Vol. 79/No. 8      March 9, 2015

Bonuses of this kind — given by capitalists in an effort to bribe workers to accept speedup and forced overtime and not to report injuries so the bosses can record “accident-free” quarters — are referred to as ”blood money” by supporters of the communist movement, who put them to good use, turning them over to the SWP’s Capital Fund to help finance the party’s long-range work.

“I can’t think of a better thing to do with this blood money than to contribute it to the party that will back the strike to the end, while fighting alongside oil workers and the rest of the class until the brutal profit system goes up the smokestack of history,” Rosenberg wrote.

Over the past two months seven workers contributed “productivity” and “safety” bonuses and other bribes from bosses totaling $2,822.07 to the party fund.

Three Philadelphia workers sent $50 each for ”gift cards” they received after rail car maker Hyundai Rotem laid them off.

Dave Ferguson from Atlanta sent $510.90 received as a bribe from bosses at the Yamaha automotive plant where he works.

Ellie García in Los Angeles sent blood money from two companies that had to pay former employees as a result of successful class-action lawsuits for unpaid time, and a $181.05 year-end bonus from the aerospace company where she works.

Clint Drake in Seattle, who also works at an aerospace plant, sent $349 from “holiday,” “profit-sharing” and “birthday” bonuses. Since the bosses defeated a union-organizing drive last year they have stepped up use of such bribes to try and forestall future union efforts. “Let the bribes become their opposite by using them to build the workers’ movement,” Drake wrote.

To contribute, see page 11 for a Militant distributor near you.

— MAGGIE TROWE