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Farrell Dobbs

Labor and the Elections

August 1940)

Source: First published in Fourth International, Vol.1 No.4, August 1940, page 95-97.

Reprinted in Workers’ International News, Vol.3

No.10, October 1940, pp.4-8. [1]

Transcription & mark-up Ted Crawford, and Einde O’Callaghan for the Encyclopaedia of Trotskyism On-

Line (ETOL).

History is made daily now, if not hourly. Yesterday great

battles were fought for a few miles of territory; today a battle

is for the conquest of entire countries. Great military powers

are reduced in a few days to the role of a pawn. Political

regimes beat their breasts in defiance one day only to collapse

the next. The rotten structure of capitalistic society stands

completely exposed before the eyes of the world working

class. And with it the political quackery of the misleaders in

the ranks of labor. The “middle way” has gone with the

German conquests of Denmark and Norway. The fatal policy

of working class support to “democratic” capitalism has

brought the French workers new legions of dead and a

totalitarian regime.

In the midst of these events the workers of the United

States prepare to vote for a president to hold office during the

next four years - four years which are pregnant with such

events as would surpass the happenings of 400 earlier years.

But the political policies of the officialdom of the trade union

movement remain unchanged. They have learned nothing.

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The AFL has proclaimed neutrality in the election

campaign; it takes no official position. The individual officers

are free to back whomever they choose. Hillman, Murray,

Kennedy, Thomas, and others of the CIO have declared for

“friend” Roosevelt, as have the bulk of the AFL leaders.

Dubinsky is in the Roosevelt camp but no longer in the CIO.

A few “rebels” are for “friend” Willkie. John L. Lewis has

attacked Roosevelt, defended Hoover, told the Republican

show they could be a “party of the people” and ballyhooed

for Wheeler, representative of the copper trust, proposing him

as a Democratic candidate and material for a third party

leader. Both the AFL and the CIO have solemnly presented

proposals for the Republican and Democratic platforms.

The very mention of the idea of an independent labor party

frightens the wits out of these pro-Roosevelt Paul Reveres

who are dashing madly up and down the countryside,

shouting “The Republicans are coming.” John L. Lewis has

not as yet indicated whom he will support, nor has he

evidenced any thought of independent working class political

action (his white hope, Wheeler, went back to Roosevelt at

Chicago). Where there is not outright hostility to the proposal

to form a labor party, there is widespread inertia on the

question. It is sometimes argued that the trade unions have

gotten along without a labor party in the past so there can be

no practical reasons for getting heated up about it now. But

the problem is not as simple as that. It is necessary to

examine the conditions of the past and the problems of the

present before making a decision.

Why No Labor Party Before

Samuel Gompers carved the first unit of the AFL out of the

most highly skilled trades. Its growth thereafter was confined,

in the main, to these narrow and select fields. The later

inclusion of the miners and the needle trades workers as

unions embracing almost all workers in a mass productionindustry were exceptions to the rule. The AFL has never at



any time represented more than a small fraction of the

industrial workers. There has always existed as the backbone

of the AFL a skilled group of workers capable of

commanding above-average wages and most generally able to

control the labor market in their trade.

The AFL, jealous of its privileged position, has always

been quick to resist fiercely any attempt at additional

organization by a non-AFL union. This gave the employers

an excellent stop-gap against broad mass organization. They

could make concessions to this small minority and

compensate for the outlay at the expense of the great majority

which thus remained unorganized. The final struggle of theKnights of Labor, the activities of the Anarchists, the rise of

the IWW, all helped to give the bosses an extra push toward

cooperation with the AFL.

American capitalism was able until recently to afford

certain concessions to the trade unions without seriously

impairing its profits. It was then motivated both by the

necessity of self protection and the ability to make small

concessions. Then, as now, the politicians of the Democratic

and Republican parties voted and acted according to the

dictates of the corporations and the banks. It is not difficult to

understand how, under these conditions, Gompers was able to

outlaw independent working class political action and

establish the theory that the trade unions have “friends”

among the politicians of the employer-controlled political

parties.

Capitalism still is and will continue to be motivated by the

necessity of protection against the organized workers. But the

AFL can no longer play its former role. It has been partially

transformed in itself. And alongside it stands the CIO, just as

powerful, if not more powerful, than the AFL. Further,

capitalism finds itself less and less capable of making

concessions even to skilled minorities. Those trade union

leaders who continue to adhere to the Gompers political

policy do so because “that’s the way Grandpaw did it.” They



do not have a policy based on present day conditions. The

majority of the officialdom, both AFL and CIO, falls in this

category. They repeat the original sin of subordinating the

workers to the political leadership of the bosses without

having even the slender pretext of the originators of this

policy.

What Has Happened Since 1929

A periodic capitalist crisis struck like a thunderbolt in 1929.

The business index started on a dizzy descent which took

three and a half years to hit bottom. Roosevelt came intooffice and undertook the job of patching up the cripple. He

was forced by the severity of the crisis to make certain

concessions to labor. The trade union officialdom hailed him

as a Moses come to lead them out of the wilderness. But the

workers reacted by flocking into the unions and pressing for

direct action against the employers. This pressure from the

mass production workers soon broke through the shell of the

aristocratic AFL and the industrial unions of the CIO were

formed.

Militantly pushing the fight against the corporations, the

CIO workers rolled up impressive victories. The CIO enjoyed

a phenomenal growth. Capitalism was forced to make

concessions, one after another. But the CIO campaign was

less than a year old when the business index again hit the

skids, dropping back as far in nine months as it had in two

and a half years during the previous decline, The four and ahalf years of “Roosevelt prosperity,” based mainly on a

movement of light industry, could no longer sustain itself.

The CIO leadership was frightened by the militancy of the

rank and file. The workers had already been led - in “Little

Steel” - into a severe defeat in an attempt by the leaders to

substitute dependence on “friendly” politicians for trade

union action in a strike. The leadership welcomed the new



crisis as an opportunity for them to move openly to curb

strikes.

The mass production workers brought problems into the

CIO which demanded action on the political front. The directfight against the bosses, necessary as it was, could not alone

provide an adequate solution. Sentiment grew for independent

working class political action. Labor’s Non-Partisan League

was formed by the CIO. It was not permitted, however, to be

anything more than a streamlined method of applying the old

AFL political policies.

These latest convulsions of capitalism have created the

industrial unions. The AFL has also grown. The combined

membership of the trade unions is today more than twice any

previous figures. Capitalism finds its contradictions

permanently sharpened. Yet the leaders of this new union

movement are capable of nothing better than to continue to

look to the capitalists for political leadership. They cannot

visualize the working class doing its own political thinking.

Now Labor Faces the War

The present perspective of capitalist strategy is not based on a

movement of the light industries; it is based on preparations

for war. No matter whether a Roosevelt, a Willkie or any

other capitalist politician is in the White House, this will be

the program. They all have one plan for the workers -

regimentation in industry and combat service in the militarymachine. The plan is of course sugar-coated so that the

gullible among the trade union leaders will swallow it the

quicker. Many of these leaders even seize upon the “defense

program” as an alibi for a welcome escape from direct

struggle against the bosses.

The industrial unions, just as the craft unions, have been

unable to solve all the workers’ problems. The need for

political action grows sharper. It is true that the business



index has been hesitatingly working its way upward,

especially since the war started. This has momentarily made

the problem of workers’ political action less acute. But this is

only momentary. American capitalism is strong, but its

contradictions are stronger.

The trade unions are receding more and more into purely

defensive activity. Under these circumstances they will lose

members and become weaker. The treasuries will grow

slimmer. The tasks will be bigger, but the means smaller. The

leadership will become even more disoriented; the rank and

file more dissatisfied. The situation will be worse for the CIO

than for the AFL. The AFL will be more capable of resistance because of its aristocratic base. It will have less opposition

than the CIO which, with its broad base among the mass

production workers, will meet head-on resistance from the

corporations. A much more energetic policy is possible in the

direct struggle against the employers, but even with the most

militant leadership, trade union action alone is not adequate.

As the trade unions become more and more aware of their

inability to cope with all the problems of the workers, they

are pushed toward the road of political action which is a

generalization of economic action. Political action generalizes

the needs of the workers and directs the struggle not against

individual bosses or groups of bosses, but against the

employers as a whole through their apparatus of state. Despite

all the official opposition and inertia on the question, the

objective necessity for a working class political party is

present. The political channel must be developed if the classstruggle is not to be crushed.

Why We Want A Labor Party

The Socialist Workers Party presents the program for the

fundamental solution of the problems of the working class. It

welcomes all workers into its ranks. But it must be stated

frankly that the numerical growth of the Socialist Workers



Party has not kept abreast of the radicalization of the broad

mass of the workers. It does not as yet have sufficient

authority in the general labor movement to attract a mass

following. This is not unnatural. The program of the SWP is

based on a careful analysis of the capitalist system, the

international experience of the working class under

capitalism, the role of the class in bringing about a socialist

society. It is a party of advanced political thought. Many of

the trade union militants have found their way into our ranks.

The great mass of the workers, however, are learning mainly

by actual experience. They have passed through the first stage

of their training in the trade unions. It is now necessary for

them to enter actively into the political arena.

At present the best medium for this political education is an

independent labor party based on the trade unions – a

working class political party which will present its own

candidates from its own ranks for election. This political

channel will enable the workers to generalize their needs and

mobilize powerful forces for the struggle to obtain

concessions from the bosses. These demands will also treat

with the needs of the unemployed and the deep layers of

highly oppressed workers who remain unorganized. They will

lend their weight to the fight. Small farmers, merchants,

professional people and other middle class elements will

follow the leadership of the workers in such a political fight

against the banks and the corporations.

It must be remembered that a trade union which places

reliance upon the political agents of the employer is buildinga structure on quicksand. A policy of independent working

class political action is necessary at all times. We repeat: an

independent labor party is not the fundamental solution of the

problems of the working class. If its creation is delayed too

long it might be an unnecessary, even a backward, step.

However, at the present time, the formation of a labor party

based on the trade unions is a progressive step. The Socialist

Workers Party will help to create it.



Footnote

1. Published in WIN under the title American Labour and

Elections.

Farrell Dobbs

The 1960 Elections

(Spring 1960)

From International Socialist Review , Vol.21 No. 2, Spring 1960, pp.35-37.Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for ETOL.

Farrell Dobbs is the Socialist Workers Party’s candidate for Presidentof the United States in the 1960 elections. He was the SWP presidentialcandidate in 1948, 1952 and 1956.

WE ENTER the sixties amid changing political conditions that forecastthe opening of a new and higher stage in the American class struggle.Events are pushing the unions away from support to capitalist politicalparties and toward the formation of an independent labor party. Thisnecessary turn in union policy, which the union bureaucrats can’t blockindefinitely, points in the direction of a fundamental showdown

between labor and capital. Although labor is by far the stronger inpotential class force, its victory in a showdown is not automatically

assured. In the long run class political consciousness will be decisive indetermining the outcome of the battle. Today the capitalists have a bigclass advantage, stemming from policies consciously designed to servetheir own interests at the expense of society as a whole. Labor stands inan opposite position; it remains crippled by illusions that socialprogress can be made through collaboration with the enemy class.Despite growing necessity, the unions have failed to develop anindependent class policy in industry and politics; and they have still toarrive at the anti-capitalist, pro-socialist outlook fundamental to asolution of society’s basic problems. These class needs can be met only

when the workers unseat the capitalist-minded union bureaucrats – inshort, labor faces an increasingly acute crisis of leadership.

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There exists within the general labor movement a revolutionary-socialist tendency capable of projecting the independent class policythe unions require. But this politically class-conscious section of laborhas been thrust into isolation from the workers through a combinedattack by the union bureaucrats and the capitalist witch hunters. Onlynow are favorable conditions developing for fusion of therevolutionary-socialist program with the mass power of the unions.

An opening step toward such a fusion can be taken through thepresidential campaign of the Socialist Workers party which is nowgetting under way. To understand why the SWP campaign holdspromise of gains which will help to strengthen class politicalconsciousness among the workers, let us examine the broad lines ofsocial conflict developing on a world scale and the political

repercussions that result within this country.

Across the globe peoples long subjected to imperialist exploitationare rising up against their oppressors. They want to develop their ownindustries in order to raise their standard of living. They aredetermined to free themselves from foreign interference and decide forthemselves what, economic and social order will best serve their needs.Their search for the right answer impels them, erratic though thecourse may be, in the direction of socialism.

China has advanced along this road to the abolition of capitalistproperty relations and establishment of a workers state based onnationalization of the means of production and the introduction ofplanned economy. Earlier social overturns of a similar nature tookplace in Yugoslavia and across Eastern Europe. Together with theSoviet Union these workers states now encompass one-third the earth’ssurface and close to half of all humanity. Viewed in combination withthe colonial rebels elsewhere in the world they constitute a formidableanti-imperialist force.

The power of the anti-imperialist forces is further strengthened bythe great forward leap in Soviet scientific, technological and militarypotential. American imperialism no longer has the atomic monopolyand general military superiority with which it launched the cold warsome fourteen years ago. A country that can send a rocket to the moon,as the Soviet Union has done, can also deliver rockets armed withhydrogen warheads against an imperialist aggressor anywhere onearth, including the United States.

These revolutionary advances on the world arena have brought a

power stalemate which compels American imperialism to slow down itscold-war offensive and adjust its diplomatic policy to a temporary,



uneasy truce in international relations. Although the imperialists try touse this act of tactical expediency to parade as peace lovers, they haveactually made no basic change in their foreign policy; on the contrary,they are using the lull in the cold war to intensify their preparations forhot war.

The situation becomes doubly dangerous for world labor becauseimperialist political deceit is accompanied by Stalinistmisrepresentation of the true state of affairs. Dressing up old-lineStalinist policy in new verbiage, the Kremlin bureaucrats call foruniversal disarmament, peaceful coexistence and friendly competition

between rival social orders. They dangle this line before the insurgent world masses as a sure road to socialism by “gradual” means.

Reasonable though this approach may seem – and no matter howgreat a popular response it may evoke – the imperialists would neveragree to such a course. The Stalinist bureaucrats understand this factand they have shaped their real policy accordingly. What they actuallyaim for is a deal with imperialism to divide the world into spheres ofinfluence with an agreement to maintain the status quo within eachsphere. They are ready to help preserve capitalism outside the Sovietorbit in the hope this will enable them to save their own privilegedposition in the area where they now rule.

Stalinist policy runs directly counter to the needs of the masses in thecapitalist sector of the world and it clashes with the democraticaspirations of people within the Soviet bloc countries. Workers’uprisings in 1956 against the Stalinist regimes in Poland and Hungarylaid bare the basic antagonism between the ruling bureaucracy and themasses within the workers states. In crushing the Hungarian revolt the

bureaucracy strengthened itself temporarily, but didn’t win apermanent lease on life. The status quo can’t be frozen indefinitely inthe Soviet bloc countries; new political explosions will occur and they

will cause repercussions throughout the world labor movement.

It is equally impossible to freeze the status quo for very long in thecountries under capitalist rule. The very forces that have acted tocompel a slowdown in the imperialist war drive are also operating toprevent any lasting social stability under capitalism. Although the

world labor and colonial movements face a general crisis of leadership,this obstacle does not halt the struggles for social improvement. Massaction simply takes longer to gain enough momentum to break throughthe barriers and then it develops in distorted forms; but the masseskeep asserting themselves.



These trends upset the schemes of American imperialism, making itmore determined than ever to impose its will by all possible means,including war. The imperialist belligerence stems from socialcontradictions within the United States itself. Growth of the productiveforces within the country threatens a deep crisis of over-production.There is increasing danger of a severe economic slump that would

bring on catastrophic unemployment and lead to a social explosion athome, unless the capitalist class can expand its exploitation of peoplesabroad.

But one-third of the world market has been closed to capitalistexploitation by extension of the Soviet bloc to China and EasternEurope. Elsewhere lesser imperialist rivals are stiffening theircompetition with American capitalism. In the one-time colonial

preserves strong opposition to imperialist domination has developed;and in the case of Cuba a colonial revolt has flared up right on theUnited States’ doorstep.

Instead of forging ahead toward unrestricted exploitation of the world, American imperialism finds its expansionist drive slowed down,if not turned back. Still determined to achieve its objectives, thecapitalist ruling class is using the cold-war lull for an attack on

American labor to safeguard capitalist privileges nationally and to getinto a better position to drag the country into war.

Imperialist military adventures are not ruled out because of thehorrible dangers in an atomic war. Truman risked atomic war when heplunged the country into the Korean conflict. Eisenhower had nocompunction about the war risks involved in a military occupation ofLebanon. The bipartisan government at Washington continues thefantastic military buildup, quarreling only as to whether enough is

being done. Generals and capitalist politicians openly advocate a policyof “limited” wars, disregarding the risk of triggering World War III.

Only the revolutionary advances abroad have prevented a general war so far. These limited advances have allowed precious time for theextension of class-struggle opposition to imperialism; but peace can beassured only when the workers within the imperialist countries takeindependent class action against the imperialist warmakers.

An anti- war struggle of this kind can’t be waged under the leadershipof Stalinists, social democrats or union bureaucrats. In every case thesemisleaders of labor are shifting further to the right in their politicalline, abandoning any pretext of real socialist policies, if they ever had

any. A new leadership must take the helm before labor can get startedon the class-struggle road to peace.



In the United States the present capitalist attack on the unions begins to open the way for the rise of a leadership capable of projectingthe policy labor needs. Changing economic and social conditionsshould help the process along.

Within the framework of a series of boom-recession cycles thecountry is drifting into economic decline. Even though a full-scaledepression has not yet struck, the cyclical ups and downs in theeconomy are generating feelings of insecurity in the population. Manyare being thrust directly into personal economic crisis by the persistentrise in chronic unemployment which is spreading across wider areas ofproduction; government figures for January show that over fourmillion are now jobless during boom times. The AFL-CIO predicts thepresent boom will slack off by July; and capitalist economists speak of

a general economic slump by 1961. For workers this will mean a sharprise in unemployment, in many cases so prolonged that jobless benefits will become exhausted.

Economically the workers are put in double jeopardy because of bureaucratic misleadership in the unions: they are hurt by the crisistrends under capitalism; and they have no independent class programto defend their interests. The politically-bankrupt union bureaucratssupport the imperialist war policy and count on the arms program toprovide jobs. They look to the capitalist government for social benefits

through legislation and for help in collective bargaining with the bosses. To impose their false policy on the workers, they strangle uniondemocracy and connive with the bosses to suppress so-called “wild-cat”strikes.

Changing times are now beginning to break up these well-establishedforms of bureaucratic control over the unions. The bosses don’t intendto allow the class peace so necessary to the bureaucratic policy. Theyare resisting, not granting, concessions to labor; and the government is

backing them up in what is rapidly becoming a general war against the

unions.

The bosses are cutting production costs through automation,speedup and other devices intended both to squeeze more out of the

workers on the job and to whittle down employment so far as they can.They resist wage demands and chip away at the escalator clausespegged to the cost-of-living index; without resorting as yet to outright

wage cuts, they put the workers in a position where rising prices andstiffening taxes eat into their purchasing power.

Union demands are met by counter-demands calculated to tear downlong-established job conditions and to weaken union control generally.



The bosses force strikes and drag them out in a war of attrition againstlabor. Strike insurance, professional scab agencies and directgovernment support to strikebreaking attacks are reappearing in newforms.

On the political front the bosses use their Democratic andRepublican agents in government to hamstring the unions throughanti-labor laws. They will probably go a little easy on demands forfurther laws until their stooges have got themselves re-elected in thefall. In the meantime they have the new Kennedy-Landrum-Griffin lawto work with; and among its many provisions hostile to labor this lawclears the way for open FBI intervention in the unions. The future willsee these imperialist political police attempting to give all of labor thesame treatment they have been dealing out to radical workers all

through the witch hunt.

The basic shift in capitalist tactics undermines the position of theunion bureaucrats, discrediting their whole line based on “laborstatesmanship.” In the long steel strike – which clearly revealed thechanging class relations – the union ranks were ahead of the leadershipin giving battle to the bosses. They won a victory in the sense that theopen corporation attack was halted temporarily. But the wagesettlement was the poorest in years; the escalator clause was mangled;there was no reduction in hours without reduced pay to help safeguard

employment; and the contract terms open the way for the McDonald bureaucracy to make “statesmanlike” concessions to the bosses on work rules.

This experience illustrates the widening gap between bureaucraticpolicy and the workers’ needs; and the gap will become wider still whenthe next economic slump hits. Mass protests against unemploymentreached a post-war high in the spring of 1959, a trend that forecasts aneven greater outburst next time there are mass lay-offs. The fight for aneffective union policy in industry will intensify, along with labor

demands upon the government for meaningful social legislation. Lifeunder capitalism will drive the workers toward class-struggle economicand political positions. In the long run the union bureaucrats won’t beable to stop it; but they can and will continue to inhibit and distort thelabor struggle.

At the present stage of developments the task for socialists remainsprimarily one of advancing a class-struggle program for labor. This willhelp union militants to clarify their thinking and prepare a soundprogrammatic basis for future action when the ranks decide to takeunion affairs into their own hands. In presenting their political analysis



socialists should also pay close attention to developments in the massmovement as a whole.

Formation of the Negro Labor Council within the AFL-CIO impliesaction going beyond the announced aim to fight for equal rights inindustry and democratic rights in the unions; it may serve to stimulatemore effective union support to the general civil rights movement andthereby sharpen both the Negro struggle and the class struggle,particularly in the South. The outbreak of student demonstrationsagainst Jim-Crow lunch counters in the South gives further impulse tomass action in the fight for equal rights; and it marks a shift ofinitiative toward younger Negroes capable of greater militancy.

Social ferment is increasing among youth on college campuses and in

the high schools. Many are becoming rebellious against conditionsunder the capitalist two-party system. They are searching for a newpolitical course and, though they have not yet become socialist-minded,they are willing to listen to socialist ideas.

Rising social tensions, generated by the twin threats of war anddepression, are beginning to counteract conformist pressures longimposed by the witch hunt. People in many walks of life are askingsearching political questions; they are thinking for themselves; andthey begin to recognize the need to fight boldly to maintain freedom of

thought, expression, association and action.

In addressing people newly interested in socialist ideas it will be wellto keep in mind the political circumstances under which their thinkinghas been previously conditioned. Take, for example, a person whocame of age after 1946. Throughout his adult life he has been subjectedto an atmosphere of cold war, hot war and witch hunting. He hasexperienced or seen others experience periods of temporary economichardship in times of slump; but he has at most, only hearsayknowledge of severe depression conditions.

A person in this position knows union life only under the dominationof an iron-handed bureaucracy which preaches class peace, extols the

virtues of capitalism and stifles democracy within the organization. Hehas little idea of the tremendous power inherent in the working class;and he has had virtually no access to a true, complete history of pastlabor struggles which would help him to understand that power.

To reach people who find themselves in this situation it will behelpful to start from the big concerns in their minds today and present

the socialist answer to these problems in clear language andcomprehensible terms; then go on from there to deal with even more



basic political questions. By weaving in the class lessons to be drawnfrom world labor history, a sense of class power and a deeperknowledge of sound class principles can be developed.

Groundwork can be done in this way to get across a basic class-struggle program: formation of an independent labor party inopposition to the capitalist parties; labor support to the civil rightsstruggle and promotion of a political alliance between the unions andthe minority peoples; an economic policy designed to serve labor’sneeds; a working class policy to defeat the imperialist war conspiracyand attain world peace; a program to establish workers’ democracythroughout the world labor movement; a socialist perspective for theUnited States.

These are the lines along which the Socialist Workers party willconduct its presidential campaign. Vigorous efforts will be made to useevery possible medium to reach people becoming interested in socialistideas and draw them closer to the movement. This calls for a strongturnout of active socialist campaigners and equally strong financialsupport.

If socialist-minded people throughout the country back the SWPcampaign to the best of their ability, 1960 can be made the best year forrevolutionary socialism since the cold war began.

farrell dobbs

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