By Taylor Sandford
The strike wave, reflecting the anger and resentment of workers is at a place that would have been hard to imagine just one or two years ago. And yet, the movement still has a long way to go.
Socialist Alternative is a Marxist organisation which seeks to connect all struggles of working class people and the oppressed to the need to overthrow the capitalist system. We want to help guide the movement to its socialist conclusion.
Many of our members play leading roles within our trade unions. Alongside fighting for the best pay deals that workers can win, we go a step further in pointing out the exploitation we are all subjected to under this system, how to resist it, and the true power of the masses.
As we continue to grow, so too does our influence in the movement, and the sharpness of our political tools becomes ever more critical. An important and necessary aspect of this is making space for the political education of all of our members.
Without this, how can we ensure we’re discussing in the movement with the right ideas? That’s why on 12 February, members from all over the country gathered for an intense day of trade union discussions.
The discussion touched on many different trade union struggles going on at the moment. Different members came into the discussion to talk about how we have been working within these different disputes, which provided an interesting insight into where all the different struggles are.
We talked about how best to organise in the workplace, and how to organise those workers who have historically been unorganised. There was also a focus on how each member can do their best to bring revolutionary socialist ideas into their workplaces and their trade unions.
As socialists, we must continually refine our ideas and tactics and play a leading role in the drive toward socialism. Discussing and learning how to intervene in these struggles as revolutionary socialists prepares our members, old and new ones alike, with the correct tools to push struggle in the right direction.
