Unions and other organizations have endorsed a big march against Wall Street on November 17, and we encourage all workers to take part. So far, most of the leaders of the unions have done little to organize workers to attend. Workers in unions should press their shop stewards, delegates and all elected officials to mobilize for the biggest possible turnout. The protest will begin at Foley Square in New York City (near Duane and Center Streets) in downtown Manhattan at 5pm and begin marching some time after 5:30 pm.
While the union leaders are endorsing protests, they still hope to direct workers’ anger away from mass action and toward voting for the Democrats in the next elections. It will be a disaster if they succeed.
The Tea Party Republicans are racist and promote vicious attacks on workers. But the Democrats are also a party that serve the capitalists. From Obama in Washington to Cuomo in New York, the Democrats are pushing massive budget cuts to make the working class pay for the crisis. Union leaders and other liberal reformists hope that Obama’s proposal to raise taxes on the rich by a tiny percentage will fool workers into supporting the Democrats and accepting the rest of their cutbacks. Realizing how discredited the Democrats are, they’re using Democratic Party fronts like the so-called Working Families’ Party to drum up votes for them.
That’s why workers and young people who want to see a fightback begin should consider joining the protest contingent being organized by the League for the Revolutionary Party. Rejecting the Democrats’ message of “shared sacrifice,” we’ll be gathering around a big banner that reads: Billions for Bankers – Layoffs and Cutbacks for Workers and Youth? HELL NO! With lots of signs and chanting, we’ll be sending a clear message that the working class, poor people and youth can only rely on our own power to defend ourselves against the capitalist attacks. That means promoting a protest movement that points towards mass actions like occupations, strikes and even general strikes to stop the attacks.
Transit workers of TWU Local 100, janitors of SEIU 32-BJ, DC37 and other unions have contracts coming up for negotiation. We’ll be putting forward a perspective of using those contract struggles to organize a massive fightback by all workers, union and non-union, employed and unemployed. Our campaigning has already prodded the Central Labor Council to call for another mass protest on December 1. But we’ve also got to push for demands that can unite the working class in defense against the attacks.
While union leaders may plan to let the government cut some jobs or services while sparing others, we’ll be holding placards that say Stop the Anti-Working-Class Budget Cuts! While the Democrats plan cutbacks, we’ll be raising the call: Hands Off Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid! While Obama puts forward a phony jobs bill that will actually lay off public sector workers and give more tax breaks and taxpayers’ money to the capitalists, we’ll be spreading the call For a Massive Public Works Program! to create Jobs for All!
LRP supporters will proudly make clear that we believe that united struggles against the capitalists’ attacks will prove that no solution to the mounting global crisis will be found short of the overthrow of capitalism. But we will also look to join with other workers who agree with our call for a working-class fightback against the attacks.
This will be a great chance to take forward the immediate struggle while discussing more deeply the reasons for the economic crisis and the solution.
To join with us in sending the message of mass struggle against the injustice of sacrificing for a crisis the capitalists caused, call us at (212) 330-9017 or e-mail us at lrpcofi@earthlink.net.