Trade Unions and Class Struggle

The fundamental orientation of Marxist-Leninist work in enterprises and unions was developed with Revolutionärer Weg, Nos. 11/12. It deals with both opportunist and “Left” sectarian mistakes and molding influences in this work, which partly have their origin in the history of the German working-class and communist movement.

The foreword states: “The question of the development and emergence of the working-class offensive does not only depend on the workers’ spontaneous fighting spirit. On the contrary, under today’s conditions, the bourgeois media, the press and, above all, television can purposefully spread uncertainty. Meeting this mood and bringing clar ty into the heads requires to recall the historical relations as well as the fundamental experiences of recent years. This book is to make a contribution to it.” (Revolutionärer Weg, Nos. 11/12, p. 14)

No. 11 deals with the emergence and development of the unions through today. No. 12 mainly examines the relationship between trade-union struggle and revolutionary class struggle. It provides excellent guidance for the work as a class-militant union member, shop-floor union representative or works council member. The starting point is to understand the struggles of the workers as a school of class struggle.