{"id":1844,"date":"2020-10-16T12:21:29","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T16:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/v01_2020\/staging\/?p=1844"},"modified":"2020-10-21T09:28:20","modified_gmt":"2020-10-21T13:28:20","slug":"rank-and-file-reds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/2020\/10\/rank-and-file-reds\/","title":{"rendered":"Rank and file reds"},"content":{"rendered":"

I<\/span> really enjoyed reading Eli R.\u2019s recent article, \u201cLife As A Rank-And-File Teamster,\u201d<\/a> discussing his work at United Parcel Service (UPS), and his eagerness to build a rank and file movement in the Teamsters. But, I was also dismayed by what I saw as a mistaken view of past efforts by socialists at UPS.<\/p>\n

The article makes a sweeping indictment of \u201cfailed pamphleteering and cheerleading from a distance of various Left sects over the past 50 years,\u201d which \u201chas given us a strong demonstration of what not to do.\u201d Counter-posed to this is the \u201cneed to build relationships through organizing in the workplace \u2014 the elementary site of capitalist exploitation and thus solidaristic worker resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, I agree with the latter part of his statement. The importance of workplace organizing and solidarity \u201cfrom below\u201d should be indisputable. But I think Eli R. has set up a straw man argument regarding \u201cleft sects\u201d which hides a deeper political argument. Is it really necessary to write out of history \u201cfailed pamphleteers\u201d or \u201ccheerleaders\u201d\u2014who would even know they ever existed? Who is this directed at? I\u2019m not sure, but the hidden argument here is about the role of socialist politics in day-to-day organizing in the workplace today. That\u2019s not surprising because in one version or another, it has been at the heart of debates about socialism and trade unionism for a long time<\/a>.<\/p>\n