The struaale for a Labour Party in the USA

Scan page 5

STEVE BRYANT, a member of the Socialist League (Democratic Centralist) in San Francisco, spoke to Socia ist Organiser at the recent Trotskyist International Liaison Committee summer school. The SL(DC) has just fused with the Detroit-based Revolutionary Workers' League, and the fused RWL is a sympathising group of

SISTERSIN Los Angeles dockworkers at anti-Reagan rally first of all a lot of workers their unions: don't even vote. Most They need their unions, workers are not involved in but they don't like them, the Democratic Party, and because the bureaucracy most workers don't like basically has a businessCOULD YC the fight U explain about for a Labour The trade unions openly support the capitalist parties in the US. Most of them supported Carter, some support Reagan, very few are supporting a One small Stalinist-influenced union, the United Electrical Workers, has come out for a Labour Party, but they still support Democrats.

There is discussion going on in the trade union movement nationally around the question of a Labour Party.

William Winpisinger, the head of the million-strong Machinists' Union, is also a member of the Democratic Socialist Organising Committee. He has said he thinks that there should be a discussion about a Labour Party, and a resolution was passed at his union convention calling for this In the Oil Workers' Union Tony Moussaki is running for president, arguing for that union to break from the Democrats and launch a Labour Party.

One of our supporters, involved in a coalition we helped to build, is running for president of the Carpenters' Union in the US on a Labour Party policy and for autonomy for the Canadian unions.

So there is a movement among a small number of union locals around the question of a Labour Party.

And the head of the State Federation of Labour (AFL-CIO) in California, John Henning, has called a number of conferences to talk about Labour and the two-party system. The Californian unions have 1.8 million AFL-CIO members.

We have built a coalition of trade unionists - people on executive boards, some officials, and rank and file members - who are campaigning for a Labour Party, putting out literature and organising union locals to support independent Labour candidates.

We've been involved a number of, struggles in that area.

Have there been previous attempts to set up a Labour Party in the USA?

There have been regional Labour Parties in the USA - the American Labour Party in New York and the Farmer-Labour Party in the '30s in Minnesota.

Both ended up supporting Roosevelt and the Democrats.

They were taken over by the Stalinists, who then turned to the Democrats; and then there was a witchhunt of Communists and others in these parties.

And the other Labour Party movements have always been regional, too, and have always ended up back with the Democratic politicians.

Apparently Tony Benn was over recently to speak on the Labour Party. Do you know of any response to that?

What Benn said was that the way to build a Labour Party was to work in the capitalist parties in the USA.

But reality TEA COLIDAR

the TILC.

unIon orientation doesn't support their fight for better conditions.

Benn doesn't see the movement for a Labour Party as a movement among the rank and file, and as a struggle within a Labour Party.

But they are going to have to mobilise at least protest action against Reagan.

On September 19th there is going to be a mass demonstration in Washington, called by the AFL-CIO, protesting the policies of the Reagan government.

The union leadership see it mainly as a pressure on the capitalist politicians. We intend to organise trade union locals to go there with the Campaign for a Labour Party and to fight for general strike action against the Reagan government as an answer to his budget cuts.

What about the fight women's liberation?

In St Louis we've been active in the struggle against discrimination on the job, where women are harassed. One of our comrades who is a shop steward campaigned to defend a woman cab driver who was harassed.

In San Francisco we've campaigned among hotel and restaurant workers against discrimination. The maids do the hardest work in the hotel, but are paid the least.

What about crimination?

What about gay people cisco?

positive There is a women's committee in the local, but the problem in most unions is the total lack of democracy. It's a battle just to get an And this women's committee has been set up with the proviso that it can't get involved politically in the It goes along to demonstrations, sets up stalls, etc., but it's not really organising on the job against harassment.

Recently there was a strike in Wayne, Massachusetts, in an electrical plant. A woman clerical worker was taken in a car to a bar by two bosses and harassed and fondled by them.

She reported this to her union, and the employers didn't do anything: but the workers at the plant went on strike.

Clerical and production workers shut the plant down, forcing the transfer of these bosses.

It was a very significant strike, the first one against harassment women in the US.

work among In San FranWith the election of Reagan, the attacks on gay people have really been stepped up.

Firstly, they passed a law which would outlaw legal rights for gay people.

There was also a ruling that gay people could not come into the country. But the main thing is the attack from the Congress and the Senate, where they are passing a Family Home Act which would discriminate against gay people and keep them from teaching in schools.

There is. general increase in harassment and attacks on gay people from the right wing.

On Gay Freedom Day, the largest demonstration was in San Francisco, about 300,000. For the first time there were contingents from trade union locals -about ten to fifteen contingents, including the hotel and restaurant workers.

We supported these contingents, and the Labour Party Coalition had a leaflet connecting the struggle for gay and lesbian rights with the struggle for a Labour Party and against the Democrats (some of whom are supporting attacks on Gay workers A large part of the gay movement in the past has been controlled by a petty-bourgeois leadership.

But, particularly in the Bay Area where there is a large concentration of gays, Reagan's offensive has politicised more and more gays. They see now that they have to organise. They can't simply have a free life-style without assault and repression from the Government.

Also, the gay petty-bourgeois leadership, in their businesses, bars and restaurants, have prevented unionisation, saying that the unions are anti-gay.

So now there's an organisation called Solidarity in San Francisco which is fighting to defend gay workers victimised at a gay hotel in San Francisco. They were fired because they didn't want their wages cut, and they wanted better conditions.

There was a picket for a couple of months by the gay workers and other workers from the Hotel and Restaurant Workers who support their struggle. One of the slogans was, 'A gay boss is still a boss' What about the black community?

There have been a number of attacks on the homes of black workers in the East Bay area. A door was blown in with a shot-gun, and the KKK and racists attempted to burn the house down.

So there was a committee formed against the Klan attacks. When the Klan staged a counter-demonstration in Richmond, there was a meeting of 600 trade unionists and workers to organise against it.

The CP and the priests did not want any mass demonstration, and the union officials did not want any demonstration by the The leaders said, "We" hire guards ['rentacops" , 85 they're known in States] to be in front of the homes" , and in this way they prevented any kind of union defence guards being formed.

There is still racism in the unions, and whites have better jobs than blacks.

Reagan has cut a lot o jobs from minorities in particular. The Budget cuts, combined with mass unemployment, are going to create a very explosive situation in the ghettoes.