25¢ No. 154 22 April 1977 "Human Rights" Crusade Fuels U.S. War Machine In the three months since he took office, Jimmy Carter has pursued an "activist" foreign policy on an unambi­ guously anti-Soviet axis. Aging cold­ war liberal Hutl<:n Humphrey called for the U.S. bourgeoi~ie to "take the ideological offensive." but the born­ again Baptist president nteded no urging to launch his crusade for "a moral climate." No soonn had the Carter clan moved into the White House than the ne"" commander-in-chief of U.S. impn~al­ ism went on the "human rights" war­ path. Whipping up an anti-Communist outcry OH; \ietiminltlOn of dissidents in the USSR and Czechoslovakia. Blustering State Department warnings were followed by a well publicized "private" Carter letter to dissident physicist Andrei Sakharov and a cordial White House reception for exiled former political pnsoner Vladimir Bukovsky. In mid-1\1arch the U.S. president brought his "human rights" crusade to the United "ations. Trying out his back­ slapping "ethnic politics" on the interna­ tional scale by claiming to empathize with delegates from the "developing nations" ("I come from a part of the United States that is largely agrarian"). his speech centered on a call for the UN to "strengthen" its "human rights machinery." Yet only a couple of weeks earlier. Carter had summarily yanked an American representative to the UN Felix Greene Imperialist chief Carter u.s. imperialist bomber over Vietnam. Human Rights Commission who had apologized for the U.S. role in Chile. "ideological offensive" presages impe­ the forefront of our attention, and The conspiracy ofsilence necessary to rialist war. where the attention of the press corps TELEGRAM present the imperialist butchers of can stimulate us to deal honestly with poe Indochina as crusaders for "morality this sensitive issue" (New York Times. People in Glass Houses Cyrus Vance, among men" is truly breathtaking. After 18 March). This appeal captures the Carter got himself elected by con­ Secretary of State official admissions that the CIA repeat­ essence of Carter's foreign policy gam­ stantly talking out of both sides of his Department of State edly attempted to assassinate govern­ mouth. making vague "promises" to bit. Behind the "moral" rhetoric was a mental leaders who ran afoul of U.S. every constituency and leaving both naked attempt to reverse a General The utter hypocrisy of your cold interests (Castro. Lumumba, etc.) and allies and enemies in the dark as to what Assembly decision of a few years ago war "human rights" crusade was that FBI informers triggered the murder his policies would be. Nevertheless, we when the Soviet bloc and "non-aligned" laid bare this week in two vicious of Black Panther Party leaders, for an warned that. "Despite ritual obeisance majority managed to get this commis­ acts of anti-communism: Three American president to fulminate about to detente, Carter's foreign policy sion moved to Geneva where it was out officials of the Soviet trade unions violations of civil liberties in the Soviet promises to be more openly anti­ from under the American thumb. who were invited by the Interna­ Union requires that the "free but Communist than that of his predeces­ Carter haughtily asserted aU.S. tional Longshoremen's and Ware­ responsible" bourgeois press outdo sor" ("Businessman's Democrat is Next "birthright" to act as supreme judge on housemen's Union to attend their itself in rigid self-censorship. Not since Imperialist Chiee" WV No. 133. 12 "human rights," while "humbly" an­ convention, and most recently U.S. military "advisors" burned down November 1976). He wasted no time in nouncing the removal of"all restrictions Tariq Ali, prominent spokesman Vietnamese villages "in order to save confirming our prediction. to American travel abroad" and stating for the International Marxist them" has there been such a wave of Carter's UN speech supposedly sent his intention to "liberalize completely Group of Britain, were excluded imperialist scorched earth hypocrisy. "signals" to Moscow about ending the travel opportunities" to the U.S. How­ from entry into the U.S. The witchhunting McCarran­ But Carter's "human rights" deadlock on arms control. but the ever, only three weeks later Russian Walter Act, which denies entry to campaign is more than just hypocrisy. It Kremlin could not miss the fact that trade unionists were barred from enter­ Communists and controversial is two-faced moralism in the service of nowhere did the U.S. president use the ing the country. And although Ameri­ leftists, is a frontal attack on the militarism. At the time of the Angolan word "detente." In fact. he went out of cans can now travel to Cuba, the trade democratic rights of working peo­ war last year Ford was unable to whip his way to emphasize that, "American­ embargo remains in effect. ple everywhere! We protest against up public support or even Congression­ Soviet relations will continue to be Moreover, the press almost com­ these McCarthyite exclusions. al backing for large-scale aid to anti­ highly competitive...." In contrast he pletely buried the fact that the U.S. has Down with the reactionary Communist forces there, much less for noted "parallel strategic interests" with refused to ratify 15 of the 19 UN McCarran-Walter Act! Soviet direct U.S. intervention. This is what the Peking in Asia. and called up the "spirit covenants on human rights, having trade-union officials and Tariq Ali Carter administration is out to change. of the Shanghai communique"-a endorsed only the most innocuous ones. must immediately be granted per­ Today the attempt to refurbish the standby from the days of the Nixon­ This is no oversight, as there is powerful mission to enter the U.S. moral authority of Yankee imperialism Mao courtship. resistance in the Senate to affirming the means a bigger war budget and "hang­ The self-annointed champion of right to a fair wage, to opposition to Partisan Defense Committee ing tough" in arms control negotiations. "freedom" called for the UN's Human racial discrimination (because there is a Box 633, Canal Street Station Ultimately, however, as in the case of Rights Division to be moved back to review committee) or to acceptance of New York, N.Y. 10013 Woodrow. Wilson and FOR, this New York. "where its activities will be in continued on page 8 • ~ ..J ACTWU Letter to Sp'artacist League Renounces Hot-Cargoing Cowardly Legalism Disarms J.P. Stevens Workers On March I nearly 1.500 demonstra­ Stevens. The National Labor Relations tors supporting the unioninltion of J.P. Board found such extensive unfair labor Stevens marched outside the company's practices that it ordered the company to MUMAY H. FINlEY Pr_lt1wIr JACOB SHElNK""'" annual stockholders' meeting in New bargain with the TWUA anyway. But s.cr.tarr·T~ SOl. STETlN York City. The demonstration was the the company would not bargain. WllUAM DuCHESSf P:GtZrn SMtor ExacutMr Exac~~~ kick-off for a national campaign calling Three years later the union got the 15 UNION SQUARE N AFLoCto. CLC • EW YORK, NY '0003. (212) 255-7800 on consumers to boycott goods of this federal court of appeals to issue a decree --- notorious union-busting textile ordering J.P. Stevens to bargain. Two manufacturer. years after this. in 1973. the NLRB Among the many signs protesting asked the court for a contempt citation. firings. "brown lung" disease (byssino­ The court ordered an investigation. In March 30, 1977 sis) and low pay at J.P. Stevens. was a 1975 the court's investigator discovered Spartacists League Spartacist League (SL) banner declar­ '" that J.P. Stevens was bargaining in c/o The Spartacist 260 West Broadway ing: "Consumer Boycott Not Enough. bad faith. But meanwhile the company New York, New York Organile the South! For Militant Labor had shut down the Statesboro plant and Dear Gentlemen: Action. Don't Handle J.P. Stevens shifted its production elsewhere! The We wish to inform you th t Goods!" This militant slogan stood out TW UA also won a collective bargaining Textile Workers Union ha: the Amalgamated Clothing and strategies, nor will it tnever advocated "hot Cargo. prominently from those carried by the election at the company's Roanoke a any future date. labor bureaucrats. church groups and Rapids plant in 1974. but J.P. Stevens We are not in the habit of ~he law as such an action i:nco~raging anyone to oreak reformists and was picked up by the has refused to negotiate a ,contract. ut crUelly unfair to the wo ~o only counter productive bourgeois press. The New York Post Meanwhile workers at J.P. Stevens As r ers whose cause we espouse. a measure of protect' carricd a picture of the SL banner and a continue to receive hourly wages aver­ cott Was established w:nd the Workers for whom the boy­ repUdiate SUch tacti~s as 0 ~~~ and will continue to television documentary of unionization aging $3.20. compared to $4.62 for Or speaking for "hot cargo~;~ ~ng letters, Carrying signs efforts at J.P. Stevens shown on the factory workers throughout the U.S. We hope you will Consider CBS program "60 Minutes" also Their pensions are worth less than $4 a f~oYing tactics that are d;Z~r~~~~l implications of ern- showed it prominently. month for each year of service. And e Stevens workers. Th" ~ve t~ the boycott and A few weeks later the Spartacist subjected to abysmal working condi­ Si."<><f"') " " M' • 'mM', .0" I.eague received a letter (printed else­ tions. they suffer from noxious diseases ~t{/(/~ where on this page) from the Amalgu­ like "hrown lung" which have wracked Pam WOywod ' mated Clothing and Textile Workers textile workers for decades.