[Debate] WFTU, PAME and KKE (Pro-Soviet Trade Union and Party in Greece

Tue Jun 12 16:35:16 BST 2012

There is a role for "a permanent minority" in any democracy, but I
doubt democracy would get radicalized or democratized unless and until
folks overcome the mental legacy of anticommunism.

On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 11:25 AM, peter waterman
<peterwaterman1936 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Aun mas patético (even more pathetic), Yoshie. I feel comfortable being in a
> permanent minority because I begin looking for the margin when I find myself
> in a majority.
>
> And I do not dismiss the Greek Communist Party, the Greek Communist trade
> union, or the Communist WFTU. Nor, for that matter, do I dismiss the
> Eurocentric ITUC or my various Incrementalist friends or interlocuteurs. (I
> admit to having less tolerance with those who 2012 sound like I did, age 16,
> in 1952. The incrementalists live in a real world of which they have a
> limited understanding; the 'revolutionaries' live in a world and within a
> worldview that is, as Zizek recently said, is dead).
>
> I just happen to think that both are imprisoned within institutions and
> discourses of earlier stages of capitalism.
>
> We are confronted with not 'actually existing socialism' (which wasn't
> socialism and didn't, therefore, exist) but 'actually-existing capitalism'
> and 'the real social movements which transform the present nature of things'
> (Karl Marx) but were not foreseen by Karl Marx.
>
> So.
>
> Neither the ITUC nor the WFTU foresaw either 1) the decline and fall of the
> Soviet Empire, 2) the rise and rise of the global justice and solidarity
> movement, 3) the Zapatistas, 4) Occupy, the Indignados, Real Democracy, 4)
> the pink wave in Latin America, 5) the Arab uprisings, 6) the rise of the
> precariat, 7) etc, etc. Nor the manner in which these - unlike their own
> archaic structures and formulae - are transforming both notions of social
> movement and even public discourse.
>
> The ITUC and WFTU can, of course, react to such and sometimes do. But in no
> way can either the Socialist International or the Communist
> International(s), or the Thirdworldist International(s) lead these. It is
> not only that they are rooted in conditions which have been quite
> fundamentally transformed. It is also the notion of a Vanguard, or (in ITUC
> language) the World's Largest Democratic Movement.
>
> So these old social movements and discourses have to go to school with the
> newest ones. And establish relationships with them of equality and - even
> more - of modesty and - even more - humility. After all, if you have fucked
> up historically and on a world scale, some modesty is required.
>
> Finally, if you know anything about 'Syrian unionists' or even 'Syrian
> unions', or even 'Syrian workers' (apart from those recently massacred) do
> let us know. I am all ears.
>
> Pw
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 4:07 PM, Yoshie Furuhashi
> <critical.montages at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> If you have any kind of democracy, you'll also sometimes see some
>> people elected who don't think it's such a bad idea to meet up with
>> Syrian unionists.  In some contexts such people are a minority; in
>> others they are a majority.  They have a better shot at becoming a
>> majority in a more radicalized or democratized democracy than is
>> typical of, e.g., the United States (which hasn't really recovered
>> from McCarthyism).
>>
>> On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 9:43 AM, peter waterman
>> <peterwaterman1936 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > A little patetico, Yoshie. You would have to show me where, in what I
>> > said,
>> > here or elsewhere, is a contradiction with democracy. I am, as I would
>> > have
>> > hoped you to be aware, in favour of what some call 'radical-democracy'
>> > and
>> > others 'the democratisation of democracy'. Vague enough terms but
>> > provocations to a creative discussion.
>> >
>> > I am against this guy's opinion, not his having been elected a union
>> > officer. I am confident that - unlike the Communist states, which Old
>> > WFTU
>> > served and the New WFTU is still identified - if he did not do so, that
>> > he
>> > would be de-elected. At least if his union is an exception to the rule
>> > he
>> > suggests for US unions.
>> >
>> > If, further, I had not removed the authorial tagline at the end of the
>> > piece
>> > I would have been obliged to ask:
>> >
>> > Why does this guy not mention the union he serves? Obviously the CIA
>> > knows
>> > who he is. That is if they care what the WFTU does or does not do. So
>> > the
>> > only ones left in the dark are me, you...and maybe the union members who
>> > elected him? His silence on this reminds me rather strongly of
>> > clandestinity
>> > with which the Soviet bloc, its client Communist Parties (and the Maoist
>> > Communist Party of the Philippines) and their front organisations liked
>> > to
>> > adhere to even when and where we can assume that - again - the state or
>> > the
>> > States knew who they were.
>> >
>> > And hereby a little anecdote.
>> >
>> > The CPGB was receiving a Soviet state subsidy throughout its existence
>> > (exceptions: when it got temporarily out of line). The British state
>> > knew
>> > this. The British bourgeois press knew this. The only ones who didn't
>> > believe it were we CPGB members - and fellow travellers. Similarly, the
>> > CPGB
>> > kept certain decisions of its EC and Political Committee (I think)
>> > secret.
>> > But for a decade or more, discussions in its meeting room were being
>> > narrow-cast by a microphone in a plinth to the British intelligence
>> > (so-called). So, again, the state spy agency knew but the British CP
>> > members
>> > didn't.
>> >
>> > No apologies for this anecdote since it confirms one crucial
>> > characteristic
>> > of Communism that should not be forgotten. Particularly when a rather
>> > open
>> > and democratic union movement, like that of South Africa might be
>> > considering jumping out of the ITUC frying pan and into the WFTU icebox.
>> >
>> > Pw
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 12:57 PM, Yoshie Furuhashi
>> > <critical.montages at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> "The contributor is an _elected_ union official in the United States"
>> >> (emphasis added, @
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> <http://mltoday.com/subject-areas/labor-movement/for-class-oriented-unionism-lessons-of-the-wftu-congress-1137.html>).
>> >>  What have you got against democracy, Peter?
>> >>
>> >> On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 6:45 AM, peter waterman
>> >> <peterwaterman1936 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> > Peter sez
>> >> >
>> >> > This item from 2011 throws further light on the World Federation of
>> >> > Trade
>> >> > Unions which, on the one hand, claims to be 'Class oriented - uniting
>> >> > -
>> >> > democratic - modern - independent!' and which, on the other hand, is
>> >> > actually a Communist-oriented international union centre. Not only is
>> >> > it
>> >> > Communist-oriented, it is actually oriented toward Soviet-type
>> >> > Communism
>> >> > of
>> >> > a traditionally vanguardist and sectarian type. And it is, further,
>> >> > hosted
>> >> > in Greece by the PAME, the trade union front of such a party, the
>> >> > KKE.
>> >> >
>> >> > I have below highlighted striking passages from the US author of this
>> >> > starry-eyed report, which reproduces the tone and content of
>> >> > pro-Communist
>> >> > Western trade unions and unionists from a half-century ago when the
>> >> > WFTU
>> >> > was
>> >> > the trade union front of the Soviet bloc.
>> >> >
>> >> > I will interpose comments in a contrasting colour. Those who wish to
>> >> > may
>> >> > click the original, published on the site Marxism-Leninism Today
>> >> > (which
>> >> > is
>> >> > decorated with portraits of the Three Great Marxists, Marx, Engels,
>> >> > Lenin,
>> >> > thus excluding Trotsky, Stalin, Mao, Kim Il Sung and Son, idolised by
>> >> > other
>> >> > Communist states or sects).
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > http://mltoday.com/subject-areas/labor-movement/for-class-oriented-unionism-lessons-of-the-wftu-congress-1137.html
>> >> > For Class-Oriented Unionism: Lessons of the WFTU Congress
>> >> > Written by Bill Donnelly
>> >> > I participated as an observer delegate in the 16th Congress of the
>> >> > World
>> >> > Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) in Athens, Greece, from April 6-9,
>> >> > 2011.
>> >> >
>> >> > I left Athens inspired by the bold, class-oriented unionism on
>> >> > display
>> >> > at
>> >> > the Congress.
>> >> >
>> >> > WFTU assembles 210 organizations with 80 million members (a
>> >> > 13-million
>> >> > member increase since the last WFTU Congress, in Havana in December
>> >> > 2005) in
>> >> > 120 countries, organizing workers in such strategic sectors as
>> >> > energy,
>> >> > metals, transportation, food, and education.
>> >> >
>> >> > WFTU General Secretary George Mavrikos's address to the Congress, on
>> >> > the
>> >> > first day of its work, following the spirited opening ceremonies at
>> >> > an
>> >> > Olympic sports arena the evening before, put forward two main lines
>> >> > of
>> >> > direct relevance to contemporary trade union activity in the
>> >> > capitalist
>> >> > countries:
>> >> >
>> >> > · Firm, unwavering opposition to class collaboration
>> >> >
>> >> > · A focus on actions to build class, internationalist unity.
>> >> >
>> >> > Union brothers and sisters with labor organizations in over 100
>> >> > countries,
>> >> > with 32% of the delegates being women, made concrete proposals
>> >> > designed
>> >> > to
>> >> > act on WFTU's platform and priorities.
>> >> >
>> >> > For example, a brother from India addressing the Congress described
>> >> > why
>> >> > strike and other actions that in effect function as de facto
>> >> > negotiations—which can favorably set the terms of any formal
>> >> > negotiations
>> >> > taking place at the same time or after—should be used against
>> >> > capitalist
>> >> > management instead of "dialogues" with no end.
>> >> >
>> >> > A delegate from South Africa spoke of the urgent need to articulate
>> >> > offensive, and not merely defensive, demands in resistance to
>> >> > capital's
>> >> > austerity programs. She pointed to the importance of coordination
>> >> > through
>> >> > WFTU between trade unions in the imperialist countries and workers'
>> >> > movements in countries of what she referred to as the "global South."
>> >> > The
>> >> > South African sister amplified this with a call for coordinated
>> >> > actions
>> >> > against the multinational corporations.
>> >> >
>> >> > The Congress was an international, multiracial event in more than
>> >> > just
>> >> > the
>> >> > composition of the delegate body (598 representatives and 213
>> >> > observers
>> >> > cast
>> >> > secret ballots in the election of a 40-person Presidential Council,
>> >> > 24
>> >> > of
>> >> > whose members are new). The leadership role in this Congress by
>> >> > workers'
>> >> > representatives from many different nations, including especially the
>> >> > leadership role of trade unionists from Greece and Syria, highlights
>> >> > the
>> >> > implications of the law of uneven, spasmodic economic and political
>> >> > development of capitalist countries discovered by Lenin.
>> >> >
>> >> > Note here the 'leadership role' claimed for the state-approved unions
>> >> > of
>> >> > Syria. Note, further, that Lenin's law was of 'uneven and combined
>> >> > development'. The author uses his abbreviated version to suggest that
>> >> > the
>> >> > unions of less-developed countries show those of the more-developed
>> >> > ones
>> >> > the
>> >> > politically-correct kind of unionism. On the other hand, the word
>> >> > 'combined'
>> >> > could be taken to suggest that one must recognise that the secret of
>> >> > global
>> >> > revolution is both recognition of the possibly revolutionary role of
>> >> > less-developed countries and the necessity, precisely, of combining
>> >> > uneven
>> >> > areas of struggle.
>> >> >
>> >> > At this time it is comrades from nations other than the major
>> >> > imperialist
>> >> > countries who play a leadership role in analyzing and generalizing
>> >> > the
>> >> > development of internationally significant trade union activity. We
>> >> > in
>> >> > the
>> >> > imperialist countries have a responsibility to begin to acquire the
>> >> > same
>> >> > perspective and implement a class-struggle approach, in order to
>> >> > further
>> >> > the
>> >> > cause of international working-class solidarity.
>> >> >
>> >> > The presidents of Bolivia, Cuba, Cyprus, Syria, and Venezuela sent
>> >> > greetings to the Congress. Almost all of them , like Syria's Dr.
>> >> > Bashar
>> >> > al-Assad, lead countries targeted by imperialist aggression in one
>> >> > form
>> >> > or
>> >> > another. This underscores the necessity of real international
>> >> > solidarity
>> >> > opposing interference in countries seeking to develop independently
>> >> > of
>> >> > imperialism.
>> >> >
>> >> > This is the same dictator responsible for the condition that have
>> >> > given
>> >> > rise to a condition of semi-civil war in Syria. He is clearly no Che
>> >> > Guevara, Nelson Mandela or Hugo Chavez - rather more attractive
>> >> > models,
>> >> > in
>> >> > different ways - of anti-imperialist movements.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > This World Trade Union Congress could not have been the success it
>> >> > was
>> >> > without the All-Workers Militant Front (PAME) of Greece. It
>> >> > generously
>> >> > assisted the stay of the almost one thousand people who traveled from
>> >> > around
>> >> > the world to Athens for this event. PAME organizes the struggles of
>> >> > hundreds
>> >> > of thousands of workers in Greece, in the public and private
>> >> > sectors—no
>> >> > matter whether the workers are Greeks or immigrants.
>> >> >
>> >> > The ability of PAME, a small national trade union centre in Greece,
>> >> > to
>> >> > pay
>> >> > for the airfares and living costs of some 1,000 delegates is more
>> >> > than
>> >> > 'generous', it is amazing! Even assuming that the cost of tickets
>> >> > averaged
>> >> > out at $1,000, this would be $1,000,000! Significantly, the WFTU does
>> >> > not
>> >> > publish its budgets or accounts, which even the state-funded US
>> >> > 'Solidarity
>> >> > Centre' has been forced to do. So who is funding the WFTU. And if it
>> >> > is
>> >> > some
>> >> > exceptionally wealthy and 'generous' affiliate, do these
>> >> > contributions
>> >> > show
>> >> > up in their accounts? Until the WFTU publishes its financial records
>> >> > and
>> >> > budget, one is free to suspect that the funding comes (as in the case
>> >> > of
>> >> > the
>> >> > Soviet-controlled WFTU of the Cold War years) from the funds of
>> >> > friendly
>> >> > states - such as those identified earlier?
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > PAME's George Perros, of its executive secretariat, drew attention to
>> >> > some
>> >> > burning issues facing the world trade union movement. He urged
>> >> > delegates
>> >> > to
>> >> > return to their home countries with a commitment to expose, isolate,
>> >> > and
>> >> > win
>> >> > fellow workers away from the class collaborationist International
>> >> > Trade
>> >> > Union Confederation (ITUC). Referring to the capitalists and the
>> >> > imperialists, he said: "We are not servants of their war against the
>> >> > working
>> >> > class. We want the working class to be the ruling class, and to
>> >> > socialize
>> >> > the means of production."
>> >> >
>> >> > WFTU General Secretary George Mavrikos affirmed: "We have chosen to
>> >> > be
>> >> > soldiers of the working class. With that is a responsibility." In the
>> >> > forefront of our responsibility, said Mavrikos in a speech the next
>> >> > day,
>> >> > is
>> >> > the requirement to confront the yellow- and CIA-oriented trade unions
>> >> > head
>> >> > on. In practice this means we in the U.S. must condemn and break with
>> >> > the
>> >> > opportunism and corruption stimulated by "our own" imperialism's
>> >> > labor
>> >> > lieutenants of capital, those, as Mavrikos ably indicated, whose
>> >> > briefcases
>> >> > stuffed full of dollars and euros are employed to undermine and
>> >> > dismantle
>> >> > the trade union movement the world over.
>> >> >
>> >> > Instead of such corrupt misleaders, Mavrikos said, "we want trade
>> >> > union
>> >> > leaders who are role models and examples." To this end, Mavrikos
>> >> > reminded us
>> >> > all that we need to exercise self-criticism, and also understand that
>> >> > "experience is something collective," as he put it. What I took from
>> >> > this
>> >> > last point especially was that the insights of the 16th Congress
>> >> > belong
>> >> > to
>> >> > the entire international working class, like an arsenal we can all
>> >> > use
>> >> > to
>> >> > arm ourselves.
>> >> >
>> >> > I am wondering whether the author or Mavrikos could provide us for
>> >> > some
>> >> > examples of such self-criticism. What, for examples, has either them
>> >> > to
>> >> > say
>> >> > about the 40 years or so of Soviet bloc control of the WFTU during
>> >> > the
>> >> > Cold
>> >> > War period? Of repeated uprisings of workers in these countries
>> >> > against
>> >> > these states, either in the absence of official union support,
>> >> > sometimes
>> >> > against those state-controlled unions? In the absence of such, the
>> >> > phrase is
>> >> > not so much empty as hypocritical. And...how exactly is the exercise,
>> >> > or
>> >> > non-exercise of this, to become the property of the international
>> >> > working
>> >> > class? I can only assume that it means the Western working class
>> >> > should
>> >> > get
>> >> > into some collective self-flagelation. Can anyone suggest another
>> >> > meaning?
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > In addition to strike and other activity, outcomes in the bourgeois
>> >> > electoral system gauge the developing strength of the Communist Party
>> >> > of
>> >> > Greece (KKE) in the ongoing deep crisis of the capitalist system. In
>> >> > the
>> >> > most recent elections in Greece, two rounds of local elections in
>> >> > November
>> >> > 2010, nationwide percentage results for the Communist Party showed it
>> >> > with
>> >> > 10.85% of the vote, an increase of 3.3% from the 2009 parliamentary
>> >> > elections. In Athens the Party netted 13.74% in the first round of
>> >> > voting in
>> >> > November's local elections. The Party's trade union work aims to
>> >> > build
>> >> > the
>> >> > All-Workers Militant Front (PAME). Together with organizations of
>> >> > self-employed tradesmen and craftsmen, poor farmers, students, and
>> >> > women,
>> >> > PAME unites in a social alliance, in which the Party also develops
>> >> > its
>> >> > vanguard role, based on a platform of common struggle to overthrow
>> >> > monopoly
>> >> > capitalism.
>> >> >
>> >> > It was and apparently still is the practice of even the traditional
>> >> > anti-parliamentary left to over-interpret their results in
>> >> > parliamentary
>> >> > elections as evidence for a repeatedly postponed revolution. Here are
>> >> > the
>> >> > latest election results from Greece, during, surely, the middle of
>> >> > the
>> >> > deepest crisis of Greek capitalism:
>> >> >
>> >> > New Democracy 20.02
>> >> > Syriza 16.06
>> >> > Pasok 13.79
>> >> > Independent Greeks 10.44
>> >> > Communist Party of Greece 8.38
>> >> > Chryssi Avgi 6.86
>> >> > Democratic Left 6.00
>> >> > Popular Orthodox Rally 2.88
>> >> > Democratic Alliance 2.55
>> >> > Ecologists Greens 2.82
>> >> > Recreate Greece 1.99
>> >> > Drasi 1.65
>> >> > Antarsya 1.17
>> >> >
>> >> > The only thing it would seem possible to congratulate the KKE for
>> >> > would
>> >> > be
>> >> > getting - whatever - 6 or 7x more votes than the other sectarian left
>> >> > party,
>> >> > Antarsya.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > A member of the Communist Party with whom several U.S. delegates
>> >> > spoke,
>> >> > age around 30, described how PAME, the All-Workers Militant Front,
>> >> > puts
>> >> > class-oriented unionism into practice.
>> >> >
>> >> > Union dues are collected in person, face-to-face—no reliance on
>> >> > employers
>> >> > or banks to collect these funds. After the second step of the
>> >> > grievance
>> >> > procedure, workers go on strike if they remain collectively
>> >> > dissatisfied—no
>> >> > entanglement with arbitration procedures and all the individualistic
>> >> > and
>> >> > legalistic habits and ideologies they feed. Written contracts tend to
>> >> > about
>> >> > two pages long—not the hundreds of pages crafted over years of
>> >> > near-constant
>> >> > negotiation with which we are familiar in the United States. There is
>> >> > no
>> >> > certification of bargaining units by the regime of the class enemy,
>> >> > unlike
>> >> > in the U.S., where labor organizations literally are
>> >> > capitalist-state-controlled through various Federal statutes, and in
>> >> > many
>> >> > cases have anti-Communist provisions written right into their own
>> >> > national
>> >> > and local constitutions that actually go further in proscribing reds
>> >> > than
>> >> > even the U.S. Code mandates.
>> >> >
>> >> > PAME struggles for the class in the same facilities where yellow
>> >> > unions,
>> >> > an old term broadly referring to class collaborationist unions that
>> >> > should
>> >> > perhaps be resurrected, also operate, disregarding any of their
>> >> > claims
>> >> > of
>> >> > exclusive agency, because even while the bourgeois state and
>> >> > capitalist
>> >> > employers favor unions other than the All-Workers Militant Front, the
>> >> > Front
>> >> > doesn't care what they decree and organizes where it deems necessary
>> >> > anyway.
>> >> > Finally, and most importantly, unions with the All-Workers Militant
>> >> > Front
>> >> > are integral components of a struggle for socialism, with the open,
>> >> > transparent goal to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat,
>> >> > which
>> >> > will expropriate the means of production from the capitalists and
>> >> > make
>> >> > them
>> >> > the property of the proletarian state.
>> >> >
>> >> > The class-oriented unionism of PAME and its vanguard Communist Party
>> >> > which
>> >> > I learned about at the WFTU Congress is in stark contrast with
>> >> > U.S.-style
>> >> > business unionism, which is also a "red tape unionism" on account of
>> >> > its
>> >> > bureaucratic procedures that unwittingly affect both rank-and-file
>> >> > workers
>> >> > and local union leaders who get pulled into class collaboration
>> >> > thereby.
>> >> > Over 15 years after hard anti-Communist Lane Kirkland was dethroned
>> >> > at
>> >> > the
>> >> > AFL-CIO, U.S. unionism by and large finally seems very comfortable
>> >> > with
>> >> > talk
>> >> > of "social justice," but almost all of our unions in practice still
>> >> > relate
>> >> > to workers essentially as customers or prospects of an insurance-like
>> >> > mutual
>> >> > aid society and pre-paid legal plan with duties only to protect jobs
>> >> > and
>> >> > benefits. Unions that function as the typical U.S. union does, with a
>> >> > pinched world outlook, not surprisingly readily serve as transmission
>> >> > belts
>> >> > for political directives from U.S. imperialism, through the offices
>> >> > of
>> >> > its
>> >> > Democratic Party operatives.
>> >> >
>> >> > Here is revealed what is concealed by the official WFTU slogan. The
>> >> > WFTU's
>> >> > host organisation is 'class-oriented', with the definition of this
>> >> > term
>> >> > being provided by a party it considers to be a vanguard. It would
>> >> > seem
>> >> > more
>> >> > than reasonable to suggest that the WFTU itself is self-subordinated,
>> >> > if
>> >> > not
>> >> > to the KKE itself, to a conservative and sectarian kind of Communism,
>> >> > and
>> >> > that this is in direct contradiction to its claims to be 'Class
>> >> > oriented
>> >> > -
>> >> > uniting - democratic - modern - independent!'
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Going to the WFTU Congress in Athens gave me the sufficient
>> >> > political-ideological distance from the U.S. labor movement to see
>> >> > how
>> >> > even
>> >> > the most dedicated of U.S. unionists are typically enmeshed in class
>> >> > collaboration, in spite of their intentions.
>> >> >
>> >> > The WFTU Congress helped me understand that class collaboration is
>> >> > not
>> >> > even mainly a subjective factor. It is in fact primarily objective.
>> >> > Class
>> >> > collaboration is built into the very practices of U.S. unions, which
>> >> > often
>> >> > devote much of their time to negotiations that drag on, almost
>> >> > ritualistically, one after the other, year after year, and to
>> >> > grievance/arbitration and Unfair Labor Practice cases that also find
>> >> > ways to
>> >> > occupy the time of even the most militant here. In the U.S. are many
>> >> > trade
>> >> > unionists who honestly do not see themselves in the mirror of class
>> >> > collaboration, yet because their struggles are wholly engaged with
>> >> > its
>> >> > ways
>> >> > and means they gravitate objectively toward class collaboration
>> >> > nonetheless.
>> >> >
>> >> > There is a kind of institutionalization of class collaboration,
>> >> > facilitated by the capitalist state (e.g., through the NLRB)
>> >> > channeling
>> >> > workers' complaints into grooves that help misdirect the entire
>> >> > class.
>> >> > When
>> >> > the AFL-CIO's misnamed "Solidarity Center," with ample U.S.
>> >> > government
>> >> > funds, "educates" unionists from around the world (many of whom come
>> >> > to
>> >> > the
>> >> > 47-acre suburban campus of the National Labor College near
>> >> > Washington,
>> >> > DC
>> >> > for this purpose), it infects other peoples, through a sort of
>> >> > globalized
>> >> > disorientation process, with the ways of the yellow- and CIA-oriented
>> >> > unionism long entrenched in this country.
>> >> >
>> >> > The working class and its allies fight valiantly in Wisconsin and
>> >> > other
>> >> > states to preserve the right to collective bargaining. As it were,
>> >> > they're
>> >> > fighting to keep their chains. Collective bargaining, as it exists in
>> >> > the
>> >> > U.S., objectively restricts workers' struggles, thereby limiting them
>> >> > to
>> >> > manageable proportions.  Thereby, the opportunity for Communists in
>> >> > the
>> >> > trade unions to build class and revolutionary consciousness is
>> >> > minimized.
>> >> > Admittedly, the present collective bargaining system represents
>> >> > "chains"
>> >> > less painful to the workers than the actual handcuffs with which
>> >> > extremist
>> >> > state and federal legislators aim to shackle unionists in Wisconsin
>> >> > and
>> >> > elsewhere, when they resist the abolition of public sector collective
>> >> > bargaining.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > The mistake is to assume the present inadequate form of collective
>> >> > bargaining is forever. Not so. It developed under concrete historical
>> >> > circumstances. It can change. The workers' movement therefore must go
>> >> > beyond
>> >> > merely reaffirming collective bargaining rights won in the mid-20th
>> >> > century.
>> >> > Regrettably, for now, many leaders of U.S. trade unions, given their
>> >> > economism (i.e., the confining of struggle to mere economic demands),
>> >> > seem
>> >> > unable to give adequate answers to the questions raised by Wisconsin,
>> >> > except
>> >> > recall petitions.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > "This does not mean that we a priori limit the class struggle," as
>> >> > Aleka
>> >> > Papariga, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the
>> >> > Communist
>> >> > Party, told WFTU delegates attending a cultural program of
>> >> > revolutionary
>> >> > workers' music and song at the Party's national headquarters in
>> >> > Athens
>> >> > on
>> >> > April 7. She added, however, that "reality demonstrates that a
>> >> > movement
>> >> > can
>> >> > tire out easily, that it can be assimilated or broken, when it is
>> >> > limited
>> >> > strategically to a struggle for some defensive demands, in a period
>> >> > when
>> >> > whatever gains that had been won or conceded are being abolished. In
>> >> > this
>> >> > way the trade union movement is in danger of being led to being
>> >> > scorned
>> >> > and
>> >> > discredited and to eventually losing its fighting character and
>> >> > becoming
>> >> > completely degenerate, as has happened unfortunately in the USA."
>> >> > True
>> >> > that.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > OK, so those attending the WFTU Congress were not, apparently,
>> >> > invited
>> >> > to
>> >> > attend any song and dance exerice of any other Left party in Greece?
>> >> > Reminiscent of the Cold War era in which WFTU Congress delegates
>> >> > would
>> >> > be
>> >> > wined and dined by ruling Communist parties or states, or would
>> >> > welcome
>> >> > visits from heads of states that the Kremlin approved of.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Those of us from the USA who went to the WFTU Congress have not only
>> >> > immense tasks ahead of us but also a continuing obligation to learn
>> >> > from
>> >> > the
>> >> > WFTU and the All-Workers Militant Front, even if it doesn't yield
>> >> > significant or maybe even measurable results in the short term.
>> >> > People
>> >> > who
>> >> > would reject this as impossible or unwise because we can never be
>> >> > "like
>> >> > PAME" miss the point.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Of course, no one can mechanically "apply PAME" here in the U.S., or
>> >> > other
>> >> > countries for that matter. What we must do in the U.S., I believe, is
>> >> > try to
>> >> > develop class-oriented unionism, of which the most instructive
>> >> > examples
>> >> > I've
>> >> > seen thus far were at and around the recently concluded WFTU
>> >> > Congress. I
>> >> > suspect those who will say nothing like that can ever be done really
>> >> > don't
>> >> > want it to happen here in the first place.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > I hope to meet soon with interested sisters and brothers to discuss
>> >> > collectively the further steps we, especially but not only those who
>> >> > were
>> >> > part of the delegation, could take in this country against class
>> >> > collaboration and for a class-oriented unionism USA.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Finally, I note that I am able to generally agree with the author's
>> >> > criticism and even condemnation of imperialism in general, the US in
>> >> > particular, and the trade union establishment in the US, whilst
>> >> > seeing
>> >> > no
>> >> > necessity at all for identifying with the WFTU, which is not
>> >> > criticised
>> >> > (or
>> >> > self-criticised), but rather treated as not only the Virtuous
>> >> > opposite
>> >> > of
>> >> > the Vicious USA+AFL-CIO. An international trade union movement
>> >> > restricted to
>> >> > the two Cold War dinosaurs suggests a reproduction of not simply
>> >> > these
>> >> > Cold
>> >> > War leftovers but a form of labour internationalism belonging to an
>> >> > earlier
>> >> > phase of capitalism.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Another labour internationalism seems, today, not only possible but
>> >> > increasingly necessary!
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > < Prev   Next >
>> >> > [ Back ]
>> >> > SEO by Artio
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Copyright 2004-10 Marxism-Leninism Today | About This Site |
>> >> > editor at mltoday.com
>> >> >
>> >> >  Subscribe in a reader
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > --
>> >> > 1. Contribute to Journal Special on 'New Worker Movements'!
>> >> > 2. Blog: http://www.unionbook.org/profile/peterwaterman
>> >> > 3. EBook 2011, 'Under, Against, Beyond - Essays 1980s-
>> >> >    1990s shttp://www.into-ebooks.com/book/under-against-beyond/
>> >> > 4. WorkingPaper 2012: 'Emancipatory Labour Studies':
>> >> > 5. Draft EBook 2012: 'Recovering Internationalism - Essays 2000-10'
>> >> > (draft):
>> >> >      http://www.scribd.com/doc/82125289/ReCovIntComp-A-2
>> >> >      http://www.scribd.com/doc/82129474/ReCovtIntComp-B-2
>> >> > 6. Essay 2012: 'The 2nd Coming of the World Federation of Trade
>> >> > Unions':
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > _______________________________________________
>> >> > Debate-list mailing list
>> >> > Debate-list at fahamu.org
>> >> > http://lists.fahamu.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/debate-list
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> Yoshie Furuhashi
>> >> <http://mrzine.org/>
>> >> _______________________________________________
>> >> Debate-list mailing list
>> >> Debate-list at fahamu.org
>> >> http://lists.fahamu.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/debate-list
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > 1. Contribute to Journal Special on 'New Worker Movements'!
>> > 2. Blog: http://www.unionbook.org/profile/peterwaterman
>> > 3. EBook 2011, 'Under, Against, Beyond - Essays 1980s-
>> >    1990s shttp://www.into-ebooks.com/book/under-against-beyond/
>> > 4. WorkingPaper 2012: 'Emancipatory Labour Studies':
>> > 5. Draft EBook 2012: 'Recovering Internationalism - Essays 2000-10'
>> > (draft):
>> >      http://www.scribd.com/doc/82125289/ReCovIntComp-A-2
>> >      http://www.scribd.com/doc/82129474/ReCovtIntComp-B-2
>> > 6. Essay 2012: 'The 2nd Coming of the World Federation of Trade
>> > Unions':
>> >
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Debate-list mailing list
>> > Debate-list at fahamu.org
>> > http://lists.fahamu.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/debate-list
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Yoshie Furuhashi
>> <http://mrzine.org/>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Debate-list mailing list
>> Debate-list at fahamu.org
>> http://lists.fahamu.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/debate-list
>
>
>
>
> --
> 1. Contribute to Journal Special on 'New Worker Movements'!
> 2. Blog: http://www.unionbook.org/profile/peterwaterman
> 3. EBook 2011, 'Under, Against, Beyond - Essays 1980s-
>    1990s shttp://www.into-ebooks.com/book/under-against-beyond/
> 4. WorkingPaper 2012: 'Emancipatory Labour Studies':
> 5. Draft EBook 2012: 'Recovering Internationalism - Essays 2000-10' (draft):
>      http://www.scribd.com/doc/82125289/ReCovIntComp-A-2
>      http://www.scribd.com/doc/82129474/ReCovtIntComp-B-2
> 6. Essay 2012: 'The 2nd Coming of the World Federation of Trade   Unions':
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Debate-list mailing list
> Debate-list at fahamu.org
> http://lists.fahamu.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/debate-list
>

-- 
Yoshie Furuhashi
<http://mrzine.org/>