Union leaders and the Predator in Chief. Most of left keep quiet.

Trump:  These union leaders must be removed. 

Sean O'Torain.

This is my response to an article on FB about a public meeting organized by a socialist group where there were around 500 people present. Many of them young and new to left wing politics. I would however like to raise an issue.

This article deals mainly with building socialist organizations at this time saying that this is the priority. I would respectively suggest that this is not the priority.

The priority is to build a united front, or maybe better to use the more American formulation or phrase, an Alliance or Coalition. This Alliance or Coalition not to be socialist but to be based on demands that oppose all the attacks on working people of the Trump agenda. And to be based on mass direct action as the tactics to defeat this agenda.

This is the way to keep the vast numbers and organizations together and to organize them to defeat Trump. An Alliance or Coalition to take on and defeat the Trump agenda and this alliance or coalition to use mass direct actions to achieve its goal. Socialist groups could of course and should of course be part of this. But they must drop their sectarianism and ultra leftism and put as the priority building the Alliance/Coalition against Trump using mass direct action tactics. In being part of this they must not try and convert the Alliance to socialism. To do so would be to divide and fragment this alliance before it would even get off the ground. Such an approach would be ultra left. The left groups  can and should be part of this alliance, this united front, help bring all who oppose Trump together while at the same time advocating their socialist policies.

But to try and make the movement against Trump a socialist movement at this stage would be sectarian and ultra left. How many people would have been on the women's marches if they had been called as socialist marches? You only have to pose the question to get the answer. The vast overwhelming majority who are now marching and opposing Trump are not socialists. Left sectarianism and ultra leftism have done serious damage to all the workers movements in this country I hope this will not be repeated. Finally. This article to which I am referring did not deal with the most important issue of all.

Where were the trade union leaders on the women's marches? Where were the members and banners of the 14 million union members? They were nowhere to be seen. A day or two later these trade union leaders were in the White House boot licking the predator Trump. It was disgusting to see. These union leaders have to be removed. Most of the left groups and individuals do not call for this. They just try to build their own little groups and try to keep a cozy relationship with the union leaders to help them do this

They do not confront the union leadership and their collaborationist policies and fight these policies and leaderships. This is a very serious mistake. No, to go further. It is a betrayal of the working class. Nobody who sets themselves up to advise the workers movement how to go forward and does not discuss and criticize the role of the union leaders and organize to remove that leadership is not helping that movement to put it mildly. More accurately, they are betraying that movement. I have experience with many of these left groups and individuals, many of them who when I criticize the refusal of the union leaders to lead and to struggle, are extremely hostile to my criticisms and extremely determined not to criticize the union leaders. I would like to ask them what do they say about the union leaders role in the women's marches.

I hope I will be disappointed and I will get a serious answer. One which takes up and criticizes the role of the union leaders and calls and organizes for their removal.