A thoughtful analysis of the One Nation March

The following looks back at the One Nation March on October 2nd. It is written by Bill Onasch who is a longtime union activist and advocate for the need for a Labor Party in the United States:

October 3, 2010

Worker March Meets Liberal Rally

Unfortunately, I couldn’t make the trip to our nation’s capital to join in the One Nation march and rally. I did watch parts of the event on CSPAN, and I’ve read most major news accounts. The role of unions was so evident the New York Times sent their labor reporter, Steven Greenhouse, to cover the demonstration.

Clearly, it was big. The organizers claim 175,000–but numbers are always tricky. It definitely wasn’t as big as the huge Solidarity Day action summoned by the AFL-CIO in response to Reagan’s destruction of PATCO in 1981 but it wasn’t a bad effort by a rusty, weakened labor movement that rarely gets involved in such mass action tactics.

Whether they came as part of union mobilizations, or through contingents organized by civil rights, immigrant rights, environmental and antiwar groups, the crowd was obviously overwhelmingly working class in composition. Unlike recent shows staged by the cracked tea pots, the color and gender diversity of our class was displayed. They were there to demand action on war, human rights, the environment–and, above all, jobs.

The organizers countered Glenn Beck by using Ed Schultz, the host of MSNBC's "The Ed Show", as one of the masters of ceremony. Ed managed to demonstrate history is no more his strong suit than his Fox rival. “They (Beck/Tea Party) talk about the forefathers, but they practice discrimination. They want to change this country.”

I’ve got some not-so-late-breaking-news for Ed. Our “forefathers” included slave owners; the most important task they assigned to a woman was Betsy Ross sewing a flag; The Declaration of Independence refers to “merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.” The first Constitution they submitted was silent on democracy. It was only a credible threat of armed rebellion by farmers and workers that forced the hasty addition of ten amendments--that became known as the Bill of Rights.

Discrimination is not a recent development that can be blamed on the Big T. Along with occasional campaigns of ethnic cleansing, racism, sexism, and homophobia have been a part of the American Experience since the “forefathers” started the expansion from sea to shining sea by taking other people’s land. I digress, but falsification of our own history is a hot button with me. It is indeed one reason we keep reliving the same disasters.

The President spent the weekend at Camp David. Congress recessed to go campaigning shortly before the march. One that stuck around to speak was Chicago Democrat Rep. Luis Gutierrez who gave his pitch for immigration reform–which is highly controversial within the immigrant rights movement.

Most rally speakers did speak in favor of peace, justice, and jobs, jobs, jobs. One was Bob King, President of the UAW which mobilized 5,000 members for the march:
“We believe that by working together we can build abundance to lift up everyone. We can’t do that through divisiveness. We believe that we have to rebuild a social movement in America.”

If the “we” meant the working class and our allies, I would heartily endorse this statement. But for King "we" includes the auto bosses and the party presently in power in Washington in a “social movement.

AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka was more explicitly goal-oriented, “promise that you'll make your voices heard, for good jobs and justice and education today and on Election Day.” SEIU President Mary Kay Henry helpfully reminded, “October Second is about November Second [election day].”

While no platform speakers as far as I know differed from this pitch hustling votes for the party in power the organizers did not exclude groups with other perspectives from endorsing or participating. To their credit, they stood up to Glenn Beck’s red baiting of a sponsors list that included organizations such as the Communist Party and International Socialist Organization. NAACP President Ben Jealous, one of the initiators of the action said, “This is a big tent. Anyone who wants to stand up to create jobs and defend the jobs of teachers, police officers, nurses, firefighters — I say come on and join us.”

The march gave a hint of the potential of our unions and allies to mobilize power in the streets. But the rally failed to focus this power on needed ongoing tasks. Nor did it for the most part help clear away the Establishment propaganda and educate angry workers about the real causes of our present crises–much less offer a working class program to resolve them.