This article was reprinted from the September 1.1995 issue of the People's Weekly World. For subscription information see below. All rights reserved - may be used with PWW credits.
(At the Aug. 2 meeting of the Communist Party USA's national board, Party Chairman Gus Hall said that recent changes in the labor movement are "fundamental and far-reaching." The following is excerpted from Hall's remarks to that meeting.)
This is not an ordinary period. In many ways the country is at a turning point. For example, the right-wing Republican so-called Gingrich "revolution" is losing steam, while opposition to the "Contract on America" is slowly gaining momentum.
Perhaps most significant are the changes taking place in the labor movement. Two recent events show how fundamental and far-reaching these changes are. They are, of course, the struggle over new leadership and direction of the AFL-CIO and the announcement by the auto, steel and machinist unions that they plan to unite and form a new union. These changes dramatically reflect the growing mood of militancy and class trade unionism, that is seen in many other developments.
Not only is it important that Lane Kirkland has been forced to step down as president of the AFL-CIO. So is the developing struggle to replace him. What's taking place is not only an election but a movement. There are differences over policy questions, and these differences are being discussed within labor. It seems certain that, whatever happens, the leadership that's going to emerge will not be the same as Kirkland's. It will be better.
The decision of the presidents of the auto, steel and machinist unions to unite adds greatly to the importance of the change in AFL-CIO leadership. As a matter of fact, the leaders of these unions are among those that forced Kirkland into retirement. The merger is set to be completed by the year 2000, but just the fact that it was announced has great significance for the labor movement today.
Because they are history-making, I think we have to see these developments in their historical perspective to fully understand what's going on. Whether or not we see the historic essence of this new level of unity, it is clear that the monopoly corporations do. They are attacking it ferociously, and these attacks will grow. The ideologues of the ruling class correctly see much more than just a labor federation election and three union presidents getting together.
Although it is a dramatic accident of history that the new corporate monopolies created by the mergers of ABC-Disney and CBS-Westinghouse were announced within days of the plan to unite these three major industrial unions, there is no question that the corporate monopolies are getting bigger. There are more of them, and they are gaining more power especially in that they are taking over the means of mass communications in a new way. Today more than ever before, what goes on the air is even more in the hands of the giant monopolies. Obviously that creates some real dangers.
The bigger the monopolies the sharper the class struggle. The bigger the monopolies the higher the corporate profits made by getting greater production from fewer workers. That is why the growth in monopolies and the changes in the labor movement are directly related.
It is a basic fact of capitalism that the structure of the trade unions reflects the nature of the class forces of the moment. For example, the dominance of craft unions for a long time in the history of U.S. trade unions reflected the nature of the working class and the level of the class struggle at that time.
The struggle to establish industrial unions -- in which the Communist Party and our former chairman William Z. Foster played a leading role -- reflected a higher level of the class struggle, as well as changes in the structure of capitalism. You might say the industrial unions were a natural outcome of the class struggle and the class forces of that period. It was a tremendously important historic moment when industrial unions came on the scene with the formation of the CIO, changing the structure of the U.S. labor movement.
It's been clear for some time that the present structure of the trade unions does not match the level of the class struggle. New forms of monopoly capitalism today call for a tighter structure in the trade union movement. And when you consider the growth of worldwide monopolies, it's clear that a new kind of labor unity, on a bigger and broader scale is long overdue. That is the essence of what is taking place.
For example, consider the unions in the mass communications industry. Obviously they are going to face a whole new set of problems with Westinghouse taking over CBS and Disney ruling ABC. There's going to be a need to meet this new level of monopoly by changing their union structure.
The same holds true when we talk about organizing the unorganized. There has been some organizing over the past several years, but -- with some notable exceptions -- it's basically been a flop. One of the main reasons for this are the divisions that exist within the current trade union structure. We can no longer tolerate a situation where, as happened in Indiana a few years ago, the auto workers and public employees unions each spent millions of dollars fighting over who would organize state workers. In the end everyone lost -- Indiana state workers are still unorganized.
The fact is that there are many weaknesses and flaws in the trade union movement that have developed since the launching of the cold war against labor. These weaknesses and flaws were tolerated under the previous levels of class struggle and corporate monopoly. But they can no longer be tolerated -- and they can be corrected -- under the new conditions. It's a law of history. Not only do new conditions make correction necessary. They make correction possible.
What are these weaknesses and flaws? Among them is the anarchistic each-union-for-itself approach to organizing the unorganized. As mentioned earlier, we have a situation where major unions still fight over who gets what. That is a serious flaw, and one that under these new conditions can be done away with. With the changes taking place it will be quite possible to launch united, joint organizing drives.
Another flaw has been the growing division in the struggle for union contracts. How often have we seen workers in one union remain on the job while others working for the same corporation are out on strike? How often have we seen the lack of coordinated bargaining within an industry, or one local on strike while others keep working? With the increasing monopolization of capitalism, this flaw must -- and can -- be corrected.
A most serious flaw has been the low level of struggle against racism. The fact that unions are uniting opens up new possibilities in the fight against racism and for affirmative action, including in the nature and kinds of coalitions that can be built with other organizations and movements. The merging of the steel, auto and machinists unions strengthens their affirmative action programs overall.
Another big problem has been the lack of trade union unity in the electoral arena, which has diminished labor's political punch. Here again it is a weakness that can be done away with given a higher level of trade union and working class unity.
Something that needs more thought and discussion is the question of whether having separate unions, with little or no unity between them, has been an obstacle to development of class consciousness.
The concept of separate unions puts too much emphasis on one industry or craft, and tends to ignore the role of the entire class and therefore the class struggle. This is a major ideological and political problem for the working class and the trade union movement. With closer unity between unions, and between workers of different industries, there is greater potential for the development of class consciousness.
Very much in line with these developments is the recent unity of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers and the International Ladies Garment Workers unions into the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE). Now the announcement by the steel, auto and machinist unions has clearly generated new waves of discussion about unions getting together. There has been talk about this move amongst the miners and where they will fit in. And there are similar moves within the two teachers unions, who have been discussing it for some time now. And what about the building trades and railroads?
An important question is how the rank and file in labor will respond to these changes. Our party can be play an important role here, in helping to mobilize rank-and-file support within labor as well as the community. In that sense, building the Communist Party is very much related to labor's ability to take full advantage of the new possibilities.
There are many examples of labor's new receptivity to the Party. Our reception by the Steelworkers local in Warren, Ohio is one example.
The relationship of our party to the trade unions is changing with the sharpening of the class struggle. Because anti-Communism has so long been an ideological fog and source of division in the labor movement, overcoming it is a necessary step in achieving higher levels of unity.
As with the examples discussed already, the new situation makes overcoming anti-Communism within labor not only necessary but possible. This is the meaning of labor's new interest in and receptivity toward our party -- in many cases seeking the views and help of Communists.
I don't want to boast, but our party has been saying for some time now, and correctly so, that this is a new period for labor. Let me say it again -- these are tremendous, exciting developments.
Gus Hall, born in Minnesota of a Finnish working class family, was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II. He has been the leader of the Communist Party, USA since 1959. Before assuming the top leadership post he was one of 12 leading Communists convicted under the Smith Act and sentenced to brutal prison terms and heavy fines for the "crime" of teaching and advocating the need for socialism in the United States.
Although the Supreme Court later declared the Smith Act unconstitutional, Hall served eight years in Leavenworth Prison. A total of more than 100 Party leaders were arrested and convicted under the law between 1949 and 1954.
As a youth, Hall -- born Arvo Gus Halberg -- worked in the logging camps and iron mines of northern Minnesota before John L. Lewis asked him to become an organizer for the CIO's Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC). In that capacity Hall became picket captain at what became Local 1375 of the United Steelworkers of America in Warren, Ohio during the famous Little Steel Strike of 1937.
During that strike, which broke the back of the open shop in the basic steel industry, Tom Girdler, the head of Republic Steel, swore that he would never sign a union contract "with that Communist, Gus Hall." But he did, and Local 1375 has had a collective bargaining agreement with Republic and its successors ever since.
Recently Hall was invited to speak before a membership meeting of Local 1375 and at the Museum of Industry in Youngstown, Ohio. In what many called a "homecoming," Hall was swamped with requests for radio and television interviews. Local newspapers hailed the visit with front-page stories.
In commenting on the trip, Hall said, "This visit to what I often call my hometown was more than a personal tribute. It was a recognition of the role played by Communists in building the CIO. It was also a tribute to the work our party is doing today."
In addition to Hall, more than 60 members of the Communist Party were hired as CIO organizers and hundreds of others helped lead the struggles that gave birth to powerful unions in basic industry.
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