By David May
September 12, 2000
This year’s Labor Day in St.Louis, Missouri, could be considered as a pretty standard one, as you would see in most U.S. towns, counties, and cities. People, old and young, black, white, Latino and Asian stood, sat, cheered and watched the great procession of trade unionists.
Almost every marching contingent threw candy, and the Hostess Bakery workers (of the U.F.C.W) threw loaves of bread and cookies.
Two unions had their own brass bands ( the Carpenters and the Letter Carriers) which played patriotic songs like "Grand Old Flag," as well as military marches. One union, the SEIU had a jazz band.
Every contingent had either hand held or truck/float mounted signs and banners, mostly for Gore or Gephardt (the Democratic house minority leader, who’s constituency is several counties south of St.Louis.)
Only the UAW marchers, which suprisingly was only one of three CIO (mass industrial) unions present, did not specifically mention Gore. Their hand-written signs merely carried slogans such as "Defeat The Right Wing!"
As one can see, the Labor Day Parade was basically a Democratic Party publicity event for unionists. Gephardt and senatorial candidate Holden enjoy the uncritical support of the more conservative craft and construction unions of the old AFL.
The author of this article was unfortunate enough to have had to brush arms with Gephardt, at which the author uttered a grunt of disgust. Gephardt, as he walked around, went for the easy targets, his supporters and unionists with his buttons and stickers on, when talking to people. The only food present at the march were free hot dogs given out by the Gephardt/Gore/Holden people.
Also present were activists, whose campaigns and ideas are quite at odds with those of the Democratic Demagogues and the union tops.
Despite their small numbers, the activists, mostly unionists themselves as well as other workers and students, were representative of the U.S. left; Anarcho-sydicalists, environmentalists, communists and Marxists, as well as left reformists. Specifically, the I.W.W, Communist Party and Young Communist League, Sierra Club, Larry Rice supporters, the Socialist Workers Party, and Youth For International Socialism.
The anarcho-sydicalists present (only one, whom the author was helping distribute solidarity pamphlets for the Farm Labor Organizing Committee) were minimal. Back when they were a larger presence they marched in the parade (sometimes the men wearing skirts, ostensibly in support of gay right). They carried their slogans "Abolish the Wage System!" and "Fire Your Boss," which reflects their rejection of political action for "pure" economic action instead (the I.W.W believes capitalism, ‘the wage system’, can be abolished by all workers joining a single union and declaring a general strike.)
The single Sierra club ‘volunteer’ half-heartedly handed out FLOC (Farm Labor Organizing Committee) pamphlets for twenty minutes then went home.
The Socialist Workers Party, as usual, ‘participated’ by setting up a stall packed with books on Che Guevara and Cuban ‘socialism’, but no one was interested.
The Communist Party branch did not march since its local members were marching with their unions. Two YCL (Young Communist League) members were handing out the CPUSA’s paper, the People’s Weekly World, which as usual carried articles urging workers to vote Democrat, in order to defeat the right wing and the "fascist threat"(?!) As one can see, the Communist Party did not have to march since there was already a group there urging workers to vote for Gore, the Democrats themselves!
Larry Rice, a local tele-evangelist and preacher who is popular for defending the rights of the homeless and for urging reforms, had his campaign supporters distributing yard signs. Besides the author, who was there for YFIS, the Rice supporters were the only ones advocating a break with the Democrats! Also, the Rice supporters the author talked to were much more open to the ideas of Marxism regarding politics than any other organization.
YFIS was the only present with a genuinely Marxist message: "Break with the Bosses’ Parties!" None of the other organizations suggested the workers have their own party, a mass party of labor armed with a socialist program. YFISers need to hit the streets at events like this and spread the ideas of revolutionary Marxism as an alternative to the chaos and anarchy of capitalism.
The working class needs its own political party, with an independent and socialist program of reforms, to fight for its interest in Congress.
As long as the working class has no political voice, the political process is free to be controlled and used by the corporations and millionaires to utterly exploit the working class and rule unopposed.
The working class, by having a mass party of Labor at its disposal, will be able to improve the living conditions of the workers through legislation such as universal single-payer healthcare, nationwide free daycare, a 32 hour workweek, repeal of the Taft-Hartley act, just to name a few.
Reforms and participation in electoral politics will not end the exploitation of the working class and youth, they can only alleviate hardship by degrees. But, importantly, the experience gained by fighting for reforms and participation in Congress will develop and prepare the working class for the revolutionary struggle to overthrow the state and its patrons.
BREAK WITH THE DEMOCRATS!
FOR A MASS PARTY OF LABOR!