8/7/2019 Campus Spartacist 1969 12 Bay Area

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kers. In fact, students are a mUl .aye r ed group in t ransit ion, and r . e s e n t , in th e bulk, an equivocalforce which can tend toward fascism, communism, or neutral i ty. SDS- WSA is a student-based pro-workingclass organization of SOcialists, an d hence has an obligation to aid in th e politicization of the working class.

ProgramTh e highest form of th e worker-student alliance is , an d always has been, th e revolutionary vanguard

party, which unites students an d intellectuals who have broken their class origins together with advanced workers in a common organization with a single revolutionary socialist program. SDS is not such aLeninist vanguard party, but SD S can an d should become an organization where revolutionary youth-workersan d s tuden t s -can struggle for a com.m.on program which attempts to win the working class to revolutionarypolitics. Such a worker-student alliance would necessari ly seek out the most mili tant an d potentially radicalworkers in as many places as possible. Through them, SDS would help create an organized nucleus in th eworking class for the propagation-from within th e unions-of a highly conscious revolutionary program.This would be infinitely more valuable than exhausting ourselves by simply supporting the minor skirmishesbetween campus workers an d th e university.

The way to such a worker- student alliance lies through application of a t ransit ional program. Thisprogram attracts mili tant workers to positions that can only be won through struggle against th e capital istsan d their- state, yet are clearly felt needs of masses of workers today, such as the need fo r a shorter workweek at no loss in pay. This course of action leads through struggle for immediate needs - some of whichare unobtainable under capital ism-to a political consciousnes s of the c ~ p i t a l i s t system as th e main enemy.An example: to win their strike, th e GE workers must shut down war production as well as other production,thus breaking militantly with the social-patriotic practices of existing labor leadership. We should encourage th e most militant workers wh o are corning forward no w to ra ise a demand against GE's war cont racts , and eventually, against th e war i tself , as par t of th e strike struggle. Each step leads directly toth e next, and th e whole process forms a natural transit ion between t rade union consciousness an d revolut ionary consciousness.

This can only happen i f revolutionaries like SDS take the initiative in pressing for these demands atthe right time; if we merely support existing demands an d make no attempt to raise consciousness, we aresupporting the limitedness of th e struggle, an d thus betraying our ow n socialism an d the workers we claimto support.

Such a t ransit ional program should include th e following:1) Irnm.ediate and Unconditional Withdrawal Troops Vietnam, an d all other"overseas commitments", including a struggle for political s tr ikes against th e war. (Downwith phony anti-war bombast by labor bureaucrats like Harry Bridges!)2) Break from th e Capital ist Par t i e s -Bui ld Independent Working-class Party! Thiswould necessi tate a sharp struggle against th e reformist trade union bureaucracy, which istied to th e bosses ' "two party" system.3) For !: Shorter Work Week!:! No Loss in Pay - and Mass Training an d Hiring of the Unemployed. Struggle against th e special oppression of black workers while raising demandswhich would unite black an d white workers; oppose separatis t black nationalism.4) Attacks .9!: Labor-Repeal A n t i - l a b o r ~ . Fight government intervention inth e labor movement, investigation of .unions, injunctions against picketing and striking, etc.5) ! Decent Standard of Living !:! All! Fight for a decent minimum wage for all workers, geared to the cost-of-living, and cost-of-l iving escalator clauses in union contracts.6) For Rank-and-file Control of th e Unions! Militancy depends on democratic control an dactive participation by the rank-and-file; build caucuses to fight for transit ional demands.7) Cops Ou t of th e Ghetto-Support Armed Self-defense. Suppression of black ghettos todaywill turn into violent attacks on workers ' struggles tommorrow; for an armed workers militia!8) Release Al l Poli t ical Prisoners (Chicago eight, Black Panthers , etc .) .

..- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , ~ Spartacist Local DirectoryAUSTIN. Box 8165, Univ. Sla., Austin, Texa.78712. phone: 476-9714.BERKELEY. 80x 852, Main P.O., Berkeley, Calif.94701. phone: 525-5243.BOSTON. Box 53, Nonantum, Newton, Mass.

02195. phone: 891-6678.c:KAMPAIGN-URBANA. Box 2161, Sta. A,Champaign, III. 61820CHICAGO. Box 6044, Main P.O., Chicago, III.'60680. phone: 2814296.EUREKA. 80x 3061, Eureka, Calif. 95501.phone: 442-1423.ITHACA. Box 442, Ithaca, N.Y. 14851. phone,272-6427.NEW YORK. Box 1377, G.P.O., New York City,N.Y. 10001. phone: WA 5-2426.PHILADELPHIA. Box 1827, Wm . Penn Annex,Philadelphia, Pa.19105. phone: DA 9-6160.SAN FRANCISCO. Box 26076, Customs House,

San Francisco, Calif. 94126. phone: 861-2090.WASHINGTON, D.C.BALTIMORE. 80x 680, Benfranklin Sta., Washington, D.C. 20044.

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-Mark Klein, Berkeley SDS, Spartacis t League-Kat O'Conner, " " " "-Chris Kinder, " " " "printed by

Bay Area Spartacist LeagueDecem.ber 1969.

union labor donated

SPARTACJSTBox 1371, G.p.a., New York, N.Y. 10001six issues - SOc twelve issues - $1

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