Genuine trade union movement in the Soviet Union? by JACK CLAU. Free Trade Unions of Workers in the USSR, these Inspired by the tactics and the courage of the dissi- workers had acted individually in taking complaints dents' movement, the working class in the Soviet Union about job conditions to supervisors, to local party and is beginning to stir. governmental units, and finally to the highest decision- In recent months, members of the "Klebanov group" making bodies in the USSR. The results were unfruit- have begun to organize an independent trade union in ful and unpleasant. the USSR. They have issued appeals to humanitarian "When we have appealed to higher authorities," the groups and trade unions, as well as world opinion in Association said to the ILO and Western trade unions, general, to support their efforts. The group, organ- "instead of taking constructive eteps, they have applied ized by former mine foreman Vladimir Aleksandrovich impermissible methods against us for exercising our Klebanov, includes among its 110 candidate members, rights to complain. Under the pretext of registering us factory workers, collective farmers, miners and engi- for reception by the leadership, they seize us one by one neers. Prior to the organization of the Association of (Continued on page 6)

?fhgdttwr, o/ THE DEMOCRATIC LEFT

May, 1978-Vol. VI, No. 5 Edited by MICHAEL HARRINGTON

by PAUL and LINDA DAVIDOil'F as crucial issues in a year when even such an astute "Urban policy" is a ehorthand for "federal policy on critic as Michael Harrington wrote about urban policy racial and class inequality," with emphasis on the phy- without identifying the issue of race. !ical locations where most lower income and minority In addition, the Carter policy contains a number of citizens live. If cities were not the homes of concentra- programs which may well have a positive redistributive tions of minorities and the poor, there would be little impact in urban areas. Its best features include 8eriou8 need for an explicit "urban policy"; we might have a stress on minority busine8s procurement programs by national development policy or an industrial location federal agencies; location of federal facilities in cities; policy, but cities would not have to be singled out for several forms of direct aid to citizen groups and com- special treatment. Indeed, the Carter Administration's political need for announcing a special, forceful, "urban policy" arose when, early in the administration's first year, it was brought sharply to task by black leaders Urban policy: for its failure to deal with racial problems-now viewed by those leaders as problems of employment and income for minorities. Race is the.issue So an urban policy can be judged primarily by the impact it is likely to have on the poor and the minori- munity development corporations; and a flow of fed- ties. Its success in other terms-beautification of some erally guaranteed credit into depressed urban commu- areas now marred by blight, halting the flight of whites nities. None of these programs involve enough money and the affluent from the cities, preservation of historic to make a massive impact on urban poverty, but each landmarks and high culture-are important, but the at least points in a positive direction. first criterion is its impact on redistribution of goods Other parts of the Carter urban program are of less and services to those who need them most. certain value. Sixteen years or so of federal urban re- There are some victories and some defeats in the newal, with department stores, universities and parking Carter urban policy. The first defeat is the massive, lot operators given subsidized land development pack- central political fact that there will be no major federal ages from which poor' families had been driven, still budget shifts to change the economic rules for cities and echo in the new Urban Development Action Grants. their residents. The victories include a degree of clarity While UDAC has enough :flexibility to enable HUD to in defining unemployment and racial discrimination (Continued on page 4) Soares leads delegation to Latin America: Socialist International turns South by LAURENCE R. BIRNS In Mexico, the delegation was hosted by the Party of Last month, for the first time in its history, the So- Revolutionary Institutions (PRI). Sr. Lopez-Portillo, cialist International sent a formal delegation to Latin the President of Mexico, concentrated on such themes America. The significance of the occasion was lost as his nation's inability to obtain a fair price for the on neither the hosts nor the delegation. This was a flag- natural gas it exports to the U.S., and his problems flying moment for an essentially European-bound or- with the flow of illegal immigrants into the Southwest- ganization anxious to further the commitment made ern U.S. His focus seemed to be on Mexico's external by SI president Willy Brandt "to break out of Euro- problems rather than its internal ones. pean isolation and become a truly global organization." In Jamaica, Prime Minister Michael Manley, who The delegation was cordially and effectively led by heads the People's National Party government, Portuguese Prime Minister Mario Soares. In 10 days, stressed the nation's economic difficulties and the peri- the members of the delegation visited Mexico, Jamaica, lous situation of having its foreign exchange earnings the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Venezuela. based on a fickle tourist industry. Several members of It should be noted that most of these nations are among the SI delegation felt that Manley was struggling over the more democratic societies in Latin America. whether to look to Cuba or to the U.S. for solutions to Few regions of the world have had their institutions some of the island's difficulties. It was the conclusion more despoiled by military regimes than has been the of all that the narrowness of its economy portende case in Latin America. Repression in the area takes difficult days ahead for Jamaica. many forms. In such countries as Chile, Argentina, Our stopover in the Dominican Republic provided Uruguay and Paraguay, constitutions have been abol- the sole bit of comic relief. As the plane landed, a gaily ished, legislative bodies disbanded, courts turned into dressed military band began to toot out the anthems of fictions, educational institutions taken over by the Portugal and the Dominican Republic, and President armed forces and every semblance of free expression Balaguer and members of his cabinet were awaiting us. stifled. Even more depressing are the political assasina- In his airport remarks, Balaguer addressed Prime Mini- tions, the torture of the innocent, the imprisonment of ster Soares and colleagues as if this was a state visit thousands without charges and the abduction and dis- of the Portuguese, rather than an SI visit to its fraternal appearance of thousands more. party, the PRD (Dominican Revolutionary Party). This, then, was the setting for the SI visit, something It was quickly divined that Balaguer, a puppet of the quite different from the backgrounds of the visiting Trujillo dictatorship who had ruled the country almost delegation, who came mostly from European socialist continuously since U.S. intervention in 1965, was try- and social democratic parties. (I, as the sole DSOC ing to take election year advantage of the occasion. representative, and the delegate from Senegal were the Behind the facade of the state visit-behind the exotic elements of the party for our French, Finnish, fence in fact-we finally found our PRD hosts, waiting Spanish, Portuguese and Swedish brothers and sisters.) to greet us. A series of rallies was then staged in various Although the countries visited were not experiencing re- districts of Santo Domingo, culminating in a mass pression in its crudest forms, our Latin American hosts meeting that drew 250,000 people. The following day, never let us forget their concern for the distressingly a nationwide tour was interrupted by the nation's chief high levels of human rights violations in the other coun- of police. He threatened Soares and his party with ar- tries of theiLregion. rest for interfering in the internal affairs of the Domi- In all of the countries visited, except the Dominican nican Republic. Republic, SI members or allies were holding power. Ever the amiable tactician, Prime Minister Soares determined that the time for an unscheduled departure was at hand, and the SI group was flown out of the ~ddtu o/ country on the personal plane of President Carlos THE DEMOCRATIC LEFT Andres Perez of Venezuela to its next stop, Costa Rica. Michael Harrington, Editor In Costa Rica, the delegation was the guest of the Jack Clark, Managing Editor National Liberation Party (PLN), whose candidate had just been defeated in a presidential election. The Signed articles express the views of the author. recent campaign had been fought over the issues of Published ten times a year (monthly except July corruption, the presence of Robert Vesco 'in the coun- and August) by the Democratic Socialist Organizing try, and inflated government expenditures. What Committee, 853 Broadway, Room 617, New York, wasn't contested was the leadership role the current N.Y. 10003. Telephone (212) 260·3270 government was giving to a strong human rights stand Subscription rates: Sustaining $10 per year; Regu- in hemispheric councils. lar $5 per year; Limited Income $2.50. SecoAd class postage paid at New York, New York. Laurence R. Birns is director of the Council on Hemi- spheric Affairs.

2 be presented at the SI May planning meeting in Dakar. Threatened Latin American free institu- Undoubtedly, democracy in Latin America can bene- fit directly from this new interest on the part of the tions, such as the trade unions, can be Socialist International. Threatened Latin American aided by strong efforts from allies in free institutions, such as trade union movements, can Western Europe and the United States. be aided by a strong effort from allies in Europe and the U.S. Western private banks and corporations must be made to realize that they are mistaken, when they Costa Rica is one of the few surviving democracies try to take advantage of the present prostrate condi- in Latin America. In our meetings with President tions of many nations in the region. When they try to Daniel Oduber, we encouraged Costa Rica to use her exploit unequal relationships, as Exxon has done with vote as well as her admirable rhetoric in regional bodies, Chilean copper, banks and corporations risk expro- to refuse loans and other. forms of assistance to Latin priation by succeeding democratic governments. American military dictatorships. All too often, it seems, One can expect that the SI's interest in the region Costa Rica had contented itself with the rhetoric of will continue to grow. As for DSOC, this was the first human rights and shied away from concrete actions. In time the organization has participated in a Latin our conversations with members of the PLN govern- American initiative, and the first time that many Latin ment it became apparent that the opposition had some American democrats have met with DSOC representa- gro~ds in basing its campaign on corruption in high tives. Now, more than ever, the U.S. must maintain its places and the need for authorities to examine prevail- interest in Latin America and make the region a prin- ing definitions of public rectitude. We stressed the fact pal area of foreign policy concern. D that democratic institutions must be serviced if they are to survive. We also warned against corruption. In Venezuela we were the guests of the ruling Demo- cratic Action Party (AD) and the nation's president, Chilean Radicals in U.S. Carlos Andres Perez. This was the most important Anselmo Sule, the president of the Chilean visit that the delegation made. Venezuela's importance Radical Party, and several other exiled Chilean derives from immense oil earnings, its leadership posi- Radicals visited the United States last month to tion in the region's human rights movement, the special build support for the cause of Chilean democracy. relationship betwen Perez and President Carter, and Sule, a former Senator, Jorge Tapia, the former the significant amounts of economic assistance that minister of both education and justice, and Hugo Venezuela gives to poorer economies in Latin America. Vigorena, the former ambassador to Mexico, were We met on several occasions with the president, all officials in the overthrown government of the including a dinner at the Casona, Venezuela's White late President Salvador Allende. The three of House. We also met several times-with Romulo Betan- them and Carlos Parra, the internationalsecretary court, the nation's former president and founder of its of the Radical Party, have all played leading roles modem democratic epoch. Almost all of the cabinet in the international movement to build solidarity met with us to discuss national and regional· ques- for Chilean democrats. tions. While in Venezuela, we had the opportunity to A former prisoner at the infamous Dawson meet with some of the exiled leaders from Argentina, Island camp near the Antarctic Ocean, Sule Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay and Panama. stressed the importance of organized opposition These people are among the more than 100,000 political to the Pinochet regime in the West. Besides oc- exiles now living in Venezuela. casionally securing the release of political pris- While we did praise Venezuela for its outstanding oners, protests against the junta strengthen the human rights record, we also raised questions about morale of the democratic opposition. Finally, of the inequitable distribution of the nation's wealth, course, the Western opposition to the junta could reports of widespread corruption, and the difficulties aid the democratic movement in Chile by forcing meeting refugees from the southern cone nations who governments and private lending institutions to try to obtain immigration visas into the country. Our cut back their lavish support of the Pinochet dic- conclusion was that, domestic problems aside, Vene- tatorship. "The level of aid going to Chile is higher zuela will continue to grow in importance as a force for than it has ever been in our history," Sule told an the redemocratization of the hemisphere. audience of more than 200 people in New York. Throughout the trip we were aware how historic this In Washington, Sule and the other members effort was. A sitting prime minister and his colleagues of the delegation met with Congressional and were greeted at the highest level in all the countries Administration officials. In both Washington and we visited. Moreover, discussions about internal and New York, the Chileans met with small groups of regional problems were held without concern for the DSOC members for informal discussion. Sule's niceties of diplomatic protocol. Without question, the planned trip to Chicago had to be cancelled be- visit raised the consciousness of the participants regard- cause of a meeting with Latin American govern- ing Latin America's abundant future and current de- ment officials in Mexico, but both the Boston and spair. It also revealed that, in most countries of the Chicago locals of DSOC held meetings featuring region, a reign of terror is now in effect. , Chilean emigre speakers. The results and recommendations of the visit will

3 more import.ant than the issue of places in distress is Cities ... the question of people in distress. At the hes.rt of a sound program should be policies aimed at liberating (Continued from page 1) give grant.a to anything from Korvettes to the Harlem economic and racial minorities from their distress. Commonwealth Council, the early rounds of fundini The bulk of the Carter urban program, like all the applications are redolent with Hyatt Regency Hotels major urban programs since Model Cities in 1966. hall and downtown commercial malls. been addressed to the problem of poor people who live in ghettos in cities. and has been designed help them In the past, federal policy has been designed, in part to in their own neighborhoods. But any urban policy re- intentionally, to build suburbs-often at the expense stricting choice to the ghett.o limits the spatial mobility of cities. Federal taxes have been reduced for famiiles to gain social or economic advancement. The freedom who bought homes, when cities had proportionately to move to new opportunities as well as the right to larger shares of rental housing. Federal highway funds stay in a decent rebuilt environment, are complemen- ~milt roads which helped move commuters from city tary and necessary components of a good policy. Lock- Jobs to suburban houses. Federal agencies built new ing a group into one area, albeit a rebuilt one. is anti- headquarters and operating branches in suburban or rural areas, taking potential jobs away from urbanites. thetical to the expansion of opportunity. The answers to problems of class and racial injustice To its great credit, the Carter approach to urban lie in national economic and social policy: full employ- policy includes a recognition that certain actions and ment, just and progressive taxes, an end to racism inactions by a national Administration in the conduct guaranteed income for the disabled and elderly, ade: of its own responsibilities-raising revenue, choosing qua.ta health care and nutrition for all. A society that achieves these goals will have slum-free cities reduced crime, fear and tension in all its communitie~. Capital quotes This program would begin to solve the problems that beset the people of urban America. But a narrower • De~pite the controversy surrounding the funer- more pessimistic realism leads us to say that at least ~ al industry's ethics, it remains an attractive business. investment for many. Service Corporation the Carter Administration has proposed some modest, International, part of an international chain of 171 useful steps-and even the adoption of these in the funeral' homes reported a net income of more than $4 present sullen Congress will be difficult. O million last year on gross revenues of nearly $81 million. The Northeast was the biggest single source of revenue for the corporation. . The m!lnagement of Service Corporation Interna- tional thinks the future looks even more promising although in recent years the death rate has declined' In its last annual report, the corporation reported it felt "that the decline will be of short duration and that the long-term trend will be toward a higher rate of mortality." An industry trade magazine, TM A~rican Funeral Directo!" has advised undertakers that the apparent bottoming out of the death rate decline is a reason for "cautious optimism."'' New York Times April 23, 1978 sites for federal buildings-can have immediate impact on a city's life chances. In an effort to cut through the pneent and future confusion about federal actions with respect to -cities, the President proposes that each &gency of the federai ?o.v~~ent s~~mit together with all new major policy rmtiatives, an urban and community impact analyai•." T~e. hope. presumably ill that the federal Highway Ad- ~tratio~, for e~ple, might etop financing new mterstate highway mterchanges in the fringe areas of metropolitan regions whose impaell U. to drain joba away from the region's citiea. .~e Carter foeua on reinvestment in citie.t ia ,ooa. Cities need help. far more than Carter propoH•. But·

~ support and participation of the United Auto Workers DEMOCRATIC AGENDA update region and locals, the Clothing and Textile Union lo- cals, AFSCME District Council 37, the Distributive DURHAM, N.C.-DSOC Chair Michael Harrington Workers of America and the Brownsville (Brooklyn) was among the leade1'8 of the labor and black move- Community Development Council. Other areas of sup- ments who addressed a rally at the city auditorium port include Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Allentown, Pa. here. The rally led to the formation of a North Carolina The DEMOCRATIC AGENDA, the Full Employment Ac- Full Employment Action Council. tion Council and the National Council of Churches are The meeting, brought together by the kinetic North working hard to bring the unemployed to Washington Carolina AFL-CIO President Wilbur Hobby and co- to tell their own stories to their national legislators. sponsored by the DSOC and the DEMOCRATIC AGENDA More later..•• project, laid the groundwork for a coalition of labor, Finally, special DEMOCRATIC AGENDA newsletters church, community and civil rights groups from around have been mailed to Democratic Party activists. The the state. newsletters outline major issues and rule debates com- l!l•where ing up for the Democratic Mid-Tenn Conference sched- uled for December in Memphis. The preliminary re- The DEMOCRATIC AGENDA project held several other sponse has been enthusiastic, DEMOCRATIC AGENDA 1uccessful conferences and rallies around the country, organizer Marjorie Phyfe reports. Responses indicate organizers report. that all major delegations will include people who sup- In central Illinois, DEMOCRATIC AGENDA organizer port the DEMOCRATIC AGENDA aim of making the Mem- George Wood brought together a group of community phis conference a genuine forum for the discussion of activists, trade unionists, area mayors and other public issues facing the Democratic Party. D officials to talk about local strategies for full employ- ment. A key speaker at that meeting, according to Wood, was Ohio Public Interest Campaign director Ira Since the defeat of the Arlook. He outlined progressive federal and local strat- Consumer Agency bill ... egies for stopping runaway plants. The climate for consumer affairs in Washington New York City DEMOCRATIC AGENDA organizers, in- is pretty awful now. While things were dull in cluding a large number of DSOC members, are coordin- Congress, the lobbying community was getting ating a conference of area community, labor and hous- steamed up about Ralph Nader's plans to target ing activists to explore structural changes necessary to districts, to encourage back home support for con- eolve New York City's cri!is. Among expected speakers sumer legislation and non-support for candidates is newly-elected member of Congress Robert Garcia, who have bad voting records on consumer affairs. 1md DSOC'ers State Assemblymember Gerry Nadler The places tentatively chosen for targeting are St. and City Councilmember Ruth Messinger. Louis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Long Island, up- state New York, Kansas, Tennessee, Delaware Onto the buses ••• and California. Bm1es to WMhington, D.C. for the mass jobs lobby But for many of those who fought long and bard April 26 were being readied as we go to press. Regular for the Consumer Affairs Agency, these tactics NxwsLETTEll readers will remember that this effort seem unsophisticated and futile. The question was launched by the Philadelphia Unemployment Proj- they want answered is: if there was not support ect and the Philadelphia Coalition for Jobs. In the New in the high energy form necessary to get the Agen- York City area, the effort has drawn the endorsement, cy passed originally, what will the targeting do to change the climate significantly enough to push through important legislation and push out those whose votes consistently go the wrong way? More on plant closings The defeat of the Agency seems to have been The Voluntary Job Preservation and Community caused by a general apathy towards consumer Stabilization Act (H.R. 11222) wH introduced March issues. This is not to say that the people who have 1 by Representativ.. Koslmayer of Pennsylvania, been lobbying in Washington have not been lob- Lundine and McHugh of New York. It would provide bying very hard, but that the people back home loans and technical Hsistance lo employee and do not see consumer affairs as a priority issue. The employee-community organization• that wished to one issue to come up in the near future that might buy and run plants that runaway companies leave help get people excited again is National Health behind. The bill would also provide loan money for Insurance. This might be the issue that will enable employeu to buy stock in their companiea. people to link legislation to increasing their pur- chasing power. • • • National Health Insurance has the advantage In the "Retourcu" listing in IHt month'• News- letter, the addrea• of the Coalition for • New Foreign of being legislation that people can relate directly and Military Policy WH listed incorrectly. The cor- to. Unlike the Consume? Protection Agency, rect addreH 11: Coalition for a New Foreign and which looked to many (wrongly) u only a bu- Military Policy, 120 Maryland Ave. N.E., Washington, reaucratic rechnicality, tho National Health In- D.C. 20002 surance legislation has direct service implicationa. Embezzlement of Socialist Property and Speculation Klebanov group . • • concerning the embezzlement of monies and payment (Continued from page 1) of wages to non-existent workers. For this he was found and in groups, sending us to police stations and psychi- legally incompetent and socially dangerous. atric hospitals. This happens at the highest offices of Despite Soviet boasts of having achieved universal authority: in the receptions of the Central Committee economic rights, the documents also reveal stark pov- of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ( CPSU), erty. The example of Yakov Aleksandrovich Shkor- the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet and the batov is most disturbing. An ichthyologist by training USSR Procurator General's Office. We have decided to and a wounded veteran of the Second World War, he unite. We have decided to speak out collectively." was unable to get work in his profession. So instead he worked as a guard for 60 rubles a month. As of 1973, Politically unemployed Beyond this predictable round of repression, the the average monthly wage in the USSR was 135 rubles, Soviet authorities cracked down in some ways not usu- and the legal minimum has been 70 rubles. Shkorbatov's ally known about in the West. In the case of Klebanov, report dates from 1976. Besides living below socially for example, he was first incarcerated in a psychiatric accepted wages, he lacked a home and lived instead in hospital in 1968 for speaking in defense of workers and a wagon once used for prisoners. Even worse, on Decem- service employees harassed by the administration. In ber 29, 1976 while on his way to work, Shkorbatov was 1973 Klebanov had, in his words, "refused to make struck by a car driven by a militia officer who, according peace with arbitrariness and lawlessness," so he was to Shkorbatov, was drunk. As a result of the injury once again repressed. This time he was denied employ- he was laid up for two months. Yet he was not com~ ment. The notation that he had been dismissed in con- pensated at all. nection with his 1968 arrest made it impossible for him Of course, the repression against the individuals in to find a job. As he said, "This is both a :flagrant viola- the Association of Free Trade Unions continued and tioin of the labor code and a terrible lie, for I had never was stepped up after the formation of their group. In been convicted of any crime." early February, according to Amnesty International Apparently, Klebanov's situation is far from unique. (AI), four members of the new group were detained for The "workers' state" seems to have a system of black- not having official permission to reside in Moscow. They listing troublemakers in the labor force. Nikolai Pav- were: Mikhail Guriev, a metal worker from Rostov· Konstantin Gucherenko, a railway worker from lovic~ Ivanov presents another such case history. After th~ working as a machinist in the city of Rudno, Kazakh Caucasus; Valentin Poplavsky, a factory worker from from 1958 to 1974, he faced harassment from the admi- near Moscow; and Victor Luchkov, a miner from Don- nistration that year for demanding wages which were etsk. Klebanov himself was arrested and placed in due him under Soviet law. "The administration had strict isolation in a psychiatric hospital. Another mem- begun. shifting me to lower-paying positions, illegally ber was warned by authorities not to use his apartment foregomg the payment of work premiums ... In viola- for meetings between workers and foreign journalists. tion of the KZOT [Labor Code] provisions concerning Individual instances of repression and psychiatric the procedure for dismissal from work I was sacked in abuse against v:orkers were known earlier. But, as Am- 1976 as a malicious violator of labor' discipline even nesty International noted, "these documents provide though in my previous 18 years of work, I had n~t had the first systematic account of numerous such cases." similar incidents." Larger political implications East and West Dismissal for pointing out management violation of Beyond the horror stories and the gross violations of the l~w or official corruption also turns up more than human rights, the documents of the Klebanov group once m the documents of the trade union group. Take raise important questions for the future of Soviet soci- the case of Mario I vanovna: Dvoretskaya a factory ety and for the Western Left. worker in Alma-A ta. She reports that her h~sband has The organization of this trade union association is b~en in a psychiatric hospital since May, 1977. His not the first known working class protest in the USSR. cnme consisted of combining with other workers to Sporadic strikes have occurred, particularly in regions send an appeal to the Department for Combatting the outside Moscow and Leningrad. Back in 1962 in the city of Novocherkassk in the Donbas region there was Capital quotes a strike and riot of major proportions. Less~r disturb- • • One of the purposes of shoes is to indicate that ances occurred in the early Seventies even in Moscow ~ ~ the wearer doesn't need to plod through the and ~ev. Thes~ events should not be blown out of pro- muck and rain like ordinary people.... portion. They did not represent a revolutionary upsurge In rainy, snowy days-until you become one of those from the Soviet working class; they were all success- very successful people you are trying to emulate who fully repressed. As with the appearance of' the Klebanov are driven in limousines and never get their feet wet-- group, however, these industrial disturbances indicate wear a good, stout pair of hiking boots to work and deep-seated dissatisfactions. They also indicate the keep your success shoes in the office. ' ' ' ability of the Soviet working class to organize protests. Those .strikes have inevitably had a character of Success magazine sp?ntaneity and, of course, illegality. The industrial February, 1978 gnevances have often been accompanied by rioting. What the Association of Free Trade Unions brings to 6 ment indefinitely, they will remain frightened. If the Association of Free Trade Unions can survive, well, the Theory, Life & Politics implications are staggering. Michael Harrington Needed: support from the West Deborah Meier The crucial variable for Klebanov and his group is This 16-page pamphlet published by the Institute for the support they win from the West. The group has Democratic Socialism contains the opening and clos- already applied to the International Labor Organiza- ing speeches at the lnstitute's 1977 Youth Confer- tion for recognition. On April 15 the ILO turned them ence. Michael Harrington examines the importance of down. Yet in spite of this, one trade union delegate political theory and its relation to American politics. championing the cause of Klebanov at ILO meetings Deborah Meier looks at the contradictions facing could put pressure on the Soviets to ease up. Further- us as we apply socialist values in a capitalist world. more, expressions of support from numerous trade Send to: Institute, 853 Broadway, 6th Floor New York, N.Y. 10003 unions and from working class political parties could O Please send me _____ copies of Theory, Life and Politics (.50 each) guarantee Klebanov's safety. O I also want ------copies of Michael Harrington's Fu// Employment: Amnesty International is championing the human The l11ue and The Movement ($1 each). O Enclosed is my check for ------· Please add .25 per item for rights of the Klebanov group and demanding their re- postage. leases. AI is also approaching Western trade unions to Name------support the Association. Every genuine democrat must Address______welcome the support of this principled human rights organization. At the same time, those of us on the Left City ______------State ------Zip ______must consider a more political defense of Klebanov. In demanding basic trade union rights, Klebanov and his an existing pattern of working class protest are the group are demanding a radical democratization of tactics of the dissident movement. Valentyn Turchin, Soviet society. Even though the Association of Free the founder of the Moscow branch of Amnesty Inter- Trade Unions is explicitly non-ideological, the logic national, who is now living in New York, met with of its existence points in the direction of democratic Klebanov last year. Turchin also wrote a major study socialism. for the Helsinki Monitoring Group (as its name im- Socialist democracy plies -an organization devoted to monitoring Soviet compliance with the human rights provisions of the Those of us who support their values, who support Helsinki accords) : "On the necessity of emigration the rights of workers everywhere, cannot allow the for political-economic reasons from the standpoint of Klebanov group to become the cause celebre of Cold workers." Moreover, Turchin last year issued a call for Warriors. Re-escalation of the arms race will scarcely a day of international labor solidarity each June to help Soviet workers; what's more, if the only people commemorate the murder of scores of workers at Nov- speaking in defense of the Association of Free Trade ocherkassk. In short, he is a dissident with knowledge Unions are Cold War hawks, then the effort to build and concern about the Soviet working class. international solidarity will have failed. On the other hand, if all those who insist that socialism and democ- Extending dissent racy are inseparable speak out for the Klebanov group, Despite press reports of a rift between Klebanov and then both the best currents of the Soviet democratic Andrei Sakharov, Turchin sees the new workers' organ- movement and the Western democratic socialist move- ization as an extension of the dissident movement to ment will be greatly strengthened. D a new stratum of the population. Like the intellectual dissidents, Klebanov and his colleagues argue their ------case on the the basis of Soviet legality, make appeals The Newsletter of the Democratic Left is published to the highest Soviet authorities and to international ten times a year by the Democratic Socialist Organ- organizations and, upon arrest, demand open trials. izing Committee. It is available by subscription or And they have won support from other dissidents. For by membership in the DSOC. If you liked what you instance, Yelena Bonner, Sakharov's wife, spoke for read, don't miss our next issue. the worker dissidents at a press conference organized D I want to subscribe. Enclosed find my check or money order. ($10 for a sustaining subscription; $5 after Klebanov's arrest. for a regular subscription; $2.50 for a limited income In an open letter on the eve of the 60th anniversary subscription). of the Soviet Union, the group posed the question, D I'd like to join the DSOC. Enclosed find my "How many of us are there?" The answer seems at first dues. ($50 sustaining; $15 regular; $8 limited income. outrageous: "tens, hundreds of thousands." At most, Dues include $5 for Newsletter.) the Association of Free Trade Unions has 200 members. Send to: Democratic Socialist Organizing Com- Turchin is even more daring than Klebanov. While the mittee, 853 Broadway, Room 617, New York, N.Y. union can literally speak for only the 200 or so who have 10003, (212) 260-3270. signed its petitions, Turchin believes there are millions Name ...... ,...... who share the concerns of Klebanov and other workers Address ...... in the Association. Like other Soviet citizens, they are City /State ...... Zip ...... frightened. If the Klebanov group is successfully re- Telephone ...... pressed and Klebanov stays in psychiatric confine- L------7 Jimmy Higgins reports ...

CONGRATULATIONS ••• You paid more taxee than Chase PLAYING HARDBALL-That•e how Forbes descrlbee a new Manhattan l!tank. Consider the subsidy you just sent via toughnees In management's attitudee toward labor. The game has been played In collective bargaining eltua11ons Washington to some of the largest and richest corpora- where employer• are demanding "giveback•" from publlo tions In the world. That'• right: ordinary taxpayere are employees and mineworkers. According to Forbes, many footing the blll for at least 17 corporations, which, accord- busineeees are gearing up to demand union conceHion1 ing to a study by Ohio Representative Charles Yanik, paid in such basic fringes as cost-of-livlng escalator•. In eev- no taxes. Actually, these companie• claim they did pay eral strikee recently, union worker• have been summarily taxes, even though they didn't turn over any money to dismissed, to ba replaced with unorganized workere; one IRS. Their reasoning Is that their $375 mllllon in tax cred- of the better publicized incidents involved Iowa Beef die- its exceeded their tax bill. If so, says Yanik, their effective missals of Amalgamated Meat Cuttere and Butcher Work- tax rate was zero. Overall Yanik's study of 168 corpora- ers members. Beyond theae management offensive• on the collective bargaining front, Forbes see• these event• tions shows a decline In the effective tax rate over the as part of a larger, more political and ldeologlcal oftenslvt last two years from 21.3 percent in 1975 to 13.04 percent against unions, which according to poll data have a lower In 1977. That burden is not just forgotten. We pay for it level of public confidence than buslnese. Some of thl• thrgugh hjgher individual taxee and underfinanced social must be dismissed as the ramblings of a magazine which . programs. As Yanik says, Iha system has to change. boasts that It is a licapitaliat tool." But some of the hard- ball deecrlbed really Is being played by management. For example, union leaders hoped that unionized bueineese1 SWITZERLAND MIGHT SPILL SOME SECRETS. would Join the battle for labor law reform. Predictably tht Switzerland may not be the haven for hidden capi- U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National AHociation of t.al too much longer. The Social Democratic Party is Manufacturers opposed labor law reform; eo did the more starting a campaign to end bank secrecy. By popular "enlightened" Business Roundtabl• and even manage- initiative they hope to make banks legally obliged to ment in lnduetriee like ahoee which are heavily dependent furnish information to the government on their clients' on labor lobbying against Import•. This battle hae also accounts. The initiative would give Swiss officials the seen the break-up of several joint Industry-labor lobblee, right to supply foreign governments with information notably in aeroepace and auto. gotten from the bank. The de facto protection Swiss VETERANS AND JOBS-The Right loudly trum- banks have afforded their clients has been a stumbling pets its rhetoric about the debt we owe our nation's block to governments trying to investigate tax evasion veterans, but even the super-hawks want to forget or violations of foreign ex.change regulations. But per- about Vietnam and its veterans. Unemployment among haps the most startling aspect of this attempted elimi- Vietnam vets remains high, and traditional benefi~ nation of bank secrecy is that it would also require have been cut. In response to this condition, a coalition Swiss banks to make available information about their of veterans' organizations is calling for a march and own investments and hidden reserves in other nations tent-in in Washington, June 1-10. They'll be demand· af the world. This move may meet with some contro- ing full employment, adequate housing and health caN versy. Switzerland has always viewed the banks, which and redevelopment of the GI bill. More information provide a favorable economic climate, as one of the on the march is available from the CUNY Veteraru1 major factors contributing to Switzerland's high stand- Action Committee, 280 Convent Ave., New York, ard of living. N.Y.10031.

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