Nat Weinstein: life-long revolutionary and a founder of Socialist Action

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N at Weinstein, life-long revolutionary socialist and a founder of Socialist Action, died on May 9. He was 89 years old.

Nat joined the Socialist Workers Party in 1945. He over­ stated his age to get into the Army as a youth, but then met members of the SWP, which had a strong fraction in the Seaman’s Union. Nat did his military service in the Merchant Marine, a dangerous assignment in which U.S. supply convoys not infrequently came under fire and were sunk. He was won to Marxism while serving on a ship bound for Venezuela, when he became friendly with a seaman on board who was a member of the SWP. Nat’s dad was a Jewish worker of Russian origin, and a prizefighter, who in his waning years came to live with Nat and his wife Sylvia. Sylvia also joined the SWP in her youth and worked in the SWP National Office in New York for many years. Later, she was part of the team that staffed Socialist Action’s national headquarters, and she wrote a regular column for Socialist Action newspaper. Sylvia died in 2001 in San Francisco.

In the 1960s Nat took a party assignment to rebuild the Seattle branch after most SWP members there had split to form the Freedom Socialist Party. Later, he and Sylvia moved to San Francisco.

Before that, Nat was the organizer of the New York Socialist Workers Party branch. Nat, a member of the SWP’s National Committee, played a critical role in the party’s growing relationship with Malcolm X. Sylvia Weinstein, who along with Nat helped to organize an his­ toric meeting between Malcolm and Fidel Castro, was contemptuously characterized by the bourgeois press as “Fidel’s blonde prostitute” because she was often seen entering and leaving the Harlem hotel where Fidel had decided to stay after U.S. officials tried to interfere with his lodging arrangements while he spoke for Cuba at the United Nations.

During his time in New York, Nat became a member of the Painters Union, where he acquired the old-school skills that painters of his generation learned well. These included wood graining, marbleizing and gold leafing— techniques that Nat would later put to good use. Highly skilled, Nat could paint a pine board to look like any kind of quality wood or stone. He was fond of telling the story of his experience in marbleizing several dozen giant wooden pillars in a huge downtown San Francisco commercial building. While high on a scaffold, Nat re­ membered, he had been denounced by a woman below, who was outraged that he appeared to be painting over the building’s beautiful “marble” pillars. He recalled that the woman was astonished to learn that the opposite was 8 SOCIALIST ACTION JUNE 2014 Not long afterwards, Nat, along with oppositional lead­ ers Lynne Henderson, Frank Lovell, and George Breit­ man, were bureaucratically suspended from the SWP and the case! ordered to refrain from all contact with others who had Nat, who taught his skill in classes to several advanced been undemocratically and unjustly expelled. This was painters, published a successful book entitled “Wood­ an order that went against Nat’s very being. Believing graining, Marbleizing and Other Decorative Techniques.” that the SWP’s revisionist course had become irrevers­ Typical of Nat, he contributed the proceeds to Socialist ible, he began the process of preparing to build a new Action—a hearty sum indeed. party, which could unite those expelled from the SWP— After moving to San Francisco, Nat earned his liveli­ and potentially with other revolutionary socialists who hood as a painter, but was eventually blacklisted from were still members of the SWP. Nat’s dedication to the the trade. This took place after Nat had become part of an Cannon tradition in the SWP and to the party’s historic important opposition caucus in Painters Local 4, which program—derived from the struggles of Leon Trotsky defended the local and its fighting leader, Dow Wilson, and the Left Opposition, and the bedrock of American at a time when the Mafia-led international union was try­ Trotskyism since 1928—was the decisive element in So­ ing, unsuccessfully, to place it in receivership. After that cialist Action’s emergence as a viable national formation. experience, Nat made his living as a freelance painter and Nat was the driving force in initiating key organization­ took what jobs were available using his special skills. al steps to implement the decisions of Socialist Action’s The employers hated the fact that Local 4 had won the founding convention in Chicago. These included seeking best painters’ contract in the country, a pioneering con­ out talented comrades to come to San Francisco to work tract that included provisions to reduce the workweek full time as professional revolutionaries for our new par­ with no cut in pay in order to bring on new painters. ty, securing a national headquarters—which he and other In 1966, Dow Wilson was shot and killed. The men who comrades with skills in the construction trades helped to were arrested for the murder had links with disgruntled remodel—and founding, within weeks of our formation, contractors who were roiled at the gains achieved by mil­ Socialist Action newspaper. itant union action. SWP comrades continued as militant Nat and I were elected co-national secretaries at our activists in the Painters Union following Wilson’s mur­ founding convention, a position Nat held for many years. der. Local 4 continued its militancy for many years, con­ We were close, if not daily, collaborators for over 15 tributing to the radicalization of the 1960s and long after. years. He eventually took on the assignment as Social­ Nat never feared to express his views in the SWP, at that ist Action’s National Labor Secretary, when he played time a party with a rich tradition of internal democracy critical roles in several Bay Area and regional strikes in and one that was inclusive of differing political view­ which SA comrades had jumped in to help secure some points. Nat was sometimes in a minority in party debates, significant victories. including in regard to the party’s support for the 1973 Immediately after the founding of Socialist Action, Nat Palestine Liberation Organization-initiated demand for played a key role in San Francisco support activities for a “democratic secular Palestine.” Nat believed that this the national strike of Greyhound bus drivers. Nat also represented a potential step in the direction of abandon­ took the lead in engaging Socialist Action in the one-year ing permanent revolution in favor of a “two-stage solu­ P-9 Austin, Minn., strike by Hormel meatpacking work­ tion.” In time, however, he became convinced that this ers, and he was in the forefront of engaging our party was not the case. in Ron Carey’s Teamster presidential election campaign. As with other disputes, Nat firmly expressed his views, Carey was elected to head the national Teamsters union, and always in a comradely manner—a trait that served but was removed from office by government prosecutors the party well and enriched the discussions and debates. who falsely accused him of illegal actions. Similarly, Nat was initially reluctant to accept the SWP’s When Teamster oppositionists abandoned Ron Carey in groundbreaking views on the revolutionary potential the face of government intervention in the union, which of Black Nationalism. But again, he allowed the test of was at that time under government receivership, Nat re­ events and time to resolve what in his mind had been mained a loyal supporter. His support was subsequently unanswered questions. vindicated when Carey was cleared of all charges against Nat was a man of great political and organizational him, albeit too late to resume the presidency that had courage. He was among the first to recognize the moves been stolen from him by a combination of corrupt Team­ by major SWP leaders to abandon the party’s historic ster officials and government union-busters. programmatic acquisitions with regard to Trotsky’s theo­ Nat’s Socialist Action pamphlets on the promise of the ry of permanent revolution, which states that in the mod­ Carey presidency remain instructive reading for union ern era, the so-called democratic or bourgeois revolution activists today. He attended the founding convention and would not and could not be separate and distinct from the (continued on page 9)

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Justice” was the Left Forum 2014 official theme. Thousands of radicals and socialists representative of a broad spectrum of the U.S. and international left participated in hundreds of workshops, panels and plenary sessions over the May 30-June 1 weekend at City University of New York’s John Jay Socialist Action newspaper sponsored two well-attended workshops. The above photo shows the panel that discussed “The Mandela Legacy and the Way Forward for South Africa,” in which Marty Goodman of SA and Nellie gubernatorial candidate for New York, Howie Hawkins; Marilyn Levin and Joe Lombardo, United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) co-coordinators; Yuri Kochiyama died at 93 on June 1 in Berkeley, Calif. Yuri’s radicalization began when she and her family were interned in an Arkansas concentration camp with other Japanese-Americans during World War II. In the 1960s Yuri’s Harlem apartment was often the meeting place for social activists, including Malcolm X, whom she cradled on her lap immediately after he was shot in 1965. Yuri was a supporter of human rights causes from Puerto Rican independence to Mumia Abu-Jamal’s freedom. Her life was an inspiration to all social movements. A few days before her passing she was visited by Lynne Stewart, Pam Africa, and Ramona Africa during their Bay Area tour sponsored by the Film: ‘The Immigrant’

“The Immigrant,” directed by James Gray, is an engaging and thoughtful film set in New York in 1921, with production values true to the times. The theme concerns immi­ grants who are forced into prostitution—a horrid victimization of women that is still prevalent today. Gray is frank about the exploitation of women in this manner, but tempers his presentation when it becomes a love triangle.

The film focuses on the exploitation of Ewa (pronounced “Eva”) a woman who emigrated to the U.S. with her sister, Mag­ da, from Poland, after their parents had been killed by soldiers.

The story opens with an image of the Statue of Liberty in the middle of New York Harbor and the head and shoulders of a man, shot from the back, against a dawn pink sky. Wearing a derby and a black coat, the look is reminiscent of a well-known painting by René Magritte. The man is Bruno Weiss, a “dealer” in women.

We soon see thousands of weary immi­ grants, newly arrived at Ellis Island, stand­ ing in long lines, their baggage at their feet. Delicate, fresh-faced, wide-eyed and beautiful, Marion Cotillard plays Ewa. Her sister, Magda (Angela Sarafyan) does little but cough and look distressed. You get the impression that the sisters are inseparable.

Magda is culled from the line and sent to the infirmary. Ewa is told that when she is diagnosed she will be kept till she is cured, then possibly deported. Unfortunately, Ewa is charged with having “loose morals” and will also be deported.

Enter Bruno Weiss (Joaquin Phoenix, in another standout role, after “Her” and “The Master”). He bribes an official to free Ewa, under the condition that she work for him to pay off the bribes, and for money for her sister’s care. Bruno is a shady businessman, pimp, and impresario of a cheesy burlesque review, owned and run by Rosie, a blowsy, demanding yet sympathetic, older wom­ an—like many who are complicit in the fe­ male flesh-trade business.

High-born and well-educated, Ewa is a sylph compared to Bruno’s full-figured fe­ male performers who double as prostitutes. She has an innate sense of pride and morali­ ty, with overtones of suspicion and paranoia intrinsic to a young, foreign woman such as she, alone in New York. Though she recoils ... Nat Weinstein (continued from page 8: “South Africa What went wrong?”)

led Socialist Action’s subsequent participation in the La­ bor Party initiated by Tony Mazzochi of the Oil, Chemi­ cal, and Atomic Workers union. He authored several Socialist Action pamphlets on labor struggles, in each instance pointing to key lessons that would prove invalu­ able for future fighters.

His pamphlet, “Socialist Action: Who We Are, What We Stand For: Why Karl Marx’s critique of capitalism is alive and well over 100 years after his death,” stands the test of time and continues to provide deep insights into the history and relevance of revolutionary socialist ideas.

Similarly, Nat was frequently the initial author of Social­ ist Action draft political resolutions that formed the basis of our political orientation for years to come.

During the 1999 U.S./NATO intervention and war in Yugoslavia, Nat developed important differences with others in Socialist Action over matters of Marxist theory, which directly related to our work in the U.S. antiwar movement. Following a major debate on these points that took place within Socialist Action’s leadership and ranks, Nat’s views did not prevail.

In 2001, not long after the convention that settled that dispute, Nat and his co-thinkers left Socialist Action—in my view, mistakenly—and soon afterwards formed the Socialist Workers Organization and its magazine, Social­ ist Viewpoint. The former dissolved a few years later. A few of Nat’s comrades continue to publish their maga­ zine and engage in important political work.

Nat, like all revolutionaries who devote their lives to the liberation of humanity from capitalist oppression and exploitation, was not without faults. He had a hot tem­ per that could on occasion distract comrades from the essence of his arguments. But his faults in political dis­ cussion were far outweighed by his strengths—of which the greatest was his clarity of exposition. If you had a in fear (and revulsion) at another’s touch, she is determined and strong, constantly nagging Bruno that she wants money for her sister’s care.

Bruno’s “girls” are costumed to represent foreign women. Their outfits showcase their breasts to an audience of howling men in the smoke-filled audience, and a scatter­ ing of smirking women. One of Bruno’s wealthy patrons pays to have Ewa “break in” his meek virgin son, who leaves after a bit, still a virgin.

Pressured into prostitution, she runs off and makes it to her well-off aunt and uncle’s house. But her stay is cut short; she is ar­ rested and detained for deportation. There, she attends a show featuring Orlando, the magician, and the opera star, Enrico Caruso. (This is true: Celebrities often volunteered to perform for Ellis Island detainees.) Charismatic, and exciting—also a liar and a cheat—Orlando, aka Emil (Jeremy Renner), Weiss’s cousin, falls in love with Ewa. The film then becomes more a story of rivalry for a woman’s love and the desire to kill for her. Bruno loses his theatre and is sadly reduced to putting on his show in the Central Park’s squalid tunnels for the down-and-outs and criminals who live in them. You sit there thinking, “How low can one get?”

In a church, Ewa goes to confession. Bru­ no eavesdrops and learns the truth of how she came by the designation of a woman of “loose morals.” Emotionally undone, he confesses to her of his betrayal. In the end, Ewa’s aunt comes through with some money. Thus, she and her sister are spared lives of degradation. And Bruno’s love for her outweighs his vices.

In real life, of course, not many women are as fortunate to have wealthy relatives. The exploitation of women (and, sadly, children) for prostitution and slavery will soon be a bigger moneymaker than the drug trade. Today, it is a multi-billion dollar “in­ dustry.” “In many respects, the girl trade has re­ placed the drug trade,” writes Malika Saada Saar, on the website, “Think Progress.” She adds, “Drug routes have been repurposed to sell girls along I-95, and up and down the I-5 corridor. The emergence of the Internet also allows the sale of a girl to be executed with ease, discretion, and convenience for the buyer.”

Saada goes on to say, “And unlike selling College.

present capitalist plunder in South Africa. a drug, the girl is ‘reusable.’ The ugly truth is that it is less risky and more profitable to sell a girl than crack cocaine or meth. The U.S. government spends 300 times more money each year to fight drug trafficking than it does to fight human trafficking. And the criminal penalties for drug trafficking are generally greater than the ones usually levied against those who traffic in girls.”

She continues, “Traffickers, and especial­ ly the politely termed ‘Johns,’ are rarely ar­ rested and prosecuted. Which explains the growing demand for very young girls—at Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and 45 other organizations.

disagreement with Nat, you soon learned that this was no place for raising secondary or subordinate issues.

Nat had the capacity to get to the heart of the matter post-haste and to drive his point home. With just a few exceptions, when subjective judgments could mar his political insight, Nat’s political acumen was the indis­ pensable quality that helped Socialist Action remain on course to this day.

I visited Nat at the Veterans Hospital in San Francisco a week or so before his death. He faced his end with the same courage and revolutionary optimism that he exhib­ “Reform and/or Revolution: Imagining a World with Transformative Bailey, Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, and Margaret Kimberly from Black Agenda Report presented a critical analysis of Nelson Mandela and the A second panel sponsored by Socialist Action, entitled, “Independent Political Action in the Streets and the Political Arena,” featured SA 2012 congressional candidate Chris Hutchinson; Socialist Alternative’s 2013 Minneapolis city council candidate, Ty Moore; Green Party 2014 and former political prisoner Lynne Stewart. Socialist Action National Secretary Jeff Mackler participated in a popular UNAC antiwar panel entitled, “The New Face of U.S. Imperialist Wars.” Socialist Action at Left Forum the click of a mouse, a ‘John’ can purchase a girl online on legitimate websites like Backpage.com, with minimal fear of pun­ ishment.”

Malika Saada Saar is the executive di­ rector of Rights 4Girls, a U.S.-based hu­ man rights organization for young women and girls. Unfortunately, the majority of these women—among the most oppressed and degraded victims of American capi­ talism—do not end up with a sympathetic “trafficker” like the reformed Bruno Weiss in the movies. n The New York Times ited during his entire life.

Nat remained optimistic for the socialist future and con­ vinced more than ever that capitalism’s evolution could only produce increasing misery for people everywhere. His confidence never waned in the capacity of the work­ ing class to advance humanity’s cause and usher in the socialist future.

Nat left behind two daughters, Bonnie and Debbie, and several grandchildren. Messages to Nat’s family can be sent to Bonnie Weinstein, [email protected]. or to Carole Seligman, [email protected]. n SOCIALIST ACTION JUNE 2014 9