Since Donald Trump returned to office in January, his administration has undertaken scores of attacks against the working class and all oppressed groups. In December, New Orleans and Minneapolis joined Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, and Charlotte in the ranks of cities targeted by ICE’s state terror, deporting hundreds of people in shock raids, in workplaces and in public. Despite the authoritarian Trump regime’s slew of brutal attacks, millions of people across the country have shown a desire to fight back. The first “No Kings” protests in June saw over 5 million people across the US come out in the single largest day of protest in US history, surpassed only by the second “No Kings” protests in October. However, despite this enormous turnout, there was little opportunity for participants to take part in escalating action, or to discuss the many ideas around how to actually defeat Trump and the right.

That’s why Socialist Alternative in Pittsburgh organized a series of public meetings which eventually coalesced into the Anti-Trump Action Committee (ATAC—pronounced “attack”), a coalition of many groups and individuals across the Pittsburgh region. ATAC is united around the understanding that defeating Donald Trump, his reactionary regime, and the forces and ideologies he represents, can only be done on the basis of mass, democratic organizations bringing together all the separate battles into a common fight.

This is the kind of organizing that led 150 people from Pittsburgh and surrounding areas to take part in Crush ICE Day in November, gathering near an ICE facility to block a major bridge during rush hour to demand an end to ICE in the city. For twenty minutes, traffic on the south side of Pittsburgh slowed to a crawl as protesters blocked a key intersection. 

Actions like this are a modest but important example of the kind of escalating steps the anti-Trump movement should be taking everywhere across the country, led by unions and community organizations. These kinds of actions help to overcome the fear brought on by Trump’s state terror while providing important experience and confidence for the growing movement. 

Each important part of this action—from the time and location to the taking of risks and handling police interactions—was decided ahead of time in action conferences open to all, which allowed full discussion and participation. This democratic process was by far the most important thing which convinced dozens of activists from diverse backgrounds—from Mennonites to Marxists—to come together in a common struggle. The approach taken by ATAC members in Pittsburgh is rich in lessons for all workers, students, and activists around the country looking to fight back against right-wing attacks.

Forming ATAC

Initially small, comprising Socialist Alternative members and a few people mostly new to political organizing, ATAC began with a series of community tables around the city to build for an action conference, in which anyone interested in fighting back against Trump’s attacks could bring their ideas and participate in open discussions with others to decide and vote on actions. At the first action conference, participants discussed ATAC’s basic points of agreement, which include a commitment to escalating, nonviolent, disruptive actions; democratizing the movement and ensuring its leaders and program remain accountable to its members; and maintaining political independence from corporate interests, including the Democratic Party. Along with a series of demands, which included the call for maximum non-cooperation with ICE, all of these were later voted on unanimously at our second action conference. 

Participants also agreed to build for our first disruptive action as ATAC—to block the Hot Metal Bridge near Pittsburgh’s ICE facility if enough people could be drawn out to do so safely and with minimal risk of arrest. The action wouldn’t be successful without a serious effort by attendees to mobilize others, so collectively agreeing on plans and strategy helped every person there feel real ownership over ATAC and our shared work. It was also important to discuss how the risks of repression must be met with a serious plan and should not be taken lightly—but at the same time that the risk of doing nothing while Trump and the right attack us with impunity is far greater. Unfortunately, attendance at this action fell short of our target, and we pivoted to hold a rally near the bridge. While short of the ultimate goal of taking the bridge, a small and independent group turning out fifty people on short notice was a real accomplishment. This did, however, highlight the need to broaden and strengthen the coalition further, and spurred the members to redouble our efforts.

At that second action conference, attendees also voted to begin a campaign of community canvassing that could bring local small businesses into the struggle and demonstrate popular support for the anti-ICE movement. ATAC members approached local small business owners and their workers across Pittsburgh to place signs in their front windows showing their commitment to non-cooperation with ICE. 

These signs have become a common sight across the city and have caught the attention of many people who have since joined or begun working with ATAC. This built community solidarity, raised the profile of ATAC, and made approaching new people far easier. Out of this action, ATAC was able to pull together a contingent of people at the second “No Kings” protests in October that was able to speak and distribute flyers to hundreds of people and point them to an action conference to get organized and plan escalating actions. It was at that action conference that ATAC, now larger, voted to attempt taking the bridge intersection for a second time, at which we drew out three times the attendance in a real show of resolve for the movement.

Building A Movement That Can Win

Rather than seeing movements as the purview of a select group of well-connected “experts” for whom the rest of us are merely to show up when requested, ATAC is based on the methods of genuine democracy and working-class struggle, which are necessary in order to build a fightback by and for working-class people. Instead of simply receiving an email or seeing a social media post from organizers telling them what to do (nearly always directing them to the dead-end channels of the Democratic Party), ATAC’s members are encouraged to discuss, set priorities, and carry out the work of fighting Trump as a collective, in which everyone has a role to play.

This is exactly the kind of approach we need—one that aims to build a broad, united struggle where we have a clear understanding of what it will take to win. It demands a deeper level of commitment from activists than just “showing up,” but many working people are actually hungry for the opportunity to become genuinely empowered organizers. It will take this approach on a mass scale to defeat Trump and the billionaire class.

Donald Trump can be defeated. Despite his projection of strength, his authoritarianism is a defensive camouflage hiding the underlying rot and decay of the system he represents and defends. But this regime will not be defeated through the equally rotted Democratic Party and its network of NGO affiliates. When applied across the entire country, such methods can form the basis for a badly-needed new party for working people, independent of the capitalist class and based solely on the strength of workers and young people moving into struggle. Only a united working class can defeat Trumpism!

Points of agreement

1. We need escalating, nonviolent, disruptive actions both to defend ourselves and to win real change!
2. We need to democratize the movement with regular open meetings and communication, with proposals, full discussions, voting with majority rule, and elected and accountable leaders!
3. We need political independence from all corporate interests including the Democratic Party!

ATAC Demands

1. Keep state terror out of our communities! Build for maximum non-cooperation with ICE through union resolutions, petitions in our schools and workplaces, and community campaigns.
2. Stop funding the war machine! Organize to end all financial support from Pittsburgh institutions for the genocide and occupation in Gaza and all other war and military projects.
3. Tax UPMC and other wealthy institutions to fully fund trans-inclusive medicare for all, public education, and social housing!