One major voice was missing from the election: the interests and needs of working people. Instead, we were bombarded by fake promises from the two parties of billionaires vying for our vote, knowing full well they will sell us out to the interests of corporations.

In the end, many voters chose Trump because he promised to change things up while Harris offered them nothing but platitudes. The election cleared away decades of rule by centrist Republicans and Democrats.

Working people had no candidates who represented us. We must never be faced with an election like this again. We need a new political party that represents the overwhelming majority, what we describe as a ‘workers party.’

A Bosses’ Party Vs. A Workers’ Party 

A workers’ party would be a fundamental step forward in US politics. It would take no corporate donations, no money from billionaires, and it would fight for the needs of workers, unequivocally.

The party would campaign on a program that addresses the issues of workers: a dramatic increase in the minimum wage, a massive jobs program at a living wage to implement a huge expansion of green energy, taxing the rich to construct affordable housing and quality public transportation, free publicly-owned healthcare, free universal childcare, guaranteed full-time jobs for all, and an end to wars and imperialist interventions. 

All of this should be funded by the richest 1%, and by taking the top banks and corporations into public ownership under democratic workers control to run the economy on the basis of human need, not profits.

A Party Rooted In Struggle

In the immediate term, even a small workers’ party could coordinate and link struggles of workers against the bosses, discrimination, wars, and climate change. Out of such campaigns the workers’ party would build support in our communities and workplaces.

Historically, workers’ parties in other countries have come from the concentrated efforts of socialists and other radicalized workers who challenge corporate control over their society. Very often a workers’ party sprouts from unions who see the need to extend their fight against the bosses in the workplace to a fight against the bosses and their political parties and political rule as well.

Electoral campaigns should be seen as an important tool to challenge the message of the corporate parties and educate and organize workers. Instead of politicians looking to enrich themselves, a workers’ party would have elected officials who are accountable to the movement, and only accept the average wage of those they represent.

A workers’ party would be united around a common program, developed through democratic debate and discussion in every workplace, school, and community. Real solidarity can only be built by linking the fight against all forms of oppression to the wider social struggle against the elites and the capitalist system that uses the politics of division to prevent us uniting together.

Why Don’t We Have A Workers’ Party Yet?

In the 1930s, 30% of the public supported building a labor party. However the largest socialist group, the Communist Party, allied with conservative union leaders and opposed building a new party. They instead supported the Democratic Party, which included warmongers and segregationists, as the lesser of two evils.

Decades of futile attempts by most of the left to reform the Democratic Party followed, leading to the disastrous situation workers face today. The Democrats and Republicans are beholden to big corporations and billionaires. Their unwavering support for capitalism offers no way out for workers and young people.

Workers’ parties have been formed in other countries, including countries with entrenched two-party systems like ours. These parties played a historic role in winning major gains for workers, but over time their reformist leaderships adapted themselves to capitalism. Without a revolutionary socialist program, these parties drifted to the right.

How Can We Build A Workers Party Today?

A workers’ party won’t be built without powerful social and labor struggles that threaten the political establishment (and their parties), which unite radicalized workers, young people and activists into common struggle. This will put pressure on larger organizations like unions and social justice groups to stop supporting corporate parties and build a workers party instead.

Socialist Alternative will participate in every step of this process because we see the building of a workers’ party as an essential step to breaking from capitalism, and constructing a new socialist society. Only when the dominance of society by big banks and billionaires is replaced by control by the vast majority of society, the working class, can a decent future be guaranteed for people and the planet.