Red or Dead

It’s great to see phrases like “Socialist agitators” and Communist subversives” in the Newspapers.

As cool as the ruling parties are trying to be about the situation, in reality they are shitting their pants. The Republicans aim is clear, smash the unions. The Democrats want them under their control so their support is based on rhetoric and hollow shows of support. Right now people are really looking to the dems for help, but even that is beginning to fade. The workers know that a general strike is the only way to show their power and win this fight but their “leaders” say no. The only union leader taking a bold stance to fight and endorse a General strike is Joe Conway, president of the Madison Firefighters Union. For the rest the battle cry is “fight them in the polls!” which is to betray the movement and serves to take the steam right out of it

 This is only the first battle in a long fight against austerity. The Economic crisis that the ruling elite created has begun to slowly turn around. The burden was pushed on the people to bail out the corporations and the banks and now the recovery will again be on our shoulders alone.  They will slash and gut public spending and take away from the people. Walker and his pals introduced and recently have pushed through one of the most blatant attacks against organized labor since the Reagan Administration. Unless the Union rank and file organize and carry through a General strike they will lose and this will set a precidence for other State Governments to draft these bills push them through and wait out the storm. The Wisconsin South Central Federation of Labor has endorsed a general strike, the rank and file are becoming increasingly radicalized. The students and youth are joining the fight. This is the time for Socialists to take this opportunity the cement ourselves within the unions explain our perspectives and spread our ideas. I know a number of groups are throwing their weight into this but without a concerted effort for all of them to work together they’ll spend more time attacking each other than organizing.