Answer Reagan with a

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We editio shorte reprint below an article i of 'Labor News'. The ned for reasons of space.

The historic shattering defeat for the Democratic Party and the election of a Reagan regime along with the most reactionary rightwing Senate in over thirty years has solved nothing for capitalism.

In fact, Regan won with only 25% of the vote and 48% of eligible voters not even bothering to vote. Millions of workers abstained from the election because they believed they had nothing to vote for, with massıve unemployment, high inflation rates and an increasing interest rate being the shared policies of both the Democrats and Republicans.

On the day of the election it was reported by CBS that Bush, on going to the polls to vote, said "We got in the White House like a burglar."

This exemplifies the whole charade of the election. The two capitalist parties were provided with over 60 million tax dollars to harangue the voters on TV, radio and in the newspapers, while socialist candidates and others such as the Citizens Party were faced with a news media blackout.

Rigged election

The Democrats publicly admitted spending nearly a million dollars to keep Anderson, along with other. third party candidates, off the ballot - were Additional amounts were spent by the religious right-wing in attacking liberal Democrats and the social programmes.

In short, the working class was faced in many ways with a rigged election.

The major capitalists however have begun a major shift in their strategy toward the working class in this country and the needs of imperialism internationally.

They have funnelled tens of millions of dollars into the coffers of the most reactionary witch-hunters, bible-toting racists and war mongers since the McCarthy period in the 1950s.

These proto-fascists such as preacher Falwell, Weyrich of the Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress and others seek to whip up a right-wing religious jihad against the unions, minorities and the deformed workers states.

Their immediate goals during the election was not only to elect Reagan but to "knock off" liberal senators such as McGovern, Church and Birch Bayh.

Attacks

The voter abstention and the turn against Carter made them even more successful than they thought they would be, with the removal of these and others to allow Republican control of the Senate for the first time in decades.

The election victory fron arti Reagan and his reactionary supporters now means a qualitative step-up in the attacks against the working class. These newly elected right-wing senators have made careers of organising for causes such as the open shop, against women's rights, cutbacks in social programmes and for a hard line against the Soviet Union, its supporters and the national liberation struggles of the underdeveloped countries.

They will now move ahead to implement their policies with a vengeance. So confident are they of the backing that they have from their masters that they even attacked Bush a day after the election for being too "liberal". This for a man who headed the CIA gangsters around the world for years.

Wreckage

The entire strategy of most of the trade union movement and its leaders in this election has been left a wreckage.

Their whole campaign to vote for Carter to stop Reagan has backfired with the loss of nearly every "friend of labour" in the senate and others such as congressman Frank Thomson of New Jersey upon whom trade union bureaucrats counted to introduce legislation or support union-sponsored legislation.

In many ways the support for Carter and the Democrats by the unions has helped bring the election victory of Reagan.

The AFL-CIO, UAW, ILWU and other unions provided no alternative to the anti-labour policies of the Democrats. The stupidity of attempting to get laid off auto workers and millions of other workers to vote for a government that helped to put them there should have been obvious to the trade union bureaucracy but their continued defence of the needs of capitalism leaves them with no other choice.

No alternative Their refusal to support a labour party movement or even for the "lefts" like Winpisinger to use the apparatus of the million member IAM to support Commoner of the Citizens Party has left them with no political alternative to present to their members.

As a result of this political backwardness, the trade unions now have one of the most right wing Senates and Congresses ever to contend with.

Frank Fitzsimmons, Teamsters President, must also be singled out for special condemnation.

Fitz was one of the few trade union officials who actually supported Reagan, hoping to insure an amicable relationship between mob elements and the Republican government.

Probably the first assault against the trade union movement will be for the destruction of the Davis Bacon law. This (LGHU. act provi for a union prevailing wa: for construction workers throughout the country. ed by the end of Davis-Bacon.

Open shop supporter Senator Orrin Hatch, who is now the head of the Senate Labour and Human Resources commitee, has helped organise an entire national movement 1o kick out union shops and remove the Davis-Bacon Act.

Now he is in a perfect position new to implement his programme.

The effect of this to union construction labour would be devastating with probably the loss of 25% of the membership throughout the country.

Entire union officials in states like Utah and others are Aides wind up Reagan ready for action Fer Warkers, A Clear Cheica... CAT creato trident Union bul. ins support Carter campaign dependent on Davis-Bacon to the construction unions among protect union jobs and these others, and the Synergy would be immediately threaten- programme will be a major target to make non-union.

In addition, the 88 billion The past strategy of the dollar Synergy -(synthetic fuels) trade union bureaucracy has programme will now be made been to call on workers to "union free" • Carter in a deal "write letters to congress" and with the trade union bureau- other pressure tactics on the cracy prior to the election Democrats for "reforms". appointed AFL-CIO head Kirk- Labour haters land to the board of this governthe new peatie ball doals ate The idiocy is now even more apparent with Orrin Hatch and the rest of the open labour Reagan's' probable new haters in control of the Senate. cabinet members like George The only way that the Schultz, vice-president of unions will stop the destruction Bechtel Construction Company of Davis-Bacon and other proand formerly with the Nixon labour measures will be through administration, have a direct mass mobilisation of the interest in completely busting membership, building up to the suppression of democratic rights within the unions, along with preventing mass worker action to defend labour.

Now, in our view, it is either "do or die" ". The unions will be destroyed unless their tactics and political strategy changes. . The first task for the Reagan gang will be to "get the house in order" . This will mean a freeze on all federal hiring with the exception of defence: and massive cuts in social programmes and education, along with the destruction of OSHA and other labour protective measures.

Interest rates The bankers at the same time seek to put value back into the dollar by another round of major increases in the interest rates.

Only two days after the election the prime rate rose a full 1% to 152%, thereby making the cost of a house or even a car completely out of reach for millions of American workers.

This will be especially devastating to the auto industry, which has jacked up the price on its new models by thousands of dollars in the last year.

Reagan's answer to this will be to convert plants to war production with an increase in the military budget from between 10 and 20 billion dollars.

Reagan's pro-war advisors are already urging a major programme to build bomb shelters "for protection against nuclear war" and the capitalist media are encouraging the view that there will be a nuclear war and the US must get ready for it.

The major problem that Reagan and the banks have in implementing these policies is the strength of the international working class and that major confrontations between the classes will explode in the United States in the coming four yeats, whether Reagan is ready for them or not.

Class battles

In the United States, major class battles are on the agenda. Postal workers are now being told that they will lose their cost of living clause next year when their contract expires and in all likelihood there will be a major national strike that Reagan will attempt to bust.

The coal miners also face increasing attacks and their demands will also mean a national strike in a bitter confrontation with the union busters.

The Wall Street Journal is already reporting that the utilities and steel companies are stockpiling coal and are preparing now for a long battle with the miners in 1981.

The political battle that millions of trade unionists, blacks, women, youth ' and retired workers will face in the coming four years requires the construction of a revolutionary Trotskyist party that can defend and lead the working class politically and the Socialist League aims to construct that party.

LABOR NEWS

Monthly paper of the Socialist League (Democratic Centralist), US Trotskyist group in sympathy with the Trotskyist International Liaison Committee.

Single copies available (32p post free) from • WSL BM Box 5277, London WCIN 3XX.

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