MOVEMENTS
SOCIALIST SEATTLE MOVEMENT WINS RESOLUTION BANNING CASTE ALTERNATIVE DISCRIMINATION
SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE SEATTLE On February 21, community activists and socialists made history by winning a firstin-the-nation ban on caste discrimination, brought forward by Kshama Sawant’s socialist city council office. Workers Strike Back fought alongside South Asian community activists, Socialist Alternative, union members, and regular working people to win this victory against caste-based oppression, and against the right wing who viciously opposed us. Our grassroots movement mobilized thousands of people to take action, including speaking in public comment, sending over 4,000 emails
to Seattle City Council, and collecting more than 1,400 petition signatures in support of this historic ordinance. This victory was only possible because working people built a powerful, organized movement independent of the Democratic Party and big business. At every step, we faced opposition and attempted delays from Democrats on Seattle City Council, including from so-called “progressives” who refused to speak out publicly in support of the ordinance and provided excuse after excuse for not fighting alongside caste-oppressed people who have faced widespread discrimination for generations. As late as the morning of the vote, “progressive” Democrats were considering bringing an amendment that would have delayed implementation of our movement’s legislation for an indefinite period of time. Caste oppression has been used for 3,000 years by the ruling class in South Asia to divide and exploit oppressed people. Just like racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression, it is a brutal tool of the
FRENCH MOVEMENT AGAINST PENSION REFORM BUILDS MOMENTUM INTERNATIONAL SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE (ISA)
Since January 19, millions of workers and youth in France have been demonstrating and striking against Macron’s pension reform. We now have to build for a general strike, renewable upon vote by workers’ general assemblies, beginning in March to do away with Macron and all austerity policies. Macron’s pension reform would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 alongside other actions that will negatively impact workers. More than two million demonstrators participated across France in the first day of action against the pension reform, organized by the intersyndicale — the common front of France’s eight largest trade unions – what a historic and promising beginning! From the start, the most combative layers of youth showed a stronger determination than in past years to join the movement and
to struggle alongside the trade unions and workers. The 150,000 strong demonstration in Paris on January 21, two days after the first union mobilization, had been planned and mobilized for weeks in advance by student and youth organizations as well as France Insoumise, adding further momentum. One of the most crucial elements in the development of the movement so far are the impressive demonstrations of working-class power and control over private production through the “Robin Hood” actions. Hospitals, public sports centers, libraries, high schools, nurseries, etc. were placed on “free electricity or gas.” What a powerful illustration of what a society led by the working class would look like. After the first national intersectoral mobilization on January 19, another four followed. On January 31, 2.8 million participated across France, on February 7, over 2 million, on February 11, over 2.5 million, and on February 16, 1.3 million joined the demonstrations. Overall participation in the strike movement is even higher, as some
elite used against the working class. With mass emigration of South Asians to the United States, caste discrimination
has followed. We need to fight caste discrimination everywhere and spread this victory around the country. To succeed, we need to build fighting workers’ organizations and movements strong enough to counter the lies and mobilization of the right wing. The groups who opposed our movement in Seattle had strong ties to the Modi government and right-wing organizations. This included the Vishva Hindu Parishad, a dangerous far-right organization which, according to Human Rights Watch, was one of the three fundamentalist organizations considered most responsible for the massive carnage in the Western Indian state of Gujarat in 2002. Whenever working people fight for our rights, we will face determined opposition from reactionary forces like these. Our power as working people comes from our solidarity and collective action, including our ability to shut down production in the workplace. We need a mass workers’ movement to fight against caste discrimination, racism, sexism, and ALL forms of oppression. And our victory in Seattle shows once again: when we fight – we can win! J stayed at the picket lines and did not join the demonstrations. ISA activists participated with a contingent in the demonstration in Paris. The mood was very combative and not only was there a palpable anger against Macron, but a genuine desire to stop him. At the same time, there is also a basic understanding that a series of mass demonstrations by themselves, without being connected to each other and a strategy of escalation, will not be enough. So far, the government and Macron are not backing down. They hope for a repeat of the 2019- 2020 movement, when the struggle, although titanic, had suffered from the lack of a bold plan of action towards a general renewable strike. The movement was running out of steam after nine days of intersectoral mobilizations that were not connected enough to channel the anger in a way that can create a continuous and escalating dynamic linked to a perspective to win. It is urgent to organize assemblies of struggle in the workplaces open to all colleagues, unionized or not, and to organize similar committees in the high schools, universities, and neighborhoods to build for a general renewable strike. J
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