There Rises A Red Star

I'm honestly getting a wee bit tired of seeing workers attack other workers for committing to industrial action over working conditions. I was in London yesterday with my wife and a mate. I half-joked that I'd join an RMT picket if I saw one. The RMT recently committed to partial strike action due to new contractual terms being imposed upon TfL tube drivers without discussion. You can read more about it here . "Why?", my mate said. "TfL drivers get paid loads!" So what?  Money doesn't reduce or eliminate risk and poor working conditions. Nor does it return the 200 part-time night driver positions that were suddenly abolished without consent. Those night driver roles were originally introduced to prevent the regular drivers from having to frequently change shifts. If you've ever done shift work you'll know that it can severely affect your sleeping pattern, lead to difficulties sleeping, bring on fatigue, and a lack of concentration and alertness. ...

Exactly a month ago, I attended a demonstration in Bury St. Edmunds for the Toothless in Suffolk campaign. I'd only been made aware of the campaign during the interview to join the Communist Party but considering how locally focussed it is, I shouldn't be too surprised that it hadn't crossed my radar. If you've not heard of it, Toothless in Suffolk and now Toothless in England are part of a campaign to pile pressure on local authorities and government to properly fund NHS dentists. Almost immediately after arriving at the demonstration but after a few meet and greets, I was handed the corner of a banner to stand for a photo op . I was totally unprepared for how much media attention the campaign had garnered; a feeling that I think is aptly captured by the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on my face.  After the march, there was a rally where local residents told their stories of getting access to an NHS dentist. Many have had to wait weeks for access or were told by ...

It has often been said but it has rarely been put into motion - communists, socialists and all other members of the greater labour movement need to get down to business and form a broad left-wing alliance.  We first need grassroots action within our communities, to talk about national issues locally and act on local issues nationally. Campaigns such as Toothless in England have done just this and managed to cut through the political partisan divide as it is focused on a particular problem that affects all of us.  When people see the positive actions communists and socialists are taking in their communities and on a national level, their media-fueled fears about socialism are almost immediately dispelled. They are dispelled because their actions stand in stark contrast to the mythologised versions of communists constructed and described by cold war era propaganda. More importantly, they are dispelled because you are doing the right thing for your community. When you're on a mar...