As the Socialist Equality Party’s candidate for president, I denounce the decision by a California judge today that attempts to shut down the strike by UC academic workers over police repression of protests against the genocide in Gaza.
In ordering a halt to the strike, Orange County Superior Court Judge Randall Sherman cited its impact on the operations of the university–that is, that the strike is working. By that logic, any strike could be ended on the same grounds.
Judge Sherman, who was appointed by former Republican Governor Schwarzenegger, sided with the university administration, which has the closest ties with the Democratic Party. The Democrats and the Republicans have jointly supported the repression of opposition to the genocide, including the outrageous actions at UCLA that sparked rank-and-file demands for strike action.
The injunction is completely illegitimate from a legal standpoint. Similar injunctions have historically been used by the ruling class and its courts against every effort of the working class to assert its fundamental rights.
As the great socialist Eugene Debs put it 120 years ago, “Under the administration of both these parties the means of production are private property, production is carried forward for capitalist profit purely, markets are glutted and industry paralyzed, workingmen become tramps and criminals while injunctions, soldiers, and riot guns are brought into action to preserve ‘law and order’ in the chaotic carnival of capitalistic anarchy.”
The court decision underscores the bankruptcy of the UAW apparatus’ “stand-up strike,” which has been aimed at blocking an all-out strike of all academic workers in the UC system. The union apparatus has also enforced a virtual information blackout, refusing to even inform auto and other workers in the UAW that the strike is taking place.
UAW President Shawn Fain endorsed “genocide Joe” Biden, who has hands can never washed clean of the blood that stains them. Biden has overseen US support for the genocide in Gaza and the attack on the free speech rights of protesters. And the Democrats and Republicans have jointly invited the butcher of Gaza, Netanyahu, to address Congress next month.
In the face of mass opposition from workers and young people throughout the world, the genocide continues. The bombing of a UN-run school yesterday, killing 40, is only the latest atrocity in an unending series of atrocities, carried out by Israel but backed by the American ruling class and the NATO powers. And it was carried out with a bomb provided to Israel by the Biden administration.
The entire working class must be mobilized to stop the genocide and defend democratic rights! This requires the development of rank-and-file committees, independent of the apparatus, to organize all sections of the working class, connecting the fight against the genocide with the fight against imperialism, inequality and capitalist exploitation.