WASHINGTON, D.C., January 18 – On inauguration weekend, members of the revolutionary communist Progressive Labor Party (PLP) and friends joined in protesting the reinstatement of Deporter-in-Chief Donald Trump. Various reform organizations were present at the Lincoln Memorial, where the People’s March held a concert-like program. PLP, like many of the other organizations, gave chants and speeches; but unlike these other groups, we called for more than the condemnation of Trump and his administration. We boldly demanded the smashing of this genocidal capitalist system and for the bright future under a dictatorship of the working class: communism.
Bringing class consciousness to D.C. and beyond
Comrades from the surrounding area of D.C. took the lead for the day's events. Comrades and base members from as far as New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut joined us. We started the day at a comrade’s house with breakfast. Afterwards, we took a bus before walking to a street leading up to the Lincoln Memorial. The lead comrades noticed many people leaving the area as we were arriving, so on the spot they decided to start our action at a street corner where we held a picket. This proved to be beneficial because, being away from the main rally, we were able to draw attention from passersby with our chants, and interject much needed class consciousness. “¡Las luchas obreras no tienen fronteras!” “Workers in Gaza are under attack. What do we do? Stand up! Fight back!” Two comrades also gave short speeches shaming the Biden administration for its full-scale support of Israel's genocide against the workers in Palestine, and blasting Trump’s administration for its atrocious racist nationalism. Comrades also distributed our newspaper CHALLENGE on two separate streets.
There was no large-scale march once everyone was at the Lincoln Memorial, so we created our own. After our picket, we lined our group in pairs and marched towards the main area of the rally. We continued with our bold chants: “From Haiti to the Congo, these racist bosses have got to go!” “From Ukraine to the Philippines, stop the imperialist war machines!” We stopped soon after to continue distributingthe rest of the newspapers and to engage in conversations with other attendees. In just a little over 15 minutes, we gave out the majority of our remaining CHALLENGEs, distributing a total of close to a 1,000. Everyone reunited at our meet up spot before we left the rally and returned to our comrade’s house.
Reflections on current situation
We continued our gathering with an evaluation of our time at the rally. Multiple comrades expressed surprise at how receptive people were in getting CHALLENGE, from feminists to even Trump supporters. One friend of the Party said that they wished they had initiated more conversations. They discussed with one person the catastrophe of the fires in Los Angeles, and the selfish nature of capitalists during this deadly time. Billionaire parasite Rick Caruso, an owner of many residential and commercial properties in California, has used private firefighters to salvage his buildings, while thousands of workers have lost much—if not all—of their belongings. We all agreed that our politics were generally well-accepted and a wanted alternative for workers disillusioned by both Democrats and Republicans.
Before our second group discussion, we enjoyed pizza and homemade dishes while socializing among ourselves. Our major focus of the discussion was our college work and how to organize in areas where we may only have one or a few comrades. Conversations varied from workers’ fears post-election to the liberal misleaders’ weakening sway over the mass of workers. The students among us reported varying levels of attitudes from their campuses; some of their peers feel discouraged, fearful, and enraged. With millions refusing support for a Harris or Trump presidency, it is clear that workers are becoming more aware of the dead-end that capitalist “democracy” offers them. Crackdowns on student gatherings and demonstrations amidst the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide have served as reminders that workers’ rights to protest injustice will be met with repression from all levels of the ruling class.
Workers WILL win and defeat this racist system
Even with the dangers we face on our campuses and in our communities, multiple comrades concluded that we are rightfully pushing back against the imperialist state. Our base members grow more confident when we fight alongside them as a collective; we see firsthand that the fear truly lies in the administrators, police, and politicians—who put roadblocks to student-worker unity and fightback.
We made it clear that, whether we have been organizing for years or don’t know where to start, the Party supports everyone who wants to find an area of focus where they can grow politically and share our analysis with coworkers, students, teachers, and neighbors. Our time in D.C. energized and reaffirmed that our fight against the capitalist state is necessary. Trump’s blunt xenophobia and sexism give understandable heightened fear and anger to our class siblings. But we need to remind ourselves that Democrats like KKKamala Harris, and Obama before her, are not the safer option for our class. They also serve the billionaires—both nationally and abroad—while workers internationally suffer from their genocidal destruction. We must continue this new year with the same fighting principles for all workers—from Haiti, to Sudan, to Palestine, to Myanmar: turn imperialist war into class war!
The class struggle surrounding racist raids, arrests, and deportations is intensifying by the minute here in Chicago and around the country. The new vile administration of President Donald Trump has come crashing out of the gate, making good on many of the fascist threats made on the campaign trail, spurred on by a flurry of executive orders made the evening of his inauguration.
Chicago particularly, as a so-called “sanctuary” city has been in headlines in the lead-up to Trump returning to power as a “ground zero” for the anti-worker attacks unleashed by the Gestapo Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and their border czar Tom Homan.As a result, there is a cloud of fear hanging everywhere. In one West Side dual-language elementary school, over 50 students didn’t show up the Wednesday after the inauguration out of anxiety the school would be raided. Indeed, there have been reports of federal agents showing up at schools, although as of this writing they have been successfully repelled by education workers. Undocumented workers hesitate to step out of their homes, forced to choose between feelings of safety and earning wages.
But even as the bosses spread state terror, the working class here is demonstrating resilience, organization, and fightback! Numerous rapid response networks have been springing up everywhere, determined to patrol, mobilize and defend neighborhoods against fascist ICE. In schools and universities plans are being made to repel attacks, and healthcare workers are finding ways to secure the wellbeing of the workers they serve.
The international communist Progressive Labor Party (PLP) is finding ways to connect with these struggles here and give leadership on the ground in our neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces. We will continue to connect these racist attacks to the wider decay of the capitalist profit system, and the need to build a worker-run communist society to truly guarantee the safety and dignity that our class deserves!
Inter-imperialist rivalry drives fascism, lays ground for war
Trump’s frenzy of activity and assault on workers in cities like Chicago can best be understood in the context of the continuing decline of U.S. imperialism on a global level. Losing ground internationally to imperialist rivals like China and Russia, the U.S. ruling class is forced to ramp up fascist attacks, including scapegoating migrant workers, pushing extreme nationalism, and making deep cuts to social services to discipline workers and get the country on a better war footing. Although these are attacks that Trump and his faction of the ruling class take on with delight, overall they are embraced by all bosses who understand the inevitable trends of capitalism towards wider war.
Growing fascism in the U.S. and many other places around the world means that the bosses are more inclined to dispense with any pretense of the so-called “rule of law” and due process and instead resort to more unmasked class dictatorship. Even as we help organize with other workers around know-your-rights workshops, we cannot for an instant believe that the bosses will willingly give up their state power. They will attack us in any way that suits their short or long-term interests.
Nor can we hope or ally with any liberal or “progressive” wing of the capitalist ruling class to come to our defense. These class enemies have shown no hesitation in doing above and beyond the vicious assaults that Trump is boasting about today. We have seen the record numbers of deportations under the administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, not to mention their gung-ho support of Israel’s genocide on workers in Gaza. Even the “People’s Mayor” Brandon Johnson of Chicago showed his “solidarity” to migrant workers by corralling them into overcrowded filthy shelters, feeding them rotten food and letting kids die (see CHALLENGE, 1/31/24).
Notably, several of the groups responding to ICE presence on the ground take their leadership from non-profit organizations, which themselves are generally appendages of the liberal capitalist bosses. Absent a revolutionary outlook, the call can only be for workers to hide and wait until a “better” set of bosses can get back in power. But deportations and raids are still guaranteed as long as capitalism exists.
As communists we have an essential role to play not only in giving leadership to defending our working-class siblings but also to educate how only communism can break down borders and create the egalitarian classless society that makes designations like “undocumented” and “citizen” irrelevant.
¡Abajo con Trump – Que viva comunismo!
It’s clear that the international working class is heading into an extremely volatile period. Many risks and dangers will present themselves but at the same time there are opportunities to expose the true deadly and unsustainable nature of capitalism and win more workers to building a mass PLP and the fight for communist revolution. We must be bold yet collective as we make plans and refuse to meet the bosses’ attacks with complacency or fear.
The impulses on display right now to support and protect our fellow workers in a climate of state terror are the glimmers of communism in action. We need to nurture and grow these selfless seedlings into an international, multiracial movement and a Party of millions that uproots and burns down this rotten system once and for all. ¡Abajo con Trump, Biden y capitalismo! ¡Que viva el communismo! (Down with Trump, Biden, and Capitalism! Long Live Communism!)
The following text is an excerpt from a flyer being distributed by the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) members in the California Bay Area. To read the full text please visit PLP.org.
No doubt over two million Gazans are rejoicing that the bombing has stopped and some bits of food and other aid are getting through. But the commitment of the Zionist machine to the genocide of Palestinians and the annexation of the West Bank and Gaza remains. There are just some temporary tactical changes of plan to placate the new powers in Washington and the Israeli rulers demanding progress on hostages. Meanwhile, the need of the U.S. for its one reliable, nuclear-armed ally in the Middle East remains in place, for 80 percent of the fossil fuel resources of the world are in this area and 80 percent of the world's energy still comes from fossil fuels. The U.S. also cannot lose control of critical trade routes of the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf as it vies for world control with China. The U.S. will never divorce from Israel, no matter its crimes.
For nearly fourteen months Israel has mercilessly attacked Gaza, killing upwards of 64,000 (Lancet, 1/9), injuring hundreds of thousands, destroying 90 percent of housing and most of the health, education, sanitation and power infrastructure. The entire population has been affected by malnutrition, lack of treatment of disease and psychic trauma. But even this is less than the level of destruction that the Zionist regime has desired from the outset, as stated by Zionism's founders and every Prime Minister since. “Thin” the Palestinian population “to a minimum.” said Netanyahu in 2023 (Theintercept, 12/03/23). Complete ethnic cleansing has always been the goal. In a declining imperialist and capitalist world order, there are no ceasefires! War remains constant. From Gaza to Ukraine to Sudan, only a communist world—one run by and for the international working class, without borders—can abolish the profit motive and end the imperialist wars driven by competition for territory and resources.
A sorry recycled Ceasefire
The current ceasefire is no different from that which was proposed in May 2024 by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt. Phase 1 calls for Israeli troops to pull back to a border buffer zone, end fighting for six weeks, and free 1904 Palestinian prisoners as Hamas frees 33 hostages. Phase 2 is supposed to commit Israel to withdraw from the Gaza-Egypt border and completely withdraw by day 50. But according to an Israeli official, Israel will not do so unless Hamas is fully dismantled, which will not happen as there is no indication that Hamas has been destroyed or even has fewer fighters than it did before. Both Netanyahu and his far-right Finance Minister Smotrich have said they have no intention of seeing this ceasefire last past Phase 1 (Mondoweiss, 1/22).
The whole deal only happened at this time because of fear of President Donald Trump's. unpredictability and aggressiveness and his threat that "all hell will break out" if hostages are not released by January 20 (NPR, 1/7).
Trump has also said that the ceasefire is unlikely to hold (Middleeasteye, 1/21) and that he will resume sending 2000 pound bombs to Israel. He is pressuring Jordan and Egypt to accept 1.5 million Gazan refugees and has noted what great real estate Gaza represents. Israel has already violated the agreement by refusing to allow thousands of displaced Gazans to return to the north, as of January 26.
If Israel does not succeed in expelling Gazans or eliminating Hamas, both of which are unlikely, it will continue its long term reliance on dividing and ruling Palestinians - the Palestinian Authority, Fatah, on the one hand and Hamas on the other. Israel has actually funded Hamas for years for this purpose, first at its inception in 1987 and again since 2018.
We should have no illusions that anyone in the U.S. or Israeli Government cares a whit about any workers' lives, Palestinians or hostages. As soon as the Gaza deal began, Israel upped its attacks in the West Bank (WB), without any objection from the U.S. They have attacked Jenin, long a center of resistance, killing at least 14 by January 25, destroying roads and displacing thousands from their homes, all with the help of the Palestinian Authority. For the past week, Israel has erected 17 new metal gates at the entrances of towns and villages in the WB, in addition to the more than 700 that previously existed. From October 7, 2023 to December 31, 2024, Israeli settlers staged at least 1,860 attacks on Palestinian communities as the army stood by and watched (Aljazeera news, 1/23). Over 12,000 WB Palestinians have been arrested and over 6000 acres of land annexed (Mondoweiss, 1/25).
So we may speculate that Netanyahu is getting weaker or that he is more afraid of Trump than Biden, but the Israeli program of seizing as much Palestinian land as possible while getting rid of as many Palestinians as possible continues.
Who is supporting workers in Palestine?
The main problem for workers in Palestine, as for workers across the world, is that they do not have leaders or an organization to fight in their interests. Just being the leader of an oppressed group or nation does not mean that a group's ideas or tactics are correct. Fatah has always been in open collaboration with the Zionists and U.S. imperialists. Hamas is an Islamic group that has ruled over Gaza without regard for the welfare of those who are not its adherents, gathering wealth and privileges for itself and subjecting thousands to death and deprivation. The current war has brought massive hardship down on Gazans who were not prepared or protected, as have many previous smaller Hamas attacks on Israel.
Workers in Palestine, like those in Israel and all workers of the world, need a struggle for the overthrow of capitalism and imperialism, an end to nationalism, and the institution of a society run by and for the workers of the world - a communist world lead by the Progressive Labor Party.
Today the world-wide movement against genocide continues. Many supporters of Palestine wave Palestinian flags proclaiming “From the river to the sea, Palestine must be free.” But nowhere have national liberation movements achieved anything beyond instituting capitalist states, even if painful apartheid measures have been abolished. Let us instead identify ourselves across borders with banners that demand an end to genocide, racism, exploitation. Proclaim that: “From all the rivers to all the seas, the working class must be free.” “Working People have NO Nation. Smash Borders & Deportations”
No flag but the red one!
We always have a problem when we go to a protest in the U.S. against war, injustice or workplace abuses and see some demonstrators waving the American flag. Those who hold it up, even while protesting, are declaring that their country is fundamentally sound and just needs a little correction; a tweak to fix whatever is the temporary problem. And the Israeli flag? Forget it. Whether fluttering down 5th Ave at the Israel Day parade or plastered on Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem “legally” seized by Jewish settlers, we know it represents the Zionist state apparatus.
Not one thread stands for the rights of Arab citizens of Israel or an end to military occupation/genocide. But often, at protests against the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the uncountable injustices & genocide that that result, the Palestinian flag is carried high by both Palestinians & their Jewish and other allies.
So is there a difference when the members of a colonized or oppressed people wave their flag? The implication is that all members of the nation stand together and have the same interest in opposing the oppressor power. Sometimes it’s called the “nationalism of the oppressed”, which is supposed to be justified, as opposed to the nationalism of the oppressor. The strategy that flows from this analysis is that first there will be a struggle for national liberation and internal problems will be dealt with later.
Israeli, Palestinian capitalism both dead ends
A Little History: “I, a PLP member, will never forget the initial moment of my first visit to the West Bank in 2005. Previously, I had only seen media images of death and rubble wrought by Israeli soldiers and bulldozers. But there I was in Ramallah, confronted by fancy commercial billboards, restaurants patronized by well-dressed customers, and elegant government buildings. Palestine, too, was a class society, albeit one under a military occupation. Traveling from the city center to the outskirts to villages, it was clear that a similar chasm between rich and poor existed as in my own New York City, albeit with many particular differences.” Not only is Palestine a capitalist society with an especially great divide between rich and poor, but the rich are intimately tied to Israeli and international capital. As Ali Abunimah documents in The Battle for Justice in Palestine, “a small Palestinian elite has continued to enrich itself by deepening its political, economic and military ties with Israel, the U.S., often explicitly undermining efforts by Palestinian civil society to resist”... Israel, too, is a capitalist and highly unequal society. Eighteen ruling families have incomes equal to 77 percent of the national budget in 2006 and take in 32 percent of the profits from the 500 largest companies.
The three largest banks preside over 80 percent of the market and take 70 percent of the profits. The income gaps between the 90th and the 50th percentiles, and between the 50th and the 10th are the highest in the world. Since most job growth is in the high-tech sector, inequality in education and lack of social mobility, especially for the Arab minority, ensure the growth of these differences. Since 2001, tax cuts have benefited the wealthy, industry has privatized and unions have lost their clout. So dire is the situation that 80 percent of the population supported the massive 2011 protests against unemployment and unaffordable housing.
Workers are the only solution
What is the alternative to waving the nationalist flag, the banner of the ruling class of whatever nation? Let us raise the red flag and banners of worker, student, sibling solidarity across borders, for the demands for which we fight. Let us not falsely depend on or unite with our so-called state leaders who, universally in the world today, have more in common with each other than they do with us. Let us not be bamboozled by patriotic or nationalist rhetoric; let Arab and Jewish and American workers fight together for what we need. Let us be part of an international movement for an antiracist, anti-sexist, non-capitalist world where migration is not a crime. Progressive Labor Party (PLP) learns from the history of national liberation struggles. We strive to build a movement for share and share alike, communism.
Organizing to protect students
Dear CHALLENGE,
I’m a communist teacher, organizing in my school for two decades. This is the first time I have been in a room with a multigenerational group of 25 Asian, Latin, Black, and white teachers who were planning on how to fight against ICE entering our school building. More teachers were interested but had other duties during the time and so couldn’t attend. They will be followed up soon.
An event like this and of this size has never happened in our building. Teachers expressed how they need to bring in other teachers from different schools who had experience to help facilitate and train them in the struggle ahead. Several first year teachers didn’t care about their tenure; they cared more about their students. A teacher a year away from retirement and others talked about how we were going to be arrested if they came for our students by locking arms and not letting ICE in the building.
It was my Progressive Labor Party (PLP) club that got me to make sure this inspiring meeting happened. Different Party teachers discussed what they were doing in their own schools, and I carried out what needed to be done in mine. I reached out to my Chapter Leader who put our meeting out in a chapter update. I talked to different teachers throughout the building, making sure to lead with a CHALLENGE to get the conversation going. Many teachers in my meeting proudly discussed what they had heard other teachers were doing in other schools.
I also made sure to build with my students as I used the “Know Your Rights” information to facilitate classroom conversation. Several students have agreed to come to a future study group. We need to continue to seize this time to continue to fight back and build PLP. We can end all borders.
*****
Racist Amazon firings
Amazon is a racist company that supports tech for apartheid across the world, including Israel and the U.S. border. Amazon blames their subcontractors, which they call Delivery Service Providers (DSP), for the exploitation of drivers. Recently they retaliated against workers as one worker I’ve been in touch with noted "they fired basically everyone who striked... Another worker I talked to reported “They have let over 30 people go (fired). It’s been a hilarious fiasco and definitely movie (popcorn emoji) worthy.”
I asked one worker if they went back to work or got fired. "Neither [crying laughing emoji]" was their response. Six people gave me their contact information. Some of the workers quoted above were Asian, Latin and Black. They all lost their jobs. The other two workers who gave me their contact information were white. They both kept their jobs. This demonstrates the racist nature of the company. One of these workers appeared to be in a leadership role coordinating with the Teamsters staff organizers and DSA. They told me there were "normal post peak layoffs" after the strike "but most strikers are left standing and carrying on the struggle."
There were also mixed reactions about the union’s role with one worker saying, “Theunion is supporting everyone really well and trying to help us.
It was a step in the right direction but we need a stronger move next time." and another worker contradicting that statement: “The Teamstersused us [as] pawns in their power grab. There is a part in my song that says the working man [is] a sucker. After this ordeal those bars took on a deeper meaning...spread the word!"
The Teamsters signs said "follow the law," and many drivers, teamsters, and local politicians emphasized the right to strike and the labor law protections against being fired for striking. Workers made this promise to encourage their coworkers crossing the picket line to join the strike.
These workers who stayed in touch with me felt they were fired for striking and being "laid off" was a pretext. Promising the bosses' state will protect workers' "rights" adds a second betrayal.
We can't blame unions for the bosses' racist firings, but we also can't make excuses for them. We should be aware that Chris Smalls, the Democratic Reform Caucus, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are three groups within the Amazon Labor Union. Other communists and left wing intellectuals from the picket line helped explain these important distinctions, and it is important to base build with them as well. We need to be aware of the political relationship of these groups as we continue to build a base in the working class, smash racism and sexism, join and lead working class fightback, and turn strikes into schools for revolution.
*****
Bosses to blame for LA fires
One aspect of the recent L.A. fires that was not discussed in the recent article is the role of the utility companies. Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) have been allowed to ignore basic safety for years. Most wildfires start when trees fall or dead branches fall against power lines and create a spark that then ignites the dry vegetation below. Very rarely do they replace old equipment so that power lines will not fall down, they do not trim plant life near power lines or insulate them, they do not install automatic shut off devices or build lines underground instead of stringing them across combustible landscapes.
Until now, the worst fire in California history was the Camp Fire in Paradise in 2018 that killed 80 people, caused by a 97 year old worn PG&E wire. In 2021, the huge Dixie fire was also caused by PG&E wires, and this company was found responsible for over 1500 fires from 2014-17. SCE is now being sued by Altadena residents as a video shows the fire starting at the base of one of its towers nearby.
Although PG&E has been found guilty of over 80 counts of involuntary manslaughter over fire deaths, had to file for bankruptcy, and committed to spending billions to protect its grid, it has done little. In fact, it has laid off thousands of workers and is raising rates 18 percent this year. As with climate change, brought on by the profit gouging fossil fuel industry, capitalism is the basic problem. As long as making money for large industries is the driving force of the economic system, as long as workers are dispensable, deadly wildfires will recur. One more reason why we must urgently build a movement for a society we workers run in our interest - a communist society.
*****
Appearance & essence The Brutalist
I went to see the new film The Brutalist recently and was reminded of the ingenuity of capitalist culture to replicate and reinforce its ideology. To be sure, the film is a majestic tour-de-force, with stunning cinematography and powerful acting throughout. But beneath all the bombast, the film gives little to no message to benefit the working class.
The main protagonist (played by Oscar winner Adrien Brody) is László Tóth, a Jewish architect from Hungary who arrives in the United States after surviving the Holocaust. Much of the first act shows his efforts to try to assimilate into his new environment as a “fish out of water,” taking odd jobs until he is recognized for his architectural talents by a wealthy capitalist and subsequently grows in professional stature.
The film is insightful in showing that no matter how much superficial praise historically marginalized persons can receive in class society, racist and sexist prejudice, violence and discrimination remain par for the course. But instead of reaching the liberating conclusion that such a society is inherently flawed and that we should find ways to collectively struggle to overcome it, The Brutalist instead offers the recurrent example under capitalist art of turning to decadent self-pity and destruction to cope and escape.
To this end, László is shown regularly engaging in extramarital affairs and struggling with a heroin habit. Even as he later finds the strength to overcome his demons, the end result is not a rejection of a capitalist system that through its violent contradictions almost has annihilated him and his loved ones but rather making an uneasy peace with it as it still gave him prestige and wealth. Collective solutions to capitalist alienation and violence are not even on the table; László instead has escaped from the living nightmare of the Holocaust only to wall himself behind the edifice of his mastery of architecture.
A lesson to take away is the misleading allure of so-called “high art” under capitalist society. Even as we are awed by its shiny appearance, we can’t overlook its role in upholding the dominant ideology that is always looking for ways to lead the masses away from the need to organize for communist revolution.
*****
