A WIN Discussion, September 2024. Seen as a trend in many countries around the world, the resurgence of a strike wave among workers and youth in the USA has seen a growing movement calling for a new voice for the working class. Yet there is no lead being given by the trade union leadership. Despite the conflict we hear so much about, the two main US parties are no more than rival capitalist parties with minor tactical differences in policy; the Sanders movement has all but vanished, and a break from all of them and the formation of a new socialist voice is imperative. This week we heard from two guest speakers, both worker activists with decades of experience in the socialist, environmental, and trade union movements. Joel Schor is from Oakland, California, and has for over 30 years been employed in marine related industries as a Pacific Seaman, Boatswain, and Stevedore on the Docks. At Socialist discussions, he contributed enlightening reports on the industrial growth of China and its maritime cities. Joel has also been awarded a BA and MA in Economics and Politics, fusing his practical work as a workers organiser with theoretical qualifications. Cliff Willmeng grew up in Chicago and served an apprenticeship as a carpenter. In 1999 he participated in the ‘Street Battles in Seattle’ where trade unionists and environmentalists united against the globalist policies of the World Trade Organisation. He later moved with his new family to Colorado where he was a prominent campaigner against a program of ‘Oil Fracking’. He later became a State Registered Nurse and is employed in Minneapolis where he is a workers representative in the Hospital. Both Cliff and Joel have been attendees at the early foundation meetings of WIN.
Listen to the discussion HERE