Many believed it wouldn’t actually happen, but the Minnesota state shutdown is here. The political game of chicken being played by the Republicans and Democrats over the budget has plunged the state into crisis.

Over 100,000 turned out for the March 12th mega rally in Madison, a city of only 230,000. The mood was incredible. It was very moving to see the once-dormant mass of the population, including all sectors (nurses, teachers, firefighters, etc.), out on the streets, many for the first time in their lives, trying with fresh breath to find their voice.

With Republican governors across the country carrying out a vicious and open assault against organized labor, many trade unionists and their supporters are looking toward the Democratic Party as a refuge from the anti-worker barrage. The Democrats pose as “friends of labor,” and are frequently on the stage at pro-union and solidarity rallies from Madison, WI to Keokuk, IA. But where they are in power, for example in New York and California, they are carrying out essentially the same policies as the Republicans.

We publish here the notes used by John Peterson, National Secretary of the WIL, as the basis for his introduction to the discussion on "Perspectives for the Class Struggle in the United States" at the 2011 WIL Marxist National School. We recommend it be read in conjunction with the U.S. Perspectives 2010 document approved at the WIL's last National Congress.

John Peterson of the Campaign for a Mass Party of Labor writes an open letter to Richard Trumka in response to Brother Trumka's recent statements concerning the AFL-CIO reducing contributions to the Democratic Party.

Welcome to the “Ninja Generation”--No Income, No Jobs, and No Assets. How does this compare to the idea that under capitalism things are always getting better? History has falsified this claim time and time again. We were promised an ever-increasing standard of living, something which in our parents’ generation may have seemed reasonable. The fundamental instability of capitalism was temporarily stabilized through the manipulation of government policy and by the extension of credit to the general population.

Over the weekend of May 28^th and 29^th, the Second National School of the Workers International League took place at Lake Elmo State Park and Reserve near Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. Nearly fifty comrades participated in two full days of intense discussions, with topics ranging from the world revolution to the need for a mass party of labor in the United States. Representation from the WIL branches around the country was broad, with comrades from Minnesota, Iowa, Madison, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, Boston, Washington, DC, Dallas, Northern California, Florida, Idaho, in attendance, as well as visitors from Canada and Britain.

In the wake of a worldwide series of austerity measures, the struggle against cuts in educational funding has intensified in the US. The state of North Carolina faces particularly crippling attacks on its public schools, community colleges, and universities, all of which are in jeopardy as state legislators attempt to reconcile a $3.7 billion budget deficit in the 2010-11 fiscal year.

In the past 48 hours American accounts of Bin Laden's death have come under intense scrutiny following White House admissions that early official reports claiming Bin Laden had been armed and cowered behind his wife during the assault were false. The past few days have revealed flaw after flaw in the White House reporting of the killing of Bin Laden. The US Government’s message has been full of contradictions from start to finish.

The economic slump is causing a crisis of state solvency. Entire countries like Ireland, Iceland and Greece are in way over their heads. This is also true of many cities and states here in the U.S.  

Report from Saturday's mass rally in Madison, Wisconsin, by Josh Lucker from the Campaign for a Mass Party of Labor.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of revolution and mass mobilizations. After a period of relative lull in the class struggle, during which it seemed to many that nothing would ever change, millions of people can now see with their own eyes that revolutions can and do happen. They can see that fundamental change is only possible when ordinary men and women, who normally have nothing to do with politics, act collectively to bring about a political earthquake on the streets, in the factories, workplaces, schools, and halls of power.

Weeks after Governor Scott Walker’s union-busting bill was introduced, mass demonstrations by public and private sector workers, students, and community supporters continue, and the spirit of class struggle is spreading across the country. 100,000 demonstrated in Madison on Saturday. The only way to defeat Walker is to mobilize the full power of the labor movement, starting with an all-out one day general strike in Wisconsin and to mobilize labor for mass demonstrations and solidarity actions around the country!

A first-hand account of the February 26 mega rally against the attack on public sector workers in Madison, WI.

A brief report from a WIL member on the ground in Madison, WI, written just before the big demos planned for Saturday, February 26th