May Day in Hamilton Review, by Rick Gunderman

It’s not often that I hear about protests relating to labour – and I live in Hamilton. So on Monday when I saw that United Steelworkers of America Local 1005 was holding a May Day demonstration and barbeque it was a natural decision for me to attend.

Well, sort of.

See, USW Local 1005 is a bit of a maverick section of the USW, and even in organized labour in general. Why? President Rolf Gerstenberger is a member of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), AKA Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada. This means that the union follows a more confrontational line than social democratic or – and I even mention them very reluctantly – liberal unions.

I am not, have never been, nor plan to become in the near future, a member of the CPC (M-L). My only experiences with membership in a political party was my two-year membership with the New Democratic Party where I gradually drifted further left and further libertarian, eventually finding myself in stark disagreement with many NDP policies and the direction of the NDP’s activism (or lack thereof). I will soon be renouncing my NDP membership…I haven’t gotten around to it lately.

As of yet I have no plans to join a political party. I do, however, find myself in general agreement with many Communist Party and Marxist-Leninist Party policies. My fundamental distrust of political parties as a force for revolutionary change keeps me convinced that neither a victory for the CPC nor CPC (M-L) would ever lead to a genuine socialist society. As a temporary medium through which to make small gains in the grander war for workers’ and peoples’ power, I have resolved to seriously considering voting for a candidate from either party should they run one in my riding.

At the USW Local 1005 May Day event there was a tone to it that I find severely lacking in reformist trade unions and political parties. That tone was one that prompted myself and the rest of the audience to feel empowered, as if our goals are closer than we believe. It was an optimistically revolutionary tone about fighting for jobs, benefits, security and peoples’ political power.

Like I said, it is not an issue with their policies that I disagree with. The CPC is very focussed on classical workers’ rights and class struggle analysis, and the CPC (M-L) advocates fundamental, if sometimes extreme and bizarre, democratic ideals. I would recommend a look at both.

My issue is, again, whether or not the political parties are capable of seeing the revolution through.

The examples of degeneration into authoritarian states in the past is not proof that socialism is an impossible dream. It simply proves that the very establishment of a “state” is doomed to caste breeding.

There is no clear reason that any fundamental problems existed with the economies of some of the world’s socialist countries. There is obvious political incompetence resulting from centralized control of a bureaucratic state by a single, elitist political party like the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This political caste effectively became the new capitalist class, controlling the state monopoly over the national economy.

Yet unemployment was eliminated. Quality modern housing at low rents were a common feature. Sports, arts and culture all became accessible to all people and not just the financial elite.

These do not excuse political oppression, increased militarism, and numerous attacks on civil rights. There is much to be answered for on the part of the Soviet leaders whose policies ran contrary to the principles that socialism was founded upon: freedom, liberty, and workers’ power.

Back to the point: I may not wish to pursue their path to socialism, but just because we are on different roads does not mean that we don’t want to find ourselves at the same destination. It was great to stand among my working class brothers and sisters and feel empowered as opposed to alienated. As we marched down the streets, I felt a sense of strength come through me, as if the fact that I could see all around me that I wasn’t the world’s last socialist made the possibility of realizing socialism all that much more real.

The march through the industrial core was enlightening, depressing, and also empowering. All three can be summed up in the same quote by a fellow demonstrator: “This is where it all began! This is where Hamilton began!”

His words rang loud, proud and true for those of us who had come out.

At the demonstration before the march Local 1005 members were giving out hats and scarves, local anarchist group Common Cause was giving out copies of their publication Linchpin, and the CPC (M-L) was giving out copies of their May Day statement.

All in all, my May Day experience taught me something important. Even though I may disagree with the CPC (M-L) on many issues, even though I generally don’t think trade unions are still a viable means for revolutionary victory of the working class, I now believe it is important that all democratic, peoples’ and labour forces unite towards a goal of a free society without capitalist or government exploitation and tyranny.

If the Communist Party doesn’t yield a candidate in my riding next election, I may be inclined to vote CPC (M-L) if the NDP candidate fails to inspire me.

~ by redrising on May 5, 2008.