Party Builder #3

March on Washington March 15


United for Peace and Justice has announced plans to join with other groups for a national demonstration in Washington, D.C. Saturday, March 15.

The timing is crucial for a massive demonstration while the debate is continuing in the UN.

We will be sending out updates on organizing efforts but we are asking every Party club to begin immediately to do everything possible to guarantee a huge turnout.

There will also be rallies in San Francisco and Los Angeles and certainly there will again be many, many local actions but a massive showing in George Bush's backyard will send him a clear message that the majority of the American people don't want a war with Iraq.

March 5 student strike across U.S.


There's still time to join the actions

On March 5 high school and college students around the country will participate in a National Student Strike "Books, Not Bombs" being called by the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition (NYSPC).

The Young Communist League, one of the founding members of the NYSPC and a member organization of the steering committee, is mobilizing all of its members to vote "yes" to increased funding of education and "no" to President Bush's war drive.

So far, more than 300 campuses have signed on and we expect that 500 campuses is possible, but it means we have to go all-out and mobilize our forces.

For more information please check out www.nyspc.net.


The YCL website ( www.yclusa.org ) has a useful organizing packet, including articles and tips on how to pull off a student strike.

If you are interested in finding out what you can do to get involved or link us up to students in your area, please call the YCL national office at (212) 741-2016.

College teachers/students: Plan a teach-in or discussion for that day - see organizing kit on YCL website.

High school teachers/parents: Suggest that teach-ins/discussions be held in classes on that day and a mock election (on the war and education cuts) conducted at the end of the day. There are lots of materials available on the NYSPC web site including the ballot.

Ohio holds workers' school


By Wally Kaufman

The first day

The morning session covered ideas and scientific conclusions contained in Wage-Labor and Capital, Value, Price, and Profit, written by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels.

The main points included;

* The value of a commodity when sold on the market is determined by the amount of labor time necessary to produce it.

The worker alone creates value, but all value produced in the production process belongs to the owner (capitalist). The labor power of workers produces value beyond what they are paid in wages, over and above the whole cost of commodity production.

This "added value" is kept by the owner for personal profit, the source of exploitation of workers in a system of private ownership of the means of production.

* Struggle takes place over what percentage of the total value created stays with the owner as profit, and how much the owner must, or is forced to, pay the workers. This struggle is a permanent feature of the capitalist system.

* A society free of exploitation and the strife it creates can be won by transferring ownership and control of the wealth created in production from a handful of billionaires to workers and the people.

This is called socialism. The afternoon session discussed how early capitalist production grew into the giant monopolies and global economy we have today, accompanied by restrictions against democratic rights, and war.

Class leader Judy Gallo used a card game to illustrate the drive for capitalist expansion and consolidation into fewer and fewer monopolies owned by a small number of families.

The U.S. went from 300 auto companies to three. She used an AFL-CIO video to illustrate the expansion of capital into a world economy shifting jobs to the most profitable areas. In search of lower wages, the Bush administration is pushing to expand NAFTA to the FTAA, which will come before Congress in 2005.

Movement throughout the western hemisphere is building to oppose FTAA and needs full support in the United States. (The text used was Georgi Dmitrov's Against Fascism and War. Also suggested reading was V.I. Lenin's Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism.)

Day two

We know what we are faced with: unemployment, loss of pensions and healthcare, attacks on unions, wages, and benefits, dangerous restrictions on civil and democratic rights, racism, and war.

We all know we have to fight. The tough question is how. Rick Nagin presented a review of the economic principles outlined on the first day, using average wages, productivity levels and profit percentages in Ohio industry. The concept of class and the class structure of U.S. society was explained.

Forms of class struggle beginning with the fight over wages and hours, political struggles over taxes and government spending priorities were covered.

Increased profits from "super-exploitation" of African-American, other minority workers, and women were illustrated with average Ohio wage figures for each group of workers. (The text used for the afternoon session was Nagin's pamphlet, "Build the Struggle Against the Ultra-right and Corporate Power.")

Bruce Bostick outlined the strategic goals of the Party, beginning with defeat of the ultraright, leading to an anti-monopoly government restricting the operations of corporations and finance capital, leading to the next, Socialist stage. The broad outlines of the all-people's coalition to defeat the ultraright were spelled out. (Suggested reading for the second day included Sam Webb's "Advancing the Struggle for Peace and Prosperity.")

Who came

A total of 16 new people attended the school, all but two were workers, most of them union members ranging from local union officers to rank-and-file activists. Party leaders and the People's Weekly World have been deeply involved in the struggles of these workers and their unions.

The Ohio District Board drew up a list of names and those who knew certain individuals best personally invited them to the school.

Two reminder notices, followed up by phone calls, helped build and maintain attendance. We feel that style of presentation is important, that interaction among the presenter and students, with maximum use of visual aids and illustrations, resulting in a maximum level of participation and discussion, is the preferred style. Nearly 100 books, Marxist classics, were taken home by school participants.

Letter


Activists with computers can check two educational efforts on http://tx.cpusa.org/theory.htm.

One is an introduction to dialectical materialism; the other is a simple "programmed learning" approach for an introduction to Marxism.

The two experiments were put on-line because millions of people are asking questions about the society we live in and how it can be changed. Many of them "join" progressive organizations, but remain in the shadowy ether of the Internet.

The percentage of people who join on the Internet who go on to become manifest, physical, members and participants is generally disappointing.

Perhaps the answer is to go further with organizing "ether members" on the ether where we know them! If a real person volunteered to join a progressive organization, what would the members do? They would assess the new person's abilities and ideas, then they would attempt to fit him/her into activities.

They would seek ways to work together in an effective collective. What is wrong with attempting the same thing with more-or-less anonymous "members" on the Internet?

Even though we in Texas are far from solving the technical problems, we already know that having an outstanding web page such as is an asset.

Developing it further into a tool for educating and organizing is a worthwhile goal. That is what we are trying to do on tx.cpusa.org and we want feedback from every concerned activist. Jim Lane Dallas, Texas

Buttons, bumper stickers and bags


We have buttons for sale $1 each (50 cents each for 10 or more)

1. No War For Oil Just click here to purchase online.

2. Peace Is The Way (w/ Palestinian & Israeli flags)

* Bumper sticker: NO WAR FOR OIL - $1

* Plastic bags with same slogan
(blue on white) - 35 cents each

* "STOP Bush" stickers FREE!!!

Send to: CPUSA 235 W 23 St. NY NY 10011