Inflamed Ukraine

World war ahead, smash imperialist butchers

The Russian capitalist bosses have invaded Ukraine. It’s impossible to know how this war will ultimately play out, but we do know that small wars can lead to larger wars, particularly in volatile times. The war in the Ukraine is a nightmare brought about by the rivalry among the U.S., Russian, and Chinese capitalist rulers. There are no good sides among these imperialist butchers. Our class, the working class, must take on all bosses. We must turn the imperialists’ wars for profit into war to liberate our class with communist revolution. 

As the old liberal world order disintegrates, capitalism has come to be defined by constant invasions and wars--from the Middle East, where the big imperialists have fought to control the region’s oil, to Africa, where capitalists big and small compete for control of vital resources.

 U.S. and Russian bosses murder the working class 

The racism of the U.S. and European bosses focuses the world on the war in Ukraine. U.S. and European reporters visibly express concern for people in Ukraine while the daily death rained down by U.S. imperialism on the working class in the Middle East is normalized and blamed on the victims (LA Times, 3/1). But on the scale of workers murdered for bosses’ power, the invasion of Ukraine is more the same than different from the invasions of Iraq or Afghanistan by the U.S. bosses. Putin is no different than the Bushes, Barack Obama or Bill Clinton in his willingness to slaughter workers for their billionaire masters. While the cluster bombing of civilians in Ukraine exposes the Russian bosses (once again) as war criminals, the U.S. is unmatched for the callous slaughter of workers and children.

 Since 2001, the U.S. bosses have dropped 326,000 bombs and missiles on the working class in the Middle East. (Australian National Review, 2/28). Clinton’s Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, infamously stated that the killing of 500,000 Iraqi children by U.S. sanctions “was worth it”(Salon, 5/11/16).

 Over 500,000 people have been killed directly by weapons in the U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. The number of deaths from starvation, illness and lack of medical care is far greater than that. (U.S. News, 9/10/21). All this brings the holocaust of workers in Iraq and Afghanistan committed by the U.S. bosses to over 1.5 million people. If Putin is supposed to be “unhinged” (Business Insider, 2/28) what does that make Clinton or Albright or Obama?

 Smash imperialism with communist revolution 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was triggered by the U.S. bosses’ expanding NATO to Russia’s front door. Seeing the U.S. empire declining, the Russian bosses are pushing back. The U.S

 bosses, while weakening, are not without power. They have gotten the European bosses to join with them in economic sanctions against Russia that is sharpening the conflict. The result is a situation where direct war between the imperialists is becoming more likely. Since both sides have nuclear weapons, nuclear war becomes a possibility as well.

 Beyond the U.S and Europe, the Chinese bosses, having given tacit approval to Russia’s invasion, are also getting ready for bigger war. One possible outcome is that Russia is economically and militarily pushed even closer to China. That would give the Chinese ruling class an advantage as they prepare for war with the U.S.

 This is the nature of inter-imperialist rivalry. Nation states and capitalism are killing our class. We must get rid of capitalism and a society based on nations. We are one class around the globe; it only benefits the bosses when we are divided. We must not be misled or deceived by the capitalists’ calls for “freedom” or “democracy.” Whether “democracies” or “autocracies,” all countries in the world today are capitalist dictatorships. The current government of Ukraine, being hailed by the U.S press as a bastion of democracy, came to power by the U.S overthrowing a democratically elected pro-Russian government. In that coup the U.S. bosses partnered with pro-U.S. avowed Ukranian Nazis(Guardian, 4/30/14). That’s why the current Ukrainian military has openly Nazi units(OpIndia, 2/28). The racism of the Ukrainian ruling class was on full display as Black students trying to leave the country were beaten by Ukrainian soldiers and not allowed on trains(NY Times, 3/2)

. In this period, where capitalism is descending into a new level of hell, it is imperative for our class and our Progressive Labor Party to forge a new way forward by smashing the rotten profit system with communist revolution. While changing the course of imperialist war is a monumental task, it is something our class has done before. We must attack head-on the nationalism and racism being spread among our class by the bosses. The working class in Russia is showing bravery by protesting the latest inter-imperialist conflict in the streets. The same cannot be said for our class in the United States and Europe, where large numbers have fallen in line with U.S. imperialism and the U.S. rulers’ slogans supporting the Ukrainian bosses. To protest the Russian bosses’ war in Ukraine without attacking and exposing U.S. imperialism is a racist denial of the mass murder in the Middle East and around the world. Most dangerous of all, it misleads workers to support the U.S. bosses’ attempts to prepare for the next world war. In everything we do, we must be clear that the only way out of this nightmare is to build a revolutionary communist movement of the working class that smashes capitalism with workers’ power. 

www.plp.org

Fighting Fascism and Racism in Charlottesville

Members and friends of the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) joined with many other protesters in Charlottesville on August 12th to oppose the growing fascist movement of Nazis, Alt-Right nationalists and various other white supremacists. Although protesters successfully disrupted the rally and engaged in struggle against the racists, ultimately the fight against racism and fascism (a form of capitalism with severe repression/terror against workers ) can only be won through a united struggle against our capitalist oppressors.f

Make no mistake. The fascists in Charlottesville were organized and disciplined. Though armed, they did not shoot. The police also allowed the fascists to attack the anti-racists, and the police only intervened when they saw that the racists could not clear the streets by themselves.

After their rally was disrupted, racists roamed the streets of Charlottesville in small groups carrying their weapons and symbols of racist hatred looking to instigate violence.  They wanted to fight.  The horrific terrorist act of driving into a crowd of anti-racist protesters was a chilling example of their willingness to kill.  And the police? They guarded the Wells Fargo bank and the racists. Their pepper spray and organized intimidation tactics were directed at anti-racists.

This approach by the many police and National Guard was no accident.  In 1978, the police let the KKK kill anti-Klan protesters in Greensboro.  The police did nothing to protect the protesters. Similarly, last month in Charlottesville, police arrested protesters who had successfully opposed that smaller KKK rally, after having gone to homes of activists to intimidate them, prior to the event. This shows that WE must have a disciplined and organized force ourselves. We have to provide our own security, and not expect support from this racist-capitalist system.

Liberalism won’t win the day for the working class. At one point in Charlottesville, a group of racists jumped behind the police guarding the Wells Fargo bank after an altercation with an anti-racist, When the police pepper sprayed the anti-racist protesters someone bewilderedly questioned, ‘Why did they use pepper spray on us? Nobody was being threatened.” One PLPer’s answer was, “Because they can.”  

The ACLU is a strong defender of free speech. This is a quote from their website on 8/12/17, “[t]he First Amendment is a critical part of our democracy, and it protects vile, hateful, and ignorant speech. For this reason, the ACLU of Virginia defended the white supremacists’ right to march. But we will not be silent in the face of white supremacy.  We cannot expect nonviolent opposition to racism and fascism and support for liberal politicians and kinder capitalism to get the working class an egalitarian world.

History tells us this.  Street fighting by Nazis helped to develop shock troops for Hitler but only after they defeated the communists in Germany, were they really able to rule. The combined understanding of history and practical experiences most recently remind us that liberal resistance isn’t enough.

Capitalism needs racism for their system to survive, and capitalism strives to divide workers. They don’t want us to be able to fight back in a powerful and united way against our real enemy, this system.

Multiracial unity was evident among the brave protesters in Charlottesville, from many groups. Now this has to become a well-organized force with a common goal. Join the PLP in mobilizing for struggle on the streets, in factories, in the service industry, in each city’s transit system, in schools, in healthcare  settings, within the military, and everywhere. The only way to really put racism out of the picture is to fight for communism (a system run by workers without profit, racism or sexism ),a struggle all workers can embrace. The capitalists from Wall Street and the White House need to be replaced with a communist workers’ state based on anti-racism: a new society based on peoples real needs.

For more info call 301-356-5087 or email revolution500@gmail.com

The 1978 WMATA Strike

The 1970’s was a tumultuous time for public transportation in the metropolitan Washington DC area. The transit system was changed from private companies to a public transit agency, the workforce changed from a mostly white one to a majority African-American one and the Metrorail system began to operate. The period was marked by two major transit strikes, one in 1974 and another in 1978. These strikes, one a union led strike and the second a wildcat strike had a major impact on the region. These strikes led to a change in the union leadership as former civil rights activist and anti-war activists began to emerge as union leaders. As other unions around the country retreated or were defeated, ATU Local 689 continued to grow and achieve improved wages and benefits. The history of the strikes and the lessons for today’s labor movement will be explored.

The six day wildcat strike in 1978 had its origins in a contract arbitration award in 1970.  DC Transit and ATU Local 689 could not reach agreement on a contract that year so an arbitrator was called in.  The main point of contention in the negotiations was the full cost of living escalator clause. The Simkin Award which was issued on January 28, 1970 resulted in the elimination of the full COLA.

In January, 1973, a new contract was signed which restored the full COLA as well as several other improvements.  The same year WMATA took over the bus company from O. Roy Chalk.  WMATA immediately began demanding modification of the COLA.  They claimed Chalk had not negotiated in good faith because he knew that the company would be sold and he would never have to pay for the effects of changing the COLA.

At the end of April 1974, the union struck over the full COLA.  After a three day strike and a court injunction the union returned to work.  A negotiated settlement followed, and the full COLA was maintained.  

In 1976, when negotiations failed to achieve a new CBA, arbitration was invoked and WMATA announced that they would not pay the July 1, COLA increase pending the outcome of the arbitration hearings.  George Davis, the President of ATU Local 689 at the time, told the membership we should accept WMATA’s decision even though he thought it was a violation of the CBA, because he was certain the arbitrator would award the union the increase in his decision.   When the Platt Award was announced in the fall of 1976, the July increase was not provided for.  The membership felt betrayed and this set the stage for 1978.

Again in 1978, negotiations for a new CBA reached an impasse and arbitration was invoked.   Again WMATA announced they would not pay the July COLA pending the outcome of the arbitration process.  The membership was outraged. George Davis called for calm, but the membership was not listening.  WMATA was put on notice by the widespread anger of the workforce, that if the COLA was not paid a strike was highly likely.   

This set the stage for the union meeting of the night of July 18, 1978.  Several hundred workers turned out for the meeting.  George Davis informed the members there would be no talk of a strike.  When several members insisted on discussing the union’s response if the COLA was not on paychecks Wednesday morning, Davis attempted to adjourn the meeting.  He walked off the stage and left the meeting room.

Gary Young, a track department worker, took the stage and called the meeting back to order.  He asked if anyone wanted to make a motion on the union’s response to Metro’s failure to pay the COLA.  Ron Kuba, a bus mechanic, moved that if the COLA was not paid, the union would strike. Many members seconded the motion.  Mike Golash, a bus operator out of Northern Division, spoke in favor of the motion.  The motion was then approved by the membership without any dissenting votes. The meeting then adjourned.   

Workers assembled outside the meeting hall to discuss implementing the decision to strike.  The mechanics from Bladensburg Shop and Brentwood decided to walkout at 10:00 am if the COLA was not on their checks.   Bus operators and rail operators planned to set up picket lines on Thursday morning.  Another meeting was planned for Wednesday evening at RFK Stadium parking lot.  Mike Golash called the Washington Post and asked them to send a reporter to the union hall to report on the strike vote.  Around 9:30 pm a reporter showed up and interviewed several workers.  The Wednesday morning editions of the Post, reported on the strike vote.

At 10 am, Gary Young, George Goodwin, and Herb Bynum led the track workers and rail mechanics out on strike at Brentwood Yard.  Harold Hume led the mechanics at Bladensburg Shop out.

At the various bus garages and rail locations, operators continued working, in consideration of the patrons they had brought to work in the morning.  A plan was made to have a mass meeting at RFK Parking Lot to organize the strike for the next morning.

At the meeting at RFK, picket lines were organized for all work locations.  The late night runs would return to the garages as scheduled, but none of the “owls” would go out. When the pickets arrived at Northern, Gerry Dial, who had not attended the meeting at RFK had already taken the first “owl” out.  Jimmy Stieff left to tell Dial to bring the bus back.  Within the hour, the bus was back in the garage.  Reports came to Northern that the gates at Four Mile and Bladensburg Garage were locked and no buses were going out.

A few buses left Northern, but when they got to Silver Spring to start their routes, they saw the Metrorail system was closed down and they returned to Northern.  By early morning the entire system was shut down. The trains were not running and there was no bus service.

At Northern, Bob Lyles, the superintendent, approached the picket line and called Basiru Seasay, an immigrant worker, to return to work.  Seasay refused and Mr. Lyles returned to the garage.

At noon time a number of workers from various work locations held a rally at Metro Headquarters to express their determination to management to continue the strike until the cost of living issue was resolved. Bill Scoggins, a bus operator from Arlington, asked all the various work locations to send representatives to RFK Parking lot for a meeting to formalize the strikers’ plans to deal with management.  The meeting was planned for Friday morning. There was some confusion about the meeting in that some work locations had sent many workers while others had sent only representatives. The issue was resolved when it was agreed that each group of workers would hold a meeting and select a representative to be on a leadership committee.

At the leadership meeting which was attended by approximately 25 representatives, it was decided to seek legal counsel to represent the strikers in court hearings on Metro’s effort to get an injunction to end the strike and to demand amnesty for all those involved in the strike as well as payment of the July 1 cost of living raise.

These decisions were to be reported back to the membership at the garages and plans were made to attend the court hearings on Saturday morning.

The hearing was held at the Federal Court House in Washington DC before Judge Oberdorfer. After noting that the strike had caused a major crisis in the Washington area and had impeded the functioning of the Federal government, Oberdorfer issued several orders.  He ordered WMATA and the union to hold an expedited arbitration hearing to resolve the cost of living issue.  He ordered WMATA to provide security in case the arbitration panel ruled in favor of the workers. Lastly he ordered the union and WMATA to hold an expedited arbitration hearing on any discipline resulting from the strike.  

Oberdorfer in his closing remarks noted that it was hot in his court room but it would be much hotter in jail if the strikers did not return to work.

After the meeting the 25 representatives decided to meet that evening to plan their response to the court orders. At the meeting Scoggins who had been the chief spokesman for the strikers, advised a return to work.  Most of the representatives objected. Scoggins resigned from the committee and was replaced by Eugene Ray, a driver from Four Mile Run Division. It was decided to have a mass meeting at RFK parking lot the following night (Sunday, July 22) to take a vote of the strikers.

During the day on Sunday, meetings were held at the work locations to discuss the Judge’s order and a response, and to announce the mass meeting at RFK parking lot.

The meeting at RFK parking lot was attended by over 1,000 workers. Bill Scoggins spoke and told the crowd that the strike had accomplished all that could be reasonably expected and that the workers should return to work Monday morning. Gary Young, a track worker and Eugen Ray spoke in favor of continuing the strike until amnesty was achieved for the strikers.  The overwhelming opinion of the crowd was that the strike should continue.  

On Monday the strike continued, but drivers from Arlington Division where Bill Scoggins worked returned to work and management was able to get a few trains back in service.  These actions took a toll on worker morale, and whether the strike would continue on Tuesday became a topic of discussion.

On Tuesday morning, meetings were held at all the various work locations, and one by one they voted to return to work. By early morning the strike was over.

Following Judge Oberdorfer’s instructions an expedited arbitration hearing was conducted on the cost of living raise.  Arbitrator Richard Bloch ordered Metro to pay the July 1 cost of living.

Mike Golash, George Goodwin, William Powell, Eugene Ray and Gary Young were held in contempt of court for refusing to obey the court order sending them back to work.  They were fined by the court

and terminated by WMATA. No contempt citation was issued for Bill Scoggins and he was not disciplined by WMATA.

In accordance with Judge Oberdorfer’s order, an expedited grievance procedure was established for those employees disciplined for participating in the strike.  An arbitration hearing was conducted over a three month period from September to November.   Arbitrator William Feldesman ordered the four strike leaders reinstated with suspensions ranging from five to eight months.

The role of communists from the Progressive Labor Party was a point of controversy during and after the strike.  Peter Sheehan, Metro’s Labor Relations Officer claimed that the entire strike was the result of a communist conspiracy.  William Coltrane, a bus operator from Western Division, testified at the arbitration hearing that unspecified communists from New York had played a role in the strike. Bill Scoggins blamed efforts to continue the strike on communists. George Davis, ATU Local 689 president blamed the strike on communists.

Mike Golash and Gary Young were known by many workers as communist members of the Progressive Labor Party.  They had played a key role in developing the arguments why a strike was necessary if WMATA refused to pay the COLA on July 1. In the months before the strike, they had talked to hundreds of workers about the issues, passed out literature about it and attempted to make the union strike ready.

At the July union meeting, Gary Young called the meeting to order after President George Davis had walked out to prevent a strike vote. Mike Golash spoke at the meeting strongly favoring a strike.  Gary called for the strike vote and announced that it was unanimous.  After the meeting Mike Golash contacted the Washington Post to publicize the strike vote and the next day Gary Young led workers out at Brentwood yard to begin the strike.

Although Progressive Labor members played a key role in the strike, the strike occurred because the union leadership refused to fight on the COLA issue which nearly every worker at WMATA felt extremely important.

In the aftermath of the strike, George Davis and Rodney Richmond, the top two officers of the union were defeated in the next election.

Gary Young was elected to the Executive Board of the union in the early 80’s and subsequently left the company.

George Goodwin also left the company in the 80’s.

Eugene Ray passed in the early 90’s

Bill Scoggins had a massive heart attack two months after the strike ended and died.

Mike Golash continued working for WMATA as a bus operator.  He was elected to the Executive Board in 1995, Financial Secretary in 2001 and President in 2004.  He retired in 2010.

PENSION CRISIS AT METRO

PENSION CRISIS AT METRO

The defined benefit pension system that many workers depend on to provide an adequate retirement is under attack. All across the country these plans are being closed to new members.  In some cases, retirement benefits have been cut because the plans do not have sufficient funds to pay promised benefits.

The labor movement must fight against the attacks on pension systems. Here at Metro, we must take the pending attack seriously and develop militant leadership to stop management schemes to attack our pensions.

At WMATA, the Transit Employees Retirement Plan (TERP) that provides retirement benefits to Local 689 members is under attack. In the current round of contract negotiations, Metro has advanced outrageous proposals to close the TERP to new employees, stop accruals for current employees, and modify the post-retirement cost-of-living adjustments.

Metro’s argument for making these changes is that the TERP has become too expensive to maintain and that if current trends continue, required contributions will exceed 30% of payroll. Instead they propose setting up a 401(k) defined contribution system where the investment risk in the casino called the stock market falls on participants rather than the employer. Metro’s contribution is set at approximately 3-4%, far below what it currently provides under TERP.

What is causing the current crisis?

When the TERP was first established in 1945, it was decided that the money collected for it would be invested primarily in risk-free federal government bonds. Since returns on these investments were generally stable, it was easy to determine the rate of return on the TERP’s investments and so the required contributions by the employer and the participants were also stable for any particular level of benefits.

In the early 1980’s, the union and management agreed on a new investment strategy. The new investment profile allocated 70% of the investments to equities (stocks) and the rest to government bonds. At the same time, WMATA agreed to pay the full cost of the TERP and the participants agreed to a one-year wage freeze.

WMATA management thought that, with this new investment strategy, returns would be greater and the cost of the TERP would decrease. From 1983 forward the stock market had a good run.  Each year Metro’s required contribution decreased until in 1997 it went to zero.

From 1997 to 2005, Metro made no contributions to the TERP.  In the 2004 contract negotiations, the union made the argument that the unusual run of high market returns would eventually end and the Plan need a new funding method to take this into account.  Management agreed and contributions resumed in 2006.

In 2009, the stock market bubble which had been building for over 20 years burst and there was a major financial crisis.  The union leadership, in response to Metro’s threats to end the pension system, backed away from insisting that the contributions required to fund the Plan should be made, and agreed to amortize the losses over a 30 year period (this meant the fund would not reach full funding for 30 years). This allowed Metro to reduce its required contribution to the TERP by approximately $47.7 million per year. Then in 2012, the union agreed to management’s request to further reduce Metro’s contribution by requiring the participants to pay 3% of their wages into the Plan.

These two backwards steps by our union leadership gave Metro an appetite for more cuts in pension costs.  The crisis is real and can only be solved by the TERP becoming less reliant on the stock market and by WMATA contributing additional funds to the Plan.

The current assumptions that our Plan will return 7.75% returns on investments is completely unrealistic. Almost all pension economists expect such plans to earn at best between 4% and 5% on these investments in the coming decades. With management’s current unrealistic assumptions, the TERP is forecasted to gain about $230 million per year from investments of the $3 billion it currently holds. In reality, we can expect to gain only about $150 million.  Each year, the TERP will come up short by about $80 million.

The TERP amortizes these losses and Metro’s required contribution grows each year as it becomes less-fully funded. If new employees are cut out from TERP and forced into a 401(k) plan, the situation gets even worse. For new workers, the 401(k) is a crap shoot whose benefits will never compare to the defined benefits we have negotiated over the years with Metro. And since the TERP is not fully funded, money that is put in by current employees supposedly to pay active members in the future is used instead to pay current retirees their full benefits. In this scenario, we soon reach the situation where there are relatively few active members in the Plan and thousands of retirees. At that point retirement benefits would be severely cut. This is the scenario that has happened with the Central States Teamster Fund, where pensions have been cut severely because there are only 50,000 active employees and 200,000 retirees.

The only sensible solution to this death spiral of the pension fund is for Metro to keep all workers in TERP, to contribute more money to the Plan, and to reduce reliance on stock market returns. The money to do this must come from the federal government, the developers and the businesses for the services we provide them.

The fight to achieve this will not be easy.  We must unite with the riding public to demand better service, lower fares and a dedicated funding source that captures the extra profits the businesses and developers make from the service we provide.

As a union we must make ourselves strike ready to let the local government and the Metro Board of Directors know that we are serious about protecting our pension system.  Many of us have dedicated the best years of our lives to Metro.  We expect and deserve a decent retirement income.

Mike Golash mgolash@gmail.com   202-253-4880

Preserving Our Pension System

Recently there has been a lot of concern all across the country about the condition of defined benefits plans similar to the plan that Local 689 has in place. Defined Benefits Plans are being curtailed, closed or benefits reduced.  In light of this it is important to take a look at the condition of the Transit Employees Retirement Plan.

The TERP is currently about $800 million dollars underfunded.  Funding for the plan has been a contentious issue since the fund was established in 1945.  Up until the early 1980’s the fund was mostly invested in government bonds with relatively low rates of return.  In the early 80’s two things happened:

1.)           The Trustees began to invest money in the stock market in the hope of increasing the return on the investments.

2.)           In 1983, management agreed to fully fund the plan. Employee contributions were stopped and in return the union agreed to forgo a wage increase for that year. Also as part of the deal, a 30 year amortization period was agreed on for the unfunded liabilities at the time. Because of higher returns on investments, Metro’s contributions began to decrease until in 1997 they went to zero. At that time the plan actuary recommended a new funding method so that Metro’s contributions would continue, but both the union and management passed on the issue in the 1998 and 2001 CBA negotiations. Finally in the 2004 negotiations, a new funding was agreed on and contributions at about 5% of wages contributed by Metro began.

Then in 2008, as the financial crisis began and the value of our investments plunged, Metro’s contribution was supposed to increase dramatically. Metro demanded relief (they forgot all the years they had contributed nothing). The union then agreed to a new 30 year amortization of the deficit.

Can the plan recover? It is not likely under the current funding method and amortization table. Why? Our assumptions about returns on investments are too high.  A 7.75% return is not achievable in the current global economy. Competition from China, India and the EU are driving down profits for everyone.  Not achieving assumed returns leads to an increasing deficit over time and higher contributions for Metro.  Another 15 to20% drop in the stock market could push our plan over the cliff.

The 2012 CBA in which the participants in the plan began to contribute to it did not address the funding issue.  The agreement shifted the cost of funding the plan from Metro to the participants.  It did not provide any increase in funds for the Plan.  In other words, Metro‘s contribution was decreased by the amount participants put into the Plan.

What needs to be done to fix the problem and guarantee promised pension benefits for current and future workers at Metro? First the assumption on returns needs to be changed to a more realistic number.  Metro is opposed to this because it would increase their contribution to the plan. Second, the amortization table of the unfunded liability needs to change to a 10 or 12 year rolling schedule. This means every year the plan actuary would calculate the unfunded liability and set out a payment plan for bringing the up to full funding in the allotted time.

 Unless more money is put aside now to provide future benefits, the TERP is not sustainable for future generations of Metro workers.  It will require a major fight with Metro to preserve our plan for ourselves and the next generation of retirees.

Smash Racism and Capitalism with Communist Revoultion

Over the last year there has been a great deal of talk in Washington about the need to grow the economy and create jobs.  From the discussion you would think everyone; Republicans and Democrats are in favor of programs to accomplish these goals.  There are constant cries from the pundits for more bipartisanship to accomplish these goals.  So why is nothing happening.

With 46.5 million people in poverty in the United States today and 42.5% of African American children under five in poverty, there is a crisis for working people.   With 2.3 million people in jail and 400,000 people being deported annually, poverty will continue to grow because their income is needed to keep their families out of poverty.

Since 2010, the recession has ended for the top 20% of the population as they have seen their incomes improve, for the rest, incomes have continued to fall, and there is no end in sight.

Nothing is being done about the situation except talk because the problem is the system of capitalism.  The capitalist control the politicians, the press, the educational system and they will not allow any serious challenges to their system from within these ranks.

If an alternative is to develop, it has to come from those who are exploited by the system, not those who benefit from it. 

Capitalism is a system based on the exploitation of labor.  It can take many forms but in essence it means the surplus value workers produce by their labor is taken by non-producers who hold power and used for their benefit.

The alternative to this is communism where workers produce what they need and distribute it among themselves to meet their needs.

Of course the capitalist say this cannot happen. They use racism and sexism to divide the working class.  They develop a culture which encourages individualism and greed to overcome workers need to help each other out.

We know it is possible to have a world where the needs of the world’s workers are met.  The capitalist stand in the way of reaching this goal.  We are building an organization, the Progressive Labor Party, to overcome the many obstacles the capitalist place in our way of building a word free of racism, sexism, nationalism and constant wars.  A world without money or a wage system, where people work for the common good and have their needs met.  We are building an international party, because conditions are even worse elsewhere in the world and we cannot do it alone.

We can learn a great deal from the working class movements of the 20^th century.  We can correct their mistakes and as Karl Marx said over 150 years ago, open a new era of human history. Join us in this effort.

Progressive Labor Party      www.plp.org          revolution500@gmail.com

Some Answers About 689's Pension Fund

The recent contract changes approved by the membership raised some questions about the Transit Employees’ Retirement Plan which need to be answered.  It has been widely applauded by Metro's Board of Directors and the Washington Post.  This alone should make members of ATU Local 689 skeptical.

The Plan was established in 1945 to provide pension benefits to members of Local 689.   The plan was funded by contributions from both employees and employer.  The employer put into the fund twice the amount of the employee for most of the period until 1983. The employees put in between 4% and 7% of wages, and the employer put in between 8% and 14% depending on the contract in effect.  In 1983, Metro management proposed that they assume the total cost of the pension if the union would take a wage freeze of one year. The wage increase which at that time was based on the inflation rate was estimated to be about 6.5%.

The union agreed and on July 1, 1983, Metro took responsibility for the funding of the pension plan.  Why did they propose this change?  Metro realized that if they changed the way the pension funds were invested, they could return greater yields and over time their costs would go down.  So the fund went from investing in mostly government bonds to a majority of its investments in the stock market.  The plan worked well for Metro.  In the 1989 contract, the minimum contribution required which was 11%, was eliminated from the contract.  By 1997, the investments had done so well, Metro’s contribution to the fund went to zero and stayed there until 2006.  The 2004 contract changed the method of calculating Metro’s contribution, and they were in the fall of 2006 required to begin contributing to the fund once more.  To get Metro to agree to change the method of calculating their contribution the union had to agree to a small wage increase of 1.5% instead of 3%. From 1983 to 2006, Metro saved hundreds of millions of dollars on pension contributions.  They never once complained about this.

In 2008, when the stock market crashed, they began complaining about their contribution.  At the same time they began demanding the employees start contributing to the plan.  They wanted the members to forget about the 6.5% and 1.5% wage increases they had given up in 1983 and 2004 were the members’ contribution to the plan and the millions of dollars Metro had saved in those years.  The sad part is the union leadership did forget.

In the course of discussing the new contract, many argued that it should be approved because the pension fund needs more money, and therefore the members should start contributing to guarantee the solvency of the fund in the future.  This issue was not a part of the contract changes.  The money contributed to the fund will remain unchanged.  What will happen is Metro’s contribution will decrease and the members will pick up the difference.

Our pension plan is a defined benefit plan.  That means the benefits are defined by our contract. The money for these benefits comes from a fund controlled by a six member committee of union officers and management people.  This committee invests the funds at a reasonable risk level and expecting reasonable return so that they can pay the pensions when due.  In 1983, Metro saw an advantage in assuming all the investment risk.  They made out like bandits for 25 years.  They are still way ahead in the game.

 

Metro has drawn blood in this contract.  It will wet their appetite for more next contract.  We need to get prepared.