AUSTRALIA $1.50 · canada $1.50 · france 1.00 euro · new zealand $1.50 · uk £.50 · u.s. $1.00 INSIDE ‘Revolutionary war began liberation of women in Cuba’ — PAGE 7 A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE vol. 82/no. 28 July 30, 2018 ‘Militant’ beats 1,000s of workers protest Liberals’ furor back prison for gov’t-funded pensions against Trump censorship in ‘Our lives are worth more than a pound of coal’ fuels voice of Florida - again the ‘war party’ by seth galinsky by Terry evans The Militant has won another round President Donald Trump’s efforts against the seemingly unrelenting ef- to advance the U.S. capitalist rulers’ forts of Florida prison officials to interests in relation to their competi- censor the paper and prevent it from tors — in Asia, Europe and the Mid- reaching workers behind bars there. dle East — have drawn a hysterical After the Militant appealed, the state- furor from the liberal media bosses, wide Literature Review Committee Democrats, some Republicans and of the Department of Corrections re- the middle-class left. Most put their versed the impoundment of the May “resistance” campaign to oust Trump 28 and June 18 issues. as the cornerstone of how they ap- The May 28 paper was impounded proach all politics. by the assistant warden at Madison As the administration continues to Correctional Institution, who falsely seek stability to promote Washing- claimed that an article on the reversal ton’s economic and political interests of a ban on books in federal prisons — steps that involve ratcheting down gives “details on contraband entering the threat of more combat — his op- a prison.” ponents have increasingly taken on Statehouse News Bureau/Karen Kasler The June 18 issue was a special Miners, Teamsters, bakery workers, others protest pension cuts July 12 at Ohio Statehouse. the role of the war party. Regardless edition of the Militant featuring an of their past criticism of the U.S.- eyewitness report from Puerto Rico by janet post Members of the United Mine Work- rulers’ assault on Vietnam, or rejec- reporting on how workers were or- COLUMBUS, Ohio — Thousands of ers, a majority retired and some still tion of the “excesses” of the J. Edgar ganizing to respond to the capitalist union members — coal miners, Team- working, and their family members, Hoover FBI, today they call Trump social and economic crisis they faced sters, bakery workers and more — and were the largest contingent. Most wore a “treasonous traitor” for question- in the wake of hurricanes Irma and their supporters rallied at the state Capi- their union’s well-recognized camou- ing any actions of U.S. intelligence Maria. Tomoka Correctional Institu- tol here July 12 against any cuts in their flage T-shirts and many carried signs agencies and demand he step up war Continued on page 7 pensions. reading, “Are you next?” threats against Moscow. Miners came from coalfields in West Meeting in Helsinki, Finland, July Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and 16, President Trump and Russian other states, including from western Continued on page 9 Ontario salt miners push back mines. Nine buses drove 12 hours from Alabama. “We worked too long and too boss attacks in 12-week strike hard for the companies or the govern- Continued on page 3 DSA victory in NY primary Death toll rises as deepens crisis of Nicaraguan gov’t rulers’ parties by seth galinsky continues attacks The election of Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez in New York’s 14th Congres- on protesters sional District primary is another sign by róger calero of the sharpening rifts in the Demo- and maggie trowe cratic Party that were exposed in the The largely working-class and stu- course of the campaign bringing Don- dent protests that exploded against Continued on page 9 the government of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua in April continue nearly three months later with no sign of abating. Ortega has escalated dead- Inside ly raids targeting opposition strong- Editorial: Build fighting holds. unions! Pensions for all! 9 Militant/Dan Fein Demonstrations against Ortega be- Striking salt miners discuss progress in negotiations on picket line in front of Compass Minerals gan after supporters of the ruling cap- salt mine in Goderich, Ontario, July 13, before new contract was won in militant strike. Ukraine miners’ strikes, italist party, the Sandinista National protests win back wages 2 by beverly bernardo the strike. Liberation Front (FSLN), and police GODERICH, Ontario — Strik- Striking members of Unifor Local attacked retired workers demonstrat- Fuel hike protests bring ing salt miners returned to work here 16-O had massed outside the mine ing against government measures to down Haiti prime minister 6 July 18 following their approval of a July 4 and built a barricade of wooden make workers increase their contribu- new contract two days earlier. Com- pallets across the road to block buses tions to the country’s social security –On the picket line, p. 5– pass Minerals’ bosses were forced to from transporting replacement work- pension fund and impose cuts on their N.Y. hospital workers picket the bargaining table following deter- ers in and out. The scabs had been benefits. against pension, health cutbacks mined mass actions by the strikers flown in by the company. The government’s brutal repres- with the active support of local farm- When the court ordered them to sion of a student protest April 19 — British Columbia miners strike ers, who blocked the company’s de- remove the pallets, they complied. leaving one person dead and dozens for union rights for temps ployment of scabs aimed at breaking Continued on page 3 Continued on page 6 Ukraine miners’ strikes, Books by SWP leaders perk interest at librarians’ meet protests win back wages by emma johnson by companies in parts of the Donetsk For the past year and a half miners and Luhansk regions, part of the Don- in Ukraine’s state-owned coal industry bass coal basin in eastern Ukraine still have carried out strikes with round-the- under the control of the Kiev govern- clock picketing, and blocking entrances ment. Workers in mines there have led to mine bosses’ offices and roads lead- the fight. But miners in the western part ing toward the mines. They have rallied have also joined the actions. outside parliament and the government On July 5 the union set up a picket ministry responsible for the coal in- outside parliament. Workers and union dustry, demanding the government pay officials from Luhansk and Donetsk back wages owed to them. By July 1 the took part. The chair of the Myrnograd arrears added up to $42 million. mine in Donetsk said that workers were Led by members of the Independent ready to strike and set up roadblocks if Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine, their demands are not met. workers intensified their campaign lead- The next day Volynets and the 12 ing up to the end of parliament’s spring Khurakhivska miners met with Igor Na- Militant/Nick Castle session. And their tenacity and resil- salik, the Ukrainian minister of energy NEW ORLEANS — An attractive Pathfinder Books booth was a center for ience paid off. On the last day before and coal mines. political discussion at the American Library Association conference here June summer recess, a bill passed allocating “He got frustrated with the meeting 21-26. Sales were brisk on books by leaders of the Socialist Workers Party and 1.4 billion hryvnia ($53 million) to pay and suddenly called in the police, saying other leaders of revolutionary struggles from Cuba, Burkina Faso, Grenada and wages and upgrade the industry. he thought the miners were drunk and the U.S. class struggle. Over 170 librarians and others signed up for additional In a July 9 phone interview, Mykhailo insisting he would have them tested,” information and to be contacted by Pathfinder sales volunteers. Some 17,000 Volynets, national chair of the union, Volynets said. “Cops came and demand- conference participants attended panels and presentations on new books, and Viktor Tychynin, a leader at the ed to know if the miners were drunk. democratic rights, prison libraries, book clubs and library technology. Sixty- Kurakhivska mine in Donetsk, told Mil- We said we’ll take tests if the minister three Pathfinder books were sold, with the highest seller — 13 copies — being itant editor John Studer about conditions and his staff are also tested. Are They Rich Because They’re Smart? by SWP National Secretary Jack Barnes. miners face and their fight to get parlia- “I called other unionists, journalists, — Nick Castle ment and responsible ministers to act. lawyers and rights activists to come join “I think about my co-workers and us,” he said. “The ministry wouldn’t let their families, who are under a lot of them into the building.” of the pensions of U.S. miners and other rally and the common fight miners had pressure,” Tychynin said. “We haven’t Before giving the interview to the unionists. in Ukraine and the U.S. Some miners been paid for three months. It’s hard Militant, Tychynin and Volynets had “There is a similar crisis here, man- carried placards in English supporting to buy food and other things we need been part of a press conference in the agement is not paying into the miners’ the Ohio action. to live. We can’t pay our utility bills. I union office “to get the word out and pension fund,” Volynets said. “Miners Two days later miners moved their don’t know if the electricity is still on win support, to put pressure on the gov- are supposed to get at least $200 to $300 protest to the coal industry ministry, at home.” ernment,” he said, and to report about a month when they retire. But the gov- announcing they would picket round- And miners who get sick don’t get the insulting treatment they received at ernment says there isn’t enough money the-clock. They demanded the right to any pay, he said. the minister’s office. in the fund, so now miners can’t get their set up tents. Tychynin and 11 co-workers traveled During the interview Studer told pension money. The only alternative for That morning there were protests in from Donetsk to take part in the protests Volynets and Tychynin about the July them is to keep working on and on for Donetsk, Luhansk and Volyn regions in in Kiev. Much of the arrears are owed 12 rally in Columbus, Ohio, in defense their family to survive.” support of actions in Kiev. These strikes “We support workers in struggle and protests reinforced the union del- elsewhere as well, including the min- egations’ demonstrations in the capital. ers in the U.S,” Tychynin said. “We In addition to winning funds to pay will fight for our rights to the end. We down on back wages, the fight has will never give in.” strengthened the union and brought new members into its ranks. Miners take to the streets “My participation dates back to Chanting, “Enough talks! It’s time the days when I was a miner fighting Independence for Puerto Rico! to act!” and “Pay us our wages!” min- for our rights when the Soviet Union ers from Donetsk, Luhansk, Volyn and still existed,” Volynets said. “Viktor “We need to tell the truth Lviv regions took to the streets outside is part of a new generation of union about U.S. colonial rule in parliament July 10. Addressing the pick- fighters. With union people like him I Puerto Rico,” workers in Hu- ets, Volynets told them about the July 12 can see the future.” macao and Yabucoa told the ‘Militant’ last week. Working people were hit hard $85 drawn on a U.S. bank to above address. by Hurricane Maria, but they’re The Militant Africa, Asia, and the Middle East: For Vol. 82/No. 28 one year send $85 drawn on a U.S. bank to hit harder by the deepening so- above address. cial crisis imposed on them by Closing news date: July 18, 2018 Eduardo Meléndez Canada: For one year send Canadian $45 the colonial government and its Jan. 20 action in San Juan demands electric- Editor: John Studer to the Militant, 7107 St. Denis #204, Mon- treal, Quebec H2S 2S5. master in Washington. ity, end to abuses against working people. 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2 The Militant July 30, 2018 1,000s protest for pensions Continued from front page Jan Kachur, a retired Teamster from ment to take our money,” Mike Foster, Deerfield, Michigan, said he had worked a retired UMW rock duster mechanic nine jobs to get the 28 years required from Birmingham, told the Militant. for his pension. It took him 35 years, The workers are demanding the gov- because not all the jobs were full time. ernment fund full pensions for hundreds “You’d get a job, it would go bankrupt of thousands whose pension plans are — you followed the pension,” he said. on the brink of bankruptcy. Roughly 1.3 His story illustrates the challenges of a million U.S. workers are in a pension retirement system based on the fortunes plan headed toward insolvency. and profits of your bosses and kept alive The largest of these is the Teamsters on speculation in the stock market. Central States Pension Fund, with a li- Over the last couple decades, as capi- ability of $17.2 billion. Thousands of talist profit rates, production and trade Teamsters came to the rally, with signs declined, many mine and trucking boss- saying, “Save Our Pensions.” es either went under or tried to break the Among the unions present were the unions, wreaking havoc with workers’ UMW; Teamsters; Bakery, Confec- industry-based pension plans. tionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers; American Federation of Mu- ‘Retirement was a promise’ Militant/Jacquie Henderson Dennis Bugash, center, from central Pennsylvania with 25 years in coal mines, talks to musi- sicians; United Steelworkers; Iron “When I was younger I always paid cians Dean Mahoney, left, and Harry D’Agostino, at Columbus, Ohio, pension rally July 12. Workers; Communications Workers my money toward retirement because of America; American Federation of they said it was a promise, and I be- That’s what the bosses fear and why “donate your blood to make money.” State, County and Municipal Employ- lieved them,” said Glenn Hanson, a city their attacks on wages, safety and work- Jacquie Henderson, a Walmart work- ees; United Food and Commercial bus driver in Duluth, Minnesota, who ing conditions are intertwined with as- er and member of the Socialist Workers Workers; Brotherhood of Maintenance retired after 30 years. “My wife and I saults on social gains, such as Social Party who came on a Teamsters bus from of Way division of the Teamsters; and budgeted for the $2,700 pension. If I get Security, Medicare, Medicaid, disability Duluth, carried a sign reading, “Minne- teachers from Atlanta; Buffalo, New cut I don’t know what we’ll do.” payments and pensions, inadequate as sota Walmart workers support fight for York; and Raleigh, North Carolina. “Workers still have power in the U.S., they are. They try to divide us by con- retirement pensions for all workers!” It Earlier this year tens of thousands of we just don’t use it,” he added. vincing young workers that they have no included 11 messages of solidarity from teachers went on strike and protested, “After World War II and the giant stake in the welfare of older workers. her co-workers. Seeing the sign, Sharon pushing back government attacks on miners’ strike, [then union president] “This is a fight for the younger gener- Wilson from Beaver Dam, Kentucky, their wages, pensions, medical care and John L. Lewis signed an agreement for ation so they won’t lose what we fought greeted Henderson, “Do you work at working conditions. Their spirited ac- retirement benefits for all miners, prom- hard to gain,” Pete Lomonaco, a mem- Walmart? I do, too! We need a union!” tions inspired workers everywhere. ised for all time,” said Joseph Hatfield, ber of Teamsters Local 727 in Atlanta Wilson, who has worked at Walmart “I came here to support the miners. president of a UMW local near Mate- for 37 years, told Malcolm Jarrett, a for 13 years, is the widow of a UMW If they take pensions away from one, wan, West Virginia. “And that’s what cook from Pittsburgh who was showing miner with two sons who work in non- they will take them from us all,” said we counted on every day we worked.” him the Militant. union mines. She got a subscription to Richard Griffin, a bread-line worker This led to a discussion on why this is Bryant Taylor, a long-haul truck driv- the Militant and the two workers traded from Indianapolis. not only a fight to defend miners’ pen- er from Cleveland, discussed the health contact information to keep in touch. The current average miner’s pension sions, but a broad social crisis that work- care crisis with 23-year-old musician “Human beings’ lives are worth more is only $586 per month. The UMW 1974 ers face under capitalism. Why there Dean Mahoney, who took a break from than a pound of coal,” John Snider, a re- Pension Plan is expected to go bust by must be government-funded union scale his band’s touring schedule to attend the tired union miner from St. Clairesville, 2022, sooner if the capitalist economy compensation for all workers who retire protest. “Whether you work at McDon- Ohio, told the Militant. “We have to be goes south. It covers 87,000 retired and or lose their job, no matter why or at ald’s or Ford Motor you should have full together. It’s that or we are done.” 20,000 working miners. For plans that what age. This is a fight the unions must heath care,” Taylor told him. Mahoney collapse, workers can possibly get some lead and that would draw millions in and said he has no health care benefits. He Malcolm Jarrett, Alyson Kennedy, Hel- coverage under the federal government’s point the road toward taking power out was shocked when he saw an ad pop en Myers, and Sarah Ullman contrib- Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation of the hands of the capitalist exploiters. up on his Facebook page urging him to uted to this article. plan — but it would slash their benefits and that fund is facing bankruptcy. Ontario salt miners push back bosses’ attacks Continued from front page ter pensions and benefits.” 8,000. Kay Edward, a member of Cana- More reading But they turned for solidarity to local The company tried to get workers to dian Union of Public Employees Local farmers, who brought in tractors to cave in by offering an insulting $10,000 1427, had a sign in her yard. She said she Special offer: block the road, maintaining the barri- signing bribe. One worker called it “a “supports our brothers and sisters down $15 for book cade trapping the scabs inside. Many rotten carrot,” because payment was there. They shouldn’t have to accept the at right, strikers are from farm families. When conditional on achieving virtually im- company’s demands.” $10 with the union put out the call for help, the possible production levels. School board worker Mandy Powell, subscription. first tractor arrived within half an hour. The three-year deal workers voted whose husband and all his brothers work “The solidarity and support we have up includes a 2.5 percent wage increase in the mine, said the support the union- been shown by our own town and the in both 2018 and ’19 and 3 percent in ists received was “overwhelming” and hundreds of sisters and brothers in the 2020. It keeps pensions and benefits “every gesture is deeply appreciated.” labor movement has made all the differ- workers won in the past, defeating This reporter, a Walmart worker, re- ence,” Gary Lynch, president of Unifor the bosses’ efforts to slash them. The ceived a warm reception to a solidarity Local 16-O, said after the vote. company’s demand for mandatory card I delivered signed by 10 workers at “Thank you for teaching scabs a overtime was dropped. At the same two Montreal stores. Special offer: lesson and making the union move- time, workers voted to give their con- “We have gotten support from all $7 for book at ment relearn that the only way to get sent to the company requesting from across Canada, with donations of all left, $5 with things done is to shut it down,” Cana- the Ontario government permission to kinds,” Baer said. “Last Saturday I met subscription. dian Union of Postal Workers National impose a 60-hour workweek on some Unifor members from British Colum- President Mike Palacek told striking shifts. Some workers said they didn’t bia and Newfoundland organized by salt miners and their supporters at an like the new contract. “I don’t say we their own locals to come here. We also event for strikers’ children on the pick- agree on everything, but we will be had a busload of striking York Univer- et line in front of the mine July 13. back at work,” Lynch said. sity teaching assistants, CUPE members The strike began April 27 after the A layer of the strikers have a long from Children’s Aid and nurses with us 348 miners rejected the bosses’ demand continuity of decades of union struggles here on the line.” Special for deep concessions that could create to establish what the bosses tried to de- “I came here on one and a half offer: $7 unsafe and unsustainable working con- molish, like load operator Bruce Uttley, hours’ notice,” said Cheryl Gignac, for book at ditions and do damage to the quality of whose 50th anniversary in the mine is a member of Unifor Local 24 who right, $5 with their lives after work. July 26. Hired when the mine opened, works at Greenshield in Windsor. “At subscription. “We’re on strike because the com- he has been in 11 strikes and was deter- first I said no. But then I thought about pany wants to impose 12-hour shifts — mined to fight this one before retiring. the importance of what the miners are four hours of mandatory overtime each doing and the respect I have for the See list of distributors on day means 60 hours a week — and 72 Support for strike ‘overwhelming’ union rep who asked me to go. So, I hours every fourth week,” Mike Baer, a “I support Unifor Goderich Mine changed my mind and came. I’ve nev- page 8 or visit: shaft worker with 30 years in the mine, Workers Local 16-O” read signs sprout- er done anything like that in my life www.pathfinderpress.com told the Militant. “And they’re going af- ing from lawns throughout this town of — and I’m glad I did.” The Militant July 30, 2018 3 Protests demand, ‘Fire cop who killed Antwon Rose!’ By Malcolm jarrett Rice, the 12-year-old African-Ameri- PITTSBURGH — On July 12 Ant- can child shot dead by Cleveland police won Rose Jr. would have celebrated his in 2014. She locked arms with Michelle 18th birthday. Would have, that is if he Kenney, Rose’s mother, and they posed had not been killed in cold blood by for pictures together. East Pittsburgh cop Michael Rosfeld in Other memorial celebrations are tak- a June 19 traffic stop. The shooting of ing place. The Mattress Factory, a con- Rose three times in the back was cap- temporary art museum, held a special tured on a cellphone video that has been showing of its civil rights exhibition viewed hundreds of thousands of times. July 8 dedicated to Rose. Rosfeld has been charged with criminal Dozens of protesters filled the East homicide. Pittsburgh Borough Council meeting Rather than mourn on this day, fam- July 17 to demand the firing of Rosfeld. ily, friends, supporters and hundreds of The exchanges between area residents others gathered at Hawkins Village in on the one side and Mayor Louis Payne Rankin to celebrate Antwon’s life. and council members on the other were Michael M. Santiago/Post-Gazette via AP The “1st Annual Antwon Rose II sharp. Payne insisted they wouldn’t do Samaria Rice, left, mother of Tamir Rice, killed by Cleveland cop in 2014, greets Michelle Kenney, Antwon Rose’s mother, at celebration of what would have been Rose’s 18th birthday. Community Day” had everything any anything about Rosfeld until his trial festival should have — balloons, ven- was over. While nearly 60 percent of the Allegheny County Courthouse. The “Schools Are Not Prison” rally July dors, live music, bouncy houses and face East Pittsburgh residents are Black, courthouse is at 436 Grant St. in down- 18 at the Woodland Hills School painting for kids, and hundreds of do- the mayor and all council members town Pittsburgh. “We are asking every- Board meeting to demand they can- nated backpacks filled with school sup- are Caucasian. And Police Chief Lori one to pack the courtroom so they know cel contracts with the police to patrol plies to be given away. However, it had Fruncek is Payne’s daughter. that we are here,” the Alliance for Police the schools, including the high school something most don’t — a memorial to Demonstrations have continued in Accountability, one of the groups back- where Rose was a senior. A lawsuit that Rose, filled with his guitar, skateboard, and around Pittsburgh. A protest is ing the protest, said. The demonstration documents brutal beatings and attacks writings and other personal belongings. planned for July 27 when Rosfeld will will begin at 11 a.m. by Tasers on Black students there has Donations were received from all appear for his preliminary hearing at Protesters are also organizing a gotten widespread news coverage. over the country, event planner and 1Hood organizer Jolisa McDonald said, showing broad support among work- ing people. While the celebration was As hiring picks up, rail workers fight for job safety not intended to be a political event, by brian williams senior vice president, told the Chicago have been seeking to cut costs by re- participants could not help but express With today’s upturn in capitalist Tribune, “almost all of that is driven by ducing train crews. In the 1980s union their frustration and desire for justice in production and trade, rail bosses are consumer spending.” The largest single contracts set the crew size at five, but this case. “This is happening too many trying to hire thousands of workers rail customer, he said, is UPS, which is bosses have been whittling this down times,” said Charlisa Nelson, who came this year. But in their drive for prof- having trouble finding enough drivers. to two, and in some cases one. In the from East Liberty. “The world is watch- its, the bosses are also running longer The bosses’ response to the jump in early ’90s bosses offered substantial ing,” to see what will happen in the and longer freight trains with smaller business has been assembling trains blood money payments to bribe crews county’s prosecution of Rosfeld. and smaller crews and assembling 2-to-3 miles long, which are more prone to agree to cuts in crew size. Some participants wore self-made trains by remote control in rail yards, to derailments, oil spills and explosions Workers fight dangerous conditions T-shirts calling for Justice for Ant- endangering the safety of both rail from the flammable chemicals being won, or emblazoned with the chant workers and those who live and work transported. They’ve cut the number Rail workers and their unions have that has been prominent at area pro- near the tracks. Derailments are be- of workers on each train, and now are fought back against attempts to im- tests, “Three shots in the back, How coming more common. pushing for a one-worker “crew.” The pose one-person crews over the road. you going to justify that?” Union Pacific, which operates in 23 long trains introduce dangerous com- SMART union members at BNSF One special guest at the celebration states in the western two-thirds of the munication problems for crews, as radio Railway overwhelmingly rejected com- was Samaria Rice, mother of Tamir country, plans to hire 2,100 engineers transmissions from rear to front often pany demands for one-person crews on and conductors and 900 mechanical po- cut out at those distances. freight trains in 2014. sitions. It offers hiring bribes of $10,000 Bosses are also cutting the size of In Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, where and more to those who sign on, as well their workforce in rail yards where federal government officials agreed to The Clintons’ Anti- as retention bonuses for workers who trains are assembled. Conductors on demands by Montreal, Maine and At- Working-Class Record: agree to forego retirement and keep the ground increasingly work using a lantic rail bosses seeking to save money working. “belt pack” or RCO — a remote con- to run trains with a one-person crew, a Why Washington BNSF Railway, which operates in 28 trol device to operate engines with no 72-car train full of highly flammable oil Fears Working People states, seeks to hire more than 3,500 engineer aboard. In a number of cases, derailed and exploded as it rolled into by Jack Barnes workers, a spokesman said. And Nor- this has resulted in runaway trains and the town in July 2013, killing 47 people. folk Southern Railway in its 22-state other disasters. At the time the one-person crew, Tom network in eastern U.S. plans to hire In June 2017, in Canadian National’s Harding, was signed off for sleep, hav- 1,800. CSX, which operates in 23 east- MacMillan Yard in Vaughan, Ontario, ing worked his 12 hours that day. ern states and two Canadian provinces, a foreman and his helper attempted to “In the last five years, the number has also begun to hire. The company has assemble a long train with a beltpack. of these uncontrolled movements has offered to buy personal leave and vaca- “More and more cars rolled onto the been on the rise” said Faye Ackerman, tion time from trainmen this summer at downward slope of the outer edge of a Transportation Safety Board member a rate of 150 percent of normal pay for the yard,” CBC News reported. “Once in Canada, at a recent news conference those who agree to work through their about two-thirds of them rolled onto the in Toronto. vacations and personal time. main track, the workers could no longer On July 13, 27 freight cars derailed Conductors and engineers at CSX, keep the train in control.” The runaway on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. who didn’t want to give their names for train rolled over 3 miles at speeds up Some 230,000 gallons of oil spilled fear of company retribution, told the to 30 mph before stopping on an uphill out of 14 of 32 derailed tanker cars in Militant the railroad is working crews stretch of track. northwest Iowa June 22. In Princeton “For the first time in decades, long hours with only the minimal rest Among those responding to the new Indiana, a train derailed and exploded the US rulers have begun to fear required by law, and in some cases pro- rail job openings are workers being June 17, causing evacuation of the area. the working class. That, above hibiting conductors from using person- drawn to re-enter the workforce — Two freight trains collided and derailed all, is what the 2016 US elections al leave time over the entire summer. “I some 601,000 in June alone, according in Georgetown, Kentucky, March 18, revealed. Why the fear? Because have not seen crews this fatigued be- to the Labor Department. As a result, injuring four and forcing evacuations. millions of working people are fore,” one worker said. June’s official unemployment rate rose And 32 cars derailed on a CSX freight CSX recently fired some workers for from 3.8 to 4 percent, as “discouraged” train carrying hazardous materials last starting to reject being made to taking time off for family medical re- workers start looking for work and get August near Hyndman, Pennsylvania, bear the brunt of capitalism’s sponsibilities, intimidating others from listed on official unemployed rolls. and over 1,000 residents had to leave global economic and social crisis marking off. The new hiring offers opportunities to their homes. and brutal wars.” — Jack Barnes Shipments of consumer goods are ris- strengthen the rail unions, advance the An Amtrak train collided with a CSX Special price: $7. With Militant subscription $5. ing. “We’re seeing almost every month a fight against smaller crews, and to fight freight train when it was mistakenly Also in Farsi, French and Spanish new record in the amount of trailers and for safer working conditions on and switched onto a siding in February in www.pathfinderpress.com containers we’re handling,” John Gray, around the job. South Carolina, killing two workers on the Association of American Railroads Ever since the mid-1950s, rail bosses board the Amtrak engine.

4 The Militant July 30, 2018 on the picket line This column gives a voice to those engaged in labor battles and build- ing solidarity today — from teachers and school workers in across the country, to miners, rail and factory and retail workers looking to stand and fight. Send in articles, photos and letters on picket lines and other labor protests to [email protected], post them directly on our web- site, or mail them to 306 W. 37th St., 13th floor, New York, NY 10018. NY hospital workers picket worker Toiyeuco Baker-Fann, said. “But against pension, health cutbacks we don’t get quality care. They don’t NEW YORK — “Everybody’s fight- care about the people who do the work.” ing back,” some two dozen workers Vivian Boahene, who provides patient chanted as they joined an informational care at Mt. Sinai Hospital, explained the picket line outside the Terence Cardinal bosses are also demanding cuts to medi- Cooke Health Care Center here July 12. cal insurance. “They want us to pay $80 “Nurses, fighting back. Housekeeping, for each doctor’s visit,” she said. fighting back. Food service, fighting Local 1199SEIU announced July 16 back,” they continued chanting, with that an agreement had been reached different workers yelling out their job. with the League of Voluntary Hospitals More than 100 workers picketed out- on a new three-year contract. side Mt. Sinai Hospital a few blocks — Sara Lobman Militant/Sara Lobman away. Their shouts of “union strong” Local 1199SEIU hospital workers picket Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York July 12, one of more could be heard a block away. Many British Columbia: Hard Rock than 100 actions statewide protesting bosses’ moves to cut pensions, medical care and training. Casino strikers win solidarity workers came out and joined the protest rial Metals Corporation, the mine’s COQUITLAM, British Columbia — The casino bosses’ offer that the ma- during their lunch break. owner, locked out members of Unit- Some 400 members of the British Co- jority of workers rejected included up to Health care workers at more than ed Steelworkers Local 1-2017 at the lumbia Government and Service Em- 50 cents increase, subsequent yearly 2 100 hospitals, nursing homes and medi- Mount Polley Mine. The miners mine ployees’ Union, who have been on strike percent raises, a signing bonus, benefits cal centers throughout the greater New copper and gold. since May 11, voted by a 55 percent mar- like those recently won at River Rock York area — including Long Island and Under British Columbia law, after gin July 4 to reject a new proposal by Casino, and eight-hour shifts, Mike the Hudson River Valley — also pro- locking workers out the bosses can in- Hard Rock Casino bosses. Dove, bargaining committee chair, tested in front of their workplaces July vite them to return to their jobs if they Dealers, kitchen and theater staff, told the Militant. “But then the [man- 12. They’re fighting against demands by accept the company’s last contract offer. security and other workers there voted agement] took out the craps and poker the League of Voluntary Hospitals and The bosses insist on hiring groups to join the union in May 2016, and have games and that changed the wage grid Homes of New York bosses to cut pen- of temporary workers who don’t get been fighting for their first contract ever entirely. Sixty people would take a pay sions, medical care, training and other union protection or benefits. The since. Picket lines are up 24/7. cut. And there will be layoffs.” things that affect both the workers and union is demanding that any workers This reporter and another Walmart Almost 700 more union members the people they care for. the company hires should automati- cashier walked the line in solidarity at four casinos in British Columbia’s The league is the umbrella industry cally become full-time employees and July 3. Many strikers asked, “Do you Okanagan region went on strike June 29 organization. It negotiates a contract union members after three months. have a union at Walmart? Are you go- around demands for higher wages and with Local 1199SEIU United Healthcare “We are fighting for the temporary ing to get one?” We’re on your picket regular shifts. Workers East that is then used as a mod- workers who have no rights,” Tom el in negotiations with other employers. line to learn, we’re finding ways to On hearing the news during her 30 deck head three across goes here Silvey, who has worked 40 years as a So the bosses’ concession demands are stand up, we replied. picket shift here the next day, Vicky miner and drives a truck, told the Mil- a threat throughout the industry. In ad- “You don’t have to be in a union to Burnell, a table games worker with 14 itant July 6 on the picket line. “Our dition to the picket lines, the union has stand up,” Laarni de los Reyes, a union years on the job, said, “The more we fathers and our grandfathers fought organized a series of “Purple Up” days, organizer, said. “Once you start to get are the stronger we are. That’s what for safety and wages for everybody. where workers wear their purple union together and feel what power is, then I’ve learned. I’ve always stood up for To give in to the company would be a T-shirts. you feel what it means to be a union.” myself, but now I’m standing up with slap in the face to them.” “The company wants to end the op- “Gambling makes a lot of money. But a group. I’m having fun.” Tim Guterson, the plant chair for tion to retire at age 62 for those with they pay workers s---, like Walmart,” — Katy LeRougetel the union at the mine and a mill op- 10 years of service,” said Jennifer dealer Ying Li said. “I’ve worked here erator, said the hiring of temporary Tull, who works at Cardinal Terence for 13 years. No raise for 10 years.” She B.C.: Hard rock miners strike to workers expanded after the dam hold- Cooke nursing home. “I’ve already has topped out at $14 an hour. demand union rights for temps ing in the tailings pond at the mine been here 18 years and I’m 53 years Dealers make some money on tips, WILLIAMS LAKE, British Co- gave way in 2014, sending millions of old. Everything’s already giving out,” but those are not folded into the base lumbia — Some 210 hard rock miners tons of toxic sludge and debris pour- she said, noting the toll the job took rate and aren’t a stable source of income, are on strike in this province’s Cari- ing down into the water system and on her body. “They hope we die be- workers on the picket line told us. Table boo region in a fight to strengthen two adjacent lakes. fore they have to pay us our pension.” games staff make up more than half the and unify their union. The strike be- The company-caused disaster led “We provide quality care,” her co- union membership. gan May 23, three hours after Impe- to a total water ban for residents in the area. The government demanded 25, 50, and 75 years ago the mine owners repair the damage. Some temps have worked over two years. Imperial Metals has never been charged or fined for the disaster. Mine bosses are also trying to undermine seniority provisions in August 9, 1993 August 2, 1968 July 31, 1943 choice of shifts. The miners work 12- PINCKNEYVILLE, Illinois — As The trial of Black Panther leader Great events are transpiring in Italy. hour shifts, seven days on, seven days the strike battle between the United Huey P. Newton has been going on in The Italian masses are in revolt against off. About 30 are women. Mine Workers and Bituminous Coal Oakland, Calif., since July 15. Through- the imperialist war. They want to get out And because of the cost of the on- Operators Association expands, the out this time, the Panthers and other Bay of the war. They want to finish with the going tailings cleanup, mine bosses miners are reaching out to win new Area groups have organized a continu- whole despicable crew of fascists and have threatened to lay off miners. support across the country. There are ous series of rallies to “Free Huey.” their supporters who inflicted on them Picket lines are staffed 24/7 at the two now 16,000 miners striking in seven A large crowd came to a rally and pic- for twenty years untold indignities, hor- mine entrances. The union has pro- states — Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, nic on the eve of the trial, and 3,500 peo- rors, cruelties, and suffering. duced a leaflet for distribution in town Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and ple turned out for the big demonstration The Italian masses want political that says, “These 200 plus workers West Virginia. at the courthouse the day the trial began. liberty. They want economic security. and their families are now into their Five thousand camouflage-clad Newton is charged with murder stem- They want the good things of life denied 7th week on the picket lines and we striking miners, their families and ming from an incident last October them under fascism and capitalism. ask that the public, local suppliers and supporters joined an “international la- when Oakland cops stopped a car he The question is: how are they going to contractors respect their picket lines.” bor rally” here July 15 to support the was driving. The cops shot Newton in get what they want? This correspondent gave the strik- strike. Two thousand had participat- the stomach, wounding him seriously. In The Italian workers and peasants can ers a solidarity card signed by some ed in a similar rally in Waynesburg, the struggle, one of the cops was killed. win peace, bread and freedom only by 30 workers in the Vancouver area, Pennsylvania, a day earlier. At the trial, Newton’s attorney, following the example of the Russian including some on strike against the “When it comes to trade unionists, Charles Garry, is demanding that New- masses in the first World War. They Hard Rock Casino, Walmart workers there is only one language — solidar- ton be tried by a jury of his peers. New- must place confidence only in their own from two stores and some hospital ity,” said UMWA president Richard ton’s trial is heavily guarded. Members revolutionary Marxist party. They must workers. Solidarity messages can be Trumka in his keynote address to the of the press must obtain a different pass go forward to create their own Workers sent to [email protected]. rallies. each day. and Peasants Government. — Joe Young The Militant July 30, 2018 5 Death toll rises in Nicaragua Continued from front page Matagalpa, leaving 38 dead — 31 wounded — ignited more protests. government opponents, four police Students occupied university cam- and three paramilitaries — making it puses, and workers, small farmers the bloodiest day so far since the pro- and others set up barricades and road- tests began. blocks in towns and cities across the The government defended what they country. called a “cleanup operation,” saying it In an attempt to quell the unrest, had acted to protect Nicaraguan fami- Ortega withdrew the social security lies from “terrorist violence.” Vice Pres- cuts April 22, but by then protesters ident Murillo has cynically called these were calling for his and Vice Presi- operations “Caravans of Peace.” dent Rosario Murillo’s resignation, “The government wants to impose for an end to government repression, itself with bullets,” Francisca Ramírez and prosecution of police and para- told the press when we were there. She is militaries responsible for the killings. a leader of small farmers and merchants Almost 300 people have been killed who have protested against a 2013 law Movement of Mothers of April lead march on Mother’s Day, May 30, in Managua, Nicaragua, approving large-scale expropriation for honoring those killed and wounded by government thugs during April demonstration. Banner and over 2,000 wounded since the reads “No more assassinations! No more massacres!” Nearly 300 people have been killed. protests began, the vast majority gov- a far-fetched plan to build a transconti- ernment opponents. Hundreds have nental canal through Nicaragua. of the general strike. widespread corruption. been arrested. A “national dialogue” to attempt In 1979 the FSLN led a popular in- After his election, Ortega won the We were able to get a firsthand feel to mediate a solution to the political surrection that overthrew the hated support of many of the country’s poor, for the protests — and the brutal re- crisis was suspended May 23, when Somoza dictatorship, and established who benefited from social programs im- pression — from meeting and talking government representatives rejected a government that mobilized workers plemented by his government. But that with protesters on our reporting trip demands for early presidential elec- and peasants in defense of their eco- backing has dwindled in the past few to Nicaragua in June. tions and walked out. nomic and political interests, increas- years as the government has imposed On July 13 a nationwide general Ortega and Murillo have dismissed ingly encroaching on the prerogatives cuts. Support decreased even more after strike emptied streets in Managua the massive popular discontent call- of Nicaraguan capitalists and imperial- its brutal response to recent protests. and much of the rest of the country, as ing for their resignations. “The rules ist interests. In the late 1980s, however, The opposition to Ortega comes businesses were shut down and public cannot be changed overnight because the FSLN backed away from that revo- largely from working-class and mid- transportation stopped, heeding the of the whim of a group of coup mon- lutionary course and was voted out of dle-class layers — including many that call of a coalition of government op- gers,” said Ortega July 7. office in 1990. Today it is indistinguish- up until April considered themselves ponents, including representatives of He was speaking at an event held able from other bourgeois parties. FSLN supporters — and from sup- the demonstrating university students, instead of an annual march to com- porters of opposition parties, as well as workers, the main capitalist associa- memorate El repliegue, a “tactical re- Dwindling support for government workers who were part of the Sandini- tions, small farmers groups and a va- treat” carried out by popular forces led In 2006, after 16 years as an op- sta revolution in the 1980s. riety of political formations. by the FSLN during the 1979 insur- position party, and amid an economic The main capitalist associations Two days later car caravans of anti- rection in Managua against the former and political crisis for working people, that had been allies of Ortega and government protesters drove to Masaya, U.S.-backed dictatorship of Anastasio Ortega was elected president. His ad- his government as he implemented a center of the uprising, as government Somoza. After 17 days of street combat, ministration has continued the FSLN’s anti-working-class measures are now paramilitary groups armed with assault the then revolution-minded FSLN forces class-collaborationist policies of making backing protests against him. While rifles prepared to launch an attack there. were forced to retreat to nearby Masaya, alliances with sectors of the bourgeoi- convinced it is not possible to go back where a population in rebellion against sie and foreign investors. The capitalist to business-as-usual with Ortega re- Gov’t calls massacre a ‘cleanup’ the dictatorship welcomed them. development registered in Nicaragua maining in power, these forces are Ortega has moved to retain his grip This year the march was called has come at a real price for working divided on how fast he must go. Most on power using gangs of armed sup- off because Masaya and many of the people — the lowest minimum wage are demanding elections be moved up porters, police dressed as civilians and towns along the route were occupied in the region; roughly 40 percent of to March 2019, a proposal backed by former army officers to clear out barri- with protests and barricades. Af- the population lives in poverty; greater Washington, as well as Organization cades, campuses and roadblocks. ter forcibly clearing the roadblocks, concentration of land in the hands of of American States Secretary General On July 10 Ortega’s forces stormed Ortega drove to Masaya accompanied a few big landowners; encroachment Luis Almagro. So far, Ortega refuses. the cities of Jinotepe, Diriamba and by armed supporters July 13, the day on democratic and political rights; and Concerned with foreign investors’ interests in Nicaragua and general sta- bility in the region, Washington favors Ortega’s “orderly exit” from govern- Fuel hike protests bring down Haiti prime minister ment. The deepening economic and by róger calero country’s capital — in the northern city the government with more funding for social crisis the government’s policies Haiti’s Prime Minister Jack Guy La- of Cap-Haitien and elsewhere. social services. This in a country whose have created for workers, farmers and fontant resigned July 14 after a two-day The government announced July rulers are renowned for their corruption! youth, and its violent suppression of general strike and a week of protests 6 that prices of gasoline, diesel, and The Washington-based IMF sought to the protests, create conditions for the sparked by the government’s announce- kerosene would go up 38, 47, and 51 justify the measure by saying the richest imperialist rulers in Washington to ment of sharp price hikes for fuel. Dem- percent, respectively. The move would 20 percent benefited the most from the take advantage of. onstrators marched, barricaded roads, have boosted public transportation subsidies, but the hikes were too much looted stores and burned cars and two costs as well. In an attempt to quell to bear for the poorest Haitians. More reading police stations in Port-au-Prince — the the uprising, Lafontant the following The IMF is still pressing for the day said the price hikes price hikes to be imposed — through would be “temporarily a series of gradual increases. suspended,” but the an- The government sought to blame the nouncement failed to protests not on the decades of imperial- halt the protests. ist plunder that has resulted in 59 per- Many demonstrators cent of Haitian toilers living in poverty, chanted “Nou bouke” in along with a massive lack of jobs, hous- Creole, “We are fed up!” ing, infrastructure and being ravaged by The increases come a high cost of living, but “on others try- from the elimination ing to lead the population astray.” of long-standing fuel Haiti is one of the world’s poorest subsidies. The move countries. Half the population is mal- was one of the condi- nourished. On top of capitalist exploi- tions imposed on the tation, workers and farmers there have Haitian government by borne the brunt of a series of deadly the International Mon- earthquakes and hurricanes. etary Fund in exchange “It’s not just a question of changing for promises of access the prime minister, because day by day, $16 to $96 million in loans the people are still suffering from more

AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery and grants. The IMF misery, unemployment, insecurity, hun- Demonstration July 8 in Port-au-Prince during week of general claimed removing the ger,” Fleurette Pierre, one of the demon- See distributors page 8 or strike and protests that forced government to suspend fuel hike. subsidies would provide strators, told Agence France-Presse. pathfinderpress.com

6 The Militant July 30, 2018 ‘Revolutionary war began liberation of women in Cuba’ by Claudia Kaiser-Lenoir tional Assembly. She recounted how HAVANA — One of the high points despite sharing a common cause, fac- for participants in the International May ing a common enemy and living un- Day Brigade to Cuba this spring was der the same harsh conditions in the having the opportunity to hear from Sierra, it was still a fight to overcome some of the combatants who took part the prejudices ingrained even in some in the revolutionary war there. Led by of the best of the male fighters. Fidel Castro, the revolution overturned Because of the resistance from some the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Fulgen- men in the rebel forces to women’s in- cio Batista in 1959 and brought Cuba’s sistence that they shoulder the same re- workers and farmers to power. sponsibilities, Puebla said, Fidel Castro We heard from Teté Puebla, Pérsida decided that not only were the women Chibás Ponce, Rogelio Acevedo and to become active combatants, but he others, who told us how and why they organized the special Mariana Grajales joined the fight for a revolution that won Women’s Platoon. He appointed Puebla against seemingly impossible odds, and as second in command. about how they themselves — then in When men complained that the their teens — were deeply transformed scarce weapons were being “wasted” on Scott Hagaman as human beings through their experi- Above, participants in International women, Castro replied they were given ence in that struggle. May Day Brigade to Cuba hear from guns because “the women will prove to Pérsida Chibás Ponce was one of the combatants in Cuba’s revolutionary be better fighters than all of you.” She scores of women who joined the Rebel war. Inset, Teté Puebla, left, and said Fidel later told the women, “You Army. As a black, 15-year-old girl, Pérsida Chibás Ponce joined Rebel better not make me look bad, after this!” Army in their teens, were trans- and then assigned himself to give them Chibás told us, she was already aware formed in revolutionary struggle. that women’s oppression was tied to intensive training in weapons use. class and race. She described how the discrimination, which from the start ers Fidel Castro and Vilma Espín led the The full story is told in Marianas in Rebel Army even before ousting the dic- had been an integral part of the July 26 fight for full participation of women, Combat: Teté Puebla & the Mariana tatorship began transforming relations Movement’s program. The revolution- which included the establishment of the Grajales Women’s Platoon in Cuba’s in the areas under its control, including ary changes in Cuba guaranteed equal Federation of Cuban Women one year Revolutionary War 1956-58 written measures to overcome divisions among access for blacks to education, work, after the revolution came to power. by Puebla and published by Pathfind- working people. Under Raúl Castro’s health, culture and sports, as well as rep- er Press. leadership in the Second Front in East- resentation in the country’s political and Cuban women fight for revolution They didn’t make Castro look bad. ern Oriente province, she helped estab- legislative structures, she said. Cuban women have won election to The exemplary courage and discipline lish schools for the growing number of “But we have to remain fully con- all levels of government, the passage the Mariana Grajales Women’s Platoon peasants — many of them illiterate — scious that discrimination can’t be elim- of laws guaranteeing equality with displayed in battle proved right Castro’s joining the rebel fight. inated by decree alone,” said Chibás. men, the right to abortion and have full confidence in the women. They, in After she had been in the Sierra “Struggle against it must never cease.” gained more control over all aspects turn, went on “from that platoon in the for some time, and had several pro- After the victory over Batista’s forces, of their lives. Sierra Maestra to today’s full participa- motions as a fighter, someone asked Chibás left the Rebel Army and became “The revolutionary war was the be- tion of women in all tasks related to de- her how it felt to be the only black active in the volunteer militias and other ginning of the liberation of women,” fense,” Puebla said. “We are the Revolu- woman combatant with her high rank. tasks of the revolution. In 1971 she joined said Teté Puebla, who joined the rebels tionary Armed Forces of Cuba.” “I suddenly realized then that I had the Revolutionary Armed Forces, even- in Sierra in 1957 at age 16. She said she Today Cuban women make up 60 stopped being aware of those differ- tually achieving the rank of lieutenant claimed to be a year older, “so I would percent of all university graduates, ences,” Chibás said, “and that made colonel. In 1986 she was part of Cuba’s be allowed to stay.” Puebla explained and 78 percent of health professionals. me conscious of how the divisions of internationalist mission in Ethiopia and she came from a peasant family in “Without the revolution, women would class and race had been transcended, later was one of more than 420,000 Cu- Granma province. never have reached the conditions we for me, in the process of the struggle.” bans who went to Angola as volunteer Puebla is now a brigadier general in enjoy today,” Chibás said. With the 1959 triumph of the revolu- combatants to help defeat the invasions Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces — After the revolutionary victory, tion, the new government led the fight by the South African apartheid army. the highest-ranking woman in Cuba’s Puebla helped recruit peasant women that eradicated all forms of legal racial Chibás told us that revolutionary lead- army — and a deputy to Cuba’s Na- to attend the Ana Betancourt School in Havana. There they went through all the regular school curriculum, and also received training in various vo- ‘Militant’ beats back Florida prison censorship - again cational trades. Continued from front page were reversed on appeal by the Mili- by deciding not to send either the Mili- After hearing these presentations, tion officials claimed that the entire tant and its lawyer, David Goldstein of tant or the inmate-subscriber the notice some brigade members asked what paper “showed organized protests the prominent civil liberties law firm that they’ve impounded the paper. That advice the veteran combatants had around the state and seeks to orga- Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krin- makes it harder for the paper to fight it. for their efforts to make changes back nize inmates to strike” and “presents sky & Lieberman. The Literature Review Committee home in their own countries, includ- a threat to the security, good order, or “Every time the Militant has been told Goldstein that when a prisoner stops ing how to fight racist and sexist op- discipline” of the prison. forced to wage a public fight against the getting the paper, they should “make use pression. There has to be a fight, and The Literature Review Committee impoundments, we win new support for of the grievance process.” there has to be a revolution, Chibás gave no reason for overturning the our right to send our paper to workers “Any prisoner that isn’t getting said, there is no other way. impoundments. behind bars. And for their right to read their paper, should let us know,” Stud- “But there are no recipes,” she add- Over the last several years Florida the political news they want and need. er said. “We’ll back them up, like we ed. “Do your own revolution. It has to prisons have impounded nearly two It helps them be part of the world and always do.” come from you.” dozen issues of the paper. All but a few working-class struggles today,” Militant editor John Studer said. Among the organizations and indi- Cuban Revolution: Example for workers New York — viduals that have spoken out against — Friday, July 27 censorship of the Militant and in defense Marianas in Combat of freedom of the press and free speech by Teté Puebla Celebrate the 65th are Amnesty International USA, PEN Puebla joined the revolutionary struggle in Cuba at the age of 15. Anniversary of Assault on America, National Lawyers Guild, New She was a member of the victorious Rebel Army’s first all-women’s Moncada Barracks, opening York Civil Liberties Union, Ameri- unit — the Mariana Grajales Women’s Platoon. can Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Cuba and the Coming of the Cuban Revolution Prison Legal News, New York’s River- 131 West 33d St., Manhattan side Church Prison Ministry, American American Revolution Reception 6 pm, Friends Service Committee, Seattle- by Jack Barnes $14 Program 7 pm, includes: Cuba Friendship Committee, San Fran- ”There will be a victorioius revolution in the United States before a victorious counterrevolu- Ana Silvia Rodríguez, Deputy cisco Bay View and many more. Nonetheless, officials in Florida pris- tion in Cuba.” — Fidel Castro 1961 Ambassador Cuban Mission to the $10 Also in Spanish, French, Farsi United Nations. ons seem determined to keep looking for pretexts to hold up the paper. And in See distributors on page 8 or visit Live Music — ‘Upstate Rubdown’ some cases they violate their own rules Cuba Sí Coalition www.pathfinderpress.com

The Militant July 30, 2018 7 Great 1877 Strike showed class-struggle road for US workers The “Great Strike” of 1877 started is. Illinois Central trains were stopped among rail workers and then drew in at Effingham, Malltown, Decatur, and more than half a million overall. Karl Carbondale, Illinois. Governor Cullom Marx wrote that the strike “could very of that state declared in his 1879 bien- well be the point of origin for the cre- nial message that “the railway trains ation of a serious workers’ party.” It was and machine shops and factories in Chi- sparked by starvation wages and brutal cago, Peoria, Galesburg, Decatur, and working conditions. It struck fear in the East St. Louis were in the hands of the rulers, who denounced “mob rule” and mob, as well as the mines at Bradwood, blamed a communist conspiracy. La Salle, and some other places.” … Federal, state and city governments The Great Strike, which was de- unleashed troops, armed cops and scribed in the WPUS [Workingmen’s gangs of thugs on the strikers, cheered Party of the United States] journal, on by the bourgeois press. In the course Labor Standard, as “The Second of this mighty class battle, more than American Revolution,” became the 100 workers were killed. springboard for political and trade Below are excerpts from Philip S. union action by the American working Foner’s The Great Labor Uprising of class. It was able to assume this char- 1877, one of Pathfinder’s Books of the acter because it was more than a strike Month for July. Copyright © 1977 by D. Bendann/Harper’s Weekly movement against wage cuts. It was a Philip S. Foner, Pathfinder Press. Re- Blockade of engines at Martinsburg, West Virginia, during 1877 rail strike. “The first eruption social rebellion, the first assertion by against the oligarchy of capital which had developed since the Civil War,” wrote Karl Marx, a national working class of a common printed by permission. showed one key component of the class forces — the working class, oppressed toilers who are Black and exploited farmers — that would come together to lead the revolution in the U.S. anger against a variety of grievances — years of brutal exploitation, and a sys- Books of soon became the practice to blame the businesses that were dependent upon tem of industrialization which viewed social tensions in the United States on the railroads for their supplies — fac- the worker as little more than part of the foreign influence, and this technique tories, mills, coal mines, and oil refin- machine, who could be discarded the the month was employed with increasing fre- eries — were forced to shut down. In moment he was no longer needed, and quency during the economic crisis of Cleveland, for example, the effects of which required him to adjust to a dead- By Philip S. Foner the 1870s. During the troubles on the the stoppage on the Pennsylvania Rail- ening routine of work that made him The Great Strike of 1877 occurred railroads in 1873-74, there were some road system were felt as early as Mon- practically part of the machine. It was six years after the Paris Commune — references to the fact that the strikers day morning, July 22, and the Cleve- the first real evidence of working class the working class-led revolution which were determined to establish a Com- land Leader noted that the closing collective power capable of imposing took power in that city on March 18, mune in the United States. But it was down of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh its own will upon future social develop- 1871, and, for the seventy-two days of in the Great Strike of 1877 that a large line (a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania ments. Workers from New York to San its existence, established a new type portion of the press came to view Railroad) by “rioters” had cut off an Francisco understood, for the first time, of state. The news of the “Revolution the outbreaks as the “long-matured “important source of supply for fuel”: their potential power. … of March 18” produced a wave of fear concerted assertion of Communism As a direct consequence of this, all Writing to Friedrich Engels, Karl throughout the established circles in throughout the United States.” … the mills and furnaces of the Cleve- Marx called the Great Strike “the first both Europe and the United States. It The speed with which the Great land Rolling Mill Company and the uprising against the oligarchy of capi- Strike moved across the country was Northern Ohio Iron Company are shut tal which had developed since the Civil positively breathtaking. On July 18 the down. The Standard Oil Company, Books War,” and predicted that while it would July strike, which had begun in West Vir- with its legion of employees, will stop be suppressed, it “could very well be of the Month ginia, spread to Ohio; one day later, work this morning for lack of trans- the point of origin for the creation of portation. No less than six foundries it reached Pennsylvania, and a day a serious workers’ party in the United PATHFINDER after that, New York. On Sunday and in this city will be forced to suspend States.” Other contemporaries also un- READERS CLUB 25% operations today. discount Monday, July 22 and 23, thousands of derstood the broader implications of the SPECIALS workers throughout the eastern and By Wednesday, July 25, all the main vast labor upheaval, but the Washington The Great Labor Uprising midwestern sections of the country railway lines were affected, and em- Capital probably put it best just a month of 1877 went on strike. By noon on Tuesday, ployees of some Canadian roads were after it ended: by Philip Foner July 24, the Great Strike had ripped also joining the strike. By this time, it In the first generalized confrontation through West Virginia, Maryland, was a thoroughly national event. 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8 The Militant July 30, 2018 Editorial Crisis of rulers’ parties Continued from front page Build fighting unions! Pensions for all! ald Trump to the presidency. In fact, both capitalist parties are in crisis. With 1.3 million workers holding pension plans that regarded. The fact that they use up and then discard Ocasio-Cortez, 28, a member of the Democratic are heading toward insolvency and millions more de- millions of workers is an indictment of the immoral Socialists of America who campaigned for Bernie pendent on Social Security payments you can’t live class values that underlie their rule, underscoring the Sanders in 2016, defeated 10-time incumbent Joseph on, there is a pressing need for labor to lead a fight for need for the working class to overthrow and replace Crowley, who was considered a possible replacement government-guaranteed pensions at union scale. The them with our own government. for House of Representatives Democratic Minority Socialist Workers Party says pensions shouldn’t be For decades the course of the union bureaucracy has tied to the bosses’ profits or the health of any capitalist been to blunt “the fighting potential of the unions,” Jack Leader Nancy Pelosi. industry, but cover all workers and farmers. Barnes, national secretary of the Socialist Workers Crowley is not a conservative Democrat. He was For the employing class it’s a problem that workers Party, explains in The Changing Face of U.S. Politics; backed by the AFL-CIO. But Ocasio-Cortez por- live long after we’re deemed fit enough to sell our labor Working-Class Politics and the Trade Unions. “Good trayed him as beholden to corporate money and be- power. Alongside their drive to hold down wages and times made it possible for workers to win modest but ing out of touch with a district that has become more intensify work, the bosses seek ways to shift the cost real wage increases and ‘fringe benefits’ without in- Black, Latino and immigrant over the years. of looking after the young, sick or elderly onto workers creasing conflicts with employers.” The officials, he The party “establishment” was shocked, including and our families. They oppose the government pick- says “ignored the needs of unorganized workers ... as many liberals who backed Hillary Clinton for presi- ing up the tab, since that means taxes on their profits. well as the political fight for health care and other so- dent. They argue that Donald Trump must be stopped Social Security dwindles as costs for things workers cial programs for the entire working class.” at all costs and that the way to do it is to put forward need rise. But working people’s labor produces all the It will take a powerful working-class-led social “centrist” candidates. To them, anyone who calls wealth, far more than enough to provide child care, struggle to win government-funded pensions that themselves a socialist hurts their chances of winning. education, health care, housing and retirement for all. cover our needs and are available for all. Such a battle Others in the party, like Maxine Waters, say, “We Under capitalism human potential is wasted. The can help forge the class solidarity and unity working can’t wait” and urge mob harassment of Trump of- capacities of millions of workers to do something use- people need and undercut the dog-eat-dog competi- ficials, threatening free speech and freedom of as- ful — including those who are retired or those the tion fostered by the capitalist system, which pits young sociation. rulers classify as “discouraged workers” — are dis- against old, as it pits native born against foreign born. The Sanders’ wing of the party says Trump won the 2016 election by talking about the crisis facing work- ing people and falsely claiming he was on their side. Sanders says moves to impeach Trump today are “pre- mature.” He focuses on calling for campaign “reform” Liberals’ furor fuels voice of the ‘war party’ to prevent the influence of “big corporate” money, and Continued from front page several other countries in the 1960s. It plotted assassi- organizing to take over the party, even if that means President Vladimir Putin addressed key world nations and supported brutal anti-Communist govern- selecting candidates he says might lose elections. questions. Trump told the press that they agreed on ments in Latin America, Africa and Asia.” Ocasio-Cortez barely mentioned Trump during her efforts to press for steps to denuclearize the Korean The Socialist Workers Party has decades of experi- campaign. And when asked what she means by demo- Peninsula. The day before the summit the administra- ence with FBI spying, wiretaps, “dirty tricks” and its cratic socialism she offered the platitude that “no per- tion resumed negotiations with the North Korean gov- Cointelpro disruption program. As do unionists, anti- son in America should be too poor to live.” ernment to search for remains of U.S. soldiers killed war fighters, Black rights protesters and other oppo- The first plank of Ocasio-Cortez’s program is during the 1950-53 Korean War. Pyongyang is push- nents of the U.S. rulers. “Medicare for All,” a demand for health insurance, ing Washington for a joint declaration to end that war. But for the “resistance,” those who attack Trump not health care. Like other kindred candidates she Both Putin and Trump said they would try to work are heroes, like Brennan and former FBI heads Rob- championed the slogan of “Abolish ICE” (Immigra- for cooperation in Syria. Trump said he stressed the ert Mueller — special prosecutor appointed to run the tion and Customs Enforcement) and she sent out at importance of putting pressure on Tehran to pull its witch hunt against Trump — and James Comey, who least one tweet denouncing what she called the “geno- forces back from there. tried to win the 2016 election for Hillary Clinton and cidal” policy of Israel toward Hamas-inspired protest- But none of this got any coverage in the liberal press. now calls for everyone to vote Democrat in 2018. ers in Gaza. Instead, Trump was attacked for not trying to focus None of these liberal scribes can acknowledge that the meeting on demands that Putin take responsibility it wasn’t “Russian interference” but the anger of tens Trying to save the Democrats for meddling in the 2016 election. “Donald Trump’s of millions of working people in the U.S. — deter- In an interview with Jacobin, the magazine of a press conference performance in Helsinki rises to and mined to find a way to say “no” to the impact of the wing of the DSA, Ocasio-Cortez said that before the exceeds the threshold of ‘high crimes and misdemean- capitalist crisis on their lives and to “drain the swamp” election her campaign focused on unaffiliated voters ors,’” former CIA Director John Brennan said July 16. of capitalist politicians — that led to Trump’s election. who she told “the only way we can win this election is The day before the summit, liberal New York Times They increasingly write about the danger of Trump’s if folks like you decide to register as a Democrat so we pundit Charles Blow wrote a column titled “Trump, “base.” They argue about different ways to limit the can count on your vote next year.” Treasonous Traitor,” saying the U.S. president was influence of angry workers on U.S. politics, to chip That was the “hardest canvassing of the entire “committing an unbelievable and unforgivable crime away at political rights working people have won. campaign,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “That was the most against this country.” The editors of the Washington Trump is a real estate magnate seeking to rule in slammed doors I got. And I said, ‘Listen, I get it. I get Post accused him of “openly colluding with the crimi- the interests of the U.S. ruling class against the work- why you don’t want to be a Democrat.’” nal leader of a hostile power.” ing class here and around the world. But he believes At a time when more and more working people For the liberal press, Trump casting doubt on U.S. the policies, outlook and wars pushed by the last few are disillusioned with both capitalist parties, Ocasio- spy agencies is verboten, proof of foreign control of administrations have weakened the U.S. rulers. On Cortez tries to draw them back into the Democratic the U.S. government. But the FBI and CIA are the July 15 his administration proposed direct talks with fold. She offers a course that is the opposite of what deadly enemies of the working class, at home and the Taliban in Afghanistan, which has been fighting working people need, relying on our own strength and abroad. They spy, lie, disrupt and kill. to overturn the government there since the U.S.-led fighting together to defend our class interests. Even the Times has had to admit U.S. spooks do bad imperialist invasion of that country ousted them from Instead, she lays out the goal of the Sanders’ wing things. A “news analysis” column in February titled power. The 17-year war there continues to have a dev- of the party, getting other, younger, fresher “socialist” “Russia Isn’t the Only One Meddling in Elections. We astating impact on the toiling population. and “progressive” candidates elected to take over and Do It, Too,” quotes Loch Johnson, who they call “the Before Helsinki, President Trump worked to ad- rebuild the Democratic Party. dean of American intelligence scholars.” Referring to vance the U.S. rulers’ interests against Washington’s More mainstream party officials downplayed the Washington’s spy agencies, he said, “We’ve been do- competitors in the NATO military alliance at its Brus- District 14 upset. “Let’s not get yourself carried away,” ing this kind of thing since the C.I.A was created in sels summit. Trump described NATO — which has Pelosi told the press. “They made the choice in one 1947. We’ve used posters, pamphlets, mailers, banners been a key structure in the U.S. rulers’ domination district.” The left is in nirvana over the Ocasio-Cortez — you name it.” He added, “We’ve used what the Brit- over the world capitalist order for decades — as “ob- victory. The DSA called the vote an “earthquake.” The ish call ‘King George’s cavalry’: suitcases of cash.” solete” shortly after his 2016 election. He has steadily International Socialist Organization called it “a stun- The article’s author, Scott Shane, tells more: “The upped pressure on the rulers of other countries in the ning upset.” C.I.A. helped overthrow elected leaders in Iran and alliance to increase their military outlay since then. But Ocasio-Cortez won the primary with just Guatemala in the 1950s and backed violent coups in While U.S. world power is in decline, he has high- 15,897 votes in a district of 700,000 people of whom lighted the much sharper declining weight of the 214,750 are registered Democrats. Some earthquake! French, German and U.K. rulers, and their utter The Republican Party is also in crisis as pro-Trump For recognition dependence on Washington’s armed might. He and anti-Trump forces jockey for position. Anti-Trump of a Palestinian lambasted the German government during the get- Republican “strategist” Alex Castellanos calls the Re- state and of Israel together and got increased spending commitments publicans a “broken party.” Trump has risen because from it by the meeting’s end. “a broad slice of working-class voters fear the Ameri- • For repeal of U.S. This too brought howls from the liberals, who can dream has become the American game,” he wrote Jerusalem Embassy Act claimed he was dissing “our allies.” in Politico magazine. • For workers’ solidarity in Israel, Palestine, the world over These developments reflect far-reaching The truth is that the crisis in both parties will Socialist Workers Party statement changes in the institutions and relations that continue because no wing of the capitalist class has Download ready to print flyer at www.themilitant.com have marked U.S. dominance since its victory in — or can have — a solution to the unfolding crisis the second imperialist world war. of their system today.

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