Offensive against American workers

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It's been a long time: Over 500,000 trade unionists demonstrated in Washington, D.C. on the first Solidarity day, Sept. 19, 1981. In the interim, government and employers have increased attacks on working people.

Mazzocchi's Labor Party Advocate: ntinue their policy les of recent graduTuiting centers. Black community n spoke out forceWar, with leading icago and Boston rublic meetings as ng protests. nt developed in the ical situation conadership. Sadaam › one as a represened. His record of aqi Kurds, against position to imperinteral opposition, rast majority knew government's aims lary than that of the ent and had nothing ›port to the right of f determination. or" following the ere an expression of routh would soon than an expression : and genocidal war ›erialism. In addiew of the extent of trated by the virtuned forces of world ne year later, this characterized as "a eep, ," has evaporatnself has seen his ed in the opinion ly despite his occaup his role in the e attacks he faces faltering economy. in polls among trade unionDil, Chemical and ernational Union h the New York-are indicative of lerging ry Tucker ited Automobile er recently chalit and hardened rat Owen Bieber L. And although ucker and New bellious trend in ip, which has lion in 1974 to st of the past 20 r. He supports a ludes planks on e equitable colorganizing the solidarity, not to ing "independent if the Caterpillar louths, and the hree automakers e concessions in gotiations, the I be increasingly vocated by New this stage, basiit and not a class 1992 current trends in working-class thinking.

These organizations have been associated with the educational efforts of Labor Party Advocates, an organization initiated by OCAW official Tony Mazzocchi. The surveys were conducted among OCAW locals, International Association of Machinists (IAM) locals, and several other locals of public employees, autoworkers, and construction trades workers. A number of OCAW and AFSCME full-time staff units were also surveyed separately.

Of the 15 locals surveyed, huge majorities indicated that health benefits, job security, and wages were their central concems.

One of the IAM locals involved in the polling was based in a defense plant. The plant's relation to a section of the defense industry facing cutbacks led 73 percent of the 256 members who responded to list "job security" as their main concern. This was usually placed a high second by other locals.

In response to the question, "What kind of job is labor doing in the field of political action?", 71.1 percent of this defense plant local responded, "A poor job" or "A very poor job."

In response to the question, "Who best represents the interests of working people?", 14 of the 15 locals recorded majority votes for the category "neither party." The choice included the categories "Democrats" and "Republicans," as well as "neither party."

All but two locals (representing postal workers) answered "yes" in the majority to the question, "Do both parties care more about big business than they do about working people?" Eighty-two percent of the defense-plant local also said, "yes."

Finally, nine of 15 unions registered majority "yes" votes to the question, "Is is time to build a new party for working people independent of the Democratic and Republican Parties?"

Three union staff units were surveyed. Not unexpectedly, they ended up on the opposite end of the rank-and-file votes in relation to virtually every issue surveyed. Only 25 percent of the 56 full-time OCAW staff surveyed, for example, agreed with the proposition that it's time for labor to build a new and independent party of working people, as opposed to 52.8 percent of the OCAW rank and file.

State of the fightback There is a general decline in the level of confidence in capitalism among U.S. workers, including a rising level of fear and anxiety about the future, increasing uncertainty about the permanency of employment, about ability to pay bills, about mounting worker indebtedness to banks and credit card outfits, and generalized skepticism about the future.

Today, millions of workers, who carry the burden of heavy home mortgages and car payments—not to mention other debts, high rents, etc.—are well aware that they are not far from disaster should they lose their jobs.

Whole communities have been thrown into turmoil with the closing of "obsolete" plants, a fact of life that is becoming generalized across the country, as is the spectacle of literally thousands of workers waiting on endless lines to apply for handfuls of jobs. The increased level of consciousness resulting from this assault, however, has yet to be matched by even the beginnings of a concerted fightback.

During the past decade, there has been an new union leadership will have to be forged if the capitalist offensive is to be smashed.

But workers will not lightly enter the field of battle in decisive showdowns with the employers. They are aware of the stakes involved, of the power of the employers, and of the fact that they will receive little or no support from their misleaders. Yet, more and more, they will become aware that there is no alternative to struggle. To do less means being driven back further into despair and unac economic hardship.

The trade union bureaucra The 1991 AFL-CIO-sponsored m tion of 325,000 workers in Wash D.C., on Solidarity Day (Aug. 31 indicated both the deepening discor workers, and the still-existing capa the trade-union bureaucracy to play toric role as the "lieutenants of capi in the workers' movement.

In this regard, it should be noted: current misleadership of the unic achieved a level of betrayal unmat previous generations. Its still firm the unions has been accompan unprecedented efforts to integr: unions into the institutions of the Ist state.

It will require a mobilization ranks on a scale matched by, if not than, the mobilizations that launcl industrial union movement and the the 1930s to remove this parasitic on the workers' movement.

The level of bureaucratization unions is accompanied by an unpreci level of corruption. The ruling ‹ totally familiar with this phenomer in fact has consciously cultivater decades.

This corruption serves a two-fo pose for the employers. First, it : results in "sweetheart contracts" in workers' interests are secretly trai under-the-table payoffs to union o: The short-term benefit to the bo always greater than the cost of the the-table payoffs.

But even more valuable to the e ers is the longterm benefit resultin the fact that the acceptance of bribe: er hangs over the head of bribe-take future threat of exposure and pr imprisonment effectively locks the union official in the bosses' hip por In some construction trades, dec

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