The Socialist Equality Party encourages workers, retirees, students and youth to attend a special meeting of the Detroit Workers Action Committee (DWAC) on December 4 to discuss the lessons of the Detroit bankruptcy and the way forward for the working class.

The November 7 approval of Detroit’s bankruptcy restructuring plan marks a new stage in the class war against workers in Detroit, throughout the United States and the world. The settlement robs retired city workers of their pensions and health care, turns over the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts to private foundations and cuts off vital services, including water, to residents.

The entire political and media establishment has hailed this savage plan and the speed with which it was reached as a “miraculous” achievement. Within ruling circles there is a sense that they were able to get away with a massive crime even as they faced, in the words of Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, the possibility of “civil unrest.”

The December 4 meeting will examine the political conspiracy against the workers of Detroit, and in particular the role of the unions, the corrupt “civil rights” leaders and the other adjuncts of the Democratic Party who played a critical role in blocking the resistance of workers to the plans of the ruling class. The meeting will also look at the national and international context of the bankruptcy, which is taking place as cities and countries around the world are using antidemocratic methods to destroy social rights and to launch new and deeply unpopular wars of aggression.

To wage a fight-back, workers need knowledge, leadership and new organizations of struggle. The SEP formed the Detroit Workers Action Committee (DWAC) earlier this year to mobilize the working class to defend our social rights. The fight against the dictates of the corporate and financial elite must be carried forward on the basis of a socialist program and conducted independently of the trade unions, the Democrats and Republicans and all of those who insist workers must live in poverty in order to enrich the super-wealthy few.

We urge you to attend the December 4 meeting to discuss how to take this fight forward.

Meeting details:
Thursday, December 4, 7:00 pm
Wayne State University
General Lecture Building, Room 150
5045 Anthony Wayne Drive, Detroit