Reform and Class Struggle

Although reformist and social democrat,
Communists in Venezuela support Nicolas Maduro

By Sam Hammond

This piece was written by Sam Hammond, former Labour secretary of the Communist Party of Canada in 2016. Although some examples are dated (for example, references are made to the Harper Tories) or very specific to Ontario Labour movement, they are still useful in understanding the relation between reform and revolution from a concrete perspective. A lot of the references to business unionism also apply to the student movement and are, as such, a good starting point for a reflexion on how to strengthen the student movement on the basis of unity, militancy and struggle. 
Communists are generally the most determined fighters for reforms, because they know only an organized and combative working class can ever push beyond reforms. Liberals and many social democrats want to “balance” things.

Interview with Marianne Breton Fontaine on Quebec's Anti-Austerity movement

Jane Bouey of "Media Mornings" in Vancouver interviews Marianne Breton Fontaine on the 2015 Quebec student strike and the movement against austerity. Interview is from April 8th, 2015.

Marianne Breton Fontaine is a writer for Jeunesse Militant and Rebel Youth magazines, a longtime member of the YCL-LJC, a leader of the Ligue de la jeunesse communiste du Quebec and a student at UQAM in Montreal.

Time for labour offensive

Striking CAW workers in the airline industry

People's Voice Editorial

"Great minds think alike," as the old saying goes, or perhaps "necessity is the mother of invention." Difficult circumstances sometimes compel individuals or movements to take decisive action. The AFL-CIO is looking at new ways to help unorganized U.S. workers and community groups to join the "house of labour". This decision comes just after Canada's new Unifor union adopted a constitution and organizing strategies to establish "community chapters".

We recall another watershed moment in the annals of the North American labour movement. In 1935, in the depths of the worst economic crisis in capitalist history, embattled trade unions faced a choice: stick with traditional "craft union" tactics aimed at appeasing employers to protect a shrinking membership base, or launch militant struggles to organize millions of industrial workers. The latter option led to the emergence of the CIO in the U.S. and similar campaigns in Canada. Thanks in part to sweeping advances for socialism in Europe, this strategy led to major victories for working people within a generation.