Vol. 76/No. 37      October 15, 2012

Tony Lane in Minneapolis recently contributed $65.56 in blood money from a safety bonus in the steel warehouse where he works.

Blood money is a term class-conscious workers use to describe “bonuses” and other bribes from the bosses that are designed to hoodwink us into accepting speedup, wage cuts, concession contracts and dangerous working conditions.

“It’s a good way to divide us,” Lane noted. “The bonus is done as a percentage of your gross. That makes workers who are on top tier—workers who have been there longer—hungrier for it.”

Lane reported how this was reflected in a discussion after the newest worker on the shift got some treatment for a repetitive motion injury. One coworker who had been there longer came up to him and said, “There goes our safety bonus!”

“Talking about that was useful to get some discussion on the safety bonus system and who has to be responsible for safety,” Lane concluded.

Tom Baumann, a warehouse worker in Miami, sent in a check for $251.69 coming from a “gain-share” bonus. He described how a fellow worker got a large bump on his eye from being hit by the hook of a hoist but didn’t report it. The bosses end up blaming you anyway, the coworker said, and in addition make you take demeaning drug tests.

Another fellow worker got fired for supposedly making too many mistakes. “He had begun to develop a limp and most workers think he was fired because they didn’t want him to claim disability,” Baumann said.

“When I explained to one fellow worker, who is on permanent light duty due to hurting his back on the job, that I will give my bonus to the communist movement, his response was ‘right on!’”

The blood money contributions are one of the pillars of the Socialist Workers Party Capital Fund. To make a donation, contact distributors on page 8.

—EMMA JOHNSON