MADISON, WI., March 12 — Today over 100,000 workers descended on the capitol here to protest the bill introduced by Republican Governor Scott Walker and passed by the State Legislature, removing collective bargaining rights for public employees, including teachers.
Fourteen Democratic Party Senators hiding out in Illinois to forestall the bill’s passage failed miserably because Walker maneuvered to pass the bill without them. However, flanked by bagpipe-playing musicians, flags and Jessie Jackson, they returned today to Madison welcomed as heroes: “Thank you Fabulous 14, thank you!”
Our PLP contingent was there to bring our message of communist revolution and working-class solidarity. We distributed 500 CHALLENGES and 1,500 leaflets.
Our first speaker announced on our bullhorn that we’d come from Indiana and Chicago and this received a huge “Yeah!” He thanked all the workers for their courageous stance against these latest anti-working-class attacks. He also noted that they are occurring in Indiana and Chicago as well and that we need to strike against this assault.
Then, referring to one of the popular chants of the day — “recall Walker, recall Walker!” he declared, “Recalling Walker will not work but smashing capitalism will.”
The next speaker encouraged workers to read CHALLENGE and the Party’s leaflet “Middle-Class Dream??? Or Working Class Power!!!” It reported that while the Madison-area Central Labor Council had voted for a General Strike, the AFL-CIO and its top dog Trumka had turned workers’ militant mass anger into a passive recall petition limited to the voting booth. The union leaders have sold out our class and will continue to do so.
The “middle-class dream” that union leaders and politicians want us to buy into has been a nightmare for most black and Latino workers due to the racist nature of capitalism. The former auto capitals of Detroit, Flint and Milwaukee have unemployment rates exceeding 50%! Among young black males it’s around 75%. “It’s not Walker it’s capitalism!” said the speaker. “These attacks have been coming fast and steady under the Democrats too.” Obama’s bailout of the auto industry put many more workers on the unemployment lines while the auto bosses are now reaping huge profits.
‘Thanks for keeping it real…’
Several workers stopped and took our literature. One AFSCME member told us he was looking for a job because he was about to be laid off. He said that when he told his union leader we needed to prepare for a strike the union “leader” replied, “No, that’s not what we need to do.” Another worker listened to our speeches for several minutes, took literature and gave one of our comrades a hug, saying, “Thank you all for coming and keeping it real.”
There was much opposition to our line, too. The push for recall had definitely replaced the call for a general strike. Reliance on Democratic Party politicians has replaced the power of the workers and students who early on had occupied the State Capitol and shut down the schools. In essence, today’s rally became a dangerous “get-out-the-vote-for-the-Democratic-Party” event.
However, we should have brought many more comrades and friends with us. One Party friend contacted us because she knew if anyone was going to Madison we would be. But, self critically, we should have called her. We marched and hung out the whole day together, talking about communism and why only in a communist society could we share the fruits of our labors, without racism, poverty or imperialist oil wars. While she’s still not ready to join, after today she’s much closer.
Other comrades who went got valuable practice in putting forward communist ideas to workers who otherwise would not be exposed to them. Only the Party was championing the working-class to take state power.
While we call for a general strike to shut down the entire system and unite the working class, still this is just a tactical move. The only long-run strategy we can follow is winning millions of workers to fight for communist revolution.
We agreed that our political offensive must be recruiting and developing more comrades through this struggle in Wisconsin. We’ve formed a committee to organize visits to contacts we made in Madison and to plan regular trips there. We also want to have some Madison workers speak at our Chicago May Day dinner.
However this struggle in Wisconsin turns out, we have everything to win by seizing this opportunity to build the Party. The struggle for state power and the building of a communist society is not a mere dream for the international working class.