The UAW’s Constitutional Convention will be June 14-17 in Detroit. Union leaders based their future on the success of U.S. auto bosses for the past 50 years. They grew when GM, Ford and Chrysler were top dogs, and have been hammered as U.S. bosses have been hit hard by European and Asian competitors.
Whoever emerges from the convention with leadership of the union is guaranteed to continue the policies of the old leadership: billions in concessions to auto bosses, tens of thousands of jobs sacrificed, wages and benefits for new workers slashed by more than half, retiree health care benefits that were “guaranteed for life” cut, and a failure to organize a foreign-owned factory. Looking to them for change is a waste of time. And after seeing how all the reform victories were washed away, trying to repeat the past would be worse.
U.S. Social Forum: Who Does it Serve?
The following week, June 22-26, Detroit will host more than 15,000 people at the U.S. Social Forum (USSF). USSF is funded largely by NGO’s and non-profits — the money trail heading right back to the ruling class — and supported by many of the same politicians and union leaders who are committed to saving U.S. imperialism.
The same racist ruling class that brutalizes black workers and youth on a daily basis, that murdered 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley Jones in her sleep, has given the keys to the city to the UAW and USSF. Obviously they feel no threat from either.
But the many participants view them as an opportunity to exchange ideas, strategies, and experiences with people from different movements and social groups that are fighting to transform society. PLP will be active in both events, slowly paving the long road to communist revolution. Our main goal is to meet new friends, and win the people that participate to build a stronger PLP in Detroit.