Last week, over 250 Marxist activists from 22 countries met in-person for the week-long ISA International School, with hundreds more following the proceedings online. Among the attendees were many trade union activists from around the world, who met in one of more than 40 commissions throughout the week to discuss the recent trends in the labor movement and how Marxists can intervene.
The discussion was introduced by James Graham, the national labor organizer for Socialist Alternative in the United States, and Walter, a shop steward in the mental healthcare sector and member of Gent LSP/PSL (ISA in Belgium)
“The starting point for labor perspectives is global,” James began. He described how, over the last two years, major events have transformed the global economy. The COVID-19 pandemic created a profound crisis for global capitalism, with capitalist governments around the world failing to contain the spread.
Already before the pandemic, inequality was at record levels. Now, runaway inflation is compounding the crisis, with the inter-imperialist War in Ukraine causing dramatic spikes in oil and food prices. This has had disastrous effects for workers in every country.
Early in the pandemic, the “Great Resignation” showed that workers were fed up with work under capitalism. Millions quit their jobs in search of something better. A recent survey of 50,000 workers across 44 countries showed 20 percent of workers are very or extremely likely to quit their job in the next 6 months.
The wave of resignations quickly turned into a wave of unionization and strikes. A wave of revolts has taken place in the neocolonial world, from Myanmar to Sri Lanka to Chile, with massive strikes including general strikes, often a key feature. Starbucks and Amazon workers have led high-profile organizing drives in the US. James explained that Socialist Alternative in the US has put forward the slogan “Don’t quit — organize!”
James emphasized that the trend of strikes, unionization, and labor struggle is pointing decidedly upward, although there can be temporary setbacks and retreats.
At the same time, there is a crisis of organization and leadership in the labor movement. The last 40 years has seen a hollowing out of activist organizations and unions, and the union bureaucracy remains the chief obstacle to the rebuilding of a fighting labor movement. It sits as a conservative and privileged caste on top of most unions, aiming to contain struggles.
Workers Fight Back
Walter explained that workers have responded to these obstacles by organizing in three main ways:
First, inside established unions, workers have fought to oust their old conservative leadership, bring in new leaders, and intensify their struggle. This is typified by Sean O’Brien and the Teamsters United slate in the US, which was elected this year on the back of anger among UPS workers at the old Hoffa leadership. Likewise, Sharon Graham was elected as leader of Britain and Ireland’s Unite union on a promise of strengthening democracy and militant action. Mine workers in South Africa have organized occupations of buildings, and workers are increasingly going on strike despite the objections of their own union leadership, as have carpenters in the United States.
Second, workers are organizing new unions. Workers at Amazon launched a new, independent union in New York, overcoming millions of dollars of anti-union spending by the company. Auto parts workers in Mexico have broken from the corrupt CTM union, after organizing wildcat strikes that won 20 percent wage increases, and formed their own union.
Third, workers are organizing structures outside the official unions. In Belgium, healthcare workers launched Santé en Lutte (“Healthcare in Action”) to fight back against government cuts to healthcare. Workers have also taken to the streets in social movements, like the ongoing movement for abortion rights. 65 percent of workers internationally report discussing social and political issues on the job.
Both Walter and James emphasized that workers’ struggles will only become more likely and more militant as inflation soars, although a recession could temporarily cut through this trend. Workers will fight for wage increases to reflect the higher cost of living. The economic crisis will have additional radicalizing effects on workers, as capitalism proves unable to solve its crises.
ISA in the workplace
Union activists from multiple countries described the important role that ISA members have played in the emerging labor struggles around the world.
Drew, an Amazon worker from San Diego in the United States, described the brutal
conditions facing Amazon workers there. In a region with very little public transportation infrastructure, workers were forced to walk a mile or more to work in heat of 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit). Amazon workers built a 600-strong petition and won a shuttle service to the main warehouse. ISA has been active in the campaign, arguing to expand beyond one warehouse to include all Amazon workers in the region.
Connor from North Carolina described how Socialist Alternative has organized with Amazon workers in the area. The workers have taken up many of Socialist Alternative’s ideas and the best methods of the Amazon Labor Union, including flyering sessions at the warehouse gates and agitation on the warehouse floor, centered around fighting demands like a $10 per hour wage increase.
An ISA member from South Africa described how Clover workers built a campaign from below to go on strike, putting forward clear demands, including an end to wage cuts and austerity measures. ISA members in South Africa put forward additional demands, including nationalizing the company, which gained an important echo among workers.
Mark, a worker at an electric car manufacturer in Germany, has played a leading role in organizing workplace meetings and rebuilding the union at his workplace. In Germany, union membership has plummetted, from 13 million in 1991 to only 6 million today. Mark has set records for the number of new members recruited to the union, demonstrating that the decline of the union movement is not inevitable and can be reversed with a politicized approach.
Thomas from Austria made a key point about the fight against sexism in the workplace, describing sexual harassment at his own workplace. Incidents of harassment take place on a regular basis, yet management does little to address it. He has discussed with coworkers the role that the union movement can and should play in fighting sexism at work. Building on this work, ISA in Austria has published articles about fighting sexism on the job and has organized campaigns against sexism with ROSA, a socialist feminst organization led by ISA.
The Union Bureaucracy — A Brake on Struggle
Workers clearly want to fight. But as James and Walter explained in the introduction, the union bureaucracy remains the key barrier to success.
Elan from the United States explained how the explosive unionization campaign at Starbucks has stalled in the face of intense union-busting by the company. In the first few months of the union drive, the union had a ‘win’ rate of 85 percent. This rate has dropped to 54 percent.
Socialist Alternative argues that the union should fight back on the basis of bold, concrete demands, agreed upon through regular meetings with democratic structures. This should include mass involvement by rank-and-file Starbucks workers, including coordinated strike action. The union leadership has not done this. They have rejected concrete demands for better pay and conditions, instead emphasizing “democracy at work”. But most workers don’t want a union just in the abstract; workers want a union to fight for improvements! The lack of clear demands has limited the reach of the union effort.
Stef, from Belgium, described how conservative elements in the union bureaucracy fought for months against the idea of a general strike. It was only the determination of workers which led to a successful 80,000-strong national strike at the end of June. The union bureaucracy is “afraid of being seen as a union of militant action,” Stef said. This is because the bureaucracy relies on a dead-end strategy of class collaboration, building alliances with bosses and corporate politicians to win gains for workers. It focuses on providing “services” to workers, rather than relying on workers’ power to build a strong union. In the political sphere in Belgium, the bureaucracy subordinates itself to the pro-business Social Democratic Party.
The political question is increasingly relevant, but many union leaders are trying to ignore it. In Britain and the United States, a trend of “new syndicalism” has emerged. For example, left union figures like Sara Nelson of the US Association of Flight Attendants have rejected the idea of a labor party, arguing that workers should focus on building unions instead. But the questions of politics and workplace organizing cannot be separated.
Hugh from Socialist Alternative in England, Wales and Scotland explained that, as the workers’ struggle grows, workers are coming into conflict with the failed ideas of business unionism. The left must take a skillful approach to exposing the union bureaucracy. Marxists should put forward positive demands and proposals that resonate with workers, and call for union leaders to take up those ideas. In Britain, ISA has put forward proposals to coordinate strike action among rail workers, mail workers, and others. We put forward a proposal in one union, Unison, for a national meeting of shop stewards to discuss escalation tactics.
Unfortunately, many on the left often take a wrong approach to the union bureaucracy, resorting to either opportunism or ultraleftism. Eric from Belgium described how some leaders of Santé en Lutte have taken an ultraleft approach of simply denouncing the union leadership. This falls flat with workers and provokes unnecessary hostility from the union leadership. In contrast, ISA has intervened skillfully in a factory struggle in Antwerp, where a factory owned by a Russian oligarch was threatened with closure. ISA, alongside workers, demanded nationalization of the factory. The popularity and pressure of this demand forced the bureaucracy to take action, negotiating a transfer of ownership and preserving jobs.
Eric emphasized that politicization is key to Marxist organizing in the workplace. Without ongoing, politicized discussion with coworkers, we cannot popularize the fighting methods and ideas necessary to rebuild the labor movement. We need to discuss our proposals with coworkers in our workplace and within unions, while advocating for larger democratic structures like workers’ assemblies. The strongest actions are those that are decided upon and prepared collectively, not imposed from above.
Conclusion
This wide-ranging discussion on the labor movement was summed up by Joeferson, a high school history teacher and ISA member in São Paolo, Brazil.
Joeferson emphasized that Capitalism is in an “Age of Disorder.” The crises we have seen — the New Cold War between the US and China, the War in Ukraine, the inflation crisis, etc. — are laying the basis for new and worse crises in the future. The crisis of capitalism has no end in sight.
He elaborated on the situation in Brazil, where teachers have repeatedly organized strikes, occupations, and public demonstrations. These militant tactics resulted in 30–40% growth in real wages between 2008 and 2018. But union leaders have consistently played the role of “mediators” in these struggles. Instead of spurring on and strengthening the workers’ movement, they have cut rotten deals with the bosses, offering workers raises in exchange for increased privatization.
As capitalism descends further into crisis, the collaborationist strategy of the union bureaucracy will increasingly fail to produce results.
Meanwhile, the political crisis is deepening. In Brazil, right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro has launched brutal attacks on workers, oppressed groups, and democratic rights. Yet the union leadership actively fought to stop workers from taking to the streets against these attacks. Instead, they have pointed workers towards elections. Union leadership is holding back the movement and attempting to direct it into “safe” channels, even as Bolsonaro hints at a possible coup if he loses the next election.
To succeed, the socialist movement must engage in work both inside and outside of the unions, Joeferson concluded. We must connect the union fight with political struggles against the right wing and social struggles for women’s and LGBTQ rights. We must be principled but flexible, combining the most effective tactics to win gains for workers and build a powerful movement against the entire failing capitalist system.
