AUSTRALIA $1.50 · canada $1.50 · france 1.00 euro · new zealand $1.50 · uk £.50 · u.s. $1.00 One hundred years ‘on the right side of history’ —Socialist Workers Party Conference — PAGE 6-7 A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE vol. 83/no. 25 July 15, 2019 Join ‘Militant’ UN committee Liberals’ Green New Deal in fight against backs Puerto is trap for working class censorship in Rico fight for Modeled on Roosevelt’s WWII attacks on unions Florida prisons independence by seth galinsky BY MARTÍN KOPPEL The Florida prison system’s Litera- UNITED NATIONS — This year’s ture Review Committee upheld the U.N. decolonization hearings on the sta- ban on four more issues of the Mili- tus of Puerto Rico June 24 reflected the tant June 20, despite the fact it hadn’t growing anger at Washington and the yet received the paper’s appeal of the colonial government among millions of impoundments. They had previously Puerto Ricans on the island and in the agreed to extend the deadline for the U.S. over the crisis in jobs, health care, appeal to June 28. In response to the housing and other vital necessities. That Militant’s protest, they claim they can social and economic catastrophe con- still give “full and de novo review and tinues to worsen nearly two years after Above, June 1943 Militant re- consideration” to the appeal. Hurricane Maria ravaged the island. ports on miners’ strike during World War II. Left, January 1944 The committee did not even inform The U.N. committee approved a paper reports on Pres. Franklin the Militant of its rulings. Instead, the resolution, sponsored by Cuba’s revo- D. Roosevelt’s New Deal push for Militant learned about the commit- lutionary government, backing the labor conscription, echoed in lib- tee’s decisions to uphold the bans on Puerto Rican people’s right to self-de- erals’ “Green New Deal.” Photo issues nos. 19, 20, 22 and 23 from the termination and independence. Some shows SWP, Teamster leaders on way to prison for leading labor paper’s subscribers behind bars. The 50 people testified, all but a handful opposition to FDR’s war drive. status of the ban on no. 18 is unclear. arguing in favor of independence for The Militant’s attorney, David the Caribbean nation, which has been She says, “We are facing a national Goldstein, sent in the socialist news- under Washington’s boot since U.S. by terry evans crisis,” a catastrophe from fossil fuels weekly’s appeal as planned. The num- troops invaded in 1898. One feature of capitalist politics in and “climate change,” that requires a ber of bans by local prison wardens Speakers universally condemned the U.S. is the entry of a layer of self- massive strengthening of the capitalist upheld by the committee now stands the U.S.-appointed Financial Over- proclaimed socialists — like Alexandria state to address it. And, she adds, the at five of the last nine issues. sight and Management Board, im- Ocasio-Cortez — who see their mission massive mobilization it would mount Continued on page 9 Continued on page 4 to rebrand the Democratic Party to bet- would create jobs. ter ensnarl workers and to reform and But for working people the main ques- defend capitalist rule while “helping” tion about the plan is not the “green” the working class. description in its title, but its model SWP candidates step up campaigning, Millions of workers today are look- Continued on page 4 ing for something different, as they demand ‘US rulers’ hands off Iran!’ face an economic and social crisis re- sulting from the punishing impact of G-20 summit the pro-imperialist, pro-war and pro- business policies of both parties that reveals ‘liberal have boosted profits. Ocasio-Cortez promotes a “Green New Deal,” backed by many of the world order’ is Democrats running for president, as the central vehicle to accomplish this. coming apart by Roy Landersen The Group of 20 annual summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28-29 drew Railroad workers government leaders from the U.S., Germany, Japan, China, Russia, all need to fight for the main imperialist and other large capitalist countries. It reflected the workers control deep competition over trade between Left, UE; right, Miitant/Hilda Cuzco Continued on page 9 Left, SWP candidate for Pittsburgh City Council Malcolm Jarrett joins Wabtec workers picket over trains, safety May 17. Alyson Kennedy, at right, campaigns BY JOE SWANSON door to door in West Dallas in 2018. Two SWP LINCOLN, Neb. — A Union Pa- Inside campaigners will travel, speak across country. cific freight train containing cars car- Iran book fair: Embargo hits by janet post visit different areas to join in cam- rying military munitions, including pocket cash, not political interest 2 Socialist Workers Party candidates paigning on workers’ doorsteps, at lo- hand grenades, bombs and highly vol- and their supporters across the coun- cal union strike picket lines, march in atile ammonium nitrate, commonly Socialist Workers Party try are stepping up efforts to introduce social protests, talk to the press and 2019 campaign program 3 the party, its working-class program speak together at public meetings. Oberlin says its smears of bakery and activities to workers and youth “Everywhere we go we’ll discuss as i see it were just ‘students free speech’ 8 coming out of the party-sponsored why working people need to speak 2019 International Active Workers out against the U.S. rulers’ war threats used in explosives, from Nebraska to Join SWP campaign on Conference held June 13-15. against Iran, Venezuela and Cuba,” the U.S. Army Depot in Nevada, de- ‘the right side of history’ 9 To strengthen the party’s cam- Jarrett said. Party candidates across railed June 19 as it traveled alongside paigns, Alyson Kennedy, its 2016 the country have recently been par- US Interstate 80 near Elko. While –On the picket line, p. 5– presidential candidate and 2019 can- ticipating in demonstrations calling none of the cars carrying munitions didate for mayor of Dallas, and Mal- for “U.S. hands off Iran!” and “End hit the ground, the crash did release Calif. Fresh Express workers colm Jarrett, the SWP candidate this the sanctions!” aluminum oxide, a skin irritant. Sixty walk out, win wage raise year for Pittsburgh City Council, will Continued on page 3 Continued on page 5 Iran book fair: US embargo hits pocket cash, not political interest BY TONY HUNT Kingdom, which has participated since TEHRAN, Iran — The 32nd Teh- 1992, sold more than 300 titles by rev- ran International Book Fair took place olutionary working-class leaders. Its at the large Mosalla mosque complex best-seller was Are They Rich Because here April 24-May 4. Hundreds of They’re Smart? Class, Privilege, and thousands from around the country Learning Under Capitalism by Jack attended amid rising U.S. imperialist Barnes, national secretary of the So- military threats, economic sanctions cialist Workers Party in the U.S., with and a declining currency, which are 61 copies sold. Tribunes of the People squeezing living standards of working and the Trade Unions, with an intro- people and the middle classes. duction by Barnes, and In Defense of The largest section housed some the US Working Class by SWP leader 2,400 Iranian publishers of Farsi ti- Mary-Alice Waters were the newest tles. The international section, with titles on its shelves. around 800 publishers, displayed Fifty-three Pathfinder titles translat- M. Hossein Movahedinejad books in Arabic and English as well ed into Farsi, Iran’s most widely used Some 3,200 publishers participated in Tehran book fair, attracting hundreds of thousands from across Iran. Over 300 books by revolutionary working-class leaders were sold at Pathfinder as other languages. This year’s coun- language, were on display by Talaye booth. Talaye Porsoo, which displayed 53 Pathfinder titles in Farsi, sold over 700 books. try of honor was China. Porsoo publishers, which sold over 700 Pathfinder Books from the United books. Top sellers included The Com- and Pathfinder booths. ism. Many asked if it was “legal” to sell munist Manifesto by Karl Marx and “I wish I could buy all these books,” these kinds of books in the U.S. and Frederick Engels (104 copies) and Are said a student after browsing the Path- U.K. Volunteers at the booth responded They Rich Because They’re Smart? (59 finder shelves, “but I have to watch my by showing them photos in books of copies). Talaye Porsoo also featured pocket.” She left with Che Guevara such titles being sold on the streets or at two other books by Barnes: The Clin- and the Fight for Socialism Today, one workers’ doorsteps. tons’ Anti-Working-Class Record and of several titles on the Cuban Revolu- The world capitalist crisis, and by Malcolm X, Black Liberation, and the tion sold here. A young woman from a early May the nearly three-quarters Road to Workers Power. rural area in north Iran bought Is Biol- fall of the rial, the local currency, A new title, Talaye Porsoo’s transla- ogy Woman’s Destiny? by Reed, Is So- have made a big dent in the budgets tion of In Defense of the US Working cialist Revolution in the US Possible? of most Iranians, including fairgoers, Class, was launched at a book-fair event by Waters, and Origins of the Fam- since Washington reimposed sanc- hosted by the Association of Women ily, Private Property, and the State by tions last year. One student came to $5 Publishers. Other Iranian publishers dis- Engels. She said she’d been unable to the Pathfinder stand carrying a bag playing Farsi translations of Pathfinder pursue postgraduate studies abroad of books he’d bought with the “Bon” The Communist Manifesto explains titles included Golazin, which publishes “because of the sanctions.” card, a government subsidy for stu- why communism is the line of march Problems of Women’s Liberation and Several visitors to the fair said they dents. “Last year,” he said, “I was able of the working class toward power, Woman’s Evolution, both by Evelyn were interested in socialism or Marx- to fill up three bags.” “springing from an existing class strug- Reed, as well as Cosmetics, Fashions, gle, a historical movement going on and the Exploitation of Women by Reed, under our very eyes.” Waters, and Joseph Hansen. Titles on Campaign with the the fight for women’s emancipation www.pathfinderpress.com were popular at both the Talaye Porsoo Socialist Workers Party candidates! California New Jersey Dennis Richter, Los Angeles City Council Lea Sherman, State Assembly Joel Britton, Mayor of San Francisco Candace Wagner, State Assembly Florida New York Anthony Dutrow, Miami City Commission Seth Galinsky, New York City Public Advocate Ved Dookhun, Mayor of Troy Georgia Lawrence Quinn, Troy City Council Rachele Fruit, Atlanta School Board Pennsylvania Mass protests in Hong Kong block hated law Kentucky Osborne Hart, Mayor of Philadelphia Amy Husk, Governor John Staggs, Philadelphia City Council Two million people jammed Samir Hazboun, Lieutenant Governor Malcolm Jarrett, Pittsburgh City Council Hong Kong’s streets June 16 Minnesota Washington forcing the government, and David Rosenfeld, St. Paul City Council Henry Clay Dennison, Seattle City Council the rulers in Beijing, to back See directory on page 8 to contact party campaign office nearest you. down from pushing through an extradition bill. The ‘Mil- Latin America, Caribbean: For one year send itant’ covers struggles by The Militant $85 drawn on a U.S. bank to above address. Vol. 83/No. 25 Africa, Asia, and the Middle East: For workers, students in China one year send $85 drawn on a U.S. bank to Reuters/Thomas Peter Closing news date: July 3, 2019 above address. and growing rivalry between Mass demonstrations in Hong Kong in June forced government to drop extradition bill. Editor: John Studer Canada: For one year send Canadian $45 Beijing and Washington. to the Militant, 7107 St. Denis #204, Mon- Editorial volunteers: Róger Calero, Terry treal, Quebec H2S 2S5. Evans, Seth Galinsky, Emma Johnson, Mar- tín Koppel, Roy Landersen, Jacob Perasso, United Kingdom: Send £26 for one year Brian Williams. by check or international money order SUBSCRIBE TODAY! made out to CL London, 5 Norman Road Published weekly except for one week in (first floor), Seven Sisters, London, N15 January, one week in June, one week in 4ND, England. 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2 The Militant July 15, 2019 SWP steps up campaigning Continued from front page in Union City July 6. “We’ll be explaining the need for Rachele Fruit launched her cam- working people to break from the paign as SWP candidate for the At- Democrats and Republicans, the two lanta Board of Education at a Militant parties that represent the interests of Labor Forum June 28. Two days ear- the ruling rich and their political sys- lier she joined an action called by the tem,” Kennedy told the Militant. Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition At the Statehouse in Trenton, New demanding, “U.S. hands off Iran!” and Jersey, Lea Sherman and Candace Wag- “End U.S. sanctions now!” ner, SWP candidates for New Jersey There she met Thomas Proenza, a General Assembly, joined a rally June former graduate student and member 27 demanding driver’s licenses for un- of Democratic Socialists of America. documented immigrants, sponsored by He said he wanted to donate to the the immigrant rights group Cosecha. campaign, bought a subscription to the “Winning licenses serves to unite us. Militant and got a copy of the Militant And it puts us in a stronger position to supplement “Revolution, Counterrevo- fight for amnesty for the 11 million im- lution and War in Iran.” It describes the migrants without papers so we can orga- working-class-led protests that swept nize and rebuild a fighting union move- 90 cities and towns across Iran early Militant/Candace Wagner ment,” Wagner, a union rail worker, told Lea Sherman, SWP candidate for New Jersey General Assembly, and Francisco Molina with last year and presents the stakes for the driver’s license placard at protest for licenses for immigrants in Trenton, New Jersey, June 27. fellow protesters. working class in the wars and upheavals The same day members of the Com- sweeping the region today. Rich Because They’re Smart? by SWP munications Workers of America who Fruit and supporters campaigned National Secretary Jack Barnes and In The two socialist campaigners will gathered at the Statehouse to lobby door to door in Calhoun, an industrial Defense of the US Working Class by join supporters in Pittsburgh July 19-21. government officials invited Cosecha town north of Atlanta June 22, where SWP leader Mary-Alice Waters. In addition to campaigning in the region members to speak on the fight for li- she met Moraima Thomas and her hus- and speaking at a public event, they will censes. “We’ll continue to fight until band, Hector Ramirez, a truck driver Join the SWP campaign help gather the final dozens of signa- we win licenses for everyone,” Norma from the Dominican Republic. When Kennedy and Jarrett will kick off tures to put Jarrett on the ballot. Morales told some 100 people from Fruit explained that the Cuban Revo- their national campaign trips in Lou- The 2020 presidential election is both organizations. “We’re standing lution made health care a human right isville, Kentucky, July 12-14. They well underway, with Joe Biden trend- united, without papers and without and not a commodity available only will join Amy Husk and Samir Haz- ing down and others rising as the over fear,” added Caritina Hernandez. They to those with enough money to pay, boun, SWP candidates for governor 20 Democrats jostling to represent the got enthusiastic applause. Thomas said, “I can tell you from per- and lieutenant governor in that state, party against Donald Trump held their Sherman and Wagner will join sonal experience that’s not how it is in campaigning in eastern Kentucky coal first debate. All of them — and Trump Seth Galinsky, SWP candidate for the Dominican Republic.” country, in Louisville and in southern — claim they’re the best candidate to New York City public advocate, at a They subscribed to the Militant and Indiana. Supporters of the campaign shore up and defend capitalist rule. campaign program at the opening of bought three books, Is Socialist Revolu- are organizing both a public meeting “Workers need an alternative, a the new SWP hall at 3600 Bergenline tion in the US Possible? and Are They and a barbecue for July 13. fighting perspective and party of our own,” Kennedy said. A socialist and trade union fighter for more than 40 years, Kennedy is a member of the Socialist Workers Party 2019 campaign program SWP National Committee. She was The Socialist Workers Party’s to unrestricted access to family plan- part of the first wave of women who fighting program to confront the ning services, including the right to safe, weapon in the hands of the rulers. got jobs as underground coal miners, economic, social and moral crisis secure abortions. FARMERS — WORKERS AL- helping break decades of discrimina- caused by capitalism: ISRAEL & PALESTINE For the LIES ON THE LAND To put a tion and to strengthen working-class UNIONS Support workers’ struggles recognition of Israel and of a contiguous halt to farm foreclosures, bankrupt- solidarity. Today she is a retail worker to organize and strengthen unions, to Palestinian state. For the right of Jews to cies and skyrocketing rural debt, we at Walmart in Dallas. use union power to defend ourselves return to Israel as a refuge in the face demand nationalization of the land. Jarrett, who works as a cook in Pitts- and all working people. One union for of capitalist crisis, Jew-hatred, and mur- This puts the soil at the service of the burgh, has been building the party there, all drivers — taxi, rideshare and car derous violence. farmers who till it, as opposed to con- walking the picket line with members trol by the banks and landlords. We of the United Electrical Workers union service drivers! Support farmworkers LAND AND LABOR Capitalism’s demand the government guarantee during their strike against Wabtec in in their fight to organize unions and for profit drive is the despoiler of nature farmers their costs of production, in- Erie, Pennsylvania, earlier this year. safe working conditions. and cause of unsafe working condi- cluding their living expenses. “Working people know they can AMNESTY FOR ALL UNDOCU- tions. Workers and our unions must bring fights like this to the attention of MENTED IMMIGRANTS in the US, fight for workers control over produc- Working people must organize and our campaign, and together we can get a life-and-death question for the unions tion and safety in the factories, mines, to unite workers and cut across divisions act independent of the ruling capital- the word out and help win solidarity,” railroads and all energy monopolies to said Jarrett. the bosses use to drive down wages. For ists and break from their political par- protect those on the job and in nearby Join the SWP campaigning! For more access to driver’s licenses for all. ties — the Democrats and Republicans. communities, and to control emissions A movement of millions can be built to information about the candidates in your of CO and other greenhouse gases JOBS Fight for a federal govern- 2 fight for these demands along a course area, and future trips by Kennedy and ment-financed public works program and prevent the poisoning of the air, to replace the rule of the exploitative Jarrett, see the directory on page 8. to put millions to work at union-scale water and soil. Workers control over capitalist class with a workers and wages building roads, bridges, hospi- production to prevent disasters like farmers government. Janice Lynn from Atlanta and Lea tals, child care centers, mass transpor- the Boeing 737 MAX. Join the Socialist Workers Party Sherman from New Jersey contrib- tation and quality affordable housing “JUSTICE” SYSTEM Fight against campaign! uted to this article. workers need. Set the minimum wage police brutality, racist discrimination to allow workers to have a home and and the entire capitalist injustice sys- support a family. tem with its frame-ups, “plea bargains,” OPPOSE WASHINGTON’S onerous bail, and outrageous prison Recommended reading ... WARS US hands off Iran, Venezuela, sentences, all of which disproportion- “The purpose of education in class society is not to educate. The and Cuba. US troops out of Afghani- ately hit workers who are Black. For purpose of education is to give ‘the educated’ a stake in thinking they stan, Korea, the Middle East. End US are going to be different — better off, more ‘white collar’ — than oth- the right to vote for ex-prisoners and all er people who work all their lives. It is not education. It is confusion colonial rule in Puerto Rico. workers behind bars. and corruption.” —Jack Barnes, Are They Rich Because They’re Smart? CUBA — AN EXAMPLE End DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS Defend the embargo against Cuba; US out of democratic rights — the right to vote, Guantánamo. The Cuban Revolution in to free speech and assembly, and to 1959 showed it is possible for workers bear arms, under attack from Demo- and farmers to transform themselves in crats and Republicans alike. Stop FBI struggle, to take political power and up- and other government spying, harass- root capitalist exploitation. ment and disruption. HEALTH CARE FOR ALL PRISONER RIGHTS End soli- Fight for universal, government- tary confinement. End censorship of $10 $10 $10 guaranteed health care and retire- the Militant, books and newspapers ment income for all. by prison authorities. Abolish the www.pathfinderpress.com ABORTION Defend women’s right death penalty, an anti-working-class

The Militant July 15, 2019 3 ‘Green New Deal’ is trap for workers Continued from front page enact a compulsory labor conscription nage from the crisis — former President Franklin Delano bill (a “national service plan,” he gen- of capital today. The Roosevelt’s New Deal, which subor- teelly called it). meritocrats propos- dinated workers’ interests to “national “A national service law — which for ing it see working unity” in order to turn all the country’s the duration of the war, will prevent people as needing resources to the victory of U.S. capital in strikes,” Roosevelt said, “and, with ap- their help to “do the the second imperialist world war. propriate exceptions, will make avail- right thing.” Ocasio-Cortez churns out stories of able for war production or any other es- Like Roosevelt’s Roosevelt, the New Deal and World War sential service every able-bodied adult New Deal, Ocasio- II as the high watermark of U.S. capitalist in this nation.” Cortez and other rule. It’s a lie. The truth can be found in The “exceptions” were intended for Democrats today the pages of the Militant for those years, his class and their enablers. view workers and from the Northwest Organizer, the pa- Ocasio-Cortez sugarcoats the U.S. farmers as the ob- per of the militant SWP-led Teamsters rulers’ anti-labor imperialist war po- jects of govern- union in Minnesota, and in books like lices. The Green New Deal states that ment policies to Labor’s Giant Step by Art Preis. Roosevelt’s war moves “created the be administered, Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal demands an greatest middle class that the United rather than people “economic mobilization on a scale not States has ever seen.” who are not only seen since World War II and the New The plan’s authors cite Washington’s capable of fighting massive war expenditures today, and to change the con- Deal,” which was preparation for the Socialist Appeal/Carlo (Jesse Cohen) imperialist war. While Roosevelt and bailouts extended to banks “too big to ditions the bosses Cartoon in Socialist Appeal, precursor of Militant, graphically shows how his backers said their aim was to “fight fail” in 2008, as examples of how the and their govern- Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal developed into the war deal as U.S. rulers fascism,” in fact the rulers’ goal was for funds for the Green New Deal can be ments impose on headed into second imperialist world war, fought for imperialist dominance. Washington to replace both its allies and raised, “[T]he same way we paid for us, but to transform darity and serve our interaction with enemies as top imperialist dog world- World War II and all our current wars.” themselves through that fight to take and protection of the natural sources wide, the better to allow U.S. bankers Their praise for the U.S. rulers’ vic- political power. of all well-being and culture,” explains and bosses to reap superprofits. And to tory in the second imperialist war to The capitalist rulers are incapable the SWP resolution “The Stewardship accomplish this, Roosevelt planned to divide up the world for exploitation ig- of finding a way to reverse the- cri of Nature Also Falls to the Working strangle the labor movement. nores the crimes inflicted on millions sis of their system today. Democrats Class: In Defense of Land and Labor,” “When FDR called on America to of people by the U.S. war machine, in- present a false account of the New published in New International no. 14. build 185,000 planes to fight World cluding the systematic firebombing of Deal to convince working people that “What more powerful reason for work- War 2, every business leader, CEO, civilians in German and Japanese cit- something can be done to lessen the ers, farmers and youth to commit their and general laughed at him,” the “talk- ies and the nuclear bombs dropped on abuses we face by better “managing” lives and futures to advancing the his- ing points” for the Green New Deal Hiroshima and Nagasaki. the capitalist economy. toric line of march of the international Ocasio-Cortez released says. “At the But it is only by relying on work- working class.” time, the U.S. had produced 3,000 Do we need a bigger government? ers own capacities to struggle together planes in the last year. By the end of The Green New Deal scheme is against those who exploit us — the same the war, we produced 300,000 planes. aimed at strengthening and expanding bosses who degrade both labor and the Subscribe, That’s what we are capable of if we the capitalist state, building in more environment — that working people can contribute to the have real leadership.” weapons to defend capitalist rule. It con- chart a course forward. But “we” did no such thing. There is tains a series of reforms and concessions Replacing capitalist rule with work- ‘Militant’ online at no “we” — like all capitalist countries, to make life more palatable for workers ers power can make possible “social themilitant.com the U.S. is class divided, and govern- and family farmers who face the car- relations that are based on human soli- ment policies aim to advance the inter- ests of the ruling families and make the working people pay. UN committee backs independence for Puerto Rico Roosevelt’s labor conscription bill Continued from front page debt! All of it!” Seth Galinsky, Socialist closed after the hurricane and there isn’t posed on Puerto Rico by Washington Workers Party candidate for New York even a maternity ward on the island. Without explaining it, Ocasio-Cortez in 2016 through a law cynically named City public advocate, told the panel. He Several speakers spoke about the points to what the Democrats’ New PROMESA (Spanish for “promise”). said that “a successful struggle for Puer- tens of thousands who have migrated Deal had in store for the working class The board has ordered colonial au- to Rico’s independence will strengthen from Puerto Rico to the U.S. as a result and their unions. She says her proposals thorities to carry out attack after at- working people in the U.S. in the fight of the economic catastrophe. Some ar- “build on FDR’s second bill of rights.” tack on the living standards of work- against our common exploiters.” gued that the migration was a result of That was in Roosevelt’s 1944 State ing people in order to pay the Puerto Galinsky pointed to Cuba’s socialist a deliberate U.S. government policy to of the Union address, which came Rican government’s $74 billion debt revolution as an example that working depopulate Puerto Rico. But in fact it’s on the heels of the 1943 United Mine to capitalist bondholders. people are capable of organizing a revo- the normal workings of capitalism and Workers strike — called in defiance of “The fiscal control board’s decisions lutionary struggle to take state power, to the superexploitation of working people the federal no-strike “pledge” — and the have meant brutal consequences for the establish a workers and farmers govern- there, exacerbated by U.S. colonial rule. Democratic administration’s unsuccess- people of Puerto Rico, especially the ment, and in the process win real inde- Despite efforts by the capitalist rul- ful effort to defeat the miners. In that working class,” said Lorraine Liriano pendence. (Galinsky’s statement was ers and the big-business media to por- speech, Roosevelt demanded Congress of A Call to Action on Puerto Rico, a printed in last week’s Militant.) tray the Puerto Rican people as help- pro-independence coalition in the U.S. less victims, it was working people She cited “the closure of more than 400 2017 hurricane ‘recovery’ stalled who came together to help each other militant public schools, cuts in the University of Several petitioners described the so- and began to rebuild in the wake of the Puerto Rico’s budget, slashing pensions cial disaster that was accelerated by the hurricane destruction, and of the U.S. labor of retired municipal workers, sale of September 2017 hurricane. They con- and Puerto Rican capitalists’ criminal public lands, the proposal to lower the demned the neglect and contempt for inaction and contempt. forums minimum wage of youth under 26 to working people by U.S. and colonial au- Walter Alomar from the Organization New Jersey $4.25 an hour.” thorities, which resulted in the death of for Culture of Hispanic Origins reported Union City The board has virtually dictatorial some 3,000 people. that he recently visited 15 of the closed The Socialist Workers Party 2019 New powers, said María de Lourdes San- Today, “recovery and reconstruction schools in Puerto Rico. “Every aban- Jersey Campaign. Speakers: Lea Sher- tiago, vice president of the Puerto Rican efforts remain stalled,” reported Nina doned school was guarded and cared man and Candace Wagner, SWP candi- dates for New Jersey General Assembly; Independence Party. “It decides on what Valedón. Some 30,000 Puerto Ricans for by the people of the community,” he Seth Galinsky, SWP candidate for New laws will be enforced; it draws up and still live in homes covered with tarps said, in the face of government neglect. York City Public Advocate. Sat., July 6. imposes the public budget” to prioritize designed to last only a month because “It wasn’t thanks to FEMA or fed- Reception, 7 p.m.; program, 7:30 p.m. Do- nation: $5. 3600 Bergenline, suite 205B, paying the bondholders. Santiago added the federal government has not released eral funds,” said Wilma Reverón of the 2nd floor. Tel.: (551) 257-5753. that Washington tries to disguise Puer- the funds needed to repair roofs torn Hostos National Independence Move- to Rico’s colonial status with the term off by the hurricane, she said, not to ment. “Much of what is being restored “commonwealth” or “free associated mention those they say aren’t eligible. now in Puerto Rico — agriculture, calendar state,” but it’s the U.S. government that Valedón belongs to Alianza Patria, roofs, bridges, and roads — has mostly decides all important matters affecting which backs the pro-Commonwealth been the product of the work by com- canada working people there. Popular Democratic Party. munities, by the hands of Puerto Rican Montreal Celebrate the Political Life of Joyce “Our debts are not ours, but those of Two residents of the Puerto Rican men and women. Meissenheimer. Sat., July 20. Reception, the imperial power,” said Juan de Dios island of Vieques, Myrna Pagán of the “We are showing that we don’t need 2 p.m.; program, 3 p.m. Centre St. Pierre, del Valle, speaking for Jornada por la Bieké Cultural Center and Michael masters. We need solidarity,” Reverón room 203 — Roger-Poirer. 1212 Panet. Tel.: (514) 272-5840. Dignidad Boricua. Connelly Reyes of Vieques Lives Mat- said. “We need freedom in order to “We join with others to say: Cancel the ter, testified that the local hospital was build our country.”

4 The Militant July 15, 2019 Fight for workers control Continued from front page reported, “since this spring BNSF Rail- miles of the interstate was shut down way is regularly running 250 plus car for over an hour. coal and grain trains in and out of the “We were very fortunate today,” Lt. Lincoln terminal, a major crew chang- Kevin McKinney of the Elko County ing point on the system.” Sheriff’s Office said. In 2004 a train New budget decisions by rail bosses carrying ammonium nitrate exploded in have targeted training, cutting the length North Korea, killing at least 54 people of their schools for new hires. In fact it and injuring over 1,000. takes three to four years to acquire expe- The near-disaster made many work- rience working in the many area switch- ers think of the July 2013 derailment and yards, road jobs and where to “spot” rail explosion of a 72-car oil train in Lac- cars at local industries. Rail workers Mégantic in Quebec, killing 47 people know that the bosses book of “rules” is and levelling the center of the town. pulled out whenever there is any kind of There has been an increase in derail- accident to scapegoat the workers. ments, other “accidents,” and injuries and deaths of rail workers on North Fight for workers control Gerry Putz American railroads as the bosses push Our union needs to fight for work- Coal train near Powder River Basin area of northeast Wyoming. BNSF bosses recently began for more work assignments at a faster ers control of railroad training and op- running dangerously extra-long coal trains from Wyoming mines to Wisconsin. SWP program calls for trains with no more than 50 cars and crew of four, two on each end of the train. pace with less crew under anti-work- erations, to fight for safe conditions and er operating schemes like “precision protect its members, and to extend that road to win a larger crew size, shorter numbers in action — under the guise of scheduled railroading.” According to protection to those living, working or trains and safe working conditions. Our being “impartial” in its deliberations. the Federal Railroad Administration, driving near the tracks. own experience shows that looking to That’s why workers need to develop there have been 230 train derailments For decades top union officials in the rulers’ political parties and their gov- our ability to fight in our own interest. just through the end of May this year. North America have followed a course ernment is a dead end, and it disarms us. The place to start today is to win our Many conductors and locomotive en- of class collaboration, looking to the One recent example is the May 23 de- unions to a course to fight in the in- gineers see management’s first priority Democrats and Republicans in state and cision by the Federal Railroad Adminis- terests of the whole working class, by is shareholders’ returns as they cease- federal government to pass laws setting tration to withdraw a pending new rule mobilizing union power, the only real lessly grind on workers and equipment a minimum crew size of two workers that would have set a mandatory crew strength we have. to maximize profits and stock value. and other government regulations to size of at least two for freight and pas- More training for new hires is a mod- Workers are looking for ways to fight slow down the bosses’ push for one- or senger trains and to void all state laws est start, but it is a start on the road to us- to defend themselves and those who live no-person operations and automation. and regulations that say the same. Our ing union power in the interest of those along the railroad right of way. “In my Reliance on the legal system and union had spent many hours and money workers on the railroad. experience you can use the union to government regulators not only doesn’t to lobby for the larger crew. But the pur- fight back,” Lance Anton, a BNSF Rail- work, it does not prepare rail workers to pose of the FRA and similar government Joe Swanson is a retired rail worker way conductor and member of SMART- use union power, and to reach out and regulatory bodies is to protect the bosses with 31 years’ experience. He lives in TD Local 0305, told the Militant June win solidarity from other unionists and and minimize the possibility of workers Lincoln, Nebraska, and remains ac- 27. “We recently pushed back the man- the working-class public — the only using the real power of the union — our tive in his union local. agement here when they tried to shorten the training period for new workers. “I support what the Socialist Workers Party raises in their program,” Anton Calif. Fresh Express workers walk out, win wage raise said, “for trains with a maximum of 50 by betsey stone The contract covering over 500 seven and a half months and there has cars and a crew of four, two on the head SALINAS, Calif. — Some 200 workers expired at the end of last year. been nothing for us. We have unsafe end and two on the rear of the train. This workers walked off the job here June Workers were demanding a $3 an hour conditions at work. Forklifts for load- is in the interest of all those who work 11 at Fresh Express, a large fruit and wage increase over three years, “no” to ing the product are 10 years old and the rails and working people who live vegetable processing plant, after the the company’s demand to double their don’t have parts.” near railroad tracks.” company abruptly cancelled contract medical insurance costs and that un- Two hours into the strike Fresh Recently rail bosses ran a “test” of negotiations with Local 5 of the United safe conditions be ended. Express managers asked to resume even longer, heavier trains, sending a Food and Commercial Workers union, “If they crucify me for this, it negotiations and agreed to a two-year 278-car coal train from the mines in the set for the next day. doesn’t matter,” striker David Rangel, contract with a $1 an hour yearly wage Powder River Basin in Wyoming to a The workers were advised by union a loader at Fresh Express for 23 years, increase retroactive to January. The power plant in Wisconsin. Over two and officials to go back to work, citing a told the Salinas Californian while union reports that all the workers’ key a half miles in length, it weighed 38,000 no-strike clause included in the exten- striking workers were gathered outside issues were addressed. tons. This is an ominous precedent. sion of their old contract. This was met the plant. “This company has a lot of “Workers outside the plant over- “It is not a ‘test’ anymore,” Anton with a resounding, “No!” money. But we’ve been negotiating for whelmingly approved the deal by a voice vote and returned to the job,” the union statement said. 25, 50, and 75 years ago The Salinas Valley is known for the large quantities of berries and veg- etables grown here. Two years earlier, workers at nearby Taylor Farms, an- other big processing plant, walked out July 11, 1994 July 18, 1969 July 15, 1944 and rapidly won a $1.50 an hour raise BROOKLYN, New York — After The Kremlin-inspired Czech bu- Alarmed by the prospect of post-war and another $1 the following January. less than two days on strike, 2,341 reaucrats are nervous — and with economic chaos which would strain the The initiative came from the workers conductors, car repair workers, and good reason. For the power of the already weakened fabric of capitalist themselves, but once the strike was un- track workers scored a victory in Czechoslovakian people to resist the society to the breaking point, economic derway Teamster union officials joined their contract fight with the Long current clampdown on democratization and financial experts of 45 Allied and with workers to negotiate the pay hike. Island Rail Road. is beginning to demonstrate itself. Associated governments gathered in Joel Britton, Socialist Workers Party The four striking locals of the Following the recent government dis- conference at Bretton Woods, N.H. on candidate for mayor of San Francisco, United Transportation Union forced solution of the Czech student union, the July 1 to discuss plans for currency sta- led a team of supporters to knock on the company to drop work rule chang- metal workers had planned strikes in bilization and related problems. workers’ doors here June 30. Workers es sought by the railroad. The union- solidarity with the students. They were Despite the efforts of the conferees remembered the Taylor Farms strike ists also won an 8.5 percent wage in- persuaded to call off the work stoppages to maintain an atmosphere of amiabil- and told Britton they supported the crease over three years. at the last minute. ity, and to present the conference to Fresh Express walkout. Union members expressed greater Nevertheless, an assembly of elected the world as an example of genuine Jorge, 42, who declined to give confidence in themselves after the settle- trade union delegates met and issued a effort at “international cooperation,” his last name, said he had worked at ment. Jerry Finn, a trainman, said, “I’m declaration containing demands for an the ugly reality of imperialist com- Fresh Express for a few months and glad we stood up to the company. I’m end to government encroachment on petition and rivalry breaks again and now works at another food process- glad that people got to see through the the independent role of the trade unions, again through the brittle crust of po- ing plant. “Sincerely, the equipment at smokescreen that the union was holding termination of censorship of the union lite speech-making. Fresh Express was not in good condi- people hostage through the strike, when press, an end to increases in prices of ne- What is actually going on is an in- tion, it was unsafe.” he said. it is in fact the company has been hold- cessities, opposition to “any suppression tense if muted struggle between British “Safe working conditions and other ing the workers hostage. When we go of our contacts with the union of the stu- and American capitalists for domination gains can only be won when we engage on strike it is the only time we learn that dents,” and protests against bureaucratic of the post-war world — with the British in actions like the Fresh Express work- we’re so vital to the economy.” practices by the national union leaders. losing out to their powerful foes. ers did with their strike,” Britton said. The Militant July 15, 2019 5 Conference celebrates 100 years ‘on the right side of history’ Socialist Workers Party campaigns for independent working-class political action by terry evans and John Studer “We’ll come out of this conference campaigning all across the country,” Jack Barnes, Socialist Workers Party National Secretary, said at the close of the party-sponsored International Ac- tive Workers Conference held in Ober- lin, Ohio, June 13-15. He pointed to opportunities today to use the party’s 2019 and 2020 election campaigns to spread the reach of its program and ac- tivity among working people in cities, towns and rural areas and to recruit new members. Militant photos: left, Carole Lesnick; above,Arthur Hughes Remember, Barnes said, “recruit” Left, participants view some 30 displays depicting work and political lessons of communist is an active verb. It’s something we do, movement. Above, participants snap up books and pamphlets by revolutionary leaders. not something we wait for workers and of the communist movement. working-class interests cannot be chart- youth attracted to the party to do. The that, in turn, led to “the FBI ing it on a proletarian course. “True equality between men and wom- ed, he said, without defending the right SWP is a little bigger this year, he add- Deal”— the indictment and im- Members of the SWP’s trade union en can become a reality,” Engels wrote, of Israel to exist and the right of Jews to ed, and so is the conference. prisonment of leaders of the So- fractions are “always looking for open- “only when the exploitation of both by seek refuge there. “Celebrating 100 Years ‘On the Right cialist Workers Party and Mid- ings to win other workers to join them capital has been abolished and private Clark pointed to statements by Cu- Side of History,’” read the 20-foot-long west Teamster leaders for their visiting picket lines and at social protest work in the home has been transformed ban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro in banner above the stage. The conference campaign in the labor move- actions,” said Mary Martin, a leader of into a public industry.” 2010, highlighting the unique character marked the Socialist Workers Party’s ment to oppose U.S. govern- the party’s union work, during the panel Many conference participants had re- of Jew-hatred. “I don’t think anyone has centurylong continuity from the found- ment war aims and measures to entitled, “Tribunes of the People and the cently joined tens of thousands at pro- been slandered more than the Jews,” ing of the Communist Party in the U.S. hogtie the unions in the name of Turn to Industry.” tests across the U.S. determined to de- Castro said, adding, “There is nothing in 1919. That anniversary banner was national unity. “And we also carry out propaganda fend abortion rights in face of mounting that compares to the Holocaust.” followed by another: The DSA’s orientation in the activity, selling the Militant and books government assaults. “Our demand for Clark urged conference participants “Advancing along the Line of March of Militant/Arthur Hughes Democratic Party is a deadly by revolutionary leaders to co-workers, family planning, including the right of to study the party’s statement “For the Working Class From left, John Studer, Dave Prince, Holly Harkness, Steve Clark, Jack Barnes (speaking), Mary-Alice Waters, Norton Sandler, at closing session of SWP conference June threat to the working class, widening interest in the party’s program women to choose abortion is uncondi- 15. Banners summarized continuity of Socialist Workers Party since 1919 founding of first communist party in U.S. and other Active Workers Conference themes. Recognition of a Palestinian State and “Act on Imperialism’s Deepening Po- Barnes said. and campaigns.” tional,” Waters said. She contrasted the of Israel” and use it widely with work- litical Crisis birth as part of the Communist Interna- ment and on the job, and another on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other The SWP’s class course is the polar Kaitlin Estill, 27, from Oakland, Cali- party’s decadeslong record in this fight ers and youth they meet in the U.S. and “Build the Labor Movement tional in 1919, to the political develop- SWP election campaigns; and a clos- Democrats. Claiming that imminent opposite — to build the unions and fornia, who was at her first conference, to the stance of middle-class meritocrat- the world over. “Build the Socialist Workers Party.” ments and class battles that forged the ing session to summarize the party’s climate disaster and today’s jobs crisis root itself in the working class. To ad- told the Militant she got a lot out of the ic layers, who disdain working people He also addressed the U.S. rul- As working people face the grinding party since. Especially significant was perspectives and activity. require drastic action, she argues, as vance an independent working-class panel. “I want to use my capacities to be with large families and advocate forms ers’ brutal sanctions bearing down effects of the capitalist rulers’ economic, the triumph of the Cuban Revolution In his political report, “100 Years ‘On she did at an MSNBC “town hall” in political course to replace the rule of part of this fight,” she said. Estill joined of population control. on working people in Iran, as well as political and moral crisis and their wars in 1959. The victory of the Cuban toil- the Right Side of History,’” Barnes said March: “We’ve been here before with the propertied families with a work- the SWP after returning from this year’s For many women the decision wheth- Washington’s war threats in recent abroad, SWP candidates and campaign ers and advance of their socialist revo- that the SWP is the only party in the World War II, even the Cold War. And ers and farmers government — as the May Day Brigade to Cuba and said she er or not to have an abortion is complex, months. “We have to be ready to act supporters call for independent work- lution, led by Fidel Castro and the July U.S. whose continuity as communists is the answer has been an ambitious and party’s forebears led working people in plans on joining one of the party’s trade Waters said. A medical procedure is decisively to mobilize opposition if ing-class political action, Barnes said. 26 Movement, Barnes said, helped win unbroken. Other groups once claiming directed mobilization of the American doing in Russia and Cuba. union fractions. At its post-conference nobody’s first choice as a form of birth U.S. military action of any kind is tak- They point to the necessity for working many current party leaders to the SWP that continuity to the Bolsheviks tossed economy to direct and solve our prob- meeting, the SWP National Committee control. Every abortion is the result of en against Iran,” Clark said. people to break with the bosses’ govern- and to the international movement to it aside — in deeds long ago, but more lem, our biggest problem.” Proletarian orientation voted to organize a candidate for mem- conditions forced on women by capi- Other conference classes included ment and state, as well as their twin par- end class exploitation and oppression recently in words as well. Some, like The hero and model of the “Green Strengthening the leadership of the bership program to help involve new talism — lack of easy and affordable “Proletarian Revolution and Mate- ties, the Democrats and Republicans. once and for all. the International Socialist Organiza- New Deal” is Franklin Delano Roo- SWP’s work in the unions was a focus of members in party activity and advance access to contraception, to family plan- rialism: Science vs. Anti-science Is To give a boost to these working-class The capitalist rulers and their en- tion, have imploded and dissolved, with sevelt, who proposed what he called the June gathering, as well as the party their political education. ning programs, to adequate and avail- a Class Question;” “The Worker- campaigns, the party’s National Com- ablers in the professional and privileged many ISO leaders and members going the New Deal to try to corral and de- leadership meeting afterwards to imple- The conference panel “Our Election able medical care. Farmer Alliance and Our Communist mittee, meeting right after the confer- middle classes try to convince working into the Democratic Party. Other orga- fuse the mighty rise of labor in the ment conference perspectives. Campaigns Lead the Party Outward,” As part of building the labor move- Program;” “Black Liberation and the ence, put two SWP spokespersons on people we can’t be more than the ob- nizations are well along the way. 1930s, which posed a threat to capi- The SWP made a turn to industry and was organized and chaired by SWP Na- ment and advancing the struggle for so- Road to Workers Power: What We the road — Alyson Kennedy, its 2016 jects of history. They tell us we’re better The largest group calling itself so- talist rule. But as today’s backers of the industrial unions in the mid-1970s tional Campaign Director John Studer. cialism, Waters said, the SWP actively Learned from the Bolsheviks and the presidential nominee and mayoral can- off submitting to rule by the “smarts” cialist, the Democratic Socialists of its hoped-for reincarnation admit, the in response to resistance by workers to Party candidates described how they joins in the needed discussion and de- Comintern;” and “The Communist didate in Dallas earlier this year, and who know what’s best for us. But in America, never claimed a connec- New Deal only succeeded as it grew the opening shots of today’s deepening use the party’s program as they and their bate, explaining why access to family Course and Leadership of Thomas Malcolm Jarrett, the party’s candidate the course of working-class struggle, tion with communism or independent into the War Deal in the 1940s. world capitalist crisis. Drawing on ex- campaign supporters talk with other planning, including abortion rights, is a Sankara.” for Pittsburgh City Council. Equipped Barnes said, we transform ourselves working-class political action. It traces And, as Barnes explained and the periences and lessons since the party’s working people about the political ques- precondition to the fight to end women’s The day after the conference, party with books on revolutionary politics, the into the makers of history — and take its continuity to the late 1950s and striv- Democrats do their best to cover over, founding, the turn was decisive to keep- tions we confront today. That includes second-class status under capitalism. supporters met to discuss the next steps Militant newsweekly, and election fly- our destiny into our own hands. ing to make real, in its own words, DSA explaining demands for a single union in their work — organizing all aspects ers, they’ll join with campaign support- founder “Michael Harrington’s vision of for yellow cab, Uber, and other drivers; Act on imperialism’s deepening crisis of the printing and distribution of Path- ers across the U.S. to get out the party’s Class independence v. Democrats building a strong coalition among pro- the fight for workers control of produc- In his conference presentation “The finder books by party leaders and other program at working people’s doorsteps The packed three-day conference gressive trade unionists, civil rights and For further reading tion in face of bosses’ disregard for life Middle East and the Jewish Question: revolutionaries. and in the course of union and other so- featured two reports; a number of feminist activists and the ‘new politics’ Tribunes of the People and the Trade Unions and limb in their drive for profits; and an Acting on the Communist Program,” In response to an appeal at the confer- amnesty for undocumented immigrants cial and political activity. (See article on classes and discussion sessions; a panel left-liberals” in the Democratic Party. Karl Marx, V.I. Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Farrell Dobbs, Jack Barnes SWP National Committee member ence, participants contributed $42,947 front page.) on the party’s work in the labor move- These socialist Democrats are appa- to strengthen the fight to organize all Steve Clark said that at times of deepen- to a Summer 2019 Party-Building Ap- ratchiks in the main party of U.S. impe- “A tribune of the people reacts to every manifestation of tyranny workers into unions and overcome divi- ing economic and social crisis, the rul- peal that runs through July 26. If you’d A working-class line of march rialism. “We are a political and activist and oppression, no matter where it appears.” A companion to The sions sown by the employers. ers foment Jew-hatred with deadly re- like to kick in, send a check made out Workers need to build our own politi- organization, not a party,” DSA says on Turn to Industry: Forging a Proletarian Party and Malcolm X, Black During this year’s Dallas mayoral sults — genocidal results, in fact, fewer to the SWP to 306 W. 37th Street, 13th cal party, Barnes said, a party based in its website. They’re fighting for a strong Liberation, and the Road to Workers Power, both by Jack Barnes. campaign, said panelist Alyson Ken- than 80 years ago. A course to advance Floor, New York, NY 10018. the working class and unions. A party centralized state, so working people The Jewish Question nedy, she and other SWP members with the aim of organizing and mobiliz- can “run both the economy and society $8 there responded to a failed Washing- by Abram Leon ton-backed coup in Venezuela by or- ing workers and our allies to establish a democratically to meet human needs.” As he wrote this classic Marxist account of the For recognition of workers and farmers government. But the state in the USA is — and origins of Jew-hatred and the fight against it, Leon ganizing and building a street protest It was with that goal in mind that can only be, short of the working class was also a communist active in distributing inter- demanding “U.S. hands off Venezuela a Palestinian state revolutionary-minded working people establishing its own power — a capi- nationalist flyers to German occupation troops. He $25 and Cuba!” Today, she said, we need in the U.S. 100 years ago founded a talist state. The course of the socialist paid with his life in the gas chambers at Auschwitz. to be ready to do the same demanding and of Israel new party to follow the example set by Democrats, in fact, is one of mobiliz- “U.S. hands off Iran!” workers and peasants in Russia, who in ing the U.S. population on a war foot- The Origin of the Family, Private • For repeal of October 1917 carried out the Bolshevik ing to keep the working class at heel Property, and the State Fight for women’s emancipation U.S. Jerusalem Embassy Act Revolution. For the first time in his- and preserve the power and reach of by Frederick Engels SWP leader Mary-Alice Waters gave tory, they established state power by the U.S. imperialism. a well-attended class on “Communist • For workers’ solidarity in Israel, “True equality between men and women can become a reality working class. Nowhere is this clearer, Barnes said, Continuity and the Fight for Women’s $18 only when the exploitation of both has been abolished.” Palestine, the world over Some 30 conference displays graph- than in the “Green New Deal” pro- Emancipation.” Pointing to the historic Militant/Arthur Hughes See distributors on page 8 or visit: ically illustrated the SWP’s continuity Jack Barnes, SWP national secretary, speak- posed by DSA member and Demo- working-class course in this struggle, Socialist Workers Party statement she quoted Frederick Engels, a founder in program and in action — from its ing at this year’s Active Workers Conference. cratic Representative from New York www.pathfinderpress.com Download ready to print flyer at www.themilitant.com

6 The Militant July 15, 2019 The Militant July 15, 2019 7 Oberlin says its smears of bakery 1,000 in Australia rally for right to abortion were just ‘students free speech’ by seth galinsky and cancelled the bakery’s contract with Oberlin College President Car- the campus dining services for two men Twillie Ambar and other officials months, and again after the lawsuit was have launched a media blitz to falsely filed. Guides for official campus tours portray the June 7 verdict by a Lorain advised prospective students and their County jury as a dangerous attack on families not to shop at Gibson’s because free speech. The jury found the college it is a “racist establishment” that “as- guilty of maliciously trying to “per- saults students.” The college even posi- manently harm and damage” Gibson’s tioned construction equipment to block family-run Oberlin bakery by promot- a parking lot owned by Gibson’s. The ing false statements that the business bakery has done business with the col- and its owners are racist. lege for 100 years. The jury awarded the Gibson’s $44 In response to the college’s attempt million in compensatory and puni- to reframe the case “as a First Amend- tive damages, considerably higher ment issue,” Gibson’s’ lawyers released than state regulations usually permit. a 56-page FAQ June 28 that demolishes

The judge lowered the award to a still Ambar’s twisting of the facts. Militant/Janet Roth substantial $25 million. A hearing on “Even after the jury’s verdict,” the SYDNEY — Over 1,000 supporters of women’s right to choose abortion fees for the Gibson’s lawyers is set for lawyers said, “the college refuses to take marched through the central city here June 9 amid a sea of homemade signs. July 10. responsibility for its actions.” They chanted, “my body, my choice” and “our bodies, our rights.” Ambar began a whirlwind me- The FAQ consists of evidence intro- The action was initiated by high school student Bella Ziade both in soli- dia tour at the end of June, holding a duced at the trial — emails, letters and darity with protests in the U.S. against several states there passing harsh press conference, contacting alumni testimony from current and former new restrictions on access to abortion and to demand that women’s right and giving interviews to CBS News, Oberlin College employees, alumni to abortion be legalized here in the state of New South Wales. “We’re de- NPR Radio, Newsweek and the Wall and town residents. These documents manding to be treated as human beings with fundamental human rights,” Street Journal. She denied that the demonstrate the arrogance and scorn Ziade told demonstrators. college had smeared the Gibsons or for anyone who disagrees with them by Abortion is only lawful in New South Wales if a doctor determines that was guilty of anything and discounted Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo continuing a pregnancy would be harmful to the woman. Any other abortion the jury’s decision, claiming “this is a and other college officials in the face is illegal under the Crimes Act, and both the woman and the person adminis- First Amendment case about whether of attempts by many individuals to get tering the procedure are liable for up to 10 years in prison. While abortion is an institution can be held liable for the the college to reverse course. From this not listed as a crime in other Australian states, there are time limits and other speech of its students and the actions evidence it’s not hard to see why the jury restrictions on access that make it difficult to have the procedure. of its students,” she told NPR. ruled that the college acted with malice. “At our school we’re told about contraception but not about abortion,” Hall- Nothing could be further from the One example? Oberlin College em- ie Stubbs told the Militant. She introduced two fellow students, Lucy Bradnum truth. ployee Emily Crawford was told by col- and Alex Ley, who came with her to the protest. “There are all sorts of situa- The Gibson’s lawsuit wasn’t directed lege Vice President for Communications tions that women might face when they get pregnant and they shouldn’t be forced to give birth. We’re outraged by what’s happening in the U.S.” at free speech or the right to protest, but Ben Jones in a Nov. 11, 2016, email that “Women used to die from illegal abortions, by using coat hangers and other at actions and slanders carried out by the police report on the shoplifting and unsafe methods,” Ley added. “We want to make it completely legal here.” Oberlin College officials. arrests “is bullshit.” He then asked her — JANET ROTH The dispute began when some stu- “what are you hearing in your recon?” dents, encouraged by college officials, Crawford replied that “the students began protests outside the store, falsely are on the wrong side of this protest, claiming its owners had a long history they acted without ascertaining the facts a great bargaining chip,” and the col- support of Gibson’s, and others, out- of “racial profiling,” after three Black first.” She told Jones that “I have talked lege does so. raged by the slanders and the boycott, students were arrested for attempting to 15 townie friends who are poc [peo- Amber also ignores the testimony mobilized to shop there. But the out- to shoplift two bottles of wine from the ple of color] and they are disgusted and from several witnesses at the trial that sized weight of the college meant the bakery on Nov. 9, 2016, and assaulting embarrassed by the protest.” Dean Raimondo spoke at the Nov. 10 bakery lost business. Allyn Gibson, grandson of the owner, “To them this is not a race issue at protest and handed out flyers calling David Gibson wrote in an op-ed in who tried to stop them. They later pled all and they do not believe the Gib- Gibson’s “a RACIST establishment with USA Today June 21 that the family de- guilty to misdemeanor charges and ac- sons are racist.” a LONG ACCOUNT of RACIAL PRO- cided to file the suit after his father told knowledged that Gibson’s response was The response from Tita Reed, an as- FILING and DISCRIMINATION.” them, “In my life I’ve done everything not racially motivated. sistant to the Oberlin president? “Doesn’t The class disdain of Oberlin College I could to treat all people with dignity College officials printed and helped change a damned thing for me.” officials — by far the largest business and respect. And now, nearing the end distribute flyers for the smear campaign Three days later then-college Presi- in town — towards the family-run of my life, I’m going to die being labeled dent Marvin Krislov emailed Reed bakery led them to underestimate the as a racist.” that students are talking about urging support that working people in the area The victory won by the fam- the college to stop buying anything would show the bakery owners. Many ily against the college is a gain for all Recommended from Gibson’s. Reed responds, “That’s Oberlin residents displayed signs in working people. reading “The meritocracy are morti- fied to be identified with work- if you like this paper, look us up ing people. They fear someday Where to find distributors of the NEBRASKA: Lincoln: P.O. Box 6811. AUSTRALIA being ruled by those they Militant, New International, and a full Zip: 68506. Tel: (402) 217-4906. Email: Sydney: Suite 22, 10 Bridge St., worry could become the ‘great display of Pathfinder books. 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Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] 8 The Militant July 15, 2019 Editorial Back ‘Militant’ fight Continued from front page Florida prison officials want to squelch articles on Join SWP on ‘right side of history’ the book Solitary: My Story of Transformation and The 2020 U.S. elections — with 16 months to go — fectively combat what working people face we need to Hope and related speaking tour by Albert Woodfox, are front-page news, as incumbent Donald Trump and organize and act independently of the bosses’ parties. who spent more than 40 years in solitary confinement some two dozen Democratic wannabes pound away We need our own working-class party! in the notorious Angola prison in Louisiana. They at each other. All these Democratic and Republican The SWP’s slate of candidates presents a program claim these and articles reporting on the Militant’s politicians, whether self-proclaimed socialists, liberals to fight to change the conditions workers face in the campaign to win support for the fight against censor- or conservatives, share one key thing in common — a only way that is possible — by challenging capitalist ship “encourage activities which could lead to physical commitment to defend dog-eat-dog capitalist rule. rule. They speak out against all instances of tyranny violence” or otherwise present a threat to the “security, The interests of working people are irreconcilable and oppression and join in fighting to change them. good order or discipline” of the prison. with the interests of the capitalist class who depend By recognizing and acting on our capacity to strug- The Militant notes that nothing in prison rules au- on exploiting us. Competition with their rivals con- gle, the SWP campaign presents demands to increase thorize “prison officials to censor a newspaper merely tinually drives them to attack our wages and working the unity, courage and self-confidence of working because it reports on prison conditions or prisoners, or conditions and to send us to fight and die in wars over people. It explains why workers need our own for- because such reporting is supportive of prisoner rights markets and resources. They work hard to keep us di- eign policy to oppose the wars, military threats and and contains criticism of prison conditions.” vided and to convince us to vote for whichever party sanctions imposed with bipartisan support by the U.S. The appeal includes a chilling appendix, prepared — the Democrats or Republicans — appears as the imperialist rulers. They point to the revolution made with the help of the Florida American Civil Liberties lesser evil. The two-party system is set up to preserve by working people in Cuba in 1959 — still living to- Union, of dozens of articles from the Miami Herald the interests of the class that exploits working people at day — as an example for how working people here reporting on brutality in Florida prisons. home and abroad. There is no “lesser” evil. can wrest power from the capitalist rulers, establish a The articles include wide coverage of the killing The Socialist Workers Party fights for an opposite workers and farmers government and join in the fight of inmate Darren Rainey, who was punitively locked course. Its candidates for office in 2019 tell the truth — for a world free of exploitation and discrimination. up in a scalding-hot shower for nearly two hours by that all politics reflects the class struggle, and working Only the Socialist Workers Party candidates present guards at the Dade Correctional Center. The Her- people have common class interests and need to fight a realistic course to end the carnage capitalism creates. ald’s reporting, part of a three-year investigation side by side. We point to the lessons of past working- Join in campaigning with the SWP! It’s truly a life “on into the abuse and deaths of prisoners in Florida class struggles and our revolutionary continuity. To ef- the right side of history” — a life worth living. prisons, received awards. A number of prisoner-subscribers reported to the Militant that the Herald and other “mainstream” pa- pers have never been banned from the prison. All the evidence points to Florida officials “selectively ban- G-20 reveals ‘liberal world order’ coming apart ning the Militant because of its viewpoints,” Goldstein Continued from front page Executive Carrie Lam against millions of working notes, which is unconstitutional. them, despite pretensions of global economic coop- people in Hong Kong continued to play out. On July Many prison subscribers agree. eration. These conflicts illustrate the crisis wrack- 1, the 22nd anniversary of the handover of the British ing capitalist production and trade today. The final colony to China, hundreds of thousands marched in ‘Keep up the righteous fight’ G-20 statement said that global growth was “low,” the streets, calling for the pro-Beijing government to “I’ve filed an appeal notice,” one prisoner, who just with geopolitical risks “tilted to the downside.” resign. A few hundred protesters occupied and trashed got out of solitary confinement, wrote. “I’ll be contest- The post-World War II imperialist world order is Hong Kong’s legislature, clashing with police. This ing this latest rejection. I want it to be known “that it’s slowly but surely being torn apart by the workings of gave Beijing an unaccustomed chance to pose as a nothing I read in the papers that cause me to react.” capitalism itself. guardian of “the rule of law.” It’s the conditions in the prison itself that are the At the gathering, President Donald Trump met on problem, he said. The solitary confinement units the sidelines with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Mass protests continue in Hong Kong “don’t have the proper cooling system. The water don’t afterwards traveled to the North Korean border to The Chinese rulers blamed unnamed foreign coun- work along with a lot of other inhumane conditions.” meet with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea tries for the unrest, while admitting the huge marches “Keep the righteous fight up,” he writes. leader Kim Jong Un. Stalled trade talks with Beijing were a “blatant challenge” to Beijing’s rule. But what Militant editor John Studer and this correspondent were resurrected, and talks with the DPRK over nu- they really fear is the “interference” of the class strug- attended the American Library Association conven- clear disarmament put back on the table. gle from within, a fear shared by rival ruling classes tion in Washington, D.C., June 22-23. The Office for The U.S. capitalist class is using its unequaled eco- around the world. Intellectual Freedom of the ALA and the Freedom to nomic weight — the size of its domestic market, the Following the G-20 summit, Trump became the Read Foundation are signers on a letter from the Na- centrality of its financial system and the ever-present first sitting U.S. president to visit North Korea June 30. tional Coalition Against Censorship that calls on Flor- U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency — to pro- He stepped across the line in a surprise meeting with ida prison officials to overturn the ban on theMilitant . tect its exploitative global domination against continu- Kim at the heavily fortified zone dividing the penin- A number of the 18,000 participants, including ing decline. Even though the dollar’s share of global sula. South Korean President Moon Jae-in joined them some prison librarians, took information on the Mili- foreign exchange has slipped since the financial crisis for a brief but unprecedented address to the press. tant’s fight and said they would get it out to others back a decade ago, it is still 62%, dwarfing all rivals. Despite massive devastation inflicted on the Korean home. One reported Woodfox’s book is available in In his G-20 address June 29, Xi, in a veiled refer- people following the U.S. rulers’ seizure of southern prison libraries in Colorado and other states. ence to the Trump administration’s escalation of tar- Korea at the end of World War II, and in the North At a workshop on “Censorship Beyond Books” at- iffs, denounced protectionism by rich countries as during the 1950-53 Korean War, U.S. imperialism tended by some 200 conference participants, this cor- “destroying the global trade order.” failed to crush the workers and peasants government respondent got a round of applause when he spoke Trump says the “globalized” economic order has that arose out of the 1946 revolution in the North. Ever in the discussion to thank the American Library As- aided the rise of Chinese capitalism in recent decades since, Washington has refused to sign a peace treaty. sociation for its support and about the importance of to the detriment of U.S. capitalism. Trump and Xi met Achieving a drawdown of nuclear weapons on the standing up to prison censorship and defending the over lunch at the G-20 to restart bilateral trade talks. peninsula would be a gain for all working people. right of prisoners to read material of their choosing. The U.S. president agreed to lift his threat of new du- Amnesty International USA, the National Lawyers ties on $300 billion of Chinese goods not currently hit Continued conflict in Middle East Guild and the ACLU of Florida have also sent letters by 25% tariffs. He also lifted a ban on U.S. companies Nowhere are the instabilities tearing apart the old calling on Florida officials to overturn the bans. selling high-tech parts to Chinese telecom giant Hua- imperialist world order more apparent than in the “Readers of the Militant can play an important wei, part of a broader battle over market share between Middle East. The White House threatened military re- role in advancing the fight against prison censor- Chinese and U.S. tech bosses and their state backers. taliation after an Iranian missile downed a U.S. drone ship,” Studer said July 2. “Getting a group of co- In return, Xi promised to buy more U.S. agricul- June 20. New troop reinforcements were sent to rein- workers to write and sign a letter may seem like a tural goods. Just before the meeting, Beijing ordered force Washington’s already massive military presence small thing, but it can have an impact. Now is a good an additional half a million tons of U.S. soybeans. The in the region, and the U.S. rulers tightened their harsh time to step up this work.” two presidents agreed to hold further talks. Stocks and sanctions that have increased the economic burden on futures markets rallied on the news, and China’s cur- Iranian working people. rency, the renminbi, strengthened. Trump told the press June 28 he’s in “no rush” to Fight prison censorship! Since the end of the second world war, the U.S. rul- ease tensions with Iran. On July 1 Tehran announced ers have been the top imperialist world power — in- they have reached the 660 pound “limit” for stocks of Get out the word: Download, print and distrib- cluding in the Pacific. The Chinese capitalist rulers enriched uranium set by the 2015 nuclear deal aban- ute Militant articles on this fight. are expanding rapidly today, setting up military bases doned by Washington. The capitalist rulers in Iran Get support statements from co-workers, unions, throughout the Western Pacific, reaching into new are seeking to pressure France, Germany and Britain, churches and defenders of political rights. Email markets internationally and developing a more ad- who also signed the treaty, to find a way to engage to: Dean Peterson, Literature Review Committee, vanced army and navy. in trade, offering relief from Washington’s sanctions. [email protected]. Send copies In the absence of a revolutionary working-class up- The European rulers said they would be “patient” with to [email protected] surge, the Chinese capitalists look to the future and Tehran, the Wall Street Journal reported July 3. Send checks to the Militant, 306 W. 37th St., 13th see themselves as the inevitable new top dog. The Israeli rulers, however, responded to Tehran’s floor, New York, NY 10018, for “Prisoners Rights As the conference was taking place, the confron- move with air strikes July 2 from Lebanese airspace Fight.” Or contribute online at themilitant.com tation pitting Beijing and its ally Hong Kong Chief on Iranian-linked military bases in Syria.

The Militant July 15, 2019 9