Twenty-three members and supporters of the Socialist Workers Party have contributed a total of $4,648.11 to the party from bosses’ “blood money” bribes in December and January so far.
Many workers get “bonuses” doled out at the end of the year for the holiday. They’re aimed at winning workers to identify with the employer and discourage them from fighting the bosses’ exploitation and indignities. They’re called “blood money” because one of the bosses’ goals is to convince workers not to take on or report injuries from unsafe working conditions. SWP members tell co-workers that they put these bribes to the use of the working-class movement by turning them over to the party’s Capital Fund to strengthen its long-term work.
Among the contributions was a $130 check from Larry Warham, a worker at a meatpacking plant in Chicago. Workers there were given a $100 visa card as a bonus after signing a four-year contract and a spiral ham for Christmas. The agreement limited pay raises to a stingy 25 cents per hour, and increased the workday from eight to 10 hours.
“Rather than hire more people, the bosses have been putting heavy pressure on co-workers to work extra hours,” Clarice Watson wrote when she sent in a check for $802 from a year-end bonus handed to workers at the New York electronics factory where she works. Watson said she was pleased to put the money “to work furthering the end of the bosses’ system.”
Bella Warren in Seattle sent in $100 that was given to temp workers. She said the bosses at that workplace don’t provide any “safety or other training.”
If you’d like to join in turning a bonus or other bribe from the bosses to the SWP, contact the branch in your area listed in the directory.