02

Jan

12:53am
Andrzej Ranek USA
The State of Labor Power and Class Consciousness in Today's America

The State of Labor Power and Class Consciousness in Today's America

Andrzej Ranek USA//12:53am, Jan 2nd '21

Through my life I have always understood that something was inherently wrong with how labor is instituted in America. My father had been laid off of his job when I was very young. Ever since, he's moved from job to job, never being fired, only laid off or leaving one job for a better paying job, and then laid off again.

Now that I'm older, I've had the chance to see for myself the nightmare of the capitalist mode of production. I work in Texas, here we have a "Workplace Freedom" law or "Right-To-Work" law, its name is antithetical to its function. Under these laws, it is essentially impossible for workers unions to exist and operate. It also gives the employer the right to fire anyone for any "legal" reason. An employer simply will fire a person, for skin color, gender identity, sexual orientation, or political affiliation. Then they will cite the employment termination as a failure to perform or some other legitimate reason. It would not be easy to prove a case of wrongful termination.

Then there's the position of the worker in the workplace. Any effort to organize a union or a collective action in a workplace is met with cynical annoyance, people understand that their position is bleak but they are taught to hate any mention of unionization. Education and cultural influence is adamantly against workers rights. A job that is beneath someone is deserving of scorn, drawing statements like, "that's a young persons job. That job shouldn't give a living wage."

There's much to be done in the matter of guiding fellow workers. I've had long arguments about the merits of a living wage, benefits, job security, and health coverage. Some aren't receptive, many are reactionary. But that brings me to something that's become a reoccurring thought, this is how the capitalist class wants the working class to view itself.

The working class, at least in my part of the country, believes so much in individual success, that it forsakes ideals that would advance the whole of the people. It is perverse, leading to reactionary thought, allowing many to blame away their misfortunes on other struggling groups of people. These beliefs also promote paranoia against fellow workers. Many a conversation about unions inevitably brings up the fear of corruption. At least a corrupt union president can be voted out! I've never heard of a corrupt factory manager being voted out by their workers, one can only dream.

It is an uphill battle. At times one becomes tired. But we socialists must continue to educate as much as possible and organize those that can be organized.

The Crumbling Metropole
Tarik Ata England//11:01pm, Jul 30th '21

The Crumbling Metropole

Empire leaves the imperial core in a state of destitution.The nominal political scientist and anti-imperialist, Michael Parenti, has stated that “the Empire bleeds the Republic”, meaning: billions....

Read More
A visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to China’s Taiwan
Owen William USA//1:24am, Aug 3rd '22

A visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to China’s Taiwan

A visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to China’s Taiwan, today, Tuesday, August 2, has sparked vigorous warnings on the part of Chinese officials, according to an August 1 statement by Chinese Foreign....

Read More
On Human Rights
Kalatan Banerjee India//8:48pm, Mar 22nd '22

On Human Rights

These days we see everyone concerned about restoring human rights wherever they are violated. We see human rights as an inalienable divine gift to humanity by some divine being, and nowadays it is so enmeshed....

Read More
Like the Phoenix, Nicaragua is a Small country reborn from the Ashes!
Indigenous Oscar Smith Nicaragua//6:28pm, Sep 4th '21

Like the Phoenix, Nicaragua is a Small country reborn from the Ashes!

42 years already from the Sandinista revolution that took place in Nicaragua, Central America. A revolution that frees the country from the Cruel dictator Somoza one of the US government puppets with the....

Read More
Free Market Famine: the logical conclusion of a system predicated on manufactured scarcity
Jake C. USA//4:32am, Nov 12th '22

Free Market Famine: the logical conclusion of a system predicated on manufactured scarcity

The economic conditions that pushed the United States into the great famine of the 1920s-30s are eerily similar to those of the 21st century, namely: debt crisis, profit driven mismanagement of environmental....

Read More
USA's Imperialist Stranglehold on Cuba
Yanis Iqbal from India//1:32am, Jul 16th '21

USA's Imperialist Stranglehold on Cuba

Cuba has been witnessing anti-government protests since July 11, 2021. These demonstrations are fuelled by a number of factors. The devastating knock-on effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on a developing....

Read More