The Militant - July 21, 2008 -- Calero calls for massive public works program

Vol. 72/No. 29 July 21, 2008

Calero calls for massive public works program
(lead article)

BY CINDY JAQUITH
“The millions of unemployed could be put to work at union-scale wages right now,” said Róger Calero, the Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. president, in a July 6 interview. He said the SWP is campaigning for a massive, federally funded program to build affordable housing, schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, and public transportation.

“When elected, I will also initiate federal legislation to shorten the workweek, with no cut in take-home pay, to spread the available work to all and reduce the competition between workers that the employers use to divide us,” the socialist said. He will end the rigging of unemployment statistics by the government to mask the true number of workers without jobs or working part-time jobs because they cannot find full-time ones.

“Those who are targets of discrimination—Blacks, Latinos, women—are always the first to be laid off,” Calero said. “As president I will fight to strengthen and extend affirmative action programs.”

The socialist candidate said these measures to protect workers from unemployment will be combined with regular cost-of-living increases in all wages and benefits and an increase in the federal minimum wage to protect working people from the ravages of inflation.

“In this struggle the workers are up against the entire capitalist class and its government. We’re not going to win by just fighting them plant by plant. We have to also take them on in the political arena,” Calero explained. “The working class needs our own political party, a labor party based on a fighting union movement.” He said such a party would contest the Democrats, Republicans, and other capitalist parties in the elections and it will mobilize working people by the millions to defend their own interests.

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