The Worker, Vol. 39, Number 4
Contents:
I. There Is No Time to Lose in Exposing the Class Basis of Oppressive Laws
II. The Necessity of Working-Class Organization and Consciousness
III. Letter to the Editor: On the 50th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon
I. There Is No Time to Lose in Exposing the Class Basis of Oppressive Laws
II. The Necessity of Working-Class Organization and Consciousness
III. Letter to the Editor: On the 50th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon
Note from the editor:
Members, friends and supporters of the Workers Party are invited to take part in our solidarity campaign by delivering the slogan "If you are illegal, then I am Illegal!" to a partner while shaking hands and looking into each other's eyes. The profit comes from doing it with love in your hearts. We would be overjoyed to accept your remarks. WorkerspartyUSAChicagoBranch@gmail.com
There Is No Time to Lose in Exposing the Class Basis of Oppressive Laws
The Workers Party calls on the American people to step up our opposition to efforts to establish English as the official language. This is an essential part of the struggle to combat growing fascism and government repression.
In the past we have condemned and exposed these efforts as a brutal attack not only on millions of immigrants but also on the oppressed minority nationalities and the rights of all.
Bipartisan initiatives have pushed for English-only policies in education and government. California's Proposition 227 (1998) and Arizona's Proposition 203 (2000) mandated English-only instruction. These rules hinder students' progress in other subjects while they just focus on English. They also limit how involved many parents can be in their children's education, create unequal access to resources, and deliberately weaken the ability of many communities to advocate for themselves.
Several states including Iowa (2002), Kansas (2007), and Idaho (2007) adopted English as their official language through ballot measures or legislation. Colorado and Oregon rejected similar mandates in 2003 and 2008 respectively.
At the federal level, the English Language Unity Act was introduced multiple times (2005-2023) to make English the official language for federal functions and naturalization requirements, though none passed. A 2025 executive order later established English as the official U.S. language, reflecting ongoing efforts to prioritize English in American society.
Promoting English as the official language serves the interests of the ruling class at the expense of the rights of the vast majority. The Workers Party demands equal rights for all who live and work in the U.S. as a crucial step towards working-class unity and the fight against capitalist exploitation and oppression.
English is not the only language in the U.S. and other languages, like Native American languages, French, and Spanish, were spoken long before English in many parts of what is now the United States.
Importantly, through force, the U.S. state grabbed the land of indigenous peoples, Mexican people, Puerto Ricans, and Hawaiians, and then tried to erase their national identities by suppressing their languages and cultures.
The capitalist system attempts to divide the working class into competing interest groups, encouraging them to fight for privileges rather than recognizing inherent rights. By contrast, the Workers Party works for unity in action amongst all forces willing to defend the rights of the people, understanding this as the only way to defend their collective interests.
The capitalist state has historically been founded on and continues to enforce a system of national oppression and racial discrimination, creating a hierarchical caste system. This manifests in:
•Systematic discrimination, segregation, police terror, and super-exploitation of Black people, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, and other national minorities.
•The use of racist ideologies like "reverse discrimination" to undermine civil rights reforms and incite division.
•Targeting national minorities with increased police repression, violence, and the discriminatory application of laws, such as in the "war on drugs".
•The persecution and super-exploitation of immigrant workers, denying them basic human rights and creating a legal system of discrimination based on national origin. This includes creating a caste of "undocumented" and "guest workers" with limited or no rights.
•Attacks on the right of minority nationalities to use their native languages.
Regardless of nationality, workers face exploitation by the capitalist class. This shared experience means that the fundamental needs and aspirations of workers are the same.
The Workers Party asserts that individual rights can only be realized by asserting these as human rights belonging inherently to everyone by virtue of their humanity, and these individual rights can only be secured by asserting collective rights, especially the right of the people to determine their social and economic environment. The emancipation of each individual is dependent on the collective efforts of the entire class because they face the same conditions of exploitation and oppression and share a common mission.
In addition to recognizing that rights belong to individuals by virtue of being members of the human race, the Workers Party recognizes that rights also belong to various groups and collectives within society due to their objective position and role. Examples include:
•Nationalities: The right to self-determination, including the right to secession, and the right to develop their own language and culture. The struggle against national oppression is seen as vital.
•Women: Unique rights based on their role as child bearers, such as the right to prenatal care and paid maternity leave.
•Workers: Unique rights as a class, such as the right to organize unions, the right to a secure livelihood, and the right to be recognized as a collective.
•Oppressed Minorities: The right to equality and an end to discrimination.
"An Injury to One is an Injury to All" is a core motto of the working class because it reflects the understanding that individual struggles are interconnected. When one group of workers faces attacks on their rights, it weakens the position of all workers.
The action demanded from those who recognize that "an injury to one is an injury to all" is active participation in combating today's growing fascism and government repression by building the independent political alternative to the two parties of war, robbery, racism and repression.
We have no choice but to engage in continuous and irreconcilable struggle against the capitalist class, extending beyond the economic sphere into the political arena. This includes organizing and leading mass actions such as strikes, demonstrations, and protests to exert pressure on the capitalist state and defend the interests of the working class and oppressed people.
The most crucial initial step is to establish unity of action among workers and all working people in every school, workplace, district and region. This involves joint action by various workers' and mass organizations. This united front should aim at defending the vital interests of the laboring masses against capitalist exploitation and fascist barbarity.
The development of the independent political role of the working class is decisive in advancing the struggle for equal rights and genuine emancipation. By placing itself in the forefront of the struggle against racist attacks and fighting for complete and genuine equality, the working class targets the capitalist class and the capitalist state as the source of racism and national oppression, repulses the attacks on our rights, and heightens the political importance of the working class.
In the past we have condemned and exposed these efforts as a brutal attack not only on millions of immigrants but also on the oppressed minority nationalities and the rights of all.
Bipartisan initiatives have pushed for English-only policies in education and government. California's Proposition 227 (1998) and Arizona's Proposition 203 (2000) mandated English-only instruction. These rules hinder students' progress in other subjects while they just focus on English. They also limit how involved many parents can be in their children's education, create unequal access to resources, and deliberately weaken the ability of many communities to advocate for themselves.
Several states including Iowa (2002), Kansas (2007), and Idaho (2007) adopted English as their official language through ballot measures or legislation. Colorado and Oregon rejected similar mandates in 2003 and 2008 respectively.
At the federal level, the English Language Unity Act was introduced multiple times (2005-2023) to make English the official language for federal functions and naturalization requirements, though none passed. A 2025 executive order later established English as the official U.S. language, reflecting ongoing efforts to prioritize English in American society.
Promoting English as the official language serves the interests of the ruling class at the expense of the rights of the vast majority. The Workers Party demands equal rights for all who live and work in the U.S. as a crucial step towards working-class unity and the fight against capitalist exploitation and oppression.
English is not the only language in the U.S. and other languages, like Native American languages, French, and Spanish, were spoken long before English in many parts of what is now the United States.
Importantly, through force, the U.S. state grabbed the land of indigenous peoples, Mexican people, Puerto Ricans, and Hawaiians, and then tried to erase their national identities by suppressing their languages and cultures.
The capitalist system attempts to divide the working class into competing interest groups, encouraging them to fight for privileges rather than recognizing inherent rights. By contrast, the Workers Party works for unity in action amongst all forces willing to defend the rights of the people, understanding this as the only way to defend their collective interests.
The capitalist state has historically been founded on and continues to enforce a system of national oppression and racial discrimination, creating a hierarchical caste system. This manifests in:
•Systematic discrimination, segregation, police terror, and super-exploitation of Black people, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, and other national minorities.
•The use of racist ideologies like "reverse discrimination" to undermine civil rights reforms and incite division.
•Targeting national minorities with increased police repression, violence, and the discriminatory application of laws, such as in the "war on drugs".
•The persecution and super-exploitation of immigrant workers, denying them basic human rights and creating a legal system of discrimination based on national origin. This includes creating a caste of "undocumented" and "guest workers" with limited or no rights.
•Attacks on the right of minority nationalities to use their native languages.
Regardless of nationality, workers face exploitation by the capitalist class. This shared experience means that the fundamental needs and aspirations of workers are the same.
The Workers Party asserts that individual rights can only be realized by asserting these as human rights belonging inherently to everyone by virtue of their humanity, and these individual rights can only be secured by asserting collective rights, especially the right of the people to determine their social and economic environment. The emancipation of each individual is dependent on the collective efforts of the entire class because they face the same conditions of exploitation and oppression and share a common mission.
In addition to recognizing that rights belong to individuals by virtue of being members of the human race, the Workers Party recognizes that rights also belong to various groups and collectives within society due to their objective position and role. Examples include:
•Nationalities: The right to self-determination, including the right to secession, and the right to develop their own language and culture. The struggle against national oppression is seen as vital.
•Women: Unique rights based on their role as child bearers, such as the right to prenatal care and paid maternity leave.
•Workers: Unique rights as a class, such as the right to organize unions, the right to a secure livelihood, and the right to be recognized as a collective.
•Oppressed Minorities: The right to equality and an end to discrimination.
"An Injury to One is an Injury to All" is a core motto of the working class because it reflects the understanding that individual struggles are interconnected. When one group of workers faces attacks on their rights, it weakens the position of all workers.
The action demanded from those who recognize that "an injury to one is an injury to all" is active participation in combating today's growing fascism and government repression by building the independent political alternative to the two parties of war, robbery, racism and repression.
We have no choice but to engage in continuous and irreconcilable struggle against the capitalist class, extending beyond the economic sphere into the political arena. This includes organizing and leading mass actions such as strikes, demonstrations, and protests to exert pressure on the capitalist state and defend the interests of the working class and oppressed people.
The most crucial initial step is to establish unity of action among workers and all working people in every school, workplace, district and region. This involves joint action by various workers' and mass organizations. This united front should aim at defending the vital interests of the laboring masses against capitalist exploitation and fascist barbarity.
The development of the independent political role of the working class is decisive in advancing the struggle for equal rights and genuine emancipation. By placing itself in the forefront of the struggle against racist attacks and fighting for complete and genuine equality, the working class targets the capitalist class and the capitalist state as the source of racism and national oppression, repulses the attacks on our rights, and heightens the political importance of the working class.
The Necessity of Working-Class Organization and Consciousness
For workers to wage a vigorous economic and, especially, political struggle, it is essential to help them understand their fundamental class interests based on Marxist-Leninist teaching and scientific socialism.
The development of political organizations, particularly political parties of the working class, is of great importance when a class becomes a “class for itself” in its struggle to assert its interests. These parties must function to direct the efforts of all other workers’ organizations and represent the highest forms of working-class organization.
The Workers Party, USA directly confronts opportunists who use their creed of the "backwardness" of the masses to justify their own inaction and class collaboration. These opportunists claim the workers are "too backward" to grasp Marxist-Leninist theory and are not interested in revolutionary ideas, thus condemning them to perpetual wage-slavery.
This false coloring of the workers originates from capitalist strategists who seek to depict the workers as a thrall class and to refute the Marxist-Leninist teaching on the revolutionary role of the working class. They claim that working people in developed capitalist countries are "turning into bourgeois" or that their class consciousness is eroding.
Such theories aim to integrate the working class into bourgeois society and deny their capacity for independent revolutionary action. By portraying workers as incapable, the existing social order and the dominance of the bipartisan program of war, robbery, racism, and exploitation are justified.
To claim workers are inherently too backward to create change ignores the rich history and experience of working people actively fighting for and winning improvements in their lives and society. The Workers Party rejects this and advances on the basis that the people's capacity to understand and act is realized only through struggle. We challenge everyone to join in building the organized force of progressive social change led by the workers.
The development of political organizations, particularly political parties of the working class, is of great importance when a class becomes a “class for itself” in its struggle to assert its interests. These parties must function to direct the efforts of all other workers’ organizations and represent the highest forms of working-class organization.
The Workers Party, USA directly confronts opportunists who use their creed of the "backwardness" of the masses to justify their own inaction and class collaboration. These opportunists claim the workers are "too backward" to grasp Marxist-Leninist theory and are not interested in revolutionary ideas, thus condemning them to perpetual wage-slavery.
This false coloring of the workers originates from capitalist strategists who seek to depict the workers as a thrall class and to refute the Marxist-Leninist teaching on the revolutionary role of the working class. They claim that working people in developed capitalist countries are "turning into bourgeois" or that their class consciousness is eroding.
Such theories aim to integrate the working class into bourgeois society and deny their capacity for independent revolutionary action. By portraying workers as incapable, the existing social order and the dominance of the bipartisan program of war, robbery, racism, and exploitation are justified.
To claim workers are inherently too backward to create change ignores the rich history and experience of working people actively fighting for and winning improvements in their lives and society. The Workers Party rejects this and advances on the basis that the people's capacity to understand and act is realized only through struggle. We challenge everyone to join in building the organized force of progressive social change led by the workers.
Letter to the Editor: On the 50th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon
April 30 marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. This date marks the victory of the heroic Vietnamese people against US imperialism. The Vietnamese people carried out a long resistance to achieve their sovereignty and national independence, first against French colonialism, later Japanese occupation, then French colonialism, and finally US imperialism. The national liberation struggle of the Vietnamese people proved that the most powerful imperialist power (US imperialism) can be defeated by the unbreakable will of a people united and determined to win their liberation.
The struggle of the Vietnamese people inspired the peoples of the world. It inspired the peoples the world over because the victory of the Vietnamese people was a victory for human dignity and justice. The struggles against war and imperialism, the struggles for national liberations and social emancipation were advanced in many countries as a result of the victory of the Vietnamese people. In my experience, the victory of the people of Vietnam is a victory for peace and friendship. And, peace and friendship are the ardent aspirations of the peoples everywhere.
Today, US imperialism program of war and imperialism is trampling on the sovereignty of countries. It is a program that is based on “might makes right”. It is a program that is based on chauvinism and fascism. It is contrary to what makes us human.
Now, it is time to stand up for what is right and against what is wrong. The victory of the people of Vietnam serves as a reminder that only the peoples can stop the wars.
The struggle of the Vietnamese people inspired the peoples of the world. It inspired the peoples the world over because the victory of the Vietnamese people was a victory for human dignity and justice. The struggles against war and imperialism, the struggles for national liberations and social emancipation were advanced in many countries as a result of the victory of the Vietnamese people. In my experience, the victory of the people of Vietnam is a victory for peace and friendship. And, peace and friendship are the ardent aspirations of the peoples everywhere.
Today, US imperialism program of war and imperialism is trampling on the sovereignty of countries. It is a program that is based on “might makes right”. It is a program that is based on chauvinism and fascism. It is contrary to what makes us human.
Now, it is time to stand up for what is right and against what is wrong. The victory of the people of Vietnam serves as a reminder that only the peoples can stop the wars.