Newark: Lead & liberal misleaders poison workers

NEWARK, NJ, October 2 — Workers in Newark are clapping back against Mayor Ras Baraka’s liberal fascist politricks and the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) is participating in the crusade. At a State of the Water Town Hall event, workers blasted the mayor’s team of panelists for dodging questions around whether or not the lead-infested water is currently safe enough to drink. As a result, workers sent in letters to CHALLENGE exposing how the ruling class attempts to make workers feel shamed for challenging politicians’ inadequate attention to the world’s aging infrastructure and its effect on working class people’s living conditions.
Nationalism divides workers
Instead of apologizing for his administration’s negligence and outright lies, Baraka staged a dog and pony show at the event. “Don’t come for my wife, don’t come for my city! Talk about me! Talk about my shoes! The pants I’m wearing,” he preached as the crowd roared in applause. This is the role of these fake “radical” politicians. Rather than organize workers to fight capitalism and the capitalist class that forces workers to be poisoned with lead, Baraka and other liberal politicians will take the bullets for the rulers. He then deflected attention from himself but drew hatred to the Newark Water Coalition, one of the working class movements in the city, claiming their allegations were merely a smear campaign against the city. But workers who eventually joined the Newark Water Coalition were the first to flag the lead in Newark’s public schools originally in 2014. Yet, when members of the coalition spoke out at the meeting, the room booed, some yelling “take your check and go” as if they were simply paid agitators. It was evident that Baraka’s goal was to amplify the tension in the room and maximize the spirit of nationalism in Newark when he shouted out as protestors were being escorted by police that one of the leading organizers of The Newark Water Coalition wasn’t from Newark but the surrounding town, West Orange. Yet, regional nationalism in Newark isn’t strong enough to guarantee workers’ faith in Baraka.
The bosses’ politicians pick and choose when to rally workers behind nationalism. Newark is one of the largest hubs in the state of New Jersey for education, jobs, health care, and other vital necessities. Our needs as workers, regardless of where we lay to bed, demands that we are interconnected with workers in Newark. Baraka sees the involvement of workers in the greater Newark region as a threat. We as communists see solidarity between workers regardless of where we live as a growing necessity over time.
Beware of opportunists
“We have no confidence in this administration to provide us with our basic human right to clean water. Their negligence has already harmed us” (Star Ledger, 9/18).
With the major capitalists putting Ras Baraka on blast through news channel mouthpieces like The Star Ledger and The New York Times, Baraka needs to prove that he can win the working class in Newark to carry out the demands of the ruling class - gentrification and nationalism. Still he knows that some of his rivals are using the water crisis in Newark to get themselves on the bid.
Liberals lies a toxic poison
In the way the phony Baraka called a stop to protests against charter schools on his first day in office, he’s now practicing a more sophisticated tactic to simmer down the fiery spirit of working class people today. This time through billion dollar grants from the state, press releases on the day of major protests and high class Town Hall events.
Communism is the formula, PLP is the key ingredient
This water situation in Newark is a case study for the limits of politicians and why we need a communist revolution led by PLP, not another cycle of voting out the next Democrat or Republican both sets of traitors will never own up to their deceit and it’s in the best interest of workers to stop expecting them to. What’s driving this fight against Ras is people’s criticism of his leadership but we must remember that Baraka is not the root of our problems; he is only the face representing the profits he works to protect. In order for workers internationally to truly grow and thrive, systems upheld by capitalism need to be smashed completely.
Although he is only the face, we must call out liberal fascist politicians like Baraka for leading working class people down a road of poverty, criminalization, displacement and further divisions. Yet, we must also acknowledge that a new breed of opportunists will run against Ras and try out the same tricks liberal politicians use once they’re elected into office. Rather than bowing to the belief that politicians who make their claim to fame through grassroots campaigns are here to save us, join a study group and fight with PLP today!