----- Original Message ----- From: david siar To: Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 12:49 PM Subject: [Marxism] Million Worker March
I recently posed a question here about the status of the Million Worker March Movement and received a response from Douglas MacDonald off-list. I'm therefore passing along that response so that any interested list members can read it. Dave Siar <> It has been a year since I last participated in the MWM Organizing Committee. I have written below a brief synopsis of the events and lessons I gleaned from my participation. It is my hope that those reading this can learn from these experiences so together we can move forward and build a new independent workers movement. <> Solidarity; <> Douglas MacDonald <> *********************************************************** Million Worker March: One Year and One Month Later <> <> The MWM Movement has basically run its course. After a vain attempt by many people across the country to forge a national organization steeped in working class independence and grass roots democracy following October 17th, we could not. The reasons are varied. In my opinion, the leaders from ILWU Local 10 MWM were disingenuous and gave only lip service to building a political organization independent of the Democratic Party. In fact, it was only through strategy and appeals to the entire room of initial participants that the MWM List of Demands, most fundamentally anti-imperialist and transitional in nature, was passed. The List of Demands shows a strong sense of basic class independence. However, the ILWU Local 10 MWM leaders always maintained that the Endorsing Resolution circulated through the various union locals, which heralds the virtues of FDR and the New Deal, was the true politics. In fact key organizers explained to me through the course of the year that they simply wanted to force union leadership and progressive democrats to come to terms and elect more liberal candidates. The result of this duality was the mixed messages from key speakers at the rally calling for a vote for Kerry while demanding we hold him "accountable". Beyond the political difference that existed between members of the originating SF MWM committee was a much larger problem: the lack of any real support by Bay Area locals or unions nationally. Simply put, the MWM had no base. During the 9 months of organizing no more than a handful of individual union activists showed up for the weekly meetings. The majority of people present were always activists or individuals who had once been union members. The kick-off Rally held for the MWM at the ILWU Local 10 drew less than 200 people, most of them being the usual suspects in the SF left scene, a few students, a handful of union militants and only a couple dozen ILWU local 10 folks. (I happen to be a community activist and not a union member). The movement just never gained any traction among the rank and file. The overwhelming pressure by the Union bureaucrats to focus on electoral politics and the absence of union funding was a surprise to the ILWU Local 10 MWM leaders, as they thought union locals would see great benefit in creating a pressure group on the top union leadership and politicians. Outside of paper resolutions, the Local 10 MWM leaders never garnered any real rank and file support in their own local or any other local in the Bay Area. This cannot possibly be their fault entirely as it is now known that AFL-CIO leaders and local politicians and unions actively campaigned against the MWM and tried to undermine the March at every turn. Yes, the Local 10 leaders carried on under such attacks and were forced ever more into a position of supporting the List of Demands and independent working class politics. Thousands of beautifully designed t-shirts were printed, largely out of the proceeds of one individual ILWU Local 10 leader which we were reminded of often. Though this showed great sacrifice, it also further ensnared the MWM movement into blithely deferring to the leadership of the ILWU Local 10 MWM out of obligation rather than respect. When strings are attached, such a "gift" is hardly a "gift" at all. Day to day, the MWM leaders were inexperienced organizers and in the end, had to rely on Workers World and the PSL (ANSWER) for actual on-the-ground logistics and man power. My hat goes off to both of these organizations in that they were willing to put time and effort into helping us, even though it was largely done at the last minute by ANSWER. Of course, much of both groups decision to assist us was based on self-interest and positioning. Be that as it may, they both did a terrific job in helping us and, they still were able to work well together after their recent split. As you know, the leaders of ANSWER left Workers World and formed the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). An open and democratic structure within the MWM was called for by many in SF and even around the country, but such calls were undermined by the local 10 ILWU MWM leadership at every opportunity. Membership and voting privileges were never clarified and were granted and taken away at the whim of Local 10 leaders. This made recruitment difficult. As the complaints about a small clique of unaccountable decision makers grew, the Local 10 MWM leaders and their acolytes stated a call for democracy in the MWM was simply a way to remove black leadership. Race-baiting reared its ugly head and smashed any possibility of growing a vibrant, cohesive and independent working class movement. After failing to have a cogent discussion on democratic process and directions in SF, the ILWU Local 10 MWM leadership was pressed to confront the issue. I and a few others forced the question and were told that a past meeting had voted to have the discussion of democratic structure at a national meeting to occur the day after the march in Washington. I asked to see the minutes as I felt this was a delaying tactic. None were provided and the question of group democracy and really, the rank and files ability to discuss the politic trajectory of the MWM was pushed off another month. But as the March date loomed, no meeting had been set by the Local 10 leadership. The week before the event, I called all the national chapter contacts and pleaded that a representative stay for a meeting to discuss "what next" to be held the day after the rally at our hotel. I left many messages and got a few call backs and crossed my fingers. The day after the March came and word had gotten out about the meeting. However, the Local 10 leaders were telling people the meeting had been cancelled! Again, inaction to organize the meeting and an attempt to stop the meeting revealed the leaderships controlling nature and attempt to squelch political expression outside their control. After over 50 leaders of local MWM organizing committees from around the country showed up in the conference room for the meeting, the ILWU Local 10 MWM leadership was forced to attend and were the last ones to enter the room. However, they were of course, the ones to hold the gavel. Many issues were discussed, including the pros and cons of the rally, fundraising etc. When the discussion turned towards creating a national organization and democratic structure, the Local 10 leadership maintained that such a movement was simply trying to usurp and replace black leadership. Unfortunately, this race-baiting and basic crushing of political dialogue worked. The leadership berated and cowed much of the attendees to abandon getting specific democratic structures clarified. Finally, any such discussion was tabled until a national conference which was to be held in the spring of 2005. No discussion of the political trajectory of the organization took place. It should be noted that both ANSWER and Workers World spoke against those seeking a more democratic structure, suggesting such a strategy was premature, onerous and tangential to real organizing tasks. The basic thrust of Local 10's MWM leadership was to undermine the political independence of the movement and channel it into a campaign to win support from union leaders and liberal democrats for basic Democratic Party New Deal politics. It is clear by action and word that the last thing the Local 10 MWM leadership wanted was the creation of a class independent workers movement. In retrospect, a political showdown should have taken place over the basic political principles of the organization. However, such a showdown presented a catch-22. Most SF MWM members were concerned about alienating the only union that really showed any support for the MWM, the ILWU Local 10 itself. If those seeking to build a movement independent of the Democratic Party had won absent any real base or union participation, then the ILWU would have likely shut down the MWM. Was the MWM going to simply create a protest movement to pressure Democrats to listen to the needs of working people or was the MWM going to forge a new independent class conscious fight back movement? This question was never raised. It went unasked out of fear, propriety and intimidation. Sadly, the MWM formed neither, as the union movement locally and nationally decidedly turned their back on ILWU Local 10 and sought instead to throw energy and money into electing Democrats while demanding nothing of them. The MWM's leadership was poorly equipped to deal with such a jilt and they were left with no organizing capacity. Moreover, class independent politics is still misunderstood and unpopular, in the ILWU Local 10 as it is with the majority of workers and Americans. It has been over a year since I participated at any great length with the MWM. As far as I can surmise, it has descended into a 5-6 man talk shop in the Bay Area that issues platitudes to empty chairs on a semi-monthly basis. I have heard some left currents float around the organization including Workers World, the Lambertists and occasionally the PSL. The MWM's most recent work has been focused around supporting the Nation of Islam's recent National March in Washington. Malcolm X is spinning in his grave. They still have no base in either community organizing or Local 10. The national network of activists and union contacts gained from a years worth of organizing for the March appears to go untouched and wasted. Former National Outreach Coordinator, Million Worker March SF, CA Douglas MacDonald ________________________________________________ YOU MUST clip all extraneous text before replying to a message. Send list submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose.org helps at-risk students succeed. 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