Platform of the Peace and Freedom Party (Adopted March 2003, last modified November 2013)

The Peace and Freedom Party, founded in 1967, is committed to socialism, democracy, ecology, feminism and racial equality. We represent the working class, those without capital in a capitalist society. We organize toward a world where cooperation replaces competition, a world where all people are well fed, clothed and housed; where all women and men have equal status; where all individuals may freely endeavor to fulfill their own talents and desires; a world of freedom and peace where every community retains its cultural integrity and lives with all others in harmony. We offer this summary of our immediate and long-range goals: Socialism

We support social ownership and democratic management of industry and natural resources. Under capitalism, the proceeds of labor go to the profits of the wealthy few. With socialism, production is planned to meet human needs.

To us, socialism is workers' democracy, including the principle that all officials are elected, recallable at any time, and none receives more than a worker's wage. Socialism can only be brought about when we, the working class, unite and act as a body in our own interests. Our goals cannot be achieved by electoral means alone. We participate in mass organization and direct action in neighborhoods, workplaces, unions and the armed forces everywhere.

While organizing for the future, we work in the present, challenging the system with the following immediate and transitional goals:

Labor and Full Employment • No prison labor for private profit. Living wage and full union rights for any prison labor. • We demand a socially useful job at union pay Defend workers' rights to organize, form union levels or a guaranteed dignified income for • caucuses, strike, and boycott. everyone. • No replacement of striking workers. • We support the establishment of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) to alleviate poverty and • Federally-funded public works programs to homelessness. rebuild the nation's infrastructure and restore the environment. • We call for a 30-hour work week for 40 hours' pay and abolition of forced overtime. • International solidarity of workers against international capitalist schemes such as NAFTA • We demand a legally mandated annual paid and WTO in defense of jobs, wages, working vacation of at least 4 weeks. conditions and environmental laws. • We demand expansion and enforcement of job International trade agreements must guarantee the health and safety laws. We call for the restoration • protection of workers and democratic rights in all of all labor rights previously won by women and participating countries. their extension to men as well. • A rank and file socialist-oriented labor movement • We demand paid parental leaves and time off to mobilize working-class people to assume work for childcare. ownership and control of the economy. Peace and Freedom Platform, Page 2 of 6 society. We must ensure equal rights and Peace and International Justice responsibilities in child raising. Unions must do more to organize women and promote women's The drive for greater profits by multi-national leadership. We demand: corporations which direct U.S. foreign policy is a major cause of war. We stand for peace between • Adoption of an equal rights amendment. nations and the right of all peoples to self- • Equal pay for equal work, and for work of determination. We support an ongoing socialist comparable worth. transformation everywhere. We therefore call for: • Enforce non-discrimination in hiring and • The U.S. to renounce nuclear first strike, and take promotion with affirmative action where the initiative toward global disarmament by necessary. eliminating all of its nuclear, chemical and Provision of free, high-quality, community- biological weapons. • controlled child care. • No U.S. intervention anywhere. End all support Convenient provision of safe, free birth control and aid to repressive regimes and all military and • information and materials to men and women of police training aid everywhere. End efforts to any age. destabilize foreign governments. End U.S.- directed economic warfare against other countries. • Free abortion on demand. Abolish the CIA, NSA, AID and other agencies • No forced abortions or sterilizations. for interference inother countries' internal affairs. Withdraw all U.S. troops and weapons from all • Safe prenatal care. other countries. • End violence against women. • Stop all U.S. arms exports and trade. Ending Racism and National Oppression • Dissolve all military pacts. • Convert from military to peaceful production; Accompanying the continuing economic crisis, we reallocate the resulting "peace dividend" for social see a rise in racial discrimination, increased benefit. terrorism against racially and nationally oppressed people, and retrenchment in civil rights. Minority • Abolish the Selective Service System. families are disproportionately victimized by • No weapons in space. cutbacks in health care, education, child care, welfare, food stamps and jobs. We demand: Equal Rights and Liberties • End all forms of racial discrimination. The capitalists use every difference in society, • Enforce non-discrimination in hiring and including sex, ethnicity, language, sexual promotion with affirmative action where orientation, age, and physical abilities to divide necessary. workers in order to depress wages, maintain a • Prosecute and punish police and prison officials surplus labor pool, and prevent working-class unity. who brutalize and murder. We demand equal treatment of all people by employers, businesses and government. We stand Language Rights for a world free from all forms of oppression. Restore to the State Constitution co-equal status for Women Spanish as an official language of California in recognition of its cultural, historical, economic and We demand full equality for women in all aspects demographic importance to the people of this state. of life. Sexism is a major instrument for teaching relations of domination and inequality and for • Abolish all English-only laws and policies, keeping one-half of the workforce underpaid or including those of private employers. unpaid. We work to end oppressive sex roles in

Peace and Freedom Platform, Page 3 of 6 Undocumented Workers Retired Workers

Immigrant workers are hounded by government Retired workers must be guaranteed a decent living authorities, worked and housed in substandard at union wage levels. We demand: conditions by unscrupulous bosses, and blamed by • Immediate improvements in economic benefits Republican and Democratic demagogues for and social services. society's problems. • Free, quality, multi-lingual and multi-cultural

• We call for open borders. medical and home health care. We demand an end to deportations of immigrants. • • Accessible transportation. We demand full political, social and economic • • An end to all forced retirement. rights for resident non-citizens. • Stop the segregation and isolation of senior Native Americans citizens.

We support self-determination of indigenous Defense of the Environment peoples and sovereignty for Native nations. We demand: The same corporate forces and economic system that exploit and brutalize the world's working class

• Honor treaty obligations with Native American people are destroying the world's biosphere. These nations and recognize California tribes. social policies and ecological destruction often • Stop the theft of natural resources located on overlap. Socialism is necessary to end the reservation lands. ecological destruction caused by capitalism. Our goal is a society that is in harmony with nature as it • Honor Native American water, hunting and fishing rights. is in harmony with its own people. • Free the prisoners of the FBI/BIA war against We therefore favor: Native Americans, end all harassment. • Planning for urban and regional environment • Stop destruction of sacred burial sites. based on principles of sound ecosystems management. Sexual Orientation • Create public open spaces in all communities. • Equal treatment and benefits under the law for all Tighter regulation of pesticides, herbicides, families. Guarantee equal child custody, adoption, • industrial wastes and genetically modified foods to visitation privileges, and foster parenthood rights protect human food, air and water, employees in for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. the workplace, and species habitat. No release of • Equal treatment for all people in the military genetically engineered or transgenic organisms regardless of sexual orientation. into the wild. No patenting of life forms. • The right to gay marriage and partners' benefits. • A multi-source energy system, development of • Accurate sex education courses in public schools. solar technology and other renewable, non- Truthful information about sexuality in society polluting energy sources. Eliminate nuclear power and history. plants. End fossil fuel dependence. • Public ownership of public utilities. People With Disabilities • Protect species habitat such as old-growth forests People with disabilities are entitled to equal rights to preserve biodiversity. to education, housing, health care, recreation, and • Massive development of free public transportation. Attendant care and other services or transportation. adaptations must be provided to enable fuller participation in all aspects of society. • International trade agreements must guarantee the protection of the environment in all participating countries. Peace and Freedom Platform, Page 4 of 6 • End environmental racism, including the • Integrated, democratically-run schools with up-to- immediate cessation of nuclear testing and toxic date plant and equipment and smaller classes. waste dumping on reservation lands, the • Teach the history of workers' struggles and labor's disproportionate creation of landfills in poor creation of society's wealth and progress. communities of color and eliminate the mass development of maquiladora plants. • Multi-lingual and multi-cultural education at all levels. Transportation • A federal law requiring and funding equal average • Massive development of public transportation per-pupil expenditures by every public school systems that are reliable, frequent, free or at district, with extra funds for students with special nominal fares and environmentally sound. needs such as disability or economic deprivation. • Expand safe routes for foot and bicycle traffic. • Tuition-free higher education available to all and cancel existing student debt. Agriculture • Cancel existing student debt. We want an agricultural system that ensures enough • Restore cutbacks in public education and public food and other farm products to meet human needs, library services. guarantees a high standard of living to farmers and • No school voucher schemes. farm workers, protects humans and the ecosystem from environmental degredation and encourages Arts and Culture organic farming. To that end, we call for: • An end to subsidies and tax breaks for Provide uncensored government funding for corporations. ordinary people to create and enjoy art. • Food distribution by farm and consumer Housing and Rent Control cooperatives. • Extension of all labor rights to farm workers, We recognize the right of everybody to quality, including wage and hour regulations. secure housing. We demand: • An end to cruel methods of animal husbandry. • Production and rehabilitation of non-profit, community-controlled housing through public • No use of recominant bovine growth hormone financing with immediate emphasis on housing the (RBGH) in meat or dairy cattle. homeless. • No genetically engineered organisms in food • Rent and eviction control laws and collective production. bargaining for tenants. • A ban on "terminator" seeds. • Resident-controlled community renovation • No export of chemicals banned in the U.S. or programs to create, not destroy, low- and import of agricultural products treated with them. moderate-income housing. Enforce local affordable housing quotas. Science and Technology • Freedom, Justice and Crime We need scientific and technological research to benefit ordinary people, not the capitalists. We call for the defense and extension of the liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, including Education freedom of speech, press, assembly and association, and the right to keep and bear arms for individual Education is critical to individual survival and and collective defense. The ultimate guarantee of civilized human values, but U.S. capitalism is those rights is the organized strength of the working dismantling public education. Inadequate and class. unequal funding of schools perpetuates racism, crime and inequality. We demand: Peace and Freedom Platform, Page 5 of 6 Capitalism and poverty breed crime and repression. • Free and equal access to radio and television for Working class people are the primary victims both all candidates. of street crime and of police reaction to it. The bosses use laws against victimless activities, "legal" Health Care and illegal expansion of police powers, military and paramilitary occupation of poor and minority We believe that access to quality medical and dental communities, and diversion of resources to police care is a basic human right. We stand for a and jails, to keep workers intimidated and democratically-controlled, publicly-funded health dependent. We demand: care system. We support health practices that emphasize education, prevention and nutrition. We • Repeal the Patriot Act. Abolish the Department of demand: Homeland Security. • Free, high-quality health care for everyone. • Stop state-sponsored spying on and violence against progressive organizations. • Eliminate for-profit health care. • Democratically-controlled police review boards • Free immunization programs. with powers of subpoena and discipline. • No private patents on drugs developed through • Abolish the death penalty. publicly-funded research. • Repeal the Three Strikes law. • Price controls on drugs and medical technology. • Stop trials and imprisonment of juveniles as • Safe pre-natal care, including women's choice of adults. birth alternatives. • Treatment of prisoners as human beings; • More medical facilities to provide services and rehabilitation, not vengeance. education in low-income neighborhoods and rural areas. • Decriminalize victimless activities including drug use and consensual sex. Legalize marijuana. End • More substance abuse treatment and needle- the "war on drugs," which is primarily directed exchange programs. against poor and working-class people. • More research into diseases and disorders caused • Stop unwarranted searches and seizures of persons by man-made substances. and property. Restore constitutional rights. • More community health care facilities. • Prosecute crimes of the wealthy and powerful • Support non-standard proven methods. against workers and the environment. • Special attention to preventing epidemics of • Freedom for all political prisoners. communicable diseases, such as AIDS. Voting and Elections Taxes • Proportional representation to promote legislative representation of the wide variety of political Public services and infrastructure have deteriorated viewpoints. as government has increasingly shifted the tax burden from corporations to workers. Our long- • Enact instant runoff voting (IRV) to eliminate range goal is a socialist society without runoff elections and provide for genuine majority conventional taxes, with public services to be support for those elected. funded from the proceeds of social production. We • Election should be by direct vote of the people. demand: Eliminate the Electoral College. • Repeal Proposition 13. Tax property for profit, not • Enforce and extend voting rights for people of property for personal use. Remove property taxes color, non-English speakers, and homeless people. on modest owner-occupied homes. • Resident non-citizens should have the right to • Repeal the sales tax. vote, particularly in local and school elections. • Include aggregate of real property and stocks, bonds, etc. in a steeply-graduated property tax. Peace and Freedom Platform, Page 6 of 6 • Restore the renters' tax credit. Debt Cancellation • Double registration fees on luxury vehicles. • Cancellation of all debts found to be illegitimate Tax unearned income at a higher rate than earned • and unjust to the working class through an open income. and democratic process not controlled by the • Eliminate or reverse income tax on low- and creditors. moderate-income families. The Internet and Electronic Freedom • Re-enact California's unitary tax on multi-national corporations. New digital technologies are transforming our • Tax the business activities of churches on the society and empowering us as speakers, citizens, same basis as other organizations. creators, and consumers. Yet our freedoms in the networked world are under continual attack, and it • Take the cap off social security taxes, make the is necessary to defend free speech, privacy, rates progressive so burden falls on the wealthy. innovation, and consumer rights in an increasingly Mass Media digitized world and to protect digital freedom and privacy, and net neutrality. Ownership of television and radio stations, print media, and other forms of communication has been (The Platform of the Peace and Freedom Party was adopted March 23, 2003, reaffirmed August 1, 2004, revised May 21, increasingly concentrated into the irresponsible 2006, July 27, 2013., and November 10, 2013.) hands of fewer corporations, and any checks and balances previously available to the people have been eliminated. • We call for public control of the public airwaves. • We demand restoration of a strengthened Fairness Doctrine and the Equal Time Provision.

• We oppose the legislated extinction of the VHF spectrum, which should be used for public From the Preamble to the Bylaws monitoring of legislative bodies and for other civic of the Peace and Freedom Party purposes. The Peace & Freedom Party is an open, multi- • We defend the Internet from censors and tendency, movement-oriented socialist party. We commercial interests. are united in our common commitment to socialism, • We call for enforcement of antitrust laws on media democracy, feminism, and unionism, and in our conglomerates. common opposition to capitalism, imperialism, racism, sexism, and elitism. • We support new media for grassroots communication to enhance freedom of self- These by-laws do not define socialism, nor do they expression and information distribution. identify the strategies and tactics of how to achieve socialism. We agree that socialism is necessary and Religion that it will open up a democratic decision-making • We demand strict separation of religious and process for appropriate use of resources and government institutions and activities. distribution of labor.

The Peace And Freedom Party Platform is undergoing revision. For the latest updates, visit our website: www.peaceandfreedom.org. For more info, contact: [email protected] ••• 510-465-9414 OR 916-422-5395