BY TOM ALTER

ST. PAUL, Minnesota - The Young Socialists National Committee issued a call for a National Convention of the organization at a hard-working leadership conference held here December 7-8. The convention is projected to take place the last weekend of March in Atlanta, Georgia.

YS National Committee members, elected representatives from chapters where there is not a NC member, and representatives from the Socialist Workers Party and the YS in Canada took part in the meeting. Participants evaluated the recent recruitment drive, during which 70 young fighters joined the YS ranks, and took some big steps toward transforming the organizational principles of the communist youth group.

This meeting came one week after four regional socialist educational conferences that analyzed the political situation today and the kind of communist organizations that must be forged to be capable of leading workers and their allies in struggle to take state power. (See article on page 8.)

Discussion at the YS National Committee meeting centered on two major reports: "Propaganda as the axis of the YS," given by Verónica Poses and "Organizing the Young Socialists," presented by Jack Willey.

"The most important political question before the national leadership is organizing the YS with proletarian methods," stated Willey at the opening of his report.

YS leaders discussed the opportunities in front of the communist movement that were registered through the recruitment drive and the kind of organization that must be forged to integrate these young fighters into the weekly work of chapters.

The NC considered whether to organize another recruitment drive now, and decided instead that every chapter should put recruitment as a top priority of the day-to-day work of the YS. This includes holding classes, recruitment dinners, and social events after Militant Labor Forums - in other words seeking every opportunity to discuss politics and draw fighters toward communism.

Willey explained that the YS is a proletarian organization because it looks to the working class as the only social force that can lead the overthrow of capitalism and it looks to the vanguard party of the working class, the Socialist Workers Party, for political leadership. Communist work in the unions
YS leaders discussed the recent decision made by both the YS and SWP leaderships to organize joint industrial trade-union fractions. These fractions will be composed of two or more members of the SWP and the YS who are part of the same trade union and work at the same place. They will make decisions together on the day-to-day work of selling Pathfinder books, the Militant, and Perspectiva Mundial on the job; participating in the life of the union; involving co-workers in political activity; and working to recruit others to the communist movement,

"Factories are combat arenas in industry," said Willey. "We've made this decision because of a need for common discipline and to maximize our striking power as a movement. Communists need to meet weekly to discuss how to relate to developments on the job and follow up on co- workers attracted to the our movement. We need to carry out a clear, common political line," he added.

"Our chapter just started to meet weekly and four members are part of a joint SWP-YS fraction building jobs committee," explained Doug Nelson from Atlanta. "The party and YS are working together to get into union organized factories to carry out communist work in the unions."

The meeting discussed the importance of sending some of the central leaders of the YS to coal mining and meatpacking regions of the country in order to strengthen the communist movement in these important industrial areas. Tom Alter, who had been a full-time YS organizer for the last several months, is moving to Des Moines, an area where there has been ongoing resistance to the attacks of the packinghouse bosses and to a step-up in factory raids by the immigration cops. Diana Newberry recently moved from New York to Morgantown, West Virginia, in the western Pennsylvania-West Virginia coal mining region.

As part of the leadership moves in the YS, Meg Novak, a member of the United Steelworkers of America in Peoria, Illinois, is moving to Minneapolis/St. Paul to be part of the newly established National Executive Committee. Dennis Richter, a leader of the SWP's National Trade Union Committee, gave greetings to the meeting on behalf of the party's Political Committee. Richter noted, "The victory marked at the meeting of 70 new members recruited to the YS since July shows it is objectively possible for every branch of the SWP to find and collaborate with young rebels who are beginning to function as a Young Socialists chapter. This means the challenge before the SWP is building a combat party that sets an example for these young communists today." Principle of democratic centralism
The central aim of the YS is the abolition of capitalism against the most powerful and ruthless ruling class in the history of the world.

In order to carry out its goals, the National Committee voted to organize and structure itself based on the principle of democratic centralism. The national convention of the YS decides the policies and campaigns of the organization and elects a National Committee responsible for organizing the implementation of convention decisions. The National Committee is authorized by the convention to act in the name of the YS between conventions and meets several times a year to evaluate the work of the YS.

At its meeting here, the YS National Committee for the first time elected a National Executive Committee, not a national steering committee. This new body is a subcommittee responsible for leading the implementation of National Committee decisions and organizing the daily work of the YS nationally. This establishes the chain of responsibility in the organization.

Each local chapter is responsible for voting people into membership based on political agreement with the principles of the YS and a plan to actively participate in the work of the organization. The chapter decides on local implementation of national policies and carries out weekly functions of the YS. In order to do this, each chapter is responsible for holding weekly business meetings that decide the tasks for the upcoming week, discuss following up on young fighters interested in the YS, and include an educational discussion on a Militant article or other reading.

In order to carry through the transformation of YS functioning, the NC established that all chapters elect an executive committee, which elects an organizer. The executive committee is responsible for organizing the entire membership to implement the decisions of the weekly chapter meeting. This leadership committee is also responsible for bringing a proposed agenda into each chapter meeting and organizing a discussion on finances at the beginning of each month.

The day following the NC meeting, the Minneapolis/St. Paul chapter, the largest in the country, elected an executive committee of three that met directly after the chapter meeting and elected an organizer.

In small chapters, roughly five or less, an organizer may be elected in place of an executive committee.

The National Executive Committee is producing a brief "YS Organizer" for all chapters to use. It will explain the principle of democratic centralism, the different bodies of the Young Socialists and their responsibilities, as well as the YS's financial structure and other information needed to organize local chapters. Propaganda axis of YS
Bringing organizational methods in harmony with its political principles allows the YS to organize all of its political work around the axis of propaganda - using Pathfinder books, the Militant, and other literature to win others to a communist perspective.

"Many young people radicalize around what they are against," reported Ponce. "There are a number of radical organizations they can join to be involved in demonstrations. But we are the only movement that points a way forward for workers and youth, that challenges young fighters to study the history of working class battles, analyze the workings of capitalism and apply this information to the fights taking place today." The YS members noted that when they began to get on this axis over the fall, the YS recruitment drive gained momentum. Of the 70 youth who joined between July 10 and December 1, out of a goal of 80, half joined in the last six weeks.

The Changing Face of U.S. Politics -Working-Class Politics and the Trade Unions was referred to several times as "the handbook of the YS." This book helps explain why only the working class can lead humanity out of the social crisis of capitalism in decline and what kind of organizations it will take to do this.

This book explains what communist work is in the trade unions and protest movements and how the starting point in all struggles is how they relate to strengthening the working class and building revolutionary organizations. It also explains the role of oppressed nationalities in the coming American revolution and how the fight by Blacks and Chicanos against national oppression is tied directly to the struggle by workers against the same repressive system; capitalism.

Meg Novak pointed to how participants in "La Marcha" - the march for affirmative action that started in Sacramento, California, and went down to San Diego - were reading sections from this book out loud as they marched. "They looked up Chicano nationalism in the index and started reading" she said. "These fighters have a better understanding of the kind of movement we are building and some have decided to join us in this fight."

A representative from the YS in Montreal gave greetings to the meeting. She explained that several YS members in Canada are actively involved in translating The Changing Face of U.S. Politics into French. This comes at a time when there is growing resistance by Quebecois for self-determination and a series of demonstrations organized by the labor unions. YS members in the United States are helping to get the book out in Spanish as well.

Several people spoke to the importance of chapters taking part in sales of the Militant and Pathfinder books every week and following through by organizing classes and other events to draw those interested in communism closer to joining the YS.

"Even when mass struggles break out, fighters can only find their way toward communism through reading the living history of the working class and meeting the bearers of that history," explained Brock Satter from Newark, New Jersey.

YS leaders pledged to return to their chapters and organize classes on The Changing Face of U.S. Politics, New International no. 7, containing the article, "Opening Guns of World War III," and the Education for Socialists pamphlet, "The Structure and Organizational Principles of the Party," by longtime SWP leader Farrell Dobbs.

NC member Ryan Kelly recently volunteered to take a few year stint in the printshop of the communist movement to help produce the political weapons YS members are studying and selling. Young Socialists will play an increasing role in the production of these weapons and the newly elected National Executive Committee will organize for more young communists to have the opportunity to take part in this special assignment. Helping keep Pathfinder books in print
Several YS members from Sweden and cities across the United States are taking part in mini-brigades that are setting up the "pick and pack" distribution of Pathfinder books and New International from the Pathfinder building in New York. Between now and the end of the year, volunteers will be setting up shelves, bringing truckloads of books back from a commercial distributor, and organizing them to be shipped from the printshop. This will put the shop in the best shape to rapidly print and reprint the books as they are needed by communist workers and youth.

Kelly stated, "Just before coming to this meeting, we reprinted Nouvelle Internationale no. 5 - the French-language magazine containing the article "Imperialism's March Toward Fascism and War" - which was out of stock. This made it possible for communists in Quebec to get this weapon in the hands of fighters participating in a demonstration this weekend in Quebec City called by public sector trade unions. This comes at a time when increasing numbers of Quebecois fighters are looking for ways to advance their struggle for independence."

The NC voted to organize speaking tours of Young Socialists leaders to every place where there are chapters, speaking in high schools, colleges and citywide meetings about world politics and working with chapters to draw young fighters into the YS.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home