[Marxism] "Unions" & "Workers" are not the same

[Carrol Cox <cbcox@xxxxxxxxx>]

Joaquín wrote:
> 
> Paul Bunyan writes about the ISO: "not being good with workers? Well maybe,
> if you omit the solidarity work and a dozen meetings they helped organize
> for the 5 Charleston ..."
> 
> I think if you talk with some of the more experienced ISO leaders they will
> admit work in the union movement hasn't been their strong point.

(I have no  opinions or knowledge whatever about ISO, but my focus here
is elsewhere.)

Paul's statement and Joaquin's exists in separate realms: "X is green."
"Not true. Y is blue."

The CPUSA (and other left groupings) did not try very hard to work with
the AFL in the 1930s. They gave their energy to creating the CIO.

"Unionized" workers make up a minuscule part of the u.s. working class,
so "working with unions" is not quite the same as "working with
workers." Since workers make up such an overwhelming proportion of the
u.s. working class (as Marx predicted would be the case in capitalist
societies), it is nearly impossible to do any political work at all
without working with workers. There are scattered afl-cio locals in
which leftist political work is possible, but for the most part useful
political activity at the work place probably will occur in drives to
organize sectors of the working class not now organized in unions -- and
quite possibly the AFL-CIO will be more of a barrier than a help.

Marxists have no crystal ball (Mao), and one cannot really predict in
what sectors of the working class the next political explosion may come,
or what current unions, if any, will be involved in that explosion (or
"punctuation" to the present rough equilibrium, to use Gould's phrase
from biology). " At the present time, work building mass organizations
around current issues (war, health) is probably more promising, and even
more apt to lead to important union work, than work within union locals.

Carrol


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