A single union local in California allowed its hall to be used for a public meeting where U.S. policy toward Cuba was discussed this past spring. That shouldn’t have been a big deal, but in the eyes of Senate Republicans, it’s enough to merit a Congressional investigation.
The chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Bill Cassidy, R-La., has launched a formal inquiry into the activities of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), one of the country’s largest industrial unions, over its members’ participation in a solidarity event with Cuba, according to Fox News.
Cassidy reportedly sent a letter to IAM President Brian Bryant demanding the union give up extensive records about the union’s apparent “links to the Cuban government.” The Senate probe is the latest attack in a widening offensive against labor and progressive organizations being carried out under the guise of combatting a supposed “communist threat” to the U.S.
This time, the ongoing Republican-backed witch hunt targets a May 9 meeting at a Machinists union hall in Wilmington, Calif., organized by the LA Hands Off Cuba Committee, which saw trade unionists and peace activists come together to discuss U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba.
The event drew roughly 40 in-person attendees, with some on Zoom. The main topic of discussion was the U.S. embargo and trade restrictions on Cuba—a policy that has inflicted more than six decades of suffering on the Cuban people through an unjust economic blockade that the United Nations continues to condemn year after year.
Speakers included participants who had just returned from a solidarity trip to Cuba organized by youth and other trade unionists to meet with Cuban workers directly and exchange perspectives. A Cuban embassy staffer, David Ramírez Álvarez, participated in the event by video conference, drawing ire from Cassidy and the neo-McCarthyites in Congress.
IAM’s alleged “crime”—allowing a union hall to be used for a public meeting—is political activity protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but Cassidy accused the union of “colluding with the murderous Cuban regime.”
He charged IAM with forcing its members to fund “anti-American propaganda” with their dues money, a dubious claim that is not backed up by any evidence but only by incendiary anti-communist rhetoric.
A bigger witch hunt
The IAM investigation is part of a coordinated assault against not only Cuba and its national sovereignty but also against the left, trade unions, and peace activists across the U.S.
The Justice Department and the Treasury are also reportedly investigating 145 “pro-Cuba organizations” for Cuba solidarity activism, and the House Ways and Means Committee also issued subpoenas to progressive organizations, including The People’s Forum, in a move that has been condemned as a modern-day McCarthyite witch hunt.
Anti-communism has long been deployed by the capitalist class to divide workers, discredit labor solidarity and trade unionism, and crush democratic dissent. The parallels between today’s MAGA attacks and the McCarthy era of the 1950s are unmistakable. Then as now, the target is anyone who dares to question U.S. foreign policy, advocates for peace, or organizes for workers’ and democratic rights.
Cassidy’s 18-question letter sent to the IAM demands the union disclose everything from average annual dues to whether any IAM official has “coordinated with Cuban organizations.” As if it matters to his “case,” he asks whether event organizers paid “fair market value” for use of Machinists Hall and whether any IAM member has met with federal officials to advocate for changing Cuba policy—again, protected First Amendment activity.
The right-wing senator also demanded that IAM explain how it reconciles its mission of fighting for workers’ rights with its members’ “advocacy for Cuba.” Yet, that question conveniently ignores that solidarity with oppressed peoples has always been part of the labor movement’s finest traditions since its inception.
At the end of the day, the IAM investigation is not about “foreign influence.” It is about intimidation and sending a message to every union and organization that challenges U.S. foreign policy. It is about drumming up false hysteria about the “communist threat” as poll numbers continually show MAGA is set to suffer defeats in the November midterm elections.
Standing in solidarity with the people of Cuba, or any other country, is not a crime. Conducting legal political activity to oppose the blockade on Cuba, which has caused untold suffering, is not “collaboration with a hostile power.” Cuba poses no threat to the U.S., or any other country for that matter. At its core, what is being attacked is basic human decency and international solidarity that is, in the final instance, protected by the U.S. Constitution.
As with all op-eds published by People’s World, the views expressed here are those of the author.
We hope you appreciated this article. At People’s World, we believe news and information should be free and accessible to all, but we need your help. Our journalism is free of corporate influence and paywalls because we are totally reader-supported. Only you, our readers and supporters, make this possible. If you enjoy reading People’s World and the stories we bring you, please support our work by donating or becoming a monthly sustainer today. Thank you!
CONTRIBUTOR
