Copyright 1975 by Son Press, 14131

Woodward Avenue, Highland Park,

Michigan 48203. An International
Soclallst pampblet. Single copies: S.2S.
Ten or more copies: $.15 each. Layout
and design by KJt Lyons. Artwork on
pages 9, 17 and 19 by LlSB Lyons. "Our
Norman" reprinted from Socialist Wor-
ker, the of the British inter-
national Soc tli. Labor donated.
4

lass Struggle
Unionism
This pamphlet is a dapted frOlm th,e text of a document that was presente d
to the Int ernational Socia li st s Nati onal Commi tt ee meeting in J une. ) 974
and t he n to lhe nat ional convention hel d in Detroit over La bor Day
weekend , 1974. It prese nt s a revolutionary socialist a pproach to Trade
Union work. That is. it comes 10 gri ps wit h what has been a major poi nt of
controversy in t he left: what is the relat ion be tween mass work. pa rticu larl y
wit hin the working class" and buLi din g the revol utionary party?
Virtually every left group has fa lle n apart on this q uestion. consistently
cou nterpos ing the two tasks. The Internat ional Socialists has always held
thaI Ihe two are intertwi ned, that one cannot be carried out without the
other. We stated in a 1973 convention document :
"To counterpose these two tasks (the creat ion of a revolutionary
vangua rd party as part of a self conscious working class movcment; and lhe
creal ion of that movement ilself) and to sec ou r role as related to only the
building 01' a revolutionary party, is to misundcrscand the rel ationship of
that party to the class- the relalionship of Ihe leadership of the class 10 the
massc!. of worker... The question of party and dOes not aris(-: onl y at
thc point Orlnk ing po..... er. when the workers' stale must be based upon the
broades t organil.a tions of the wurking counci ls- a nd the
revolu tionary pa rty making up its va nguard e lemen ts - its leadership. Nor
is it a o nly \\ heTl the masses of adva nced workers are begin ning to
rorm and join the revolut iona ry party. It is as important today as at any of
Ihu<;e ot her poi nts in time. Thus the rolC' we play in rebuil d ing a
sel f-con scious worki ng cl ass movement. and our leaders hip role within t he
developing rank a nd fi le lea dership. is in tegrally ti ed to our task of build ing
!he revolutionarv pa rty. Only by playing a n active role loday based upon
our progra m a nd pe rspectives will we be laying the basis for playing the
role of t'on.st'iou'o revolutionary leadership of the cl ass (Omorf()w."
What foll ows i<; an elaboration of t hat poi nt of view. Though it was
Migl nally written f(' 1" IS members in order to clarify Our perspectives. it is a
theurclit:al advance for the y, hole revolutionary moVe ment. We hope rhis
vie wpoint will ... timulate discussion in the left. We arc anxious to discuss
and debate it with others.
The currcnt economic CriSIS presents great opportuni ties to
revolutionaries ba!>cd lin this perspective. It is vita l thaI the theory pe
raised to the level llf practi ce. that we act ually go about building a
self-(.;(l nscious left-" ing in t he working class and a revolu tionary party to
lead the struggle to it'> conclusion. We urge those who agree with us to join
us in this task.
5
1. Revolutionary StTateg.v in a Time of Crisis
,
The starting point of IS labor pcrspet,t ives is the need ltl build it
rcvoluti,J11 ary socialist party in the working cia ..... . We have adopted
the !>ame method and approach as Ihal cmployed by the early
Cominlcrn in Britain and the U.S .. by the Trotskvist movement in the lat e
1930's and 40s. and nv the British International' Socialists loday. That is.
ours is a specific strategy for building the revolutionary party in asitutlt 'on
\
here the general crisis of capitalism IS sharpening but the part} itself is
only a tin: minority in the class. It demands of revulu tionaries that they
function wi thin the existing unions and that they exploit the contradicti(lns
between the needs of the ranks and the collaborationi st met hods of the
bureaucrats to build a movement in wbich t he party can grow by
participating in the struggle and providing leadership.
Objective condi tions are laying the basis for the developmen t of a rank
and fil e movement inside U.S. labor. Conti nui ng decli ne, growing
instability, inilaUon and stagnntion . sharp fl uchlations. shorter and shorter
booms followed bv e\ er more severe econom ic crises. will be characteristic
of the coming period.
As conditions of economic stagnation and decline intensify. the present
labor bureaucracy will find itself unable to respond in a fashion that
effectivel\' satisfies the ranks. It is a bureaucrac\ whose collaboralil)nist
methods and consciousness were molded in the years of post war capitalist
prosperity. It will become increasingly disoriented- caught between a
vi cious capi ta list attack on the workers and growing unrest in the ranks.
Under these condi tions, a layer of mili lant activist workers will emerge.
6

The IS wishes to embed itself in this emerging layer, he'lp raise its
consciousness. to participate with it in building a rank a nd file
movement-giving what leadership and direction we can. We wish to win
this emerging movement to a policy of Class Struggle Unionism.
Neither collaborationists. reformists or stalinists will be able to provide
satisfactory leadership that meets the real needs of this layer. Our politics,
on the other hand. will permit the IS to playa leadership rol e thoroughly
disproportionate to our present small size and influence.
Our presence in this emerging layer will permit us to influence it with
Ul' revolutionary Marxist politics and to recruit workers from it who
through their experience in working with us, learn the value of our full
poli ti cal program. In this process. the IS will be abl e to transform itself into
a revolutionary workers organization.
Parallel to the development of a militant layer within the unions will be
similar developments among unorganized and unemployed workers, and
also in relationship to black work and community movements and
struggles. The revolutionary workers organization will participate in these
movements and struggles as well. giving what leadership it can. With.in all
struggles. we will attempt to relate the specific to the general: the union
struggle to the community st ruggle to the political struggle. It will attempt
to break through parochi al and sectional consciousness.
The revolutionary party will be buil t through the interaction between the
revolutionary worKers organization 3.nd t he growing rank and file and
insurgent movements that it helps to shape and lead. We cannot predict
the exact way t he party will be built . It could be through direct recruit
ment , through regroupment, through the crystallization, under the
infl uence of a revolut ionary organizat ion, of a revolutionary tendency
withi n a mass workers' organization, or through some combination of those
developments.
This outline of our overall labor perspectives leaves a number of concrete
questions still to be answered. In day to day trade union work. what
distinguishes t he functi oning of an IS member from that of a non-Marxist
trade union militant ? How do we use our trade union work to interject
revolutionary Marxist ideas into the emgerging advanced layer? Are our
trade union work and our fight to bring revolutionary Marxism t() the
working class basically separate tasks which relate to one another onJy by
virtue of the fact that the same individual member does both? What is the
relationship between the politics we fight for inside the trade union
movement and our full revolutionary Marxist program? In short. what is
involved in our policy of Class Struggle Unionism and how do we fi ght to
bring it into practice?
2. Class and Ideology. Spontaneism and Consciousness
Before going on to answer these quest ions, we need to take a closer look
at the emerging layer of mil itant, act ivist workers toward whom our whole
perspecti ve is oriented. A sure feel for working class consciousness and the
dynamics of its struggles is required of any effective proletarian group.
The IS has been able to move forward only on the basis of paying careful
attention to the experiences of our industrialized comra des.
We have learned the great diffi culties we face even in just developing a
rel ali vely solid rank and file opposition caucus. The primary problem
is bourgeois ideology. It is rare for even the most angry and mili ta nt worker
7
to reject, spontaneously, the ideological basis of the class coUaborationist
policy of the bureaucracy. They know they are getting screwed. Some think
the problem boils down to dishonesty and payoffs from the company.
Others feel thaL the problem boils down to one of sincerity, intelligence,
having a sharp tongue, or just some undefined quality of personal strength,
will and charisma. They conclude that to improve the union you put into
office younger people who are more honest, more sincere , more dedicated,
more intelligent, and more strong willed. Those who get into office on the
basis of these VIews , of course, end up just Like the people they replaced.
Most workers become apathetic believing that the problems of the union
are the problems of human nature, that you can't do anything about it
anyway. And what's to keep a militant oppositionist from going over to the
union administration when he or she discovers the kind of pressures they
are under and that rcally. they're not such bad people after all?
Bourgeois ideology pervades the working class of every capitalist
country. But its opposite. proletarian class consciousness, also exists
throughout every working class. The two co-exist with a contradictory
tension that determines the actual consciousness of the class. The pole of
proletarian class consciousness is weaker in the United States than in the
working class of practically any other capitalist country. This country lacks
even such minimal class institutions as a rotten mass social democratic,
Communist or labor party. Revolutionary Marxism. the only true repository
of consistent proletarian class consciousness, bas been absent from the
U.S. working class for a quarter of a century.
The growing capitalist attack on the working class provides the objective
basis for a resurgence of class consciousness. The class has new
experiences which it finds increasingly difficult to satisfactorily understand
on the basis of bourgeois ideology. Workers are more and more open to
answers other than the traditional ones. They find t hemselves increasingly
dissatisfied with the dominant instituti.ons of leadership and authority and
are open to considering alternatives. Often. conditions impel them into
actions which contradict the values they hold It is aLI this which creates
\
the material preconditions for the emergence of a new militant activist
layer within the working class .
,
Objective conditions are determinant in creating a rank and file
movement. That is. workers do not give up their free time or make real
sacrifices unless they feel they have no choice; that is. t hings are vieweCl as
being so bad (this is not a matter of starvation) that one must do what is
necessary. While the first workers to feel this are necessarily small in
numbers, that is the dynamic.
Fu.rthennore. the nature of the conditions that impel workers to build
rank and file organizations determine to some degree the nature of the
ideas these worker leaders develop. Rank and file leaders are strongly
pushed toward opposition to any sort of productivity deal because of the
nature of the crisis. The movement they lead will certainly be opposed to
wage controls now that they have experienced them.
Nevertheless. objective conditions cannot. by themselves. determine the
specific outlook of rank and file leaders. Nor can conditions save people
from becoming demoralized or falling for opportunist leaders or solutions.
ro become a stable leadership, rank and file rebels must be won to a
I.:onsistent POIDt of vicw, mllst become in fact an self-conscious cadre with a
class struggle outlook. This is not to say that the emergence of a rank and
file movement in the unions requires the presence of class conscious
revolutionaries. II is to say, however, that a rank and file movement cannot
8
achieve s!abHity or win long term victories without that participation.
Certainl y. the greater the objective contradictions between the ranks and
the bureaucracy, under impact of obj ect ive conditions. the greate r will be
the tendency for event s to genera te such a leadership group. But no one
should count on a nai vely spontaneous view that this will just happen
aut omati cally. The collective class memory of U.S. workers has been
largel y eradicated. At present , even t he si mplest of class concepts.
required to s ll stain such a k aders hip, don't just fl oat in the air- --nor can
they be easi ly rei ntrocluc,ed into the working class. Objective conditions
make this possible . But they don't automatically do It for us .
Class concepts reintroduced into the working class can rapidly take on a
life of their own inside the class. if they speak to the real questions
plaguing workers and provide sat isfying answers. It is di fficul t for a
worker to e nter in to principled and sustained opposi tion to the
collaborationist bureaucracy unless thaI worke r is in the process of
moving bey() nd t he confi nes of bourgeois ideology . in the direct ion of 3
Marxist world view. It is possible for workers to move spontaneously in the
direction of Marxis1 ideas - but only after t hese ideas have already been
introduced into the class from the outside. Ideologically, the main task 0
the present period in the United States is the reintroduction of elementary
basil: Marxisl, class struggle concepts into the col lective consciousness of
t he working class .
3. The Marxist Method Applied (0 Trade Union QuestJons
Ideas have meaning only insofar as they have practical consequences-
only insofar as lhey lead to or influence action. The only reason that we. as
poltical people, and as Marxists, want to influence the way people think, is
because we want to influence the' way they will act. Looking at the same
question from the other direction. we can only say that an individual' s
consciousness has changed. if there has been a change in the that
individua l acts and in the way the individual re lates to others.


,

9
Our immediate goal is to establish consistent and systematic methods of
winning workers to take a Marxist approach to trade 'union questions--the
questions that have the most immediate and practical consequences. This
does not yet make the worker a Marxist. To be a Marxist, one must
understand broader political questions: the dictatorship of the proletariat .
the Stalinist degeneration of the Russian revol ution, the popular front, the
nature of fascism. the historical materialist worl d view. etc. Few U.S.
workers today have the experience on which to really make up their mind
on these questions- or the inclination to do the study necessary. With only
rare exceptions. when we attempt to win workers today to these broad
range of questions we usually find ourselves. more or less. asking them to
take our word for it. And even if they do. we can normally only convince
them in a shallow way. until they can relate this broad range of important
ideas to their own experiences and activities. Until then, it is difficult to
make Marxism much more than a bunch of interesting ideas. This is much
more difficult among workers than among intellectuals who are trained to
delve in systems of ideas.
It is much easier to win workers to take a Marxist approach to trade
union questions. We can base this on concrete experience. on observable
facts , on testable activities. We need not ask anybody to take our word for
anything. Rather. we use common experience as the basis ofthe politics we
teach. In t his practical and concrete way. a worker can learn the Marxist
method at least as it applies to trade union questions. But once this method
is internalized. that worker is well on the way of grasping and accepting the
fulJ range of Marxist politics.
With our trade union work. IS members carry out two tasks at the same
time. We act as the best and most consistent trade union militants. But at
one and the same lime, we use every experience, every struggle. every
campaign- as an opportunity to win our co-workers to a Marxist approach
to union questions. The two tasks are paral lel and of equal importance. As
trade u.nion militants. we attempt to convince a worker, for example, to
participate with us in a campaign of some sort . But at the same time. we
\
use the experience of the campaign as an opportunity to influence the
worker into generalizing the experiences and drawing the poHticai lessons.
If we do the one without the other. we are acting just like any other trade
unjon militant- and we fail to function in our trade union work 3S
revolutionary Marxists. To consistently make this error would end up as
O,e flip side of the coin of those would-be revolutionaries \\ ho are too pure
to get their hands diny with day to day practical trade union work.
What we are to do is to develop a tendency and a leadership
in the labor movement whIch stands for class struggle unionism as opposed
to class collaborationist leadership which already exists. Class struggle
unionism is nOlhing more or less than the name we give to a union policy
which is based on the Marxist method as applied to trade union quest ions.
It is our for a union policy based on consistent proletarian class
princi ples. When we fight for class struggle unionism within the working
class. we are fighting to reintroduce the basic concepts of proletarian class
consciousness into the V .S. working class . Class struggle unionism is the
banner under which we fight the coll aborationist trade unjon bureaucracy,
the only mass organized expression of bourgeois ideology inside the U.S.
worki ng class.
Every demand. every policy. every program that the IS puts forward
inside the labor movemcnt . we put forward as a demand, a policy. a
program of class struggle unionism. If we believe that VAW militants
10

should run "Dump Woodcock" campaigns for convention delegate
elections. then we argue for such campaigns as the policy of class struggle
unionism Inside the UA W. We do more than try to convince workers of
activities, campaigns and issues. We try to win them to approach labor
questions the way we do. We try to convince them to view developments
inside the labor mmemelll the way we do. And to sum it up, we try to
convince them to think of themselves and to think of us, the IS members,
both as part of the small. but growing. self-conscious class struggle
tendency inside the labor movement.
4. The Principles of Class Struggle Unionism
To the IS. the policies of class struggle unionism are nothing more or
less than our own trade union policies. the trade union policies of
revolutionary marxism. But of course, you don't have to bea marxist to be
a class struggle unioniST, and in fact . it's possible to express the basic
political ideas from which class struggle pOlicies flow in quite simple trade
union terms. Wc can detine class struggle unionism to be union policy that
flows from the seven basic principles of class struggle unionism
For us, each of these principles bas a basically "algebraic" character.
This means that they can be easily understood and accepted in a simple
and shallow way. But through an individual's grov,th and politicaJ
development, they can take on an increasingly rich meaning. III fact. each
principle represents a fundamental Marxist concept. translated into the
narrower language of trade unionism. Taken together, these principles
form a bridge from trade union practice to revolutionary politics. In the
struggl e to politically influence the consciousness of the emerging layer of
militant workers we press, to the extent possible. to make these seven
principles the underlying ideas which shape the political common sense of
this new strata.
I. Class Struggle PoUcy: One of the most basic ideas of Marxism is the
class exploitation of the proletariat through the extraction of surplus value.
For the capi talists. labor power is just a commodity to be bought at the
minimum wage sociaUy required to maintain and reproduce a productive
proletariat. Translated into 'trade union terms. this means that working
people only get what we tightIor and only hold onto what the boss is afraid
to take away. Our desire for a decent human life, for oursel .... es and our
families. both on and off the job, conflicts with the boss's greed for the
greatest profits. Workers and bosses have basically conflicting
interests. For this reason there can be no peace between us. The weaker we
are, the more the boss will take advantage. A class struggle union policy is
one that can recognize these basic facts and understands that the main
of a union is to strengthen the position of workers in our fight with
the bosses for a decent life.
The class collaborationists \\ ho now run our unions try to preach the
opposite. They try to tell us that we and our bosses have basicall y the same
interests . Conflicts happen when one sidc or the other steps out of line and
acts in an unfair or greedy way. The job of a union. according to them. is to
avoid conflict and bring about labor peace. When conflicts do arise,
according to them. the union and the company should try to sit down
together and fin d out who is to blame. If the workers are in violation of the
contract . the union helps the company bring them in line. The only kind of
union struggle the collaborationists consider to be legitimate, are Ones that
11
ouR VNID" OfFWAL
M.'o A
folio,", theprocedureslaidoutinthecontract.Andthentheseareonly tobe
resorte d to wben the collaborationists believe Ihe company acts In an
unre-8sonable or irrational way.
- 'To
Therearcthousandsofexamples wecan point to every day to show the
differe nce between a cl ass struggle pollcy and a class collaborationist
policy. We as opposed to the collaborationists. believe that the worker is
always righl. the company is always wrong. We view the contract as
nothing more than a written truce in the class war. Ifwe can violate the
)
cOntract toouradvantageandget3\\ay with it we will-- just like we know
IhebossWill Whenweobeythecontractit isoutofrespectfor thepowerof
the company. not out of any moral obligation. Our only mterest in the
COnlraet is touse it 10 theadvanlageoflheworker. We are perfectlywilling
to deceive or manipulate the boss ifwe can get away with it. In making
demands (In the we consideronly the needs of the workers and
uur bargaining strength. How easily the boss can afford to meet our
demandsis nol (lUr concern-providingwe arestrongenough (0 force him
10 pay.
@XJJ)ft$ lM@(K?[;t;J1AOO
II. Rank and Ole approach: Another basic idea of Mailusm is thaI the
emancipationofthe proletariat is the task ofllle prOletariat- the working
class advances only through self-activity. consciousness and self-confi
dence.
Welranslate theseconceptsintotrade union terms as the rank and file
approach to unionism The purpose of a union is to bring logether the
weak. isolated. individual workers intoasingle. powerflJl body. Aumon is
strong only when the membership as a body is strong. The main job of
union leadership is to keep the membership informed. educated and
aware. They should alwavs be seeking to iIlStill in the membership an
underslanding thaI il must remain active, Vigilant. self-confident. united.
and ready tll srand upandfight fnr '"' hat's nght. Class struggle unionists
refuse to gel cOllfused or lost in the maze ofofficial procedures and red
tape. but merely U'ie Ihe (.'ollecti"e bargaining and grievance
\ pt'oceduresastactical parLsofa totalapproach .
This IS the opposite of the bureaucratic and elitist approach of the
collaborationists All they really \1,' 3 nt the membership to do is passively
supportthe leadershipanddowhat the leadershipsays.They.see no need
foraninformed.selfconfident.selfactivatingmembership.Tn theirview of
how a union works. union officials and management gel together
behindclosed doors and settle things . The collaborationists think that the
union officials make uptheunion. not the tOlal membership"They see the
KEY ''''
.8fl1 10 JUS" job of the unton as a middle man between the l'ompany and the workers,
? 1>OU6LY
not as the organization and orgamzerofthe workers in their fight against
the company.
,
-
rn. Workerscontrol: Marxistsunderstandthat it is the struggle against
capital that prepares workers themselves. as a class , to rule. To us trade
unions are a school for socialism.

We thi .. intD trade union terms through the colH:eptofworker"
l(Jntl'nl. The main reasollwhy weasworkersorganizcllurc;cl\,cs into unions
is III ga in morc contrll l over our own lives and ou r destinies. This is the
rca.,c," \\c light for highcr wages and benel1h. This is \\hy we light for
more humane working condilillns. In e\er} area, we light to limit and
on the pcrogulivc!i l1r ma nagement and 10 increase l)Ur own
frcecl\)111 ora,:t i(,J o and init iative.1'; wMkcrs . We try to limit and control Ihe
authoriTa ria n and aribitrarv power manageme nt tries III exe rcise over u<;.
12 13
and try to extend to the grealest degree possible the rights of workers and
our fre edom of action. We press from within the system for the greatest
possible power ( 0 organize and control our own work processes.
The nolion of workers control and that of democratic unionism are closely
I
\
related. We can't use our union to fight 10 gain more control over our own
lives unless we democratically control Our own union. And workers who
democratically control a union always use it to fight to gain more conrol
over their lives as workers.
1n practice, collaborationists always reject the notions of workers control
and democratic unionism. They respect, defend and enforce the
perogatives of management. They help management limit . worker
self.activity directed at gaining more control and help to maintain the
authoritarian structure of the work place. They do all in their power to free
themselves from the controlling pressures of the workers who want the
union to fight for their real needs. They not only undermine union
democracy, they also enforce and defend rules and procedures which limit
the range of effective action open to the union.
TV. Class soUdarlty: Marxists believe that the interests of workers as a
class supersede all individual, sectional and parochial interests. We
translate this into the terms of today's trade union movement as class
solidarity. Every victory of workers advances all workers- every defeat
sets us all back. We fight for solidarity among all working people: those
seeking work -as well as the employed. those not yet organized into unions
as well as the organized, working people of all countries of the world and
not just working people of the U.S. in response to every major workers
strike or struggle, the bosses try to defeat the workers with cries of damage
14
to the " publi c interest." We recognize no such thing as "pUblic interest. "
There are only cl ass interests-the interests of Ihe workers versus the
interests of the bosses .
The collaborationist bureaucracy class solidarity. They
defend the bosses notion that so called "public interest" comes before
worke rs' interest. They refuse to use the power of the employed worker to
vigorously defend the unemployed; refuse to use the power of the
organized workers to defend and to help organize the unorgani7ed; refuse
ttl use the power of the union to support community struggles; refuse to
champion international class solidarity but rather help the capitalists and
politicians playoff worker of one country against worker or another. We
respond with the slogan: "An injury to one is an injury to all- a victory for
any workers is a victory for the whole class."
V. Champion Uberation, support all struggles against oppression:
Marxists understand that capitaJists use special oppression to divi de and
weaken the working class by undermining class unity. Special oppression
pits white workers against black, male workers against female. pits the
workers of one national group against workers of another. We also
understand that effective fighting unity c.mnot be achieved between
workers of the oppressed group and workers of the dominant group on the
basis of any acceptance of social inequaJity. A precondition for effective
unity IS lhe committment of workers from the dominant social groups to
become champions of the fight against inequality and for the liberation of
the oppressed.
We fight for these ideas inside the unions. In particular we fight to
convince workers that in order to become effective class struggle unionists,
and in order to accomplish our objectives. it is necessary to join in the fight
against black and racial oppression. women's oppression, etc. We poinl out
il1at no part of the labor movemenl (not even the rank and file. class
struggle opposition) can expect to have the confidence or real support of
workers who are subject to special oppression if it goes along with that
oppression and refuses to lead a fight against it.
The racism and chauvinism of the union bureaucraC)' is covered only with
the thinnest liberal veneer. They have not only refused to champion the
fight against oprression. but have shown themselves to time and again be a
party to it.
VD. Labor's need for our party: As Marxists, we understand that
basic defense and advancement of working class interests requires a
political and not merely an economic response. It is only in the political
struggle that the most fundamental class questions facing the working
class can be raised and fought for. We call for and fight for a party which
will consistently champion the interests of the working class. We
understand in advance , that no reformist labor party can do this . Nor do we
cal l for a reformist labor party. Our fight against collaborationism in the
trade unions carries over into a fight against reformism in the realm of
pol itics. In posing the need for a party that fights or a program to meet the
real needs of workers. we are posing the need for a party that goes beyond
refomism. We raise the question of the labor party in a way which
algebraically poses the question of class power and workers government.
Both the Democratic alld Republican Parties are controlled by the bosses
and by politicians loyal to them. For these people, the private greed and
profi t of the powerful few are more important than the real interests of the
vast maj ority. They use the govern me nt to defend the interests of the big
15
corporations against the workers. Working people need our own party so
that we, t he maj ority, can use the power of government to defend our
interests against the greed of the wealthy and powerful few. We need a
party tha.t can fight for a political program based on real working peoples'
needs and not on the defense of private profit. We argue for a labor party in
tenns of specific issues such as inflation, llnemployment, wage controls,
government anti-labor intervention. Watergate,. etc.
Our collaborationist union leadership are already fully involved in
politics through the Democratic Party. This is nothing more or less than an
expression. in the realm of politics, of the same class coll aborationist
politics that they carry out within the unions . They refuse to lead workers,
the majority, to fight for OUT own interests against the bosses. Rather they
hope to get crumbs from tbe bosses in return for the favor of helping tie
the workers to the capitalist dominated Democratic Party. But as economic
conditions get worse. we don' t even get crumbs any more-just a kick in
the ass. Our union leaders sit on the Republican President' s wage control
boards and support the Democratic politicians who are pushing for more
wage controls.
Our unions are already involved in politics. We fi ght for a labor party as
something that will be needed before it will be possible to effectively fight
in the political arena for our true needs as workers. Today, the fight for a
labor party is an important part of the fight against t he collaborationist
leadership.But until the collaborationists are t hroroughJy defeated, even if
we can win our unions to the task of launching a mass labor party. we wiU
have to continue to fight the collaborationists within the labor party for a
program that really meets working peoples' needs.
vn. Anorganizedclassstrugglemovement:As Marxists, we understand
that political objectives can best be accomplished through organization.
We argue to workers that it will take an organized class struggle movement
to effColcti vcly lead a fight to rebuild our unions and to reclaim them from
the coll aborationist class traitors who now control them. We concretize this
by fighting for local caucuses and national caucuses and for the need to win
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,
them to policies and programs based on class struggle unionist principles.
We also raise the idea for a broader class struggle movement based on
these principles to connect up workers from different unions together with
unorgani zed workers, unemployed workers, black. minori ty and
community organizations. Without generating illusions about the speed at
which this can happen, this is the task we pose.
To summarize, class struggle unionists are trade union mili tants
committed to;
1. Class struggle approach
2. Rank and me orientation
3. Workers control
4. Class solidarity
S. Championing Li beration and support to all struggles against
oppression
6. Labor's need for our own party
7. An organized class struggle movemen
5. A Bridge to Revolutionary Marxism
The IS is a socialist. revoluti onary marxist organization whose members
are all militant ,:.;:;:; struggle unionists. Class struggle unionism is one
important part of revol utionary Ma rxism. But Marxism involves much
16

IT'STIMETOTAKE
OUTTHEGARBAGE
17
more than j ust class struggle unionism. It is the science that gives a
proletarian class answer to all questions confr onting the working class; it
represents the crystalization of the international class memory and class
experience of the working class; it represents the understanding that there
is an emerging international crisis of immense proportions and that on a
international scale. either the working class will take power. or civilization
will be dest royed. The IS represents an organized commitment to fight to
build the US section of an international revolut ionary Marxist workers
party. Marxism tells us that either the party will be built . or the working
class will be defeated .
We use the political concepts embodied in the principles of class struggle
unionism as a bridge from today' s consciousness and trade union
experience to Marxist ideas. AD individual who in a serious way
internalizes these concepts will rapidl y move in the direction of our total
politics. Besides the IS. t here exists no a single organized political
tendency of any size or consequence whose politics are consistent with a
serious commitment to them. No. 1 by asserting that labor peace is
impossible because of basic confli cti ng interests between classes. already
begins to weed out reformists. Nos . 2 and 3 include concepts t hat gnaw
away at the very core of stalinism. No.6 is inconsistent with sy ncti calism
and most for ms of anarchism. No. 7 rejects dual unionism. and t he whole
approach. taken togeter. rejects anti-union spontancism and abstract
sectarianism.
The seven points. taken together. al gegraicaUy pose a set of tasks that
can, in fact , only be carried out by a revolutionary party. or at least a mass
revolut ionary workers organizat ion on the verge of becoming a party. The
fight to win workers to a thorough understanding and acceptance of these
prin ciples. in terms of immediate tasks, is in a sense the fight to win them
to the need for a party that can organize to carry out these tasks.
In the middle ' 60's, politicaUy serious students who were anti-stalinist.
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anti-Democratic Party, and who favored non-sectarian full participation in
the mass movements. joined the Independent Socialist Clubs. the
forerunner of the International Social ists. Once they were sure on these
quest ions. they were willing to recei ve the rest of their pol itical training
inside the organization. Today we want politically serious workers. who are
clear on the questions of class struggle unionism and have drawn
revolutionary conclusions. to join the IS and learn the rest of their politics
inside the organization.
It is fundamental to our perspective t hat the world crisis of capitalism is
what makes both a class struggle rank and file movement and a
revolutionary workers party possible. In life. the "bridge" between
militant unionism. class struggle unionism and revolutionary marxist
poli tics is the nature of the crisis. The ideas of class struggle unionism are
essentiall y a reflection of that objecti ve reality and the contradictions in it.
As ideas they embody the direction the struggle must take to succeed at
any poi nt. Wit hout the crisis t hey would be ideas that could not win a mass
fol lowing. By themselves. the principles of class struggle unionism appear
timeless. Seen as a bridge in today's context, however, they provide the
means for educati ng workers on the nature of the capitalist crisis by
relati ng it to t heir experience today .
IS members entered industry. for the most part. just as the rank and file
18
~
rcbclJion of the late 1960's rcached its limits. Nixon's New Economic Policy
and the employers' speed-up offensive succe :ded in desuoyitl g the
moment um ofthat movement and we spcn t three years experiencing that
defca t-a defeat of the e nt ire working class. Nevertheless. the trade union
work carried out by the IS. especially give n the small forces at our disposal.
has been qualit atively superior to that of any other leftist organization in
this country. The members of our ti ny industri al frac tion s have established
themselves as res pected militants and unionists. We have participated in
buil di ng well -read and well-respected publications. we have made strides
towards eSltabli shi ng rea,l caucuses, we have joined and helped lead
nu merous struggles and campaigns . and our work has bad signifi cant
inrlucnce on the consciousness of broad lavers of workers around us. Most
importa:n t. ou r trade union work has become the center of the life of the
organi1.a1ion, and helped place us soli dly on the road toward becoming a
workers organization.
Now we are work.ing to complete the transformation of the IS into a
rcv() lu (l onary workers organization. Our approach is to group around the IS
a milieu of workers won to a conscious conception of the mselves as class
struggle unionists. and to recrui t increasing numbers of revolutionary
workers to the organization out of that milieu. This strategy for building a
revolutionary pany and our conception of the rank and file movlllenl (the
material embodimcnt of c l s ~ s truggle unionism) is one of the .distinct
chararteristic<; of IS politics- and a unique conlribution to the struggle for
oLialism in the US of the seventics.
19
We stand for:
IatemaUonal Soclal1811u the replacement Of
decaying Apitalism and bureaucratic collectivism
("Communism") by a revolution from below,
controlled by the working and aimed at
democrat ic rule over. aU social institutions.
WoDen' Power as the solution to America's
ever-deepening social crisis: rank-and-file commit-
tees in the unions to struggle for democratic power
and to fight w.bere and when the union leaders
muse to fight - independent political action by
workers' organizations to fight for labor's needs, in
opposition to the Democratic and Republican
businessmen's parties - toward a workers ' party to
fight for a workers' government.
The Uberadon of all oppreNed pup.: indepen-
dent organization of blacks and womell to fight
discrimination - an end to all radal and sexual
oppression - the uniting of separate strU8$les in a
common fight to end human exploitation and
oppression.
World-wIde opposJtion to ImperiaUsm and
explolta&Joas for the self-determination of a1l peoples
- for an end to US domination of the world's peoples
in the interests of corporate power - for
revolts against the bureaucratic-collectivist (so-
called "Communist") regimes - for wOlken ' power
Eut aod West to build lnt.ematJoaal lOdalIua.
\
J
lntematlonaJ Socialists Name .. ...................
14131 Woodward Ave.
BJghland Pk., MJ 48203 Address .................. ..
I wouJd like more InfOt- CIty ......................... .
matlon about the Inter-
nationaJ Socialists. Occupation .................
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