Picketline During the RNC to Save the St. Paul Ford Plant and Union Jobs Through Public Ownership of the Plant!

People Before Profits! Save the St. Paul, Minnesota Ford Plant through Public Ownership of the Plant! Stop Union Busting!

Picketline During the RNC to Save the Ford Plant and Union Jobs Through Public Ownership of the Plant!

Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008, 3:00-6:00 pm, Ford's Twin Cities Assembly Plant, Ford Parkway and Cretin Ave., St. Paul, Minnesota



The scourge of plant closings across the U.S. has created a crisis for the working class. Here in Minnesota, as in the rest of the nation, Ford CEOs don't make decisions based upon anything other than maximum profits. Ford wants to weaken and bust unions. Job security for auto workers is not a consideration. Ford announced that it would be closing the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant in 2008 and coerced many members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union to accept buy-out packages. Ford's profits jumped as workers were laid off and the union was kicked in the teeth. Now, Ford has announced that the plant will remain open a few more years. The threat of plant closure and the unemployment of more than a thousand workers still looms.

Enough is enough. The time has come to nationalize the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant and guarantee union power and job security by operating it under public ownership. Ford is not entitled to any compensation. The working class has subsidized Ford's manufacturing at the St. Paul Ford Plant for years. We say: "What the tax-payers finance, taxpayers should own!" The St. Paul Ford Plant should be taken over by the government and run by and on behalf of the workers and the community.

Gus Hall, former leader of the Communist Party USA, said at a 1979 People Before Profits rally at Cobo Hall in Detroit, MI., that "workers...have an absolute right--even a duty--to tell the profit mongers: ’This is our city. These are our plants. Here is where we make a living and raise our children. And come h*ll or high water here is where we’re gonna stay. One way or another, these plants will not close.’...

"There is nothing wrong or illegal in the government taking over these plants because there is one sacred and inalienable right that supersedes all others. And that is the right of the people to make a living--to be able to eat, pay rent, raise and educate their children." (Gus Hall, The Working Class Answer to the Deepening Crisis, 1979)

Marxism-Leninism and Art, Culture and Class Struggle

Brothers and Sisters,

I warmly point out that one Marxist recently objected to Bertholt Brecht's statement that "art is a hammer with which to shape reality." This Marxist called Brecht's comment "almost obscene" and said "oh when will we learn to appreciate and engage something so gentle and so moving and so profound as our creative selves." It is interesting to note that "revisionists attack the Marxist-Leninist principle of partisanship in art." And they have in the past "opposed the guidance of art by the Communist Party." (Afanasyev, Marxist Philosophy, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow)

What is the Marxist-Leninist view of the "diverse kinds of art: poetry and fiction, theatre, music, the cinema, architecture, painting sculpture"? "In a class society art bears a class character, it is partisan. There is no ’pure art, ’ no ’art for art’s sake, ’ nor can there be any. The accessibility, the great power of conviction and emotional influence of art make it an important weapon of the class struggle. That is why classes exploit art as a vehicle of their political, moral and other ideas...

"Contemporary bourgeois art, for example, serves the reactionary imperialist forces. It seeks to divert the working people from struggle against the exploiters...Bourgeois art is employed to glorify the capitalist order of things..." (Afanasyev, Marxist Philosophy, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow)

Whereas "a qualitatively new, socialist art has arisen on the basis of the revolutionary struggle of the working class and its advance to communism. Socialist art assimilates the best from progressive art of the past and constitutes a higher stage in the development of art corresponding to the new conditions. Socialist realism is the creative method of this art." Socialist realism's basic principles are "kinship with the people (and) partisanship and bold pioneering in the artistic portrayal of life." And "the organic ties of socialist art with the people, their life and work are unprecendented...Socialist realism is conspicous by its profound socialist content." (Afanasyev, Marxist Philosophy, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow)



’Art (is)...an an important weapon of the class struggle.’

Gus Hall, the former leader of the Communist Party USA, would agree with the statement that "each class creates an art that corresponds to its class interests and aesthetic requirements." (Afanasyev, Marxist Philosophy, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow)

"Culture," Gus Hall wrote in Power of Ideology, "is used by the ruling class as a potent weapon." And "culture, both bourgeois and working class, influences people on an unconscious level. It influences from the inside of developments. No one says 'this is bourgeois culture' or 'this is working class culture.' There are no tags on the outside. Nevertheless, there is a very clear, distinct difference between the two." (Gus Hall, Power of Ideology, 1989, New Outlook Publishers)

Hall continues: "Some have indicated that we should not try to use our ideology to influence cultural developments. But this is an integral part of the ideological struggle--to influence thought patterns...

"The ideological struggle in the field of culture is very sharp. It takes place on the stage, the screen, in music, art and poetry. It pervades fiction and non-fiction, especially history.

"Culture is also influenced by aesthetics, concepts of beauty, color and form. But the more basic influence is the struggle between the two ideologies (capitalist and working class). Yes, we take sides in this struggle, as we do in other areas." (Gus Hall, Power of Ideology, 1989, New Outlook Publishers)

WAR, IMPERIALISM AND THE FIGHT BACK: dedicated to those who will join the mass protests against the Republican National Convention (RNC)

This is dedicated, in a comradely spirit, to all those who will join the protest sponsored by the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War on Sept 1, 2008. The Gus Hall Action Club has endorsed the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War's call for demonstrations during the Republican National Convention (RNC). The Gus Hall Action Club, waving a red Soviet flag and a flag with our club's logo, will be at the mass anti-war rally and march on Sept. 1, 2008 @ 11:00 a.m. at the State Capital in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Gus Hall Action Club, our Communist club in central Minnesota, links the fight against state-monopoly capitalism (the essence of which is direct union of the power of the capitalist monopolies with the enormous power of the state) with the fight against imperialist war. We are Marxist-Leninists and Marxism-Leninism is "a science in the finest sense of the word." (Ponomarev, Marxism-Leninism: A Flourishing Science, 1979, International Publishers) We are also working-class anti-war activists and we participate in many demonstrations in the Twin Cities, Minnesota against imperialist war. We say: U.S. Out of Iraq and Afghanistan NOW! No War Against Iran! For Mass Struggle Against Imperialism! and Slash the Arms Budget! Gus Hall, the former Marxist-Leninist leader of the Communist Party USA, said "there is only one way to get the country out of the economic mess it is in: the way the Communist Party has repeatedly called for--to slash the arms budget!" (Gus Hall, Basics, 1980, International Publishers)

We in the Gus Hall Action Club are unique in the anti-war movement in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, because we openly and boldly promote Marxist-Leninist ideology and encourage folks to read books by Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, V.I. Lenin and American Communists like Gus Hall. We believe that "without Marxism-Leninism, it is impossible to understand and accurately assess imperialism, the origin, inner content, and development prospects of state-monopoly capitalism and its many-sided general crisis, or to draw conclusions from this for the revolutionary class struggle." (Ponomarev, Marxism-Leninism: A Flourishing Science, 1979, International Publishers)

We in the Gus Hall Action Club also stand out because of our emphasis on the working class. Marx and Engels said, in the Communist Manifesto, that "of all the classes that stand face to face today with the bourgeoisie today, the proletariat alone is a really revolutionary class" and we believe that the working class possesses the power to end war forever. For us in the Gus Hall Action Club, the word "working class" is not a mere decoration in our rhetoric. The working class is our basis. We reject any "warmed up version of the old story that the working class has become fat, complacent, submissive and totally corrupt" or that it is "a partner of monopoly capital in its imperialist exploitation." (Gus Hall, Working Class USA, International Publishers, 1987)

The book Marxism-Leninism: A Flourishing Science is right that "it is only the Marxist-Leninist approach to war and peace that ensures a correct policy." And "there are no more principled and determined adversaries of war than the Communists. War brings riches to a handful of monopolists, and hardship, privation and grief to the working people." (Ponomarev, Marxism-Leninism: A Flourishing Science, 1979, International Publishers)

The system of state-monopoly capitalism and imperialism breeds wars for maximum corporate profit. In 1916, V.I. Lenin made an exhaustive scientific analysis of imperialism in his classic work Imperialism--the Highest Stage of Capitalism, as well as in a number of other works. Lenin showed that imperialism is a special stage--the highest and last--in the development of capitalism. "Imperialism," V.I. Lenin taught, "is capitalism at that stage of development in which the dominance of monopolies and finance capital has established itself; in which the export of capital has acquired pronounced importance; in which the division of the world among the international trusts has begun; in which the division of all territories of the globe among the great capitalist powers has been completed." (Lenin, Imperialism--the Highest Stage of Capitalism, 1916)

William Z. Foster, a great union activist and former leader of the Communist Party USA, summed up Lenin when he said: "Imperialism sharpens and intensifies all the contradictions of the capitalist system and precipates the present era of world wars and socialist revolutions." (William Z. Foster, Twilight of World Capitalism, 1949, International Publishers)


(V.I. Lenin)
In order to achieve maximum corporate profits in the modern era, imperialism commences an era of struggle and war for the redivision of an already divided world. The "imperialists are playing with fire." (Otto Kuusinen, main author, Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow) As long as imperialism exists, the danger and reality of war will remain.

William Z. Foster explains that imperialism is against the interests of the working class of the United States:

"Wall Street's imperialist expansionism is directly antagonistic to the basic interests of the overwhelming majority of the American people, as well as to those of other peoples. The gigantic expenditures for the armaments program that imperialism produces have sent the cost of living soaring. It sabotages, too, all efforts to establish better government insurance against unemployment, sickness and old age. It is also undermining democracy in this country and is provoking the most serious danger of fascism...What true interest can our nation have in such a program of oppression, profit-grabbing and butchery?" (William Z. Foster, Twilight of World Capitalism, 1949, International Publishers)

Gus Hall, former leader of the Communist Party USA until his death in 2000, said that: "There is only one way to get the country out of the economic mess it is in: the way the Communist Party has repeatedly called for--to slash the arms budget! Slashing the arms budget, dismantling the foreign bases, ending the tax loopholes of the monopolies, controlling their transfer of dollars abroad--that's the only way." (Gus Hall, Basics, 1980, International Publishers)

The people of Iraq and the world have a right to be free from U.S. imperialism. Otto Kuusinen says that "Marxism has been from the very outset an irreconcilable enemy of national oppression in any form and has consistently fought for national equality, for the complete freedom and self-determination of the nations. The formula elaborated by Marx and Engels, 'a people that oppresses other peoples cannot itself be free,' Lenin termed as the 'fundamental principle of internationalism.' And proletarian internationalism is an inalienable part of Marxism." (Otto Kuusinen, main author, Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow)

Otto Kuusinen, friend of Lenin, major figure in the Communist International and one of the founders of the Finnish Communist Party said that the working class possessed "weapons of struggle" against war and war preparation:

"A special responsibility falls on the working class and its revolutionary parties now that the war danger created by imperialism has greatly increased...

"Modern war is mainly a war of machines, of armaments, but these are made by the hands of workers; workers also form the cores of the mass imperialist armies... The working class is in a position to force the capitalist ruling classes to reckon with its will. But for this to happen its will must be clearly expressed in the form of mass anti-war actions, constant pressure on the bourgeois parties, parliaments and the press, and the exposure of the underhand plotting and intrigues of the imperialist government.

"It should not be forgotten that the working class also has so potent a weapon of struggle against war and preparation for war as strikes, refusal to fill war orders and transport war cargoes intended for aggressive purposes." (Otto Kuusinen, main author, Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow)

Mass struggle is the answer. "The war hawks always dominate U.S. government policy when the people are silent," Gus Hall stressed, but "mass actions can influence government policy...(and) drive the warmongers out of public office forever." (Gus Hall, Basics, 1980, International Publishers)

"We Communists point out that wars are inevitable during capitalism. This means that capitalism inexorably breeds imperialism and war, but it does not mean that every international tension must develop armed hostilities...The democratic forces of our country and the world are strong enough to bridle the warmongers, that is, the big capitalist imperialists, if they will but awaken and assert their irresistible peace will. They can not only delay war, they can abolish it altogether. One thing is clear--war will always come unless the ways are found by the people to check the war-making expansionism of American imperialism." (William Z. Foster, Twilight of World Capitalism, 1949, International Publishers)


(William Z. Foster, former leader of the Communist Party USA)
But only socialism will end war forever. "The danger of war," William Z. Foster said, "can be finally eliminated, however, only when monopoly capital is decisively defeated by the people, especially big capital here in the United States. This country, precisely because it is the chief center of monopoly capitalism, is at the same time a fortress of world reaction and warmongering." (William Z. Foster, "Twilight of World Capitalism," 1949, International Publishers)

The book Marxism-Leninism: A Flourishing Science correctly says that "it is enough to glance at the...bourgeois parliaments and governments to fully appreciate the fact that their links with the (capitalist) monopolies have grown stronger and more organic." (Ponomarev, Marxism-Leninism: A Flourishing Science, 1979, International Publishers) But Lenin said: "our aim is to create a socialist system of society, which by eliminating the divisions of mankind into classes, by eliminating all exploitation of man by man and nation by nation, will inevitably eliminate the very possibility of war." (Lenin, War and Revolution, 1917)

"Only with the establishment of socialism," William Z. Foster wrote, "can the war-fascist danger be abolished outright. The great industries, the banks, the basic natural resources, and the political control of society must all be taken out of the hands of the capitalists and placed in the hands of the people, with the working class playing the leading political role." (William Z. Foster, Twilight of World Capitalism, 1949, International Publishers)

There is a historical necessity for the dictatorship of the proletariat. Otto Kuusinen points out that "the founders of Marxism-Leninism teach that the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is the only force capable of effecting such a transformation. What is the dictatorship of the proletariat? It is power in the hands of the working people, led by the working class and having as its aim the building of socialism." (Otto Kuusinen, main author, Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow)

And "the dictatorship of the proletariat is the crux of Marxism." (Afanasyev, Marxist Philosophy, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow)

William Z. Foster continues: "This, and only this, will cut out reaction at the root. There is no other way to avoid the rising danger of devastating war, economic chaos, and the malignant cancer of fascism--all precipitate by American imperialism...

"American socialism would do much more than merely put a stop to the reaction and danger of monopoly capital. It would open up a whole new period of peace, democracy and prosperity for our people. The tremendous productive apparatus of our country, instead of depending upon wars and a war economy to keep it in operation, would find, under conditions of production for use, a boundless outlet for its commodities among our peoples and the famished nations of the world. Instead of being the property of a small minority of capitalists and utilized primarily for their enrichment, which constitutes a monstrous anomaly, the industries would be owned by the people and operated for their benefit. Under socialist conditions, the United States would embark upon the development of the greatest prosperity and well-being its people have ever known." (William Z. Foster, Twilight of World Capitalism, 1949, International Publishers)

More than ever it must be asserted that "Marxism-Leninism has not grown old and never will"! (Ponomarev, Marxism-Leninism: A Flourishing Science, 1979, International Publishers)

Union Review article: 'Ford Closes St. Paul, Minn. Plant; Communists Demand Public Ownership' is Now on this Blog!

Brothers and Sisters,

Otto Kuusinen once said that: "Communists insist on nationalization being carried out in a way that really curtails the power of monopoly capitalists and improves the lot of the working people." (Otto Kuusinen, Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow)

I proudly point out that I posted a 2007 Union Review article, entitled "Ford Closes St. Paul, Minn. Plant; Communists Demand Public Ownership," as an older post on this blog. The Union Review's article features coverage of our activities while we, the Gus Hall Action Club, were members of the Minneapolis club of the Communist Party USA.

Here is a link to the Union Review article entitled "Ford Closes St. Paul, Minn. Plant; Communists Demand Public Ownership".

Communist Clubs 'ARE the Communist Party'

"The clubs are not the most important feature of the Communist Party. They ARE the Party." (Gus Hall, Labor Up-Front, 1979, International Publishers)

Brothers and Sisters,

I warmly point out that the question of the role of Marxist-Leninist clubs is important. V.I. Lenin wrote that: "Not a single class in history achieved power without putting forward its political leaders and spokesmen, capable of organizing the movement and leading it." (Lenin, "The Urgent Tasks of Our Movement," Dec. 1901) Communist clubs are absolutely essential to train proletarian Marxist-Leninist leaders. Lenin wrote that: "If the proletariat wishes to defeat the bourgeoisie, it must train from among its ranks its own proletarian 'class politicians' who should not be inferior to the bourgeois politicians." (Lenin, 'Left-Wing' Communism--An Infantile Disorder, 1920)

Lenin also wrote that a Marxist-Leninist party is the vanguard of the proletariat. He said: "By educating the workers' party, Marxism educates the vanguard of the proletariat which is capable of assuming power and of leading the whole people to socialism, of directing and organizing the new order, of being the teacher, the guide, the leader of all the toilers and exploited in the task of building up their social life without the bourgeoisie and against the bourgeoisie." (Lenin, State and Revolution, 1917) A Communist club is a vanguard fighting working-class organization at the groundfloor of class and mass struggle.


(’We see in the independent, uncompromisingly Marxist party of the revolutionary proletariat the sole pledge of socialism’s victory and the road to victory that is most free from vacillations.’--Lenin, A Militant Agreement for the Uprising, 1905)

Gus Hall, the great former leader of the Communist Party USA, wrote that Communist clubs should "work...to influence, initiate and guide movements and struggles." Hall said that a Communist club must "raise the class and socialist consciousness of our shopmates and neighbors." He stresses the value of Marxist-Leninist literature and leaflets. Gus Hall points out that Communists must "participate in mass work," "project advanced ideas...class and socialist consciousness" and never "forget they are Communists."

"When a club is engaged in mass work," Hall said in Labor Up-Front, "the overall work of the Party takes on a different meaning. Then the Party's propaganda, agitation and educational work will deal with and blend in the issues that emerge from the mass struggles. Then the advocacy of socialism takes on an immediacy of being approached as a solution, an alternative to the existing problems. Then the study of Marxism-Leninism becomes a science--not in the realm of abstract theory, but as an approach, as a guide to struggle." (Gus Hall, Labor Up-Front, 1979, International Publishers)

Hall said that "People have to see us, to hear us, to talk to us and to struggle with us--as Communists, a a Communist club." (Hall, For Peace, Jobs, Equality, 1983, New Outlook Publishers)

I assume that Hall might also add that a Marxist-Leninist Communist club must take into account the level and experience of the class consciousness of the masses. But Gus Hall would agree with Otto Kuusinen that: "taking the level of class-consciousness of the masses into account has nothing in common with adaptation to that level, with adopting the level of their backwardness. Such an understanding of connection with the masses is characteristic of opportunism. Revolutionary Marxists understand it differently. They do not drift with the tide." (Otto Kuusinen, et. al., Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow)

And "we must anchor our approach, our attitude, our sense of priorities in the basics of the class struggle." (Hall, For Peace, Jobs, Equality, 1983, New Outlook Publishers)

In an extract from Gus Hall's 1979 essay, The Struggle Ahead, Hall provides some practical ideas for Communist clubs:

"...(A) club purpose must come from working to influence, initiate and guide movements and struggles. The purpose of a club must include concrete ways to bring understanding and clarity to people we work with. It must include specific ways to raise the class and socialist consciousness of our shopmates and neighbors. It must include the building of the press and the creative use of leaflets and pamphlets. Club life must include...regular reading and study...A club purpose must be related to some form of struggle or movement, whether in the shop or neighborhood. A meaningful and serious club purpose must include a periodic review of experiences to see where it has been effective and what are the shortcomings. This should be followed by a discussion of how to improve the work. The work of a club must have continuity.

"The life of a club, the form and content of club meetings, the work of each member, should be related to and geared towards mass activities--activities against high taxes, inflation, soaring electric and gas bills; activities in the electoral arena, forms of political Independence,; activities in the shops and trade unions; activities in the struggle against racism and for working-class unity; activities based on planned educational and propaganda efforts to raise class and socialist consciousness. And as one of the results of mass work, we should be consciously trying to convince people to join the Party. In all our activities we should be creatively using our press...and mass literature. Club activities should include increasing the circulation of our press as well as using it in our particular struggles and movements.

"On the club level, the Party's general policies and assessments must become specific tasks, involving not masses, but particular people, by name; specific local organizations, by name. To have meaning, tactics must emerge in the writing and distribution of leaflets, mailing out pamphlets; convincing people, one-to-one; making telephone calls; visiting people for subscription renewal and a hundred other seemingly small tasks.

"The responsibility of Communist leadership must include a concern for the spirit of a club meeting, giving encouragement to members, attention to their personal problems, and never being too tired to take part in the nitty-gritty work of the club.

"When the economic and military avenues become restricted, monopoly capital increases its activities in the field of ideology. The deepening of the crisis of capitalism, the sharpening of the contradictions and the process of radicalization are all reflected in a sharpening of the contradictions in the arena of ideology and ideas. Because of this, agitation and propaganda have become frontline necessities for the Party. We must bring them up to date, both in form and content. We must increase both our written and our oral word. The circulation of...(Communist literature)...must become a daily task for every member of the Party.

"In our propaganda work we must master the art of exposing, explaining and then answering the question: what can the people do? In our propaganda we must not be satisfied with talking to ourselves. It is not enough to be right for the record. We must be able to be correct AND convincing. The Party must fight for a public presence. We must fight to break through the blockade of the mass media against the Party...Each member of the Party should become involved in this struggle...

"There should not be a club that does not have a plan for the circulation of the press--neighborhood routes, shop gate distributions. There should not be a club that does not issue at least three leaflets a year. When Party pamphlets come out...each club should work out a specific plan for its circulation and distribution, which includes sales, mailings and other forms of mass distribution. The sale of Marxist books is a task for every member of the Party...

"Mass activities means working with, speaking to and organizing people who are not in the Party. The Party does have instruments of agitation and propaganda. The challenge is to get them into the hands of millions. We have...Marxist-Leninist books and pamphlets...

"When put on paper all this sounds overwhelming. It is obvious there is not one club that is going to be able to carry on all these activities and tasks at the same time. The club leadership should take two or three of the key concepts and work them into a very concrete, realistic club-size plan. A sense of priorities is important. After this is done each club should be devoted mainly to a discussion about these selected tasks. What are the experiences? What should be changed or modified? What are some of the new tasks that have emerged and should be added to the plan?

"The club should always be focused on one or two key tasks, key tasks that influence and move all other areas. A Party club that is not related to mass work is a club that has no clear purpose. A member of the Party who is not active in some form of mass activity becomes isolated. The other side of this coin is that Communists who do participate in mass work, but do not project advanced ideas, do not advance class or socialist consciousness, who forget they are Communists, become isolated politically and ideologically.

"A club purpose should always include a plan based on the specifics. However, it must also be realistic. Fantasy--a purpose developed within the framework of a dream world instead of the real world--will not bring results. Finally, the bottom line, the purpose, of a club must include recruiting, and the plan of work must include special, detailed plans for recruiting. We have to face the truth that with the present size of our Party there are limitations on what we can do or contribute. With our present size we can not fully meet the responsibilities of the present moment. We must face the truth that the Party does not grow spontaneously. As a result of our mass work, the influence of the Party does grow. However, without special efforts this does not result in recruiting. Recruiting is a concrete, year-round task of every member. But without concrete actions, without specific forms and methods--open club meetings, special educationals for the specific purpose of recruiting--without special Party-building drives, without special materials to convince people to join the Party--we are not going to grow fast enough. While raising recruiting to a new level we must also systematize and modernize the education of new members. The system of educating new members and recruiting must go hand-in-hand. " (Gus Hall, The Struggle Ahead, 1979, New Outlook Publishers)

Support ATU 1005 in their Fight for a Good Contract!

Brothers and Sisters,

Statement by the Gus Hall Action Club supporting Support ATU 1005 (the public "bus and train drivers union" in the Twin Cities, Minnesota) in their fight for a good contract:



"The history of all hitherto existing society," Marx and Engels wrote in the Communist Manifesto, "is the history of class struggles." And class struggle runs like a red thread through ATU (the Amalgamated Transit Union) local 1005's fight for a good contract.

State-monopoly capitalism unites the power of capitalist monopolies with that of the state. "The essence of state-monopoly capitalism," Otto Kuusinen said in Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism, "is the direct union of the power of capitalist monopolies with the enormous power of the state." And this, in part, explains why Metro Transit is trying to attack union member's wages and healthcare. Metro Transit's "final offer" for a contract was an insult and an attack on the working class. ATU 1005 is now working without a contract as the struggle continues. As ATU 1005's fighting spirit proves, the working class, as Otto Kuusinen pointed out in Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism, is "a class of fighters, a class of builders."

ATU 1005's struggle is on behalf of our entire working class. It is in the class interests of all working class people to stand in solidarity with ATU 1005, the "bus and train driver's union," and insist that the union's demands and contract proposals be met in full.

Gus Hall, writing in Working Class USA, had exactly that attitude which all working class folks should have towards ATU 1005's fight for a good contract: "We are for any demand that cuts down on profits, ups wages, cuts down on speedup, shortens hours, protects workers' health."

At the same time as Metro Transit refuses to agree to ATU 1005's efforts for a good contract, they are forcing through bus fare increases. This is another attack on working class people. Don't believe the hype that the union is to blame. Gus Hall said in Basics that "the ideological machinery of capitalism grinds out propaganda against labor in an endless stream, like a sausage machine turns out frankfurters." Bosses and their mouthpieces have always tried to split the ranks of the working class, but, as Otto Kuusinen pointed out in Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism, "unity of workers has a firm, objective basis--the community of class interests." Bus riders and drivers have a common interest in ATU 1005's fight for a good contract. An injury to one is an injury to all.

Metro Transit says high fuel costs are to blame for the upcoming bus fare increase. What is a real solution to the high price of fuel? Nationalize the oil, gas and energy industries! Gus Hall wrote in The Energy Rip-Off that "nationalization under democratic people's control can result in real gains for the American people." "Nationalization," Hall says in Working Class USA, is "when an industry is taken over by the government and run for the benefit of the people." Otto Kuusinen points out in Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism that: "Communists insist on nationalization being carried out in a way that really curtails the power of the monopoly capitalists and improves the lot of working people."

It is in the class interests of all working class people to stand in solidarity with ATU 1005, the "bus and train driver's union," and insist that their contract demands and proposals be met in full.

What can you do? Call Metro Transit Council at 651-602-1000 and tell them that you support ATU 1005 and their demands for a good contract. Post a blog or write a letter to the editor of a newspaper supporting ATU 1005 in the contract fight. And make sure that you show the drivers that you support them the next time you get on a bus.