Martin Luther King, Jr.

We will oppose all forms of discrimination based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation or other difference and support all programs designed to overcome the effects of this discrimination.

For generations, bosses have profited by dividing working people on the basis of race, gender and national origin. As trade unionists and as members and supporters of the Labor Party and its goals, we know that ending bigotry in our society is essential if we ever expect to know the power of solidarity.

Politics is the process of defining what is a personal problem and what is a social problem. Racism used to be an individual problem dealt with by the person being discriminated against until the Civil Rights movement transformed it into a social problem through political action. Both political parties have been narrowing the political agenda and telling people that individual solutions are the answers to problems that affect everyone. This focus on the individual means everybody for themselves and while the Republicans and Democrats alike want us to believe that alone we can deal with power, we know we must unite.

Some, frustrated by the decrease in good paying jobs and the economic problems of our country, might be tempted to blame minority and immigrant groups. The reality is that NAFTA, GATT and the corporate pursuit of lower labor costs globally are responsible for the loss of services and high-wage jobs--not workers.

There are many faces and much cultural wealth in today’s workplaces. These provide opportunities for growth and strength. But the powerful forces which run this country know that finding wedges to divide workers, neighbors and communities is one way to ensure that they remain powerful.

Thus, our first step in dealing with bigotry is the understanding that it is a tool of the bosses and the powerful, that it serves their interests and not ours.

We all suffer when racism and sexism and other forms of discrimination go unchecked. Racism and gender bias can kill organizing drives, sabotage internal solidarity and lessen community support for labor. When we allow even one among us to be singled out for injustice because of the color of his or her skin (or gender, sexual preference, disability, age, etc.), we all suffer.

We shouldn’t be fighting each other; we should be fighting the boss for better wages, conditions, benefits and treatment on the job. We should be fighting the politically powerful for acknowledgment of our interests.

Giving into bigotry in any form is playing into the bosses’ game of divide and conquer. That weakens us and makes us less able to collectively protect our interests. By turning the tables on racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination, we cannot only forge a stronger labor movement but can build a strong social and political movement too.

We must take an active stand on behalf of all minorities, women and other groups. Commitment to solidarity, to collective action and to social and economic justice for all are the core values of trade unionism. They are the core of the Labor Party.