Provisional Communist Party
Encyclopedia
The Communist Party, United States of America (Provisional) also known as the Provisional Communist Party, Provisional Party, Provisional Party of Communists, Order of Lenin or simply the Formation is a Communist political party
in the United States
founded by Gino Perente
, a controversial farm labor organizer who died in 1995. The party includes much of the leadership of the National Labor Federation
(NATLFED), and may have no further substance at all. Outside estimates cap membership at between 100 and 300 core members. Those alleged to be members make no public use of the name, and virtually no identifiable offices or centers of operations.
The party, also referred to as the Formation, is clandestine and its exact origins and extent are obscure. There are no party publications, no conventions or leadership elections. During Perente’s lifetime he exercised full control over the party, communicating directly with members through long orations held at his Carroll Street office in Brooklyn
, New York, through audiotapes of those speeches sent out to members running the various NATLFED entities, or through rare printed manuals, such as Perente's 1973 mimeographed The Essential Organizer.
Party members do not openly acknowledge its existence. Members of the party are full-time volunteers in NATLFED entities.
, the Sandinistas and revolutionaries in Chile
and El Salvador
, and that members of the Weather Underground were among its founders.
In 2006 the CPUSA(PW) attained a small victory versus the state of California in Vega v. Mallory, when the State Legislature
allocated $61,000 to settle the suit, which alleged that migrant laborers were overcharged for housing in a state-run program. The Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals and the Western Farmworkers Association, both NATLFED-linked groups, were instrumental in attaining a successful outcome for the plaintiffs.
In 2009 the party was reported to have been involved, again through some of its front groups, in a civic struggle around the proposed rebuilding of a hospital in a low-income area of San Francisco, USA.
The party has a Central Committee and is divided into cells, referred to as "fractions", including a select "Military Fraction" which made news in 1996 after a raid on the party's New York headquarters resulted in the discovery of a weapons stockpile. Most of its activities -and recruitment-, however, are carried out through front groups working in support of local community struggles.
Organizations reported to function as support structures or fronts for the CPUSA(PW) include:
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
founded by Gino Perente
Gino Perente
Eugenio Mario Perente-Ramos was the founder of the National Labor Federation , a collection of anti-poverty organizations in the United States...
, a controversial farm labor organizer who died in 1995. The party includes much of the leadership of the National Labor Federation
National Labor Federation
The National Labor Federation is a network of local community associations, run exclusively by volunteers, that aim to organize workers excluded from collective bargaining protections by U.S. labor law...
(NATLFED), and may have no further substance at all. Outside estimates cap membership at between 100 and 300 core members. Those alleged to be members make no public use of the name, and virtually no identifiable offices or centers of operations.
The party, also referred to as the Formation, is clandestine and its exact origins and extent are obscure. There are no party publications, no conventions or leadership elections. During Perente’s lifetime he exercised full control over the party, communicating directly with members through long orations held at his Carroll Street office in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York, through audiotapes of those speeches sent out to members running the various NATLFED entities, or through rare printed manuals, such as Perente's 1973 mimeographed The Essential Organizer.
Party members do not openly acknowledge its existence. Members of the party are full-time volunteers in NATLFED entities.
Membership and history
Membership in the party is by invitation, and invitation comes to volunteers in NATLFED entities as a revelation of the existence of the party, an explanation of the party's goals and strategy, and a brief "history" of the party, called the "genesis." This "genesis" is reportedly a narrative which includes claims that the party was part of a secret International including the Communist Party of CubaCommunist Party of Cuba
The Communist Party of Cuba is the governing political party in Cuba. It is a communist party of the Marxist-Leninist model. The Cuban constitution ascribes the role of the Party to be the "leading force of society and of the state"...
, the Sandinistas and revolutionaries in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, and that members of the Weather Underground were among its founders.
In 2006 the CPUSA(PW) attained a small victory versus the state of California in Vega v. Mallory, when the State Legislature
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...
allocated $61,000 to settle the suit, which alleged that migrant laborers were overcharged for housing in a state-run program. The Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals and the Western Farmworkers Association, both NATLFED-linked groups, were instrumental in attaining a successful outcome for the plaintiffs.
In 2009 the party was reported to have been involved, again through some of its front groups, in a civic struggle around the proposed rebuilding of a hospital in a low-income area of San Francisco, USA.
Structure
The party's secrecy makes accurate appraisals of its internal structure and functioning difficult to achieve. Testimony from former members and contacts has led various observers to characterize the CPUSA(PW) as a "political cult". For example, party members are said to live communally and to spend all their time working for NATLFED entities. The leadership reportedly maintains extensive file on members, and these accept limitations on contact with family members, while those who attempt to leave the group are said to be subjected to intense pressure and harassment. Some observers, on the other hand, note that the NATLFED and associated groups do in fact perform real and valuable social service and grassroots political work. After Perente's death in 1995, leadership of the CPUSA(PW) was assumed by Margaret Ribar, who is reported to have relaxed some of those restrictions.The party has a Central Committee and is divided into cells, referred to as "fractions", including a select "Military Fraction" which made news in 1996 after a raid on the party's New York headquarters resulted in the discovery of a weapons stockpile. Most of its activities -and recruitment-, however, are carried out through front groups working in support of local community struggles.
Organizations reported to function as support structures or fronts for the CPUSA(PW) include:
- National Labor FederationNational Labor FederationThe National Labor Federation is a network of local community associations, run exclusively by volunteers, that aim to organize workers excluded from collective bargaining protections by U.S. labor law...
- Physicians Organizing Committee
- National Equal Justice Association
- Coalition of Concerned Medical Professionals
- Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals
- California Homemakers Association
- Western Farmworkers Association
- Women's Press Collective (of New York; a distinct group from the Women's Press Collective of Oakland, California)
- Eastern Farm Workers Association
- Western Farmworkers Association
Outside Links
- Perente, Eugenio Mario. The Essential Organizer, 1973.