“Dialectical logic shows that the internal contradiction is primary. The external factor of imperialism’s influence in the labor movement becomes operative according to the development of the trade unions, which in turn hinges on the development of higher working-class leadership, the Communist Party. At every major turn in the labor movement, the ability or inability of the communists and class conscious trade-unionists to lead was the decisive factor. Thus, the common thread across the trade union movement is the struggle against revisionism, or in other words, the struggle against class collaborationist leadership and for proletarian dictatorship.

Note that this is an examination of the ideas and trends of the trade-union movement in the US, and not an accounting of the consequences of those ideas. (For that, see Political Economy of the American Labor Movement.) The fundamental premise of this document is that correct ideas are needed for successful labor organizing and that incorrect ideas are harmful to the interests of organized labor.”

To read the rest of our article exploring in depth how revisionism has theoretically and practically limited the trade union movement in the United States, click here.