American Workers Party
Encyclopedia
The American Workers Party (AWP) was a socialist organization established in December 1933 by activists in the Conference for Progressive Labor Action
, a group headed by A.J. Muste
.
. The figurative leader of the AWP was A. J. Muste
, although the organization had a structure and values that lent its radicalism a highly democratic and collaborative quality.
The AWP sought to find what it called "an American approach" for Marxism
at the depth of the Great Depression
. The group published a popularly written newspaper, Labor Action, and created Unemployed Leagues that attracted tens of thousands of members and ought not be confused with the Communist Party
's Unemployed Councils.
The AWP is best known in labor history
for its leadership of the successful 1934 Toledo Auto-Lite Strike
, a forerunner that contributed to the creation of the United Auto Workers
union. Exerting influence through its Unemployed League chapter, the AWP in Toledo kept the Auto-Lite strike from being broken by desperate job-seekers. Instead, the AWP brought the mass of unemployed to bear as a powerful vehicle for solidarity with the auto parts factory workers on the picket lines. The Auto-Lite strike—along with the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934
(led by the Trotskyist Communist League of America
) and the 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike
led by the Communist Party USA
—was an important catalyst for the rise of industrial unionism
in the 1930s, much of which was organized through the Congress of Industrial Organizations
.
While it never numbered more than a few hundred members, the AWP attracted a number of prominent labor activists, such as J. B. S. Hardman of the needle trades. It also attracted a number of intellectuals, many of them former members of the CP who rebelled against its strictures while remaining radical. The latter included James Burnham
, Sidney Hook
, James Rorty, and V. F. Calverton.
to form the Workers Party of the United States
. This was the fusion of two revolutionary socialist organizations that had both successfully led two militant strikes to victory. Most AWP members were absorbed into the mainstream Trotskyist movement, with some, like Burnham, becoming major figures in the subsequent Trotskyist movement of the 1930s. A few others, such as Louis Budenz and Arnold Johnson, did not accept the rapprochement with Trotskyism
and instead joined the CP, considering its adoption of the Popular Front
to be analogous to what the AWP had tried to accomplish with its "American approach." Others, such as Hook and Rorty, became political independents but remained, for a time, largely sympathetic to the successor organization.
Conference for Progressive Labor Action
The Conference for Progressive Labor Action was a left wing American political organization established in May 1929 by A. J. Muste, director of Brookwood Labor College. The organization was established to promote industrial unionism and to work for reform of the American Federation of Labor...
, a group headed by A.J. Muste
A. J. Muste
The Reverend Abraham Johannes "A.J." Muste was a Dutch-born American clergyman and political activist. Muste is best remembered for his work in the labor movement, pacifist movement, and the US civil rights movement.-Early years:...
.
Formation
The American Workers Party was established in December 1933 by activists in the Conference for Progressive Labor ActionConference for Progressive Labor Action
The Conference for Progressive Labor Action was a left wing American political organization established in May 1929 by A. J. Muste, director of Brookwood Labor College. The organization was established to promote industrial unionism and to work for reform of the American Federation of Labor...
. The figurative leader of the AWP was A. J. Muste
A. J. Muste
The Reverend Abraham Johannes "A.J." Muste was a Dutch-born American clergyman and political activist. Muste is best remembered for his work in the labor movement, pacifist movement, and the US civil rights movement.-Early years:...
, although the organization had a structure and values that lent its radicalism a highly democratic and collaborative quality.
The AWP sought to find what it called "an American approach" for Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
at the depth of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. The group published a popularly written newspaper, Labor Action, and created Unemployed Leagues that attracted tens of thousands of members and ought not be confused with the Communist Party
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
's Unemployed Councils.
The AWP is best known in labor history
Labor unions in the United States
Labor unions in the United States are legally recognized as representatives of workers in many industries. The most prominent unions are among public sector employees such as teachers and police...
for its leadership of the successful 1934 Toledo Auto-Lite Strike
Auto-Lite strike
The Toledo Auto-Lite strike was a strike by a federal labor union of the American Federation of Labor against the Electric Auto-Lite company of Toledo, Ohio, from April 12 to June 3, 1934....
, a forerunner that contributed to the creation of the United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
union. Exerting influence through its Unemployed League chapter, the AWP in Toledo kept the Auto-Lite strike from being broken by desperate job-seekers. Instead, the AWP brought the mass of unemployed to bear as a powerful vehicle for solidarity with the auto parts factory workers on the picket lines. The Auto-Lite strike—along with the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934
Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934
The Minneapolis General Strike of 1934 grew out of a strike by Teamsters against most of the trucking companies operating in Minneapolis, a major distribution center for the Upper Midwest. The strike began on May 16, 1934 in the Market District and ensuing violence lasted periodically throughout...
(led by the Trotskyist Communist League of America
Communist League of America
The Communist League of America was founded by James P. Cannon, Max Shachtman and Martin Abern late in 1928 after their expulsion from the Communist Party USA for Trotskyism. The CLA was the United States section of Leon Trotsky's International Left Opposition and initially positioned itself as...
) and the 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike
1934 West Coast Longshore Strike
The 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike lasted eighty-three days, triggered by sailors and a four-day general strike in San Francisco, and led to the unionization of all of the West Coast ports of the United States...
led by the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
—was an important catalyst for the rise of industrial unionism
Industrial unionism
Industrial unionism is a labor union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union—regardless of skill or trade—thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in bargaining and in strike situations...
in the 1930s, much of which was organized through the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
.
While it never numbered more than a few hundred members, the AWP attracted a number of prominent labor activists, such as J. B. S. Hardman of the needle trades. It also attracted a number of intellectuals, many of them former members of the CP who rebelled against its strictures while remaining radical. The latter included James Burnham
James Burnham
James Burnham was an American popular political theorist, best known for his influential work The Managerial Revolution, published in 1941. Burnham was a radical activist in the 1930s and an important factional leader of the American Trotskyist movement. In later years he left Marxism and produced...
, Sidney Hook
Sidney Hook
Sidney Hook was an American pragmatic philosopher known for his contributions to public debates.A student of John Dewey, Hook continued to examine the philosophy of history, of education, politics, and of ethics. After embracing Marxism in his youth, Hook was known for his criticisms of...
, James Rorty, and V. F. Calverton.
Termination
In December 1934, the AWP merged with the Trotskyist Communist League of AmericaCommunist League of America
The Communist League of America was founded by James P. Cannon, Max Shachtman and Martin Abern late in 1928 after their expulsion from the Communist Party USA for Trotskyism. The CLA was the United States section of Leon Trotsky's International Left Opposition and initially positioned itself as...
to form the Workers Party of the United States
Workers Party of the United States
The Workers Party of the United States was established in December 1934 by a merger of the American Workers Party led by A.J. Muste and the Trotskyist Communist League of America led by James P. Cannon. The party was dissolved in 1936 when its members entered the Socialist Party of America en...
. This was the fusion of two revolutionary socialist organizations that had both successfully led two militant strikes to victory. Most AWP members were absorbed into the mainstream Trotskyist movement, with some, like Burnham, becoming major figures in the subsequent Trotskyist movement of the 1930s. A few others, such as Louis Budenz and Arnold Johnson, did not accept the rapprochement with Trotskyism
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
and instead joined the CP, considering its adoption of the Popular Front
Popular front
A popular front is a broad coalition of different political groupings, often made up of leftists and centrists. Being very broad, they can sometimes include centrist and liberal forces as well as socialist and communist groups...
to be analogous to what the AWP had tried to accomplish with its "American approach." Others, such as Hook and Rorty, became political independents but remained, for a time, largely sympathetic to the successor organization.
Further reading
- Louis Budenz. This is My Story. McGraw-Hill, 1947.
- Margaret Budenz. Streets. Our Sunday Visitor, 1979.
- James P. Cannon. History of American Trotskyism. Pathfinder Press, 1944.
- Farrell Dobbs. Teamster Rebellion. Monad Press, 1972.
- Sidney Hook. Out of Step: An Unquiet Life in the Twentieth Century. Harper & Row, 1987.
- Christopher Phelps. Young Sidney Hook. Cornell University Press, 1997.
- JoAnn Ooiman Robinson. Abraham Went Out. Temple, 1981.
- Alan Wald. The New York Intellectuals: The Rise and Decline of the Anti-Stalinist Left from the 1930s to the 1980s. University of North Carolina, 1987.
External links
- A.J. Muste, "My Experience in the Labor and Radical Struggles of the Thirties." (mp3 audio) American Archive Pilot Project, Illinois Public Media, WILL. Speech of February 9, 1966. —Original resides in the archives of the University of Illinois.
- Toward an American revolutionary labor movement; statement of programmatic orientation
- On The 1934 Toledo Auto-Lite Strike, by Ted Selander, a participant in the historic strike (Archived 2009-10-25)
- Street Fighting Man, A Look at the 1934 Auto-Lite Strike