the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Mar 20, 2017
President Trump gave a televised speech about manufacturing jobs on March 15 in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
He said during his speech, “I am going to fight for Michigan workers.” Then he turned around and said that auto workers and auto executives have the same interests. He said workers and executives could “fight side-by-side, to protect our industry and to stop the jobs from leaving our country.”
He is using the word “fight” but he is actually making the opposite argument. He is arguing for workers to be submissive to their bosses. He is arguing that if workers surrender to their bosses, then workers and bosses together can “win.” What bull!
This is the same message preached to workers before, and it has NOT worked. The policy of top leadership of the UAW, the policy of the Democratic Party, has been for workers to surrender to their bosses and be in a “partnership.” Has it worked?
Trump used the word “we” a lot in his speech to argue that politicians, CEO’s, Wall Street and workers should all be as one with big business! What garbage! THIS is what got workers half-pay! THIS is what got more work piled onto fewer workers!
In fact, even though factories HAVE closed and jobs HAVE been moved around, manufacturing production has gone UP in the United States overall—for the past 100 years! According to a 2015 Ball State University study, “The notion that manufacturing in the United States is in decline is factually incorrect.”
What has led to the loss of U.S. jobs is what was called “speed up” in the old days. More industrial production is now done in the United States by the same number of workers–or fewer.
Trump’s message about jobs is dangerous because he would have us believe we lost jobs in this country because workers in other countries took our jobs. It is the core of the message Trump pushes when he blames NAFTA for the millions of manufacturing jobs that have been lost in this country over the past decade.
What Trump will do, once again, is help the auto executives. He announced, “My administration will work tirelessly to eliminate the industry-killing regulations, to lower the job-crushing taxes.” THIS is the REAL REASON for Trump’s visit–to promote gifts to auto bosses and to Wall Street under the guise of creating jobs.
In reality, cutting regulations will create pollution, not jobs. Cutting business taxes will shift those taxes onto the backs of workers. Create jobs? Not so much.
If workers believe that bosses are our friends and that other workers are our enemies, then we are disarming ourselves. We are not seeing who our real enemy is.