WASHINGTON, D.C. - "Our goal is to extend and deepen our orientation to the working class, the only class that can take power out of the hands of the imperialists," said Ernie Mailhot, a ship yard worker from Miami, in the opening report to a meeting of socialist workers who are members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM), held here February 21 - 22.

Mailhot explained how the goals of U.S. imperialism included exercising military, political, and economic hegemony around the world and to put pressure on the Russian workers state, which the U.S. rulers hope ultimately to bring into the capitalist orbit. Mailhot noted that compared to the last several years, workers today "are more likely to resist the demands for concessions as we saw in the United Parcel strike and other fights." This is true worldwide, he added, pointing to workers' demonstrations in France, Germany, and Canada, as well as protests in Indonesia against the government's austerity drive and the dictates of the imperialist banks. "This is also reflected in the IAM," Mailhot said. "Last fall, rank and file Machinists who work for Trans World Airlines in St. Louis staged a several-hour work stoppage to protest lack of progress in negotiations with the company. And just this past week, 900 sugar workers who are members of the IAM in Florida went on strike for higher wages and better working conditions."

Scott Breen, an aerospace worker at Boeing in Seattle, gave a report on the two fold attack by both Boeing and city government against workers there. "Both its increasing competition with European rival Airbus and its role as a military contractor forces Boeing to clamp down on workers," he said. "This includes speedup, forced overtime, and an attack on the rights of workers to speak their mind." Breen explained how Boeing has tried to implement a "gag" order so that no employee can speak to any media on job related events. He also reported on the ongoing fight of his 1997 Seattle mayoral campaign for an exemption from disclosing the names of its financial contributors. "As a result of our fight for democratic rights, the city has been forced to substantially reduce imposed fines and we will continue to press forward until we get the exemption that is granted nationally and in other local areas."

The socialists recessed their meeting and marched to the White House to join 2,000 people protesting the U.S. government's plans for war against Iraq. There they joined other supporters of the Militant to get out the socialist press. Socialist Machinists alone sold 67 copies in about an hour.

Upon returning to the meeting, the socialist workers from around the country discussed the political work they are carrying out on the job and in the union. A recurrent theme was that what socialist workers say and do before the war is important in how co-workers view them. Olga Rodríguez, an airline worker from New York, said, "We have to explain to workers that what the U.S. government wants to do to Iraq is what the bosses and their government will do to us as we resist." Several meeting participants explained that when workers are in struggle, from strikes to anti-police brutality actions, "we have to go to these actions and take the war question with us."

At a Militant Labor Forum at the Pathfinder Bookstore, Mámud Shirvani gave a presentation entitled, "U.S. Hands off Iraq: The weakening of the Clinton administration and the shortening war fuse."

Shirvani spoke of Malcolm X and his principled stance against U.S. imperialism. "In preparing for war," Shirvani said, "the rulers try to make workers identify with `our' country. Malcolm X was very clear on this. `I'm not an American. I'm a victim of Americanism,' Malcolm said. He saw the people of the world, not just as victims but as fighters from those in Vietnam to freedom fighters in the Congo, battling the imperialists in the 1960s."

Shirvani explained how the U.S. aggression against Iraq was part of a bigger war drive aimed at the Russian workers state. Attempting to get control of the oil in the Caspian Sea region and the expansion of NATO up to Russia's borders are part of that. "As capitalism acts its vulture role, it creates its own grave diggers," Shirvani added. Washington faces problems in the Mideast, from their inability to crush the 1979 Iranian revolution to the continuing struggle of the Palestinians. "Just as the horrors of World War I created a situation where the Russian revolution triumphed, so future struggles of working people will occur."

A lively discussion ensued, which included a number of young people who had attended the demonstration earlier in the day.

One of the themes that came out of the discussion was that any support for "diplomacy" or putting stress on the sanctions at a time when Washington was on the brink of bombing Baghdad meant bending to a pro-war position. "We have to be clear what our demands are," Shirvani said. "Stop the imperialist slaughter! U.S. Hands off Iraq! Get all U.S., British, and other invading troops out of the Middle East now!

At a continuation of the Machinists meeting on Sunday, Mary Martin, an airline worker from Washington, D.C. presented a tasks report that included a discussion of goals for selling the Militant and other socialist literature on the job.

Edwin Fruit is a member of IAM Local 1976 in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania.

BOSTON - Members of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) from New York and Atlanta talked about growing interest in the Cuban revolution among co- workers during a meeting of socialists in that union here February 7 - 8.

In Atlanta, seven workers in one factory raised money for the Militant's Books for Cuba fund, which covers buying Pathfinder books to be donated to libraries, universities, and factories in Cuba. Arlene Rubinstein explained they decided to donate The Second Declaration of Havana to show that workers in the U.S. read Cuban revolutionary writings, as well as Habla Malcolm X (Malcolm X speaks) to let Cubans know about the ideas of a revolutionary from the United States. These books were delivered to a factory library by Pathfinder supporters following the February Havana book fair.

Paul Cornish from Atlanta, who helped organize this effort, described how he first came in contact with the Young Socialists through buying The Wages System by Frederick Engels and The Changing Face of U.S. Politics: Working-Class Politics and the Trade Unions in the factory where he works. He later decided to join.

"There are no special preparations for war," said Gale Shangold from Los Angeles in the political report to the meeting. She pointed to the example of the Bolsheviks, who concentrated on propaganda work among individual workers in their factories, and insisted on giving revolutionary answers to every question. "When the war came the Bolsheviks were calm. It is developing habits of doing politics with workers - like the original worker-Bolsheviks - systematic weekly propaganda work on the job along with selling socialist literature at plant gates, and in the Black community and other working class neighborhoods, that prepares communists when the imperialists go to war."

Without a weekly rhythm of work rooted in the working class, Shangold pointed out, communists can adapt to the petty- bourgeois left and trade union bureaucrats. She cited the example of socialist workers adapting to the UNITE officialdom's campaign against sweatshops. The meeting voted to oppose this campaign as leading workers into the trap of economic nationalism. The "anti-sweatshop" effort focuses on getting media publicity to put pressure on garment bosses who hire workers in other countries by exposing the conditions of workers in those factories. Like earlier, "Made in the USA" protectionist campaigns of the UNITE officials, the idea is to pressure garment bosses into hiring only workers in the United States. By promoting the idea that `our' bosses should stay in `our' country so we can have jobs, it softens workers up to get behind wars for the interest of `our' country, Shangold said. Ultrarightist Patrick Buchanan, who is seeking to carve out a fascist cadre, is applauding union officials for their protectionist campaigns.

As part of strengthening their organization garment and textile workers voted to raise the weekly sustainer they give to Socialist Workers Party branches many of them are members of.