The Nazis did not control Germany because they coerced every resident. They did it with fear. The Trumpsters today do not have the capacity to coerce the American population. They are hoping to do it with fear.
The gigantic turnouts at national demonstrations proves that fear isn’t working for the Trumpsters. Nevertheless, they will keep trying because it’s all they have.
Communists and other progressives must stand up to the fear campaign. Our defense is the American people. The overwhelming majority of Americans believe in fair play for all, including protesters and activists.
The Ku Klux Klan did not stop African Americans from voting in the South by coercing them individually. They did it with fear. The courageous leaders of 1954 were successful in overcoming the Klan because they were able to reach the American majority. The key, for them, was television. It worked.
Television continues to work for those seeking justice, but the internet is a close second. The more our ideas and activities are presented to the American people, whether through mainstream media or through the internet, the safer we are. In other words, the more effective we are in outreach the safer we are.
An unfortunate incident in Alvarado last year derailed the thinking of some activists. When the Trumpsters took advantage of the errors of some well-meaning activists, some learned the wrong lessons. I have personally heard otherwise-rational North Texans say that we should start going underground or stockpile weapons. I can almost hear the Trumpsters laughing because they think their fear campaign is succeeding.
Another terrible example is the one-or-two deluded people who dress up in military-looking outfits and carry weapons to North Texas demonstrations. I plead with them to get rid of their weapons or leave, but they don’t. They are risking everyone around them. They are either seriously deluded egotists or they are outright provocateurs working directly for the Trumpster cause! They should be treated as provocateurs because, effectively, that is what they are.
There is no doubt that the Trumpsters will threaten some individuals because that is how they spread fear. In those cases, the best defense is not a weapon. The best defense is one’s phone. If I were threatened, I’d rather have a cell phone with Facebook Live than a dozen machine guns!
We have until November before a systemic crisis hits.
Five months.
Currently, the billionaire autocracy is doing everything possible to rig the November elections. If they are not confident of substantially winning, they may try to end elections entirely. Trump has already floated the idea without success. If the elections are carried out, they will contest every election that they lose.
That they will use every possible means – legal/illegal, moral/immoral – to contest election outcomes is a certainty. It is proven without possible argument by the precedent they set in 2020.
In 2020, the billionaire autocracy had at their disposal only a ragtag group of fanatics. In 2026, they have nominal control over most of the coercive forces, including police, sheriffs, border patrols, ICE, the National Guard, the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force, and the Space Force.
The working class will resist. Will we be prepared to win by November?
Certainly, more people have hit the streets than at any time in history. Certainly, consciousness is at an all-time historical high. Certainly, the progressive forces are better organized than ever before. Even unions have begun to wake up. Certainly, the advanced part of the working class has brought the entire movement forward. Will it be enough?
Between now and the certain crisis, our movement must carry out two main strategies:
1) Mobilize the largest vote for progressive candidates and ideas
2) Organize the working class to fight beyond the electoral arena
CONFLICTING IDEOLOGIES
In the flurry of new consciousness, several different philosophies have emerged and begun to be put into practice.
Armed struggle is the least intelligent idea, but a few groups and individuals have already begun to advocate it. Where they tried to implement, they played precisely into the hands of the autocracy. Under current conditions the most likely initiators of any such policy are government provocateurs.
Getting everybody into trade unions is a charming idea. The Industrial Workers of the World tried it and made a good showing in the early part of the 20th century. But it didn’t work then and won’t work now. However, there are emerging organizations working with but not under the trade unions that are very promising.
Overcoming our enemies by winning elections within the only system available is the most popular idea, but this shopworn process is easily discredited, as it should be. American voters reject both capitalist parties.
The New York Times ran a headline on May 29: “In latest sign of discontent, 43% of voters are dissatisfied with both parties.”
Thirty percent of those polled “liked” the Republicans and didn’t like the Democrats. Twenty-three percent liked the Democrats and didn’t like the Republicans. The total number satisfied with both capitalist parties was four percent! The article asserted, “Eighty percent of dissatisfied voters said the economic and political system needed major changes or to be torn down entirely…”
The working class is learning class struggle politics. The alternative to the discredited two-capitalist-party political system is exactly that — class struggle politics.
ORGANIZING BEYOND ELECTIONS IS VITAL
Getting more workers to join progressive organizations, particularly those close to labor and civil rights organizations, is positive action. Many of them have already begun to search for ways to fight the autocracy.
We need political guidance to a viable path. That path is to organize the working class for full democracy.
As we study and practice, we move ourselves upward toward cadre status. As we take our place in working class organizations, we improve our options. Raising money is vital.
Shoulders to the wheel, comrades. We are running out of time!
The votes of far-right Republican voters and the prayers of Democrats elevated former Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to the top of the ticket for the state’s November elections.
Paxton’s Democratic opponent in November posted, “I’m now officially running against Ken Paxton. If we fail to take back Texas, we could hand this seat to the most corrupt politician in America.” – Candidate James Talarico
Trump and Democrats Celebrate the Texas Primary Results
Paxton may be one of the best-known for nastiness politicians from anywhere. His headlines include charges of corruption, infidelity, investigations, impeachment, and homophobia. A recent People’s World article charges him with forcing a Texas hospital to give up gender affirmation and change to behavior modification!
In case anyone doubts the death wish of Texas Republican voters, the race for Railroad Commissioner is clear proof. The Railroad Commission oversees oil and gas and is one of the critical elected offices in the state. The winner was Bo French, who had backing from the West Texas oil billionaires who have sponsored right-wing turnarounds in many and varied state elections, including school boards. Backing French’s opponents were the mightiest of right-wing state politicians, including the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. French’s campaign, based almost completely on racism and islamophobia rather than the oil industry, was too disgusting even for the more traditional hate mongerers.
The race for Attorney General in the Republican primary was all hate and mudslinging. The winner overcame the backing for his opponent from no less a well-known far-right hatesman than Senator Ted Cruz!
The shift among Texas Republicans is clearly toward autocracy without any regard to winning in November.
Texas Matters
The Texas primary elections are important because of the size of the state and the earliness of the returns. There are clear trends that can be used to predict outcomes in November.
Republican winner Ken Paxton put it well in his victory speech, “If Republicans lose this state, we lose the country.” — Dallas Morning News
In both the Democratic and Republican primaries that were settled in the runoffs on May 26, some of the biggest issues were hardly mentioned. The effect of artificial intelligence on jobs didn’t find a champion. The ongoing war in Iran and the coming threat to Cuba were not issues. Democrats and Republicans showed little interest in China, Israel, nor the exploding military budget.
Big $Money$ Matters
“The matchup became the most expensive Senate primary in U.S. history, topping $130 million in spending by all candidates and their allies.” –Dallas Morning News
The downright silly mud-slinging contest for Republican nomination for Attorney General drew over $14 million, according to news accounts made before the final tallies.
Despite all the Texas craziness, there were some issues that stood out.
Labor Celebrates, and Deserves to Celebrate
In Congressional District 33 around Dallas, labor endorsed Democrat Colin Allred based a great deal of his campaign on corruption among public officials. He especially charged his opponent with profiting from stock trading while holding public office and trust. He won handily and, because of Republican redistricting, expects little resistance in November.
Labor celebrated its victories in the critical Attorney General’s race and in several state legislature races. Our endorsed candidate for Lieutenant Governor lost, but he lost to another highly respected union member. The Texas AFL-CIO is revitalizing the entire state with political training and backup in local areas.
We’re on KNON radio every Saturday at 9AM central time. They keep the recordings on KNON.org for 2 weeks, so you can still listen to “Gene Lantz” or “Workers Beat.” They put my weekly podcasts on Soundcloud under “Workers Beat Extra.”
On May 23, the first caller spoke about the odd proposal to tear down our Dallas City Hall. Apparently, Mrs Adelson, the big Trump sponsor, wants to build an arena there for her Dallas Mavericks basketball team. The caller said the only problem was a leak in the basement, and that they need to get a better plumber. Bonnie, my Co-Host, said they need a union plumber.
I had a newspaper article on the topic: “A group of businessmen and architects propose 47 acres of city-owned land for the Mavericks. Their opposition wants to tear down City Hall and says the building is ‘unpopular.’ ” Dallas Morning News
During the next lull, I got to talk about something I’ve been wanting to say for weeks: the reason that Trump wants lower interest rates even as inflation rises. Normally, the Federal Reserve raises interest rates as monetary policy to fight inflation, but Trump wants the reverse — lower interest rates despite inflation.
Fiscal policy — government expenditures — are also fanning the fires of inflation. During the past week, I had accumulated several examples:
“Trump wants $1.2T to put weapons in space. $1.5T for miliary budget. $350B for present war.” New York Times
$1.7 billion contract awarded “for border wall in Big Bend” amid public confusion over construction plans. TX Tribune
“Trump is setting up a $1.8B “weaponization fund.” “The massive fund would give Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump a mechanism to seek taxpayer payouts for their claims of government overreach.” NBC News
Justice Department gifts Trump with slush fund Salon
“Trump Officials Decline to Rule Out DOJ Payouts to Jan. 6 Rioters Who Assaulted Police.” Time
“There has never been an example of presidential corruption like this.” NYT editors
“Never in 250 years has America witnessed a sitting president shield himself and his family from tax scrutiny, after leveraging policies that benefit his own businesses and personal portfolios, as Donald J. Trump has done… In doing so, he has set a precedent — once so unfathomable as to be laughable — that it’s OK for presidents and family members to make billions off deals affected by government decisions, then use the Justice Department to secure lifetime protection from scrutiny of their past tax returns.” AXIOS
After a couple more callers, I was finally able to give my take on why Trump keeps driving up inflation and demands lower interest rates: he wants to continue “borrowing” taxpayer money and driving up national debt in order to fund his plans for military and internal coercive forces, especially ICE. In other words, he doesn’t care about his sagging popularity. He intends to take what he wants, internationally and domestically, BY FORCE!
Dallas political analyist Carolyn King Arnold called, as she often does, to urge everybody to vote. She said that voting is “the only way” that people can change anything. After she finished, I disagreed.
Voting is important, but hardly the “only way.” People need to organize. Bonnie and I agreed that the best organizations are those closest to the union movement. Unions are the largest and best organized part of the progressive movement. I also recommended NAACP as a good organization to join.
Another caller reviewed his own article in PeoplesWorld.org. It was about an important voters’ event held last week in Friendship West megachurch. They set a goal of 75% turnout for Black voters. And they will do the work! He recommended working with Dr Frederick Haynes. I do, too.
With the subject of voting on hand, Bonnie and I could hardly resist talking about Trump’s seemingly insane endorsement of Ken Paxton to head the Republican ticket in Texas as the nominee for U.S. Senate. The caller who brought it up said that Republican voters “must be crazy.” I disagreed again.
I had two reasons. Firstly, even though Trump’s endorsement is winning Republican primaries all over the country, I don’t think that all rank-and-file Republican voters are nuts enough to elect Paxton on our May 26 runoff election day. There was a letter-to-editor in the Dallas newspaper demonstrating my point:
This article was also in today’s paper: “After Trump endorsed Paxton, Republican turnout in early voting dropped.” DMN //it proves that Republicans are not necessarily crazy//
And from last week, “Paxton and Cornyn race gets uglier and uglier.” DMN
My second argument goes beyond whether or not Trump is crazy or otherwise incompetent. I think that the billionaires behind Trump have a plan that largely disregards the question of winning elections. I think they intend to try to overthrow any election they don’t win, and Ken Paxton, famous for oceans of frivolous lawsuits, is just the kind of lawyer they need to help overthrow elections. His opponent, John Cornyn, may still believe in the Constitution.
My friend Arash called to talk about a mural unveiling for ICE victims and other civil rights issues. I wished we had more time to talk about civil rights and the current and next Trump wars, but it’s just a talk show and it’s just an hour. I was loaded up with recent articles on those subjects.
Civil Rights Being Decimated
“Thousands rallied in Montgomery for voting rights. ” Ap in dmn
“NAACP calls for boycott of Southern college sports programs over voting rights” Courier Texas
“Texas is the death penalty capital and Tarrant is the capital of that. 92% of death penalty cases are against people of color. ” Jane.harper@dallasnews.com
“Texas executed a man with a tested IQ of 70. ” Jamie.landers@dallasnews.com
“Justice Dept. Accuses U.C.L.A. Medical School of Bias Against White and Asian Applicants.” nyt
“Trump’s border wall is desecrating Native American site.” Ap in dmn
Trump’s Wars Worsen
New York Times ran a poll asking how many people support Trump’s war in Iran. 30% do, but it’s 70% for Republicans and 5% for Democrats.
“Israelis bomb Lebanon during truce.” NYT
Trump says “It looks like I’ll be the one that does it,” about invading Cuba. AP in dmn
And Everything Else
I had dozens of articles and opinions about this perilous economy and, especially, about artificial intelligence. But we get only an hour.
–Gene Lantz
We’re on KNON.org every Saturday at 9AM and they keep the recordings on for 2 weeks afterward. My podcasts are under “Workers Beat Extra” on Soundcloud and my personal web site is http://lilleskole.us.
If everything looks bad, it’s only because our enemies are flooding the world with lies. In truth, they are cornered rats. I’m not saying that cornered rats are not dangerous, but they can be stomped!
Take a look at what we have already accomplished in 2026:
Crowds at No Kings events have surpassed all previous American protests!
Our labor movement broke 70 years of precedent by condemning Trump’s wars
Our labor movement broke even longer precedent by promoting May 1, International Workers Day
The Alliance for Retired Americans, which has never gone beyond immediate retiree issues, unanimously passed a hot resolution against the war in Iran. It’s a very long and detailed resolution. You can read it on http://retiredamericans.org. Here’s just one paragraph:
”Whereas the price of oil has already risen dramatically and will lead to sharp increases in the prices of many products that are daily necessities for American families, and the cost of this war will fall squarely on the working people of our country, and on our military service members who are being asked to wage a war and sacrifice their well-being, perhaps their lives, with no clear reason or end plan.”
Let me mention a few other items from today’s news:
This seems like a good time to note that critical alliances are being formed in the progressive movement!
Here’s more from today’s news:
NYT asked “Do you think Donald Trumps decision to go to war with Iran was the right decision or the wrong decision?” Democrats said yes by 5%, Republians by 22%. And the general population by 30%.
Thousands rallied in Montgomery for voting rights. Ap in Dallas newspaper. It’s important to show that the fight goes on.
The Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine says he wants to change the system. NYT
Editors who usually choose to endorse candidates on the basis that they are probably going to win have chosen labor-endorsed Colin Allred on CD33, Venton Jones on TX100 and Nathan Johnson for Attorney General. Texas primary runoffs are May 26.
Mexican Government Reaffirms Support for Michelle Bachelet’s UN Secretary-General Candidacy Telesur This one is important because we might get a very progressive Secretary-General, but it also matters considerably that the President of Mexico does not cringe before Trump!
Unions are winning some big victories:
United Airlines Flight Attendants have new contract: The five-year contract includes a 31% base pay rate increase this summer; boarding pay (which averages an 7% to 8% increase to compensation); $741 million in retroactive pay; expanded job security; restrictions on red-eye flying; sit pay for scheduled and rescheduled sits over 2.5 hours; per diem and 401(k) contribution increases; 10 weeks’ paid maternity and two weeks’ paid parental and adoption leaves; elimination of 24 hour on-call reserve and more. Aflcio
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Texas workers at George R. Brown Convention Center and Houston Entertainment Center just won massive 46% raises! TX AFL-CIO
I’m not positive how to evaluate this, but I think it’s big news:
Trump went to China, but came back empty handed. One interpretation of Trump’s war in Iran is that it was caused by the undermining of the “petrodollar” by the BRICS countries. Brazil, Russia, India, China and their 25 or so new partners have been trading for everything, including oil, in their own currencies instead of bowing to the United States and using dollars. If this is the reason for the war, and I think it is, then don’t expect it to be over soon. I’ll go so far as to say that the war in Iran will not really be over before the end of November.
–Gene Lantz. I’m on KNON radio at 9AM every Saturday. They podcast it on knon.org. They podcast my “Workers Beat Extra” podcasts on Soundcloud. I podcast them on Spotify under my own name. If you were curious about what I really think, you might look at https://lilleskole.us.
As I write this on January 3, 2026, the nations of the world, even moderate nations, are condemning the U.S. invasion and occupation of Venezuela. For American workers, the best news is that the national labor movement, the AFL-CIO itself, has joined the international labor community in condemnation.
The AFL-CIO’s action opens the way for discussions and resolutions in every labor body in America. The obvious demand is to remove all U.S. military forces from Venezuela immediately. Everyone must participate!
What we face in the United States goes much further than the invasion of a sovereign nation. We are facing a government that has committed itself to the use of bullying and brute force in order to achieve its aims. That bullying will not stop in Venezuela, nor will it stop in other invaded nations. It is, and has been for some time, the regular practice of the Trump Administration within the United States.
We can expect violence from them as they try to stop us from exercising our rights as citizens. They will be attacking protesters. They will be, they already are, looking for ways to frame anybody who stands against them.
And yet we will protest. We will demand our rights, including the right to vote unfit people out of office. This is the greatest test of the democracy in our history since the Civil War. We cannot fail.
My friend Charlotte recently asked, “In an overpopulated world, why are Trump and other national leaders trying to raise birth rates?” I thought it was a profound question and one that deserves careful examination.
Birth rates in various countries get published every now and then. Like record high gold prices, though, they aren’t considered very fundamental to what’s going on. Or maybe, like gold prices, birth rate statistics reveal a lot more than the oligarchs want us to know.
Charlotte’s insightful question generates some other interesting questions:
“Why are reactionaries, especially religious reactionaries, opposed to birth control?”
“If reactionaries want more children, why don’t they want to take care of them?”
”If they had higher birth rates, wouldn’t they get more unemployment, especially as automation eats our jobs away? Doesn’t rising automation, especially artificial intelligence, argue for our needing fewer workers?”
“Trump says he wants more population, so why is he against immigration?”
“Right-wing governments and figures with nationalistic tendencies (including Trump) also want to increase birth rates to maintain a strong military and to counter ethnic, racial, and cultural diversification from immigration. These types of leaders often embrace the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory which states that white people are being “replaced” with foreign non-white populations that have higher birth rates. As well as opposing immigration, these governments are hostile to reproductive health and rights, especially abortion care.
‘Probably the most influential pronatalist in the Trump administration is the richest man on Earth and father-of-14 Elon Musk, who bought his new position as Trump’s right-hand man with a $288 million campaign donation. Musk has been trying to sow panic over declining birth rates for years, claiming that the human population is on the verge of collapse due to people having small families, and that low birth rates present a “much bigger risk to civilization than global warming.”
Birth rates weren’t much of an issue before hard-fighting women were able to win some control over what happens to their own bodies. Check out the tough life of Margaret Sanger to see more about that long and terrible fight.
In the mid-1960s, it looked like women and progress had finally won in America and some other countries. More recently, the oligarchs have pushed women’s rights way backwards. Again, Charlotte might ask, “Why?”
The answer lies in the economic nature of world capitalism. Each nation is pitted against the others, and the chief way they compete is with cheap labor. Whoever drives down the cost of labor lowest, beats the other competitors. Nations that have more workers, naturally, get lower labor costs.
What we call a “nation” and what more scientific people call a “state” is actually a political subdivision run by its ruling class. For the major nations, that ruling class is the capitalist class, which might also be called the owning class, or the billionaire class, or, in our case, the oligarchs. They compete with each other economically until they’ve vacuumed up every bit of profit possible. Then they go to war against each other.
This week’s developments, written up in the Washington Post and elsewhere, indicate new gains for fascism. Far-right politicians won their elections in The Netherlands and in Argentina. A new poll suggests that Donald Trump is 7 points ahead of Joe Biden. In order to assess the danger and its consequences, it is important to understand some history and some political science as they pertain to methods of government.
Jesus, Socialism, and Democracy
In the United States, confusion has been deliberately created to keep us from understanding. For example, our information sources regularly cross-mix economic systems, religious systems, and political systems. It is common to hear things like, “We prefer Jesus and democracy to socialism.” Thus, a religious symbol and a political system are counterposed to an economic system, to the confusion of all. I’m going to leave the discussion about what Jesus prefers for another time. I’m going to dispense with economic systems with only one sentence: socialism and capitalism are the only two economic systems worth worrying about today. And now, let us focus on political systems.
Three Systems of Governance
There are three systems of governance in world competition. They can be distinguished by their degree of self-governance. They are total democracy, partial democracy, and fascism.
If we had complete democracy, each of us would be able to affect decisions to the degree that those decisions affect us. In other words, you would have proportional say-so about everything that matters to you. That would include economic decisions and decisions on foreign policy. Such complete democracy may have sounded difficult to arrange in past centuries, but the internet now makes it relatively easy and close at hand. If we wanted, for example, we could cast a meaningful vote every day on our phones!
Currently in the United States, voters have practically no options concerning economic or foreign policy decisions. Did you ever vote to go to war or to stop a war? Did you ever have a vote on which factories would remain open and which would close? Voters in the U.S. have options on which of two political parties shall rule, on certain bond proposals or resolutions, and other matters; but not on the economics and foreign policies that affect them so greatly. We have partial democracy. From about 1776 to about 1980, our level of democracy seemed to grow. We overcame slavery. Poor men and, finally, women achieved suffrage. Poll taxes were ended. Some ballots were printed in various languages. The voting age was lowered. Some racial discrimination was overcome. As political obstacles were overcome, it was tempting to say that total democracy would eventually triumph, one success at a time. Those who gave in to that temptation overlooked an important fact: there is a class of very wealthy people who benefit from less democracy and have no intention of giving up their rule, especially over foreign and economic policies. This class of people continues to struggle to move democracy backward for their own benefit.
Partial democracy has a wonderful effect on production. After partial democracy leaped ahead in England centuries ago, their productive abilities soon outpaced the rest of the world. More-or-less willing workers are far more efficient than slaves or serfs, Soon, productive England dominated much of the world and would continue to dominate until less-democratic nations caught up or surpassed them. When productive powers became more equal between nations, their competition turned into the inferno named World War I. During that war and because of it, two controversial new possibilities emerged: total democracy and fascism.
In 1932 under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the United States improved democracy and seemed headed toward total democracy. In the same period, Germany started moving the other direction, toward the total absence of democracy.
Why and How?
People either love or hate the Soviet Union and I have no intention of debating it here. I will assert only that it offered the possibility of total democracy. It was their intention that the people would have control over everything, including foreign policy and economics. It is important to mention that their productivity shot upwards as they struggled toward total democracy.
The worldwide economic disaster that began in 1929 discredited older political systems. Millions flocked to the new possibility of total democracy. The reactionary class was horrified!
In the United States, the reactionary class agreed to restrained and temporary improvements in democracy, as long as they were still in charge. In Germany, they agreed to Nazi power — again, as long as they were still in charge. The reason that the reactionaries in the two nations took different courses had to do with their different economic situations. The United States had many options. The Germans had only one, war against the nations that contained them. The reactionary rulers were taking risks with both forms of governance. They had to, because the forces of total democracy were strong and getting stronger in all nations. In neither case, however, did the reactionaries intend to give up their rule, and neither of them did.
Fascism Is a Choice
The wealthiest Germans temporarily embraced Hitler. The wealthiest Americans temporarily backed FDR. The Spanish military, with the help of the Catholic Church and military forces from fascist countries, installed a dictator, Generalissimo Francisco Franco. It is especially important to examine the case of fascist Spain. Through such an examination, one can see clearly that fascism is a choice of reactionary rulers. German fascism ended in flames. America’s “New Deal” democracy was eroded, and is eroding, away. But Spain simply gave up fascism and returned to partial democracy. No war nor revolution ended fascism in Spain. Franco died, and the reactionary rulers decided that partial democracy would improve their productivity. As with England in the 16th century, partial democracy improves productivity. Fascism, with less-willing workers, retards productivity.
One can look further than Spain and see that a number of nations have embraced fascism when threatened by total democracy. After the threat passed, they resumed partial democracy to raise their productivity. Examples are Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, and Chile. It’s still going on. Fascism does not occur naturally. Natural social progress would suggest that partial democracy increases productivity, more democracy increases productivity more, and total democracy would increase productivity to its highest levels. Fascism retards that process and leads to less productivity. Fascism is unnatural and is a choice of the reactionary rulers, the wealthiest class.
There is Only One Way to Stop Fascism
As long as there is a reactionary ruling class, they will have the option of fascism and may choose it when they will. They have to be removed from power.
I’m on KNON.org’s “Workers Beat” radio talk show every Saturday at 9AM Central Time. My “Workers Beat Extra” podcasts are on knon.org and Soundcloud. If you are curious about what I really think, you might check out my personal web site
UAW Local 276 at General Motors in Arlington, Texas, went out on strike this morning. They are the most lucrative GM plant, and they join the strikers at the most lucrative Ford and Stellantis plants who were called out over the last 2 weeks.
Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy and Secretary-Treasurer Leonard Aguilar issued the following statement on the expansion of the United Auto Workers strike to the General Motors plant in Arlington:
“UAW workers at the ‘Big 3’ made tremendous sacrifices to keep the American auto industry afloat when it was in financial trouble. Now, with Texas sized profits as far as the eye can see, it is past time for that sacrifice to be fully recognized.”
“Strikes like this are hard. They involve risk. They involve sacrifice. But when UAW workers in Arlington, Carrollton and Roanoke walked off the job, they did so to benefit every worker in this country. They did so to make sure the jobs of the future can sustain our families and benefit our communities.”
“When employers get greedy and refuse to come to a fair agreement, strikes are the way workers get a say in writing the rules of the workplace, how we share the wealth we help to create. Without our brains and muscles, not a single wheel can turn.”
“That is why the 240,000 members of the Texas AFL-CIO stand in complete solidarity with striking UAW workers. As they stand up for themselves, their families, and their communities, we will always stand with them.”
“One day longer, one day stronger.” –texas aflcio
UAW 276 joins smaller Auto Workers locals, Mack Trucks, the actors in SAG-AFTRA, and dozens of smaller union locals on strike in the current upsurge. The outcomes of these strikes will affect wages, health care, pensions, and other job benefits for all Americans for now and in the future. In other words, they affect YOU!
The Question Is
What are you doing about it? How can you help make sure that our side wins? In this form of struggle, the strikers bear the brunt of the battle. They’re the ones in the foxholes, and it’s them and their families who will suffer the most. That doesn’t mean that there’s no role for the rest of us.
Here in North Texas, we have been and continue to be the center of strike activity in the Lone Star State. Dallas has a big SAG-AFTRA local. Two smaller UAW Locals nearby have been on strike since September 22. Many individuals and several organizations are pitching in, including: Dallas AFL-CIO, Tarrant AFL-CIO (Ft Worth), State AFL-CIO, Young Active Labor Leaders, Democratic Socialists of America, and Texas Alliance for Retired Americans. Other unions that have made major contributions include the Bakers and Confectioners (BCTGM) and Local 540 of the United Food and Commercial Workers. The main thing we do is join the picket lines to see how we can help.
Lately, we’ve been finding ways to make sure the strikers’ families can get groceries. Tarrant County AFL-CIO raises money on their web site tcclc.org/uawsupport. They intend to help individual strikers with significant financial problems. The Texas retirees’ group has begun contributing cold weather gear, especially red scarfs. The scarfs make good symbols of strike solidarity.
Probably the biggest contribution from strike supporters has been keeping the issues before the public. Approval of unions, and approval of strikers, is at an all-time high. The indications are that all Americans are drawing together against the ultra-rich corporations that offer us nothing but misery. When we keep talking about the strike issues, especially on social media platforms, we keep building public support.
When I Ask For Help
When I ask individuals or organizations to do something, they do it. I haven’t received a “no” answer yet!
On the Saturday just past, Dallas AFL-CIO held a cookout to honor strikers. Two Democratic State Representatives, Julie Johnson and Johnny Bryant, bought the food and beer. Lou Luckhardt, principal officer, did all the work. The Postal Employees sent a bouncy house and sno-cone machine for the kiddies. The Young Active Labor Leaders brought a karoke machine. We posted videos and a bunch of pictures on the social media platforms we have. We sent out thousands of e-mails and will send thousands more. We got lucky, for a change, with the corporate media. Fox4 and NBC5 both gave us extensive favorable coverage. i’m waiting to see if my letter-to-editor gets published.
Whenever one of the striking unions holds a public event, we do all we can to publicize it. We do all we can to attend every one. It doesn’t mean that we have stopped fighting on the political front. Texas is facing a major challenge to keeping public education and voting rights. We have an important election November 7, and unionists are already gearing up for 2024. To a newcomer, these activities may not sound related, but they are.
We’re standing up for working families, and we welcome you into the movement!
–Gene Lantz
I’m on KNON.org’s “Workers Beat” radio talk show every Saturday at 9AM Central time. They post my podcasts on KNON.org and Soundcloud.com on Wednesdays. If you are curious about what I really think, you could look at my old personal web site
genelantz 