Convention Update

Report to the National Board

Just a few words on Sam's report on the political moment, which I was going to say provides the framework for this report. And it does, but the challenge to all of us in the leadership is to really think about the report, what it means for our work and how it affects how we go about organizing for this most important highpoint in the life of our organization, our 27th national Convention.

What do we want to accomplish at this meeting today, with this discussion on the Convention? The answer is: that each of us leaves here thinking about what our part in preparing for the Convention will be.

The organization and preparations for our 27th Convention, the first of the 21st century, present this leadership, this body, with a very big challenge.

Because the fact that it is 2001, the beginning of a new century, is not just a matter of dates on a calendar. The exact timing of the Convention, this year or last, or even next, is not the point. The point is that we, our party, the labor movement, the broader people's movements, the international struggle, are at a new moment, a turning point.

So this 27th must be a turning point Convention. It must be a Convention of the transition, not just in terms of centuries, not just in terms of the generation of comrades who are leading it, but in terms of fully transforming ourselves into a relevant, connected, democratic, 21st century Communist Party.

It must be a Convention of a post-Cold War era Communist Party; a post-Soviet Union Communist Party; a globalization era Communist Party; an anti-globalization era Communist Party; an Internet-age Communist Party.

It will be a Convention of a Communist Party that is on the scene at a time when the democratic struggle against the ultra-right is broad, sharp, high-profile, and with profound stakes. A Communist Party that is part of, not apart from, the developing movements and struggles, and in particular, in unique and conscious ways, part of the developing labor movement as it engages in the class battles that are looming.

A Communist Party that is present in all of the important movements, and that is in a position to help build meaningful unity of the diverse streams of today's struggles, and that also grows as a result of that presence and involvement.
A Communist Party that contends in the ideological arena in effective, new, popular ways, at a time when capitalism has claimed victory. A Communist
Party that seeks ways to advocate socialism in this new period, and that possesses, and develops among its membership an understanding of, a strategy for social change and a strategy for the struggle for socialism.

Our 27th Convention will be unique in many ways. It should serve as a milestone, a focal point, for advancing the process of renovating and reinvigorating our Party as we participate in the developing movements and struggles.

On the question of democracy and democratic rights: our Convention takes place less than a year after these tremendous struggles. We must consider how it will reflect that; how we can include and incorporate the fact that so many people are thinking about these questions, in new ways, into our pre-Convention discussion and the program and themes of the Convention itself.

This will be a Convention of a Communist Party that sees itself as part of a broader left, a broader left that is growing, with whom we have to work in new ways, engage, and struggle for left-center unity.

Another expression of the turning point, the renovation, the 21st century Party that the Convention should reflect: it will be a bilingual Convention, in Spanish and English, and we have already started looking into getting help with simultaneous translation.

So, what do we have to do to make this 27th Convention such a turning point? How do we have to work in the coming months? What should we emphasize, what new things are necessary?

I think we will be successful in organizing a tremendous Convention if, at every point, we are thinking about how to position it within the "big picture" that Sam so skillfully discussed yesterday. The big picture, which pivots around the tremendous positive developments in the labor and people's movements, and an emphasis on the importance of our Party's relationship to those movements -- this has to be the centerpiece, the character, of the Convention organizing, of the work and life of the clubs in the pre-Convention period and beyond, of the Convention program itself, of the projections for the next period.

What the Party does over the next six months (almost exactly) is very important for a successful Convention in July. What initiatives can clubs take? How can we continue to participate in and build coalitions and unity in the struggles ahead? How can we help the coalitions we worked with on the elections shift gears and take on new struggles? How can we work to strengthen our ties, at club, district and national level, with movements and with the people, and deepen our roots?
The key -- and perhaps this is obvious -- to getting the Convention organizing off the ground will depend on what we here do. The key factor will be the participation of as large a section of our leadership as possible. And the leadership we give has to be concrete, and by example -- this is more important than ever. We have to show how the pre-Convention discussion can and should involve our coalition partners, for instance, by taking the lead in meeting with leaders and activists in the people's movements, by writing about it, by making proposals for how to make this concept real.

The plans of the Labor Commission on the preparation of the new Party labor program are very, very important, and should not be left just to the comrades in the commission to carry out -- for instance, the Board has to help find ways to help districts organize club-level discussions of the program draft as well.

Our main job is to guarantee the biggest, deepest, broadest participation of the members of the Party, of the clubs of the Party, in the pre-Convention discussion and organizing. And this job is not just for the National Board, but for the commissions and the district leaderships. We have to find ways -- and I don't think it will be just one way -- for the clubs to discuss and examine their own work and experience in light of what we're saying is the way we need to be working. How will the clubs contribute to the assessment of the new period we're in? We have to take the proposal Sam made in his NC report of meeting with 100 clubs very seriously. As well, the proposal on "wiring" every club (to the Internet) will also send a signal regarding our seriousness about moving to a new level, and making possible better coordination and communication, but we'll have to take some concrete steps to make it happen. In the budget, for instance, we should have a line item for guaranteeing that every district leader is
online, and perhaps certain key clubs (Hartford, East LA, South Chicago, Oakland, etc.)

Since these next six months are AS important as the Convention itself, we have to go into high gear, not in May or June, but now.

The question for me is this: How can we make the Convention the property of the Party membership? How do we show comrades that it isn't "business as usual?" I don't think there's a magic answer; what it will take is some intensive, consistent, collective hard work and contact between the Convention committees and the national leadership, and the districts, and between the districts and clubs. We should seek creative ways to involve members and clubs in the discussion, and not try to control or box it in.

The Internet, email, conference calls, etc., are very important ways to connect comrades on questions they are interested in, and involve them in a truly Party-wide discussion.

The Convention Committees that the NC set up, and which the Board staffed, have to begin meeting immediately if they haven't already. We need to have a schedule, nationally and at the district level, for the preparations, and we can't do that without these committees beginning their work. So, for instance, at some point the Board will have to schedule reports from the Constitution and Party Program committees. The April National Committee meeting is kind of a midway point, and we have to try to front-load the process, as much as possible.

Judith will speak about the Pre-Convention Discussion Committee's plans, so I won't go too much into that, although I do want to say something about the question of a main political resolution, which came up at the National Committee meeting in November.

I think perhaps if we had had time, we might have considered drafting something for everyone to discuss, but we don't have the time for that to be done right, to be taken up by the National Committee, etc. And I also think the arguments Sam made in his NC report about why we shouldn't have one main resolution are valid still. However, I do think we need something that lays out, in outline form, not in great detail, what the main questions are on which we need, want, welcome, discussion. We discussed this at the Board meeting after the NC, but in the hectic period after the elections and with the holidays, it hasn't happened yet. The proposal was that Sam write up his remarks from that meeting, and we should get that out as soon as possible.

The Pre-Convention Discussion Committee and the Board have to make sure that discussion on those key questions takes place as widely as possible. This will also make it possible for the April meeting of the National Committee to gauge where the Party is at on these questions, which in turn will help in preparations for the report to the Convention.

And to guarantee that the "big questions" are taken up, the commissions have to meet and discuss their role. The commissions that are functioning to one degree or another are: African American Equality, Mexican American Equality, Puerto Rican Equality, Economics, Health, School Workers, and Farm.

Where we don't have commissions, we will set up working groups for this purpose. These areas are women's equality, peace and solidarity, gay rights, the environment and culture.

To carry out all of this work, which involves organizing, coordination, and communication, we have to take some emergency steps in terms of staff, here in the National Office and, in particular, at the PWW. Terrie's report certainly argues for this.

We must find a circulation manager, and fast. A bolder and bigger approach to circulation in and of itself will indicate a different approach to our role and prove what we say about the new possibilities. It will help express concretely how we see the people's movements, and where they're at, and our relationship to them. It is an essential tool for industrial concentration. This goes for PA too...what a difference it would make to comrades if they could see PA being promoted in new ways and gaining new readers. Such staffing steps and the work that will result will contribute to the building of the Party, of our dialogue with other forces, and connection with the grassroots and other movements.

And if we are going to utilize these publications broadly in the pre-Convention discussion, we must gain lots of new readers.

Over the next seven weeks, in January and February, every district should have a well-planned visit by a National Board member. These trips are very important to the Convention organizing process. We should actively help organize the visits, creatively, thoughtfully, with the aim that they can help jumpstart the pre-Convention period, that we should get as many clubs and individuals thinking about the Convention as possible, and what part they'll play in the discussion, on what issues, what forms, etc.

Comrades making these trips should be helpful in terms of involving others, outside the Party, in the discussion, in publicizing what we aim to do with this Convention, etc. For example, we have the idea of holding a round-table discussion or conference on women's equality issues. So, if a comrade travels to an area where the Party has a relationship with the women's movement, they should go see them about the idea of the conference, about the Convention, and about the Ashcroft nomination fight.

We have to come up with a figure for a delegate fee, soon. We have to discuss this with the districts, soon. We expect it will be less expensive than previously because the Convention will be at a university instead of a hotel, but it will still require a lot of money. The national center should begin looking into other sources of funding, like the grant we got for the last Convention.

We also have to begin thinking about the Convention's size and the character of the program, soon. The Convention Program Committee will meet within the month. I think we should aim for something in the neighborhood of 400 participants, including delegates, guests, observers and international delegates. We will have to come up with a proposal on the formula for how many delegates districts are allowed, soon. The Constitution says that the delegates are chosen at the District Conventions, in proportion to the size of the membership, by whatever method is set. This allows for both club representation and other
considerations, which we've used in the past, including industrial concentration considerations, i.e., weighting in favor of workers.

I think a problem we may have is on the issue of members in good standing, and on members who've been in the Party for less than one year. On the latter -- comrades who've been in the Party less than one year -- I think we should make it possible for clubs to send such new comrades to the Convention as guests. This process should be part of the District Conventions. And we have to make clear that to be a delegate to the Convention, a comrade must be up to date in dues. We should utilize the Club Conferences in January and February -- and the new dues forms -- to get dues payments on a much better footing.

It is important that the delegate election process be undertaken in a very serious, thorough, collective manner, and in accordance with the Constitution. This is in keeping with the renewed attention we are giving to organization and structure, and to conducting ourselves in ways that are clearly understood and agreed to in the Party. We are asking Party members to take greater responsibility for the future of our organization, and the Convention is a part of that. We are asking for more input and participation from clubs and districts and we should also expect more.

And on the issue of guests: I think we have to pay much attention to this. We should guarantee that there is room for guests who are new members, or who don't have an organized connection with the Party yet, as well as for those with whom we work at the club level who are interested in joining the Party. There should be room in the delegation, it should be in our plans, it should be included in fundraising, etc. We should guarantee participation from the small, relatively newly-organized areas like Tennessee, West Virginia and Idaho, with whom we haven't had much contact.

We should begin talking with the Young Communist League comrades about their participation in the Convention, at the national and district levels.

I think the key to guaranteeing the participation of guests, to making it possible, and to making it meaningful, is in how we conceive of the program of the Convention.

I am not going to make proposals about the program, because the committee hasn't met yet, but I will say this: the program should reflect our coalition relations, it should reflect our Party's engagement with the movements, it should be an opportunity to express our unique ideological and other contributions to the struggle.

We should begin now thinking about which leaders and activists we should invite as guests or even observers, (which I think is a good category to have, it may allow some people to participate who might not otherwise) from the labor movement, from the women's, civil rights, environmental, student, gay and lesbian, and anti-globalization movements.

For example: we should extend an invitation to someone who's been involved in the Vieques struggle. We should think about what strike struggles and other labor struggles could be reflected in the program and send guests or observers. We should consider people from the Green Party, maybe even some of their elected officials. And there are so many other possibilities. We should begin thinking about the participation of cultural figures, artists, musicians, poets, now. These have to be concrete, thoughtfully planned invitations, and should be considered both nationally and at the local/district level.

To assure that this doesn't become an afterthought, or get left until it's too late, we should initiate discussions right away with every district about who from the mass movements they think might be interested in attending the Convention as a guest or observer.

International delegates: Also need to give this thought right away, in terms of who we should invite, and how their presence will add to the Convention. I think we should have quite a few (perhaps 20?) but that's just off the top of my head, and the International Department needs to make a proposal soon.

To summarize the immediate next steps: Convention Committees begin working; National Board members travel to every district; Clubs hold conferences; Labor
Commission travels and holds discussion on labor program; Commissions meet and working groups meet; Staffing decisions made.

As I said in the beginning, the purpose of this report is to get everyone thinking about his or her role in this intense period ahead. The renovation process is underway. We have a lot to do, and it will take some artful political and organizational work. It will take a higher level of collectivity, and a higher level of productivity.

We will come to our Convention with the Party energized from the struggles in which we're engaged, and from the process of thinking about our role in the those struggles. We will come to the Convention with a much clearer picture of what it means to be a Communist Party in this new moment, and what we have to change. And we will come to our Convention bigger, stronger and better organized.