Rest in power: A red salute to Russell Phillips

In early January of this year Comrade Russell Phillips died. He was a longtime member of The Progressive Labor Party. Russell worked at Lenox Hill Hospital for about 5 years in the late 70’s to early 80’s.

Along with other Party members he consistently fought the management of that hospital around racism. He also combined bread and butter issues (he worked in the engineering department) with broader international issues.

He would leaflet and sell CHALLENGE consistently both in the hospital and outside at the entrance.
In 1983, when Russell was leafleting against the Reagan invasion of Lebanon, the hospital bosses instigated a backward worker to violently attack him with a 2 by 4. That worker was suspended and Russell was fired.

The sellout hospital workers union 1199 to whom Russell had been a thorn in the side of, did not defend him and he ultimately lost his job but over the course of those years had brought many communist ideas to the hospital workers.

In 1979, he was involved in PLP’s activities in Tupelo, Mississippi when the Party violently fought back the attacks of the Klan.

Russell soon after moved to NYC and organized at Lenox Hill Hospital against the hospital bosses and sellout 1199 leaders.

Eventually moving to Philadelphia, Russell did political work in a small church.

Russell was always reading the Party literature and many other sources. He called me a week before he died to discuss a podcast he had just seen criticizing NATO’s instigation of The Ukrainian War.

Russell was just shy of 91. He had good innings but will be missed by his close friend in Philadelphia Jean and the many comrades and workers who knew him. Rest in power.