2022 was a year full of struggle. As this was the first year of the Peoria CPUSA, we accomplished so much in our organizing for such a new cadre. Lenin said that there are three major forms of class struggle: economic, political, and ideological (the battle of ideas). Our club had a hand in all three this year.

Economic

Members of our club could be seen doing solidarity work all year with unions, such as attending rallies for teachers, miners, or railroad workers, sitting in as observers for union organizers when their bosses were committing unfair labor practices, and standing shoulder to shoulder with workers on a picket line. One of our members even unionized their Starbucks store while the rest of our members supported with community action.

Political

Although we are not in a place where we can currently run members for office, that didn’t stop us from being a part of the electoral struggle. Many of our members pushed for others to vote in the midterm election in order to get the Workers Rights Amendment passed, which was a success. Those of us in Peoria also voted “No” in order to keep the County Auditor, which unfortunately didn’t succeed due to biased wording on the ballot. Our club also had a very in-depth discussion on the importance of democracy, which showed our dedication to the struggle of the working class is based on both direct action and theory.

Ideological

Throughout the year, we showed up to support progressive ideas that help push forward the struggle of the working class. In the summer, we helped organize two major protests to mobilize around the overturn of Roe v. Wade. We attended both Peoria’s annual Slut Walk and Pridefest. In November, we read a statement at Pekin City Council calling for a grassroots peace movement surrounding the crisis in Ukraine, and for the U.S. government to change its foreign policy to negotiating for peace, rather than supporting economic warfare and military funding.

Building the club

As we were involving ourselves in the three forms of class struggle, we were also building our club. Since starting in March, we’ve grown our active membership by 600%, held elections for leadership positions, got recognized by the national organization as an official club, and now have members operating at both the local, state, and national level of the CPUSA.

I’m so proud of the work we’ve done in 2022. With the dedication our membership has shown, I know we’ll continue this momentum in 2023.

Solidarity to the working class!

Images: Peoria CPUSA club (CPUSA)

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