Even as the peoples’ uprisings in North Africa and West Asia have caught the imagination of the working masses, and deepened the crisis of the imperialist system, even while the imperialists are utilizing the opportunities provided by the civil war in Libya to recover in the region, workers in the US are fighting back militantly the attacks on their rights. Through their struggle, they are in practice exposing the multi party democracy that the US is promoting word wide as the last word in democracy, and showing that multi party democracy is capitalist democracy and what is needed is its replacement by proletarian democracy.
Tens of thousands of workers of the US state of Wisconsin have occupied the government offices defying laws, to protest against the governor’s move to pass a legislation depriving the public sector workers of their rights. In an unprecedented mass protest, following the example of students of Britain and the people of Egypt, these workers, both public sector and private sector, occupied the state offices, in a peaceful way, declaring mass democracy.
Wisconsin Governor Walker is trying to change the law, brutally attacking workers rights. The bourgeoisie is trying to institutionalize new arrangements that provide for open dictate of the monopolies and their right to plunder the public treasury and further exploit all workers. The new law targets collective bargaining, including on working conditions and pensions. It is an effort to guarantee the dictate of monopoly right against public right.
The continuing occupation of government buildings in the capital of Wisconsin reveals that the workers and youth have decided to rebel.
In these conditions, protests have been held in 50 states of the US demanding an end to the anti worker, anti social attacks taking place country wide. Workers from all sectors, public and private, teachers and steel workers, fire fighters and teamsters, hospital workers and auto workers, stood to say enough is enough. Demonstrations took place in state capitals in all 50 states of the US, along with a dozen other cities. As one, the actions affirmed Wisconsin’s fight is our fight! All for one and one for all! They rejected the claims of the state that public workers are a burden on society. Instead, workers and people at large defended their contribution to society. The people declared that attacking the public sector workers, including their right to organize and defend their working conditions, is an attack on society as a whole. Working conditions for teachers are learning conditions for students. Working conditions for hospitals workers directly impact conditions for patients.
The fighting workers of US are thinking that the problem is not just to stop the attacks, but also to fight for a democracy that the workers create themselves. A democracy where the people govern and decide. The US workers are increasingly coming to conclusion that rule by the rich is not democracy.