IWW branches' statements of solidarity

The San Diego and Boston IWW General Membership Branches have endorsed separate statements of solidarity with survivors of gender-based violence and against PLP's defense of rape.

Statement of Solidarity with Survivors of Gender-based Violence and Condemnation of the PLP’s Defense of Rape and Class Reductionism

IWW Boston GMB - 1/20/2013

http://iwwboston.org/2013/01/21/statement-of-solidarity-with-survivors-of-gender-based-violence-and-condemnation-of-the-plps-defense-of-rape-and-class-reductionism/

Preamble

A few years ago, a Fellow Worker was raped by Seth Miller, a member of PLP in Los Angeles. He and the Fellow Worker had been friends and had done organizing together prior to this attack. Last year, the survivor decided to go public with what had happened and approached PLP hoping that they would help her hold the perpetrator accountable. The response of the PLP has been appalling: obstructing the survivor’s desired accountability process, and requiring only a self-evaluation and a drinking partner for the perpetrator. Worse still, they have started an insidious misinformation campaign intended to undermine the credibility of the survivor, her account, and her allies. In their official response they claim to fight “sexism, patriarchy, and misogyny in every aspect”, and then promptly continue with slandering the survivor and her allies as “informant-provocateurs” acting in collusion with the “fascist police state.”

In our analysis, what leads groups to engage in this kind of rape apologism and victim blaming is the ideology of class reductionism. Stated simply by the folks at the riseup.net, class reductionism is "The idea that class oppression supersedes race or gender oppression." Consequently, all forms of oppression -racism, sexism, ageism etc. - are merely reflections or flavors of class oppression. According to this line of thinking, anything that interferes with a class reductionist organization's program to overthrow capitalism and abolish class oppression can rationally (and conveniently) be suppressed by any means necessary. We seek to distinguish this from an approach to anti-capitalist organizing that sees intersectionality rather than a hierarchy of oppression.

The response of PLP is class reductionism at its worst. It is being deployed here to protect the privileges of men and clad rape apologism and victim blaming in the false armor of bogus class struggle heroics. It is our duty to recognize and take action when those that call themselves revolutionaries perpetuate the forms of oppression that keep the working class divided. There is nothing more damaging to class struggle than denying the interrelatedness of all forms of oppression or subsuming the real, lived experiences of comrades into a self-serving ideological framework: one that does not face the reality of oppression but instead prevents the underlying social relations which prop up privilege and maintain oppression from ever being analyzed properly, much less dismantled.

Resolution

Whereas the Boston Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World is determined to fight rape culture and patriarchy in our union and in society at large, and


Whereas we reject class reductionism (the belief that class oppression supersedes race or gender oppression), and,

Whereas our approach to the class struggle recognizes the intersectionality of all forms of oppression without the attempt to simplify or reduce them into a hierarchy, and

Whereas a Fellow Worker was raped by Seth Miller, a member of the Progressive Labor Party, as described at http://necessarymeansfight.blogspot.com/2012/12/progressive-labor-party-defends-rapists.html, and

Whereas the response of the Progressive Labor Party to the survivor’s efforts to have them hold Seth Miller accountable has been abhorrent, and


Whereas the Progressive Labor Party has sought to undermine the credibility of the survivor and has sought to protect the rapist, and


Whereas the survivor, a Fellow Worker, has asked that we a) exclude PLP from our organizing campaigns and spaces, b) warn our allies, c) examine and address patriarchal behavior in our organizing communities, d) actively support and defend survivors of sexual violence, and


Noting the formation of an anti-patriarchy committee at the Boston General Membership Branch Meeting on January 13th, 2013 to address the problem of patriarchy within our branch and in our organizing, including the implementation of this resolution, therefore be it


Resolved, 
That the Boston General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World, in solidarity with the survivor and in support of her wishes, will no longer collaborate in organizing campaigns or share organizing spaces with the Progressive Labor Party, or any other organizations which protect rapists and promote rape culture through their words or actions. This proposal and accompanying documentation will be made available to groups that we organize with, and to the stakeholders of venues where we meet regularly. We pledge to stand in solidarity with all victims and survivors of gender-based discrimination, assaults, and other forms of violence, both in the “revolutionary left” and in the broader society. We recognize that the only way to do that is to listen to survivors and to honor their wishes.

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San Diego IWW's Statement of Solidarity with Survivors of Gender-based Violence and Condemnation of the PLP’s Defense of Rape and Class Reductionism

The San Diego Committee of the Industrial Workers of the World stands in full solidarity with a Fellow Worker who was raped by a prominent organizer in the Progressive Labor Party (PLP). The response of the PLP has been abhorrent, combining a meaningless self-evaluation and a slap on the wrist with insidious undermining of the survivor, her account, and her allies.

In their official response, they claim to fight “sexism, patriarchy, and misogyny in every aspect”, while in the same breath slander the survivor and her allies as “informant-provocateurs” acting in collusion with the fascist police state. The PLP has made clear that the oppression of women, even in its most horrific and violent manifestation, means nothing when it interferes with their prescription for revolution. They will do anything to make this go away. PLP would rather slander the survivor than take necessary action to address the problem that one of their members has committed sexual assault. Their response is class reductionism at its worst. It is being deployed here to protect the privileges of men and cloak rape apologism and victim blaming in the false armor of bogus class struggle heroics. It is our duty to recognize and take action when those that call themselves revolutionaries perpetuate the forms of oppression that keep the working class divided. There is nothing more damaging to class struggle than denying the separate existence of other forms of oppression.

We will work to stand in solidarity with all those who experience gender-based discrimination, assaults, and other forms of victimization-- both within the “revolutionary left” and in broader society. Our stance is that the work of class struggle must be combined with struggles against all forms of oppression, without the attempt to reduce or simplify them into a hierarchy. Members of the San Diego IWW pledge to redouble our efforts of addressing patriarchal behavior throughout our union and within the broader community.  We will take action to create a working sub-committee to confront patriarchy in our union, and directly address the way that our dynamics contribute to the oppression of our comrades and women everywhere.    

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Statement of Solidarity with Survivors of Gender-based Violence and Condemnation of the PLP’s Defense of Rape

The Los Angeles/Ricardo Flores Magón General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World, January 27, 2013 

In Solidarity with the Fellow Workers of the Boston General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World, The Los Angeles / Ricardo Flores Magón General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World support the following Statement of Solidarity. The Los Angeles GMB of the IWW supports the Boston GMB’s positions of solidarity with the Fellow Worker who was raped by Seth Miller, member of the Progressive Labor Party (PLP), and will integrate region-specific methods of solidarity with our Fellow Worker. Furthermore, the LA GMB will assess and deconstruct patriarchal elements from within our branch’s functions and promote outreach to survivors of gender-based violence.

Background Information:
A few years ago, a Fellow Worker was raped by Seth Miller, a member of PLP in Los Angeles. He and the Fellow Worker had been friends and had done organizing together prior to this attack. Last year, the survivor decided to go public with what had happened and approached PLP hoping that they would help her hold the perpetrator accountable. The response of the PLP has been appalling: obstructing the survivor’s desired accountability process, and requiring only a self-evaluation and a drinking partner for the perpetrator. Worse still, they have started an insidious misinformation campaign intended to undermine the credibility of the survivor, her account, and her allies. In their official response they claim to fight “sexism, patriarchy, and misogyny in every aspect”, and then promptly continue with slandering the survivor and her allies as “informant-provocateurs” acting in collusion with the “fascist police state.”

We at the Los Angeles/Ricardo Flores Magón General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World condemn the Progressive Labor Party’s response to the Fellow Worker’s demands for justice against their rapist. It is our duty to recognize and take action when those that call themselves revolutionaries perpetuate gender violence by protecting rapists, ignore the survivor’s demands, and attack the survivor for demanding justice.

Resolution
Whereas the Los Angeles / Ricardo Flores Magón General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World is determined to fight rape culture and patriarchy in our union and in
society at large, and

Whereas a Fellow Worker was raped by Seth Miller, a member of the Progressive Labor Party, as described at: http://necessarymeansfight.blogspot.com/2012/12/progressive-labor-party-defends-rapists.html, and

Whereas the response of the Progressive Labor Party to the survivor’s efforts to have them hold Seth Miller accountable has been abhorrent, and
Whereas the Progressive Labor Party has sought to undermine the credibility of the survivor and has sought to protect the rapist, and

Whereas the survivor, a Fellow Worker, has asked that we a) exclude PLP from our organizing campaigns and spaces, b) warn our allies, c) examine and address patriarchal behavior in our organizing communities, d) actively support and defend survivors of sexual violence, and

Therefore, be it resolved that the Los Angeles / Ricardo Flores Magón General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World, in solidarity with the survivor and in support of her wishes, will no longer collaborate in organizing campaigns or share organizing spaces with the Progressive Labor Party, or any other organizations which protect rapists and promote rape culture through their words or actions. This proposal and accompanying documentation will be made available to groups that we organize with, and to the stakeholders of venues where we meet regularly. We pledge to stand in solidarity with all victims and survivors of gender-based discrimination, assaults, and other forms of violence, both in the “revolutionary left” and in the broader society. We recognize that the only way to do that is to listen to survivors and to honor their wishes.

- The Los Angeles/Ricardo Flores Magón General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World, January 27, 2013