Workers defeat Minutemen racists at Labor Day action

Over 4,000 workers gathered for a Labor Day celebration in Wilmington, Calif. this year. This event is sponsored

ILWU members march in the Labor Day parade.

annually by the Teamsters, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and other unions. Wilmington is adjacent to the port of Los Angeles.

The parade and picnic are traditionally a social opportunity devoid of significant political action, but this year it saw a rise in both militancy and political conciseness.

Along with demands for workers’ rights, the unions included demands for immigrant rights. This brought to the celebration a number of immigrant workers and families, who have been excluded altogether from the agenda in past years. The addition of pro-immigrant slogans also brought out racist, anti-immigrant organizations such as the “Minuteman Project” and “Save Our State.”

A small presence of vigilantes congregated at the center of the park where the picnic was being held. They were

Minutemen racists back away from militant workers.

protected initially by the police and union security personnel. However, these fascist organizations were quickly surrounded by workers at the picnic who began chanting “Minutemen, KKK, racist scum, go away.” This was followed by chants of “Union, union” and “Racists go home.”

The attempts by the police and union security to pacify the situation were ignored by hundreds of workers and activists. The Party for Socialism and Liberation, other progressive groups, immigrant workers and rank and file union members continued to confront the racists until the cops were forced to escort them out of the park.

Driving out the racists was a small victory for all workers present at the park, regardless of immigration status. The action demonstrated that fascists are only pushed back when confronted with militancy, strength and unity.