This piece is a contribution to the Pre-Convention Discussion for our 32nd National Convention. During Pre-Convention Discussion, all aspects of the party’s program, strategy, and tactics are up for consideration and debate. The ideas presented here are those of the author or authors alone, and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Communist Party USA, its membership, or their elected leadership bodies. — Editors

The fate of the working class and our Party have always been inextricably linked. This means the success of today’s growing labor revival is crucial for both the broader struggle against state monopoly capitalism —  including its growing fascist wing — and the CPUSA’s revitalization. We should take seriously what a “labor revival” strategy would look like.

State monopoly capitalism and the erosion of the New Deal

The term “state monopoly capitalism” describes a system where large corporations exert significant influence over government policy for their own benefit. While their power grew during the post-World War II economic boom, the New Deal consensus — a period of increased regulation, social programs, and strong unions — placed limits on their influence. This fostered, temporarily, a more balanced relationship between corporations, workers, and the state.

However, by the late 1960s, monopoly power could no longer tolerate the New Deal consensus as the main obstacle to its relentless drive for profits.

Labor in the crosshairs

In the decades that followed, monopoly capital launched a broad offensive against the New Deal coalition and working-class power in general. Globalization became a key component of this assault. By allowing corporations to break free from national boundaries in search of cheaper labor and production costs, globalization weakened organized labor and further empowered corporations. The closure of factories and the disappearance of manufacturing jobs across the country scattered tightly-knit workforces, severing the social connections that are crucial to collective action, and fueling a sense of isolation and defeat among workers.

Weakening worker protections

Monopoly’s attack on workers extended beyond economics – it reshaped the legal landscape to curtail workers’ rights. This included crippling the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the agency upholding labor law. Decades of anti-labor NLRB appointments and under funding by state monopoly capital weakened the NLRB’s ability to enforce workers’ rights, creating an atmosphere where employers could violate labor law with impunity. Supreme Court decisions, like Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB in 2002, barring back pay for undocumented workers, compounded the assault.

These erosion of legal protections severely impacted workers. With a weakened NLRB and increasingly anti-labor court rulings, unions struggled to find their footing to respond. As workers saw their protections vanish, they became discouraged and less likely to take collective action.

The consequences: decline of working-class power

The consequences of this sustained assault are profound. Diminished unionization rates mean fewer opportunities for workers to experience the transformative power of workplace struggle. This has weakened our culture of solidarity, making it harder to build upon the successes and lessons learned from the past. The result has been a decline in the inter-generational transmission of working-class identity and traditions, creating a gap in historical memory that hampers present-day organizing efforts. This gap has been increasingly filled with corrosive forces of nihilism and cynicism. However, the embers of working-class solidarity still flicker.

The embers of revival: building a new strategy

Despite historically low union membership, polls consistently reveal strong public support for unions. A 2022 Gallup poll showed 68% approval. Additionally, increased strike activity signals workers’ renewed willingness to fight back. These trends offer hope and demonstrate the material basis of the labor revival. However, we must bridge the gap between public sentiment and on-the-ground action.

To deepen and broaden the revival, we must continue developing a “guerrilla” workplace strategy accessible to all workers, regardless of union status. The current pro-worker NLRB creates an unusually opportune environment. By starting with low-risk tactics, workers can build confidence without the immediate pressure of full unionization.

A potential tactic: the National Button campaign

The opening salvo of this strategy could be a nationally coordinated button campaign on the job. Workers across industries could purchase a button with a simple solidarity message from a central website. As the campaign spreads, workers’ confidence would grow. Social media would amplify their voices, allowing them to explain the meaning behind the button and the power of solidarity.

Importantly, wearing union buttons is a well-protected right, established by the Supreme Court in Republic Aviation Corp. v. NLRB in 1945. It was upheld even in the conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in In N Out Burger v. NLRB in 2014. This tactic also provides a foundation for workers to develop essential organizing skills: one-on-one conversations, workplace mapping, leader identification, committee building, seeking community support, etc. The success of the Starbucks union campaign proves the power of this worker-to-worker model. It’s time to generalize these lessons into a national labor revival.

The fate of the working class and our Party have always been inextricably linked. This means the success of today’s growing labor revival is crucial for both the broader struggle against state monopoly capitalism, including its growing fascist wing, and the CPUSA’s revitalization. We should take seriously what a “labor revival” strategy would look like.

Confronting monopoly power

Let’s be clear: the forces of state monopoly capitalism continue to dominate our political system and will fiercely oppose any labor resurgence. We’ve already seen this in lawsuits by SpaceX, Trader Joe’s, and Amazon challenging the very constitutionality of the NLRB.  Corporations will only intensify their lobbying for anti-worker legislation, manipulate elections, and flood the courts with lawsuits to weaken worker protections.

To counter this power, a successful labor revival must lead to a broad, anti-monopoly political coalition, a “People’s Front.”  This coalition must unite all those facing unchecked corporate power: small businesses, marginalized communities, family farmers, independent professionals, academics, students, and more. A labor revival and a People’s Front are interdependent. One cannot succeed without the other. But it is the revival of labor’s fighting spirit that is the engine of the People’s Front, making it our central task today.

A revitalized labor movement also presents a critical opportunity to rebuild our Party. By actively engaging in a shop-floor campaign with a clear, class-struggle strategy, the CPUSA can demonstrate its relevance to the challenges faced by workers today. Increased visibility at the shop-floor level will attract new members who identify with the Party’s goals. The strategic focus on a single, National Button campaign would also allow the CPUSA to effectively utilize its limited resources while maximizing its impact. This is a pivotal moment for both the working class and the CPUSA, an opportunity we must seize if we hope to win this fight for our very survival.

Let’s be clear: the forces of state monopoly capitalism continue to dominate our political system and will fiercely oppose any labor resurgence. We’ve already seen this in the lawsuit by SpaceX, Trader Joe’s, and Amazon challenging the very constitutionality of the NLRB. Corporations will only intensify their lobbying for anti-worker legislation, manipulate elections, and flood the courts with lawsuits to weaken worker protections.

To counter this power, a successful labor revival must lead to a broad, anti-monopoly political coalition – a “People’s Front.” This coalition must unite all those facing unchecked corporate power: small businesses, marginalized communities, family farmers, independent professionals, academics, students, and more. A labor revival and a People’s Front are interdependent, one cannot succeed without the other. But it is the revival of labor’s fighting spirit that is the engine of the People’s Front, making it our central task today.

A revitalized labor movement also presents a critical opportunity to rebuild our Party. By actively engaging in a shop-floor campaign with a clear, class-struggle strategy, the CPUSA can demonstrate its relevance to the challenges faced by workers today. Increased visibility at the shop-floor level will attract new members who identify with the Party’s goals. The strategic focus on a single, national button campaign would also allow the CPUSA to effectively utilize its limited resources while maximizing its impact. This is a pivotal moment for both the working class and the CPUSA, an opportunity we must seize if we hope to win this fight for our very survival.

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