The link between Buffalo and Peoria

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In the last few weeks, we have witnessed two historically important struggles for workers' constitutional rights. In Peoria, Ill., the workers of Caterpillar were fighting for their constitutional right to freedom of assembly, the right to free speech, and the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

And even more important, they were fighting for the right to eam a decent living. All of these rights have been denied to them by the laws, the court system, the police, and the Caterpillar bosses.

In Buffalo, N.Y., we are watching another massive struggle for women's reproductive rights. Once again, the capitalists and all their agencies are scheming to deny women their fundamental right to freedom of assembly, free speech, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—and most of all, their right to control their very own bodies.

Need for solidarity

Both of these battles are working-class battles. The outcome of the Caterpillar strike is of immeBy diate importance to those heroic pro-choice fighters in Buffalo. And the Buffalo fight is of immediate importance to those Caterpillar workers who fought hard against their bosses but lost because of a "leadership" that refused to lead an effective fightback.

In Buffalo, however, the pro-choice forces are taking command of their own defense lines and are not allowing the Operation Rescue scabs to cross. They have massed by the hundreds to defend their clinics and have set an example to all workers: Don't let the scabs through, hold the fort! ' In Peoria, the scabs were allowed through picket lines by official union policy. The pickets were warned by their union officials against blocking the plant gates.

One of the slogans in Buffalo used against the fetus-fetishists is, "Pray, you'll need it, your cause has been defeated!" The same "right-to-lifers" who are attempting to take reproductive rights away from women today, will be among the "right-towork" scabs tomorrow.

Solidarity is a life or death necessity. The fight of women to control their own bodies is a working-class issue. Every worker, male or female, is forced to support their families by selling their labor power. If they cannot control the size of their families, they are at the greater mercy of greedy employers, like Caterpillar. The more children you have, the more you need to "dance with the devil" every month to stretch your paycheck. Every victory by the workers for higher wages is a victory for working men and all women.

A fighting fist There was a time when every worker knew this in their bones. In the 1930s, the org; nizing drive of the CIO played a 1 ole in moldand Brown make proposals for revitalizing the economy. Neither the Democratic or Republican parties wants to organize the U.S. economy on anything other than ing every workermale, female, old, young, Black and white— into a united, fighting fist.

In Detroit, the UAW marched 5000-strong to defend a Black community when sheriffs were trying to evict them. Such picket lines and social battles were the force behind employer concessions such as unemployment insurance, old-age pensions, and other social-welfare programs grudgingly granted to all workers— organized and unorganized.

But it has been many years since the labor movement earned the reputation of being the defender and champion of all of capitalism's victims. To defend workers' interests in the big struggles ahead, the labor movement must once again reestablish itself as the champion of the working class and all its historic ble to vote didn't bother to. There has been endless speculation as to the reasons why, but an inescapable fact must be that the vast majority of people didn't allies-especially those in the women's and Black and Latino movements for social, economic and political justice.

Can you visualize the impact that would be made if great numbers of trade-union members, with their union banners flying, were standing beside their sisters and brothers in Buffalo, defending the clinics in a united fight for the right of women to control their own bodies?

Such an action would send a signal to all capitalists and their agents that an injury to women, to Blacks, to labor, is an injury to all!

It's important to learn from history. To know that women by the tens of thousands marched and fought for the eight-hour day along with their union sisters and brothers. That mass women's organizations fought against slavery, against child labor, and for public education, as well as for women's rights. Women joined the fight for the right to organize into a union in little towns and big cities all across this country in the 1930s.

I know this for a fact. My grandmother was one of those low-paid, unskilled working women who helped organize the CIO in Middletown, Ohio, in those hard times. She fought with a passion, knowing it was for all women like her and for all working people.

Only this kind of unity can stop the Caterpillar example from spreading. United we stand, divided we fall. Sound familiar? That's what it's all about. polls to pick the lesser among the evils won't change this. In fact, history has shown that we get more results when we act independently in our own interests

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ACUTE CARE & MORTUARY WING Engineer: GEORGE BUSH Architects: SUPREME COURT Contractops: OPERATION RESCUE