OAKLAND, April 29 – Progressive Labor Party participated in several May Day events on Friday April 29 and Sunday May 1. Though small, PLers in the Bay Area were able to spread communist ideas via our chants and newspaper, which were openly accepted by protesters at the demonstration. Workers are always open to communist politics.
Oakland: racist attack on students and workers
In Oakland, a primarily Black and Latin city, PLP attended protests at three schools over threatened closures. The teachers and students connected the closure of schools to the closure of the port in Alameda (next to Oakland) to build a baseball stadium. Teachers and port workers united against privatization, a process that disproportionately hurts Black, Latin, and immigrant students and families. “The vast majority of students at the targeted schools — some 93% — are considered either lower-income, English learners or foster youth. Black students…[are] more than 40% of the student body…” (KQED, 4/29). The bosses will continue to make the working class pay for a crisis their system created.
Charter schools have a tighter control of both its students and workers. At the Oakland rally, PLP distributed CHALLENGE and leaflets describing the way privatization further streamlines the process of producing students who have been taught not to think for themselves but rather to obey orders and conform to the bosses’ demands, training our students to become obedient workers who passively accept their exploitation. Public schools, like all schools under capitalism, are no better in their willingness to indoctrinate students with ideas that normalize racism, sexism and class exploitation. A system that treats some students as expendable does not deserve to exist!
San Francisco: workers have no borders!
On May Day Sunday, PLP attended the immigrant rights march calling for legalization for millions of undocumented workers and restoration of the asylum process at the border. These are just two of Biden’s broken campaign promises. A crowd of 400 mostly Spanish speakers heard PLP’s communist chants. “La Migra, Cochina, Racista y Asesina” (ICE, Pigs, Racists and Murderers) was well-liked. “Este puño si se ve, Los obreros al poder” (this fist that you can see, workers to power) was new to the crowd. We promoted international working-class unity and discussed the idea of “¡Aplastar! las Fronteras” (Smash all Borders!). Relying on the liberal bosses to lead these fights for undocumented workers will lead us into fighting in their inter-imperialist wars or in a cycle of being sifted through empty reforms (see editorial).
PLP distributed 77 CHALLENGEs, mainly to those interested in our communist headline about May Day, some of the international reports, transit struggles, and student actions. We made one contact and gave literature to MUNI bus drivers.
Meanwhile, other PLP members attended the May Day march called by the AFL-CIO union where we also distributed literature and met people.
We plan to follow up with our friends to discuss the role of borders and the basis of immigration policies in the capitalists’ need for a divided labor force, especially in this time of war. Slowly but surely, we are politically sharpening our forces and building the party. It was an exciting weekend!
Progressive Labor Party (PLP) fights to destroy capitalism and the dictatorship of the capitalist class. We organize workers, soldiers and youth into a revolutionary movement for communism.
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Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 5:06PM 