Letters of March 15

Fight back and crush the bosses’ traps

Wage theft in New York City, despite the existence of laws that “protect” the worker, is very much a common thing. We know about the law against wage theft, but it is increasingly difficult to find justice, since for any claim they divide the workers so that they make these actions only individually.
At the beginning of this month, a group of more than 40 workers from different community organizations met, marched and held a sit-in in front of a luxurious hotel, on 60th Street near Central Park. The action was taken because the hotel bosses fired, unfairly and without reason,and stole wages from a worker with many years of service. That worker had not been informed of her dismissal and she was not allowed to go into work when she had arrived to do so.
The organization, where several Progressive Labor Party comrades are members, accompanied her and we chanted our classic slogans in the march: “Workers United Will Never Be Defeated!” … “This Fist Can be Seen, Workers in Power,”and other chants. At the door of the hotel, the letter was delivered to those in charge of the administration on duty, and we hope soon for the solution and reinstatement to the worker at this employment.
The bosses make the laws and the traps; the workers must fight and crush their traps.

*****

Capitalist disaster steals lives
After viewing daily media video on the Turkey-Syria earthquake, two contradictions emerge, the first being the total absence of any steel beams in the concrete-wire mesh debris from endless photos of modern high-rise buildings that collapsed over each other. The second contradiction was many perfectly intact high-rise buildings right across streets from rows of collapsed homes. Turkish leader Erdogan had granted amnesty to housing contractors who’d defied safety codes and regulations using wire mesh instead of steel beams to provide faster, cheaper building frames. Not only did the cheaper constructed buildings fail to prevent the earthquake from flattening them, but the wire mesh debris has prevented rescuers from digging victims out. There are also protests over a missing billion-dollar fund collected after the last earthquake to build aid stations and care for victims of future catastrophes. Because of capitalist greed and corruption, Turkey is approaching 50,000 casualties and 13 million homeless.
Meanwhile in the US, a two-mile long 150-car train crash in Ohio is flooding thousands in poor communities with toxic gasses and poisoned water. Railroad companies are profiting big time in cuts in their workforce, maintenance and safety.
Today’s events prove capitalists will sacrifice to the last worker for their own profits and will stop at nothing to stay in power. Progressive Labor Party calls for a communist revolution to replace our profit dominated social system with a communist society without wages, profits and divisions.

*****

She was a comrade to look up to
A comrade to look up to. The day after the family of Raymond appeared in a Bronx court, I called Carolyn to find out what happened. She said she debated with herself whether to go to the court and decided to go. Raymond’s mother and our comrade hugged and shared a few words. An example of Carolyn’s confidence and undying love of our working class.

*****

Workers call out China CP’s sellout
Some older people in China seem to remain boldly supportive of real communist principles, and critical of the Communist Party’s sellouts.
The following passage is from a New York Times article yesterday about recent protests in China against cuts in government-provided medical insurance.
“Video footage that circulated online indicated that large crowds gathered around Zhongshan Park in Wuhan, as the police tried to divide them by imposing barricades. When police officers tried to push the crowds back, older men and women refused to back off and shouted in officers’ faces. Some sang songs like “The Internationale,” an anthem employed by both the ruling Communist Party and by protesters, who have used it to suggest that the party has strayed from its ideological roots.”