone Morgen, Mark Schaeffer, Jason Schulman, Joseph Schwartz, Jack Suria-Linares, Lawrence Ware Founding Editor: (1928-1989) Production: Ed Hedemann Democratic Socialists of America share a vision of a humane international social order based on equitable distribution of resources, meaningful work, a healthy environment, sustainable growth, gender and racial equality, and non-oppressive relationships. Equality, solidarity, and democracy can only be achieved through international political and social cooperation aimed at ensuring that economic institutions bene t all people. We are dedicated to building truly international social movements—of unionists, environmentalists, feminists, and people of color—which together can elevate global justice over brutalizing global competition.

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