Support protests for oil crisis relief
{editorial}
The protests by farmers, independent truck drivers, fishermen, and others that have swept across Europe deserve the support of every working person and labor union. Independent commodity producers such as working farmers and fishermen, and workers who seek to eke out a living driving their own trucks, have been hit the hardest by the escalating cost of fuel and by government policies that gouge working people through massive taxation on gas and oil. Fuel comprises a large part of their expenses, and the sharp price hikes are becoming the final straw in their already precarious situation.
The solidarity of workers at fuel depots and refineries in the United Kingdom shows the potential for widening this solidarity and common action.
The protest actions, including marches and blockades of ports, refineries, fuel depots, and roads, reflect the potential power of those who labor for a living. Far from having moved beyond the "old economy" to a "new economy," the capitalists depend on the working people who produce and transport food and fiber, industrial and consumer goods, and the means of transport and communication. Those who labor create all the wealth in society, and hold enormous economic and social power in their hands when organized to wield it.
By backing the demand of the protests to end taxes on fuel, the labor movement will strike a blow in favor of elimination of all taxes on working people--whether direct, such as income taxes and sales and licensing taxes, or indirect, such as gambling, lotteries, and value-added taxes. Instead, a sharply graduated tax on the income of the wealthy minority should be instituted immediately.
In addition, demands need to be advanced to force capitalist governments to release major oil reserves they hold, to relieve and undercut the price gouging by the oil monopolies. Making these demands on London, Paris, Berlin, Washington, and other imperialist governments will help push back attempts to scapegoat the semicolonial countries in OPEC--the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries--for the crisis. The biggest beneficiaries of this price squeeze are Exxon, British Petroleum, Shell, and the other big monopolies based in imperialist countries. Such companies are taking advantage of the increased demand for oil products--generated by the economic expansion--to rake in superprofits.
Working farmers, fishermen, and independent truckers are exploited under capitalism, as are wage workers. They more and more face the proletarian condition of being stripped of all means to make a living other than selling their labor power to a boss. They are allies of the working class, which has an interest in fighting to prevent their ruin by the bankers and capitalist monopolies and their governments.
The reprint by Teamsters union leader Farrell Dobbs, who was also a central leader of the Socialist Workers Party (see page 15), explains a working-class approach to independent truckers that can advance the struggle of all working people against our common exploiters. As well, the bosses reap billions in profits from the labor of independent commodity producers such as farmers and fishermen. These working people must purchase material such as fuel, equipment, seeds, and fertilizer to their disadvantage at monopoly prices from capitalist concerns. In turn, they sell the products of their labor to grain and other monopolies who hold prices down to maximize their returns. In addition, they must borrow funds at high interest rates from banks that demand land and equipment as collateral, holding the threat of foreclosure or repossession over their heads.
Joining in these protests, advancing the alliance of workers and farmers, and taking a step forward to organize and extend the independent actions of all working people in their own interests will strengthen the labor movement as a whole.
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