“Let no one build walls to divide us,
Walls of hatred nor walls of stone.
Come greet the dawn and stand beside us;
We’ll live together or we’ll die alone.
In our world poisoned by exploitation,
Those who have taken, now must give.
And end the vanity of nations:
We’ve got one Earth on which to live.”
Billy Bragg, updated version of The Internationale, released in 2000.
This was one verse from one of the songs I sang yesterday at a Labor Day rally and march organized by the American Labor Museum and the Passaic County Central Labor Council in northern New Jersey. I have been attending and singing at this event for many years because of my long-time involvement with the Solidarity Singers of the NJ Industrial Union Council.
I was struck by this particular verse of Bragg’s song, as well as these phrases in others: “let racist ignorance be ended” and “let’s stand together in our love.” Bragg’s broad vision affected me. It also got me to think, as I often do, about what is needed to have a chance of getting “those who have taken” to the point where they “now must give” and to rescue this “Earth on which [we] live.”
It seems to me that the fate of the US labor movement, as well as, of course, the fate of our “one Earth” and its peoples, is very dependent upon whether we in the USA can keep building upon the progressive upsurge we have seen since the destructive and outrageous Trump regime took office 20 months ago. As of right now, two months before the big election on November 3, there are many reasons for hope. One of them is the plan developing for another national No Kings Day of action on October 17th.. It is essential, and likely, that this fourth No Kings Day and the voter turnout leading up to and on November 3 will be huge. It is the same with any mass nonviolent action in the streets from November 4th on if the Trumpfascists try to delegitimize the election results.
Working-class people of all ages, colors, cultures and genders have already been out there getting us to this point. But it is not just workers who have been part of our resistance movement. Also taking part have been middle-class people: farmers, small business folk, doctors and dentists, college and university teachers, ministers, artists, actors, mass media commentators, musicians and dancers, elected officials and more. This alliance, this strategic people’s alliance, its continuation and strengthening, is absolutely essential if we are to literally save the earth’s ecosystems, its peoples, and many other life forms from the deepening climate crisis and other crises, turn things around in enough time.
How does this “strategic people’s alliance” strategy compare with those who might be taking a “unite the working class” strategic approach?
Actually, they’re not necessarily contradictory. I believe the best possibility for uniting significant sectors of the US working class is if working-class based unions and community organizations play major roles within this alliance.
The major divisions keeping the working class from unifying in the USA are racism, sexism and heterosexism. What we need to impact this is a popular alliance that unites the movements of people of color, women, lgbtq+ people, climate justice and environmental folks, young people, progressive religious people, etc., with the progressive elements of the labor movement and community-based, working-class organizations. Within that alliance we will have an arena for popular education on these and other destructive ideologies and practices. In the process of working together around commonly-felt issues of concern, like housing affordability, a living wage, taxing billionaires, universal health care and more, people will grow and change. This can only benefit the coming together of a stronger labor union movement and related working-class based groups.
A popular alliance will be of benefit to the progressive trade unions and individual unionists who continue to contend with middle-of-the-road to conservative elements within their ranks.
With such an alliance, and with sound strategy, tactics and methods of organizing, we can truly create another world.
Ted Glick has been a progressive activist and organizer since 1968. He is the author of two books, Burglar for Peace and 21st Century Revolution, published in 2020 and 2021 and both available at https://pmpress.org . More info can be found at https://tedglick.com
Ted Glick has devoted his life to the progressive social change movement. After a year of student activism as a sophomore at Grinnell College in Iowa, he left college in 1969 to work full time against the Vietnam War. As a Selective Service draft resister, he spent 11 months in prison. In 1973, he co-founded the National Committee to Impeach Nixon and worked as a national coordinator on grassroots street actions around the country, keeping the heat on Nixon until his August 1974 resignation. Since late 2003, Ted has played a national leadership role in the effort to stabilize our climate and for a renewable energy revolution. He was a co-founder in 2004 of the Climate Crisis Coalition and in 2005 coordinated the USA Join the World effort leading up to December actions during the United Nations Climate Change conference in Montreal. In May 2006, he began working with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and was CCAN National Campaign Coordinator until his retirement in October 2015. He is a co-founder (2014) and one of the leaders of the group Beyond Extreme Energy. He is President of the group 350NJ/Rockland, on the steering committee of the DivestNJ Coalition and on the leadership group of the Climate Reality Check network.
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