Red Flag Radio

Woolies warehouse workers on strike!

Workers at Woolworths distribution centres are on strike! For the past 2 weeks, workers have been picketing Woolies warehouses across the country to demand a pay increase and to stop a new performance management program, referred to by Woolworths as the “framework”, which is designed to monitor workers’ every move and increase the pace of work. In an already-dangerous industry where injuries are common, Woolworths is attempting to enforce 100% pick rates on workers. This is the same Woolworths that have seen their profits (and board member bonuses) soar over the past few years through price-gouging. 

 

Emma spoke to two working-class legends about the strike: Ryan Stanton and Jerome Small. 

 

Ryan Stanton is an electrician and ETU member based in Melbourne. He worked in warehousing for 5 years where he led a victorious strike at Polar Fresh back in 2016. He’s a socialist and contributor to Red Flag. 

Jerome Small is an industrial organiser of Socialist Alternative. He worked in construction for around 17 years and has been a socialist and union activist since the 80s. He has been covering the Woolworths strike for Red Flag newspaper. 

Picket addresses at the end of this article:

Support striking Woolworths warehouse workers this week (and next) (19 Nov)
https://redflag.org.au/article/support-striking-woolworths-warehouse-workers-this-week-and-next

Jerome's latest article on the strike:
https://redflag.org.au/article/hope-on-the-picket-line 

 

Check Red Flag website for more coverage of the current strike:

https://redflag.org.au/

 

Read about the recent history of class struggle in the logistics industry:

The 2015 Melbourne Liquor Distribution Centre strike:

Inside a Melbourne warehouse strike:

https://redflag.org.au/article/inside-melbourne-warehouse-strike

 

The 2016 Polar Fresh strike:

'Thirty bucks, no trucks!' Warehouse workers strike back against Coles

https://redflag.org.au/node/5410

 

Coles still rattled by Polar Fresh strike, one year on

https://redflag.org.au/node/5933

Purple Pingers for Parliament!

We chatted with two wonderful socialists: Jordan Van den Lamb, A.K.A. PurplePingers, and Roz Ward, the original host of Red Flag Radio. Jordan will be a senate candidate with the Victorian Socialists in the upcoming federal elections, and Roz is his campaign manager. Jordan has amassed a serious following on Tiktok and Intagram thanks to his unflinching honesty about the housing crisis and his advocacy for tenants' rights. We chatted about the housing crisis, the elections, why private schools are shit and much more. 

Check out the Pingers4Parliament campaign here: https://pingers4parliament.com/ 
Pleast volunteer, share and donate! 

Check out the Shit Rentals website, created by Jordan: https://www.shitrentals.org/ 

Understanding Trump's victory - with Lance Selfa

We spoke to Lance Selfa, a long-time socialist based in Chicago, about Trump's re-election. Lance explains how this could have happened, again, and what lessons socialists can learn from the election. 

Lance is the author of The Democrats: A Critical History. He is a member of the International Socialism Project, whose website has published Lance's election coverage and analysis. He has also been covering the election for Red Flag newspaper. 

Further reading

"It's the economy stupid!" - By Lance Selfa and Sharon Smith 

"Return of the Beast" - by Red Flag editors 

A collection of Lance Selfa's articles in Red Flag 

"Why is the US election so close" - by Lance Selfa 

 

Modi and Hindutva: The rise of Indian fascism with Sagar Sanyal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the leader of India's far-right Hindu nationalist or "Hindutva" movement. Sagar Sanyal, socialist and regular on the pod, delves into the roots of Hidutva in both European fascism and the Indian caste system. He explains how, over the course of 100 years, Indian fascism moved from the margins of Indian politics to the centre of government.

Further Reading

Sagar's previous guest appearance on Red Flag Radio discussing the GFC

"Modi and the Threat to Indian Democracy" by Sagar Sanyal

"India's Farmer Protests: What you need to know" by Sagar Sanyal

Defying repression with "serial protestor" Josh Lees

The Murdoch press has been on a tear against the Palestine movement and particularly "serial protestor" Josh Lees, a leading member of the Palestine Action Group (PAG) and Socialist Alternative, and our guest for this episode. NSW Premier Chris Minns accused Josh of costing tax-payers $5 million to police the protests. The attacks on Josh and PAG are part of a fresh wave of repression and censorship against the Palestine movement in Australia. These attacks are happening on campuses and in the streets, they are coming from the media, Labor governments, the Liberals and university vice-chancellors. Emma spoke to Josh about the nature of that repression and the way charges of anti-semitism have been weaponised against anti-war campaigners protesting a genocide.

Relevant articles:

"Zionist groups are falsifying antisemitism statistics and the media are playing along" - by Joel Schneider

"NSW police fail to ban pro-Palestine protests" by Emma Norton 

"Fighting for Palestine, one year on" - by Josh Lees 

"Slander won't stop students from resisting genocide" - by Jack Mansell 

 

Israel's Invasion of Lebanon, with Omar Hassan

Israel’s invasion of Lebanon with Omar Hassan

 

After a year of genocidal war in Gaza, Israel has now begun a ground invasion of Lebanon. In less than a week Israel has killed over 2000 people in Lebanon through massive bombardment of civilians in the capital of Beirut and a renewed offensive against the already devastated South. Israeli aggression and repeated military strikes on Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Iran have led the Middle East to the brink of all-out regional war. 

 

This episode Chloe spoke to Omar Hassan, a Lebanese-Australian socialist and editor of the Marxist Left Review about the invasion of Lebanon, the threat of regional war and the history of Israeli aggression. 

 

Omar touched on the role Israel has played as attack dog for US imperialism from the Suez Crisis invasion of Egypt in 1956 to the 18 year long Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon from 1982 to 2000. 

 

This week the Australian Government, the NSW Police and the capitalist media have engaged in a massive smear campaign against the pro-Palestine anti-war movement. The NSW police unsuccessfully attempted to ban the rallies commemorating the 1 year anniversary of the genocide. Omar spoke about the hypocrisy and cynicism of the media as well as the role of Labor in supporting Israeli aggression and US imperialism.

 

Further reading:

 

https://redflag.org.au/article/by-attacking-lebanon-israel-seeks-to-expand-its-genocidal-war

https://redflag.org.au/article/israels-history-of-aggression-against-lebanon

 

Get involved with Victorian Socialists

 

https://victoriansocialists.org.au/candidates/omar-hassan

Labor's union-busting attacks on the CFMEU

In one of the worst attacks on a union in Australian history, the Labor government has imposed a dictatorial administrator on the construction union, the CFMEU. This move has disenfranchised the union's entire membership.  Chloe spoke to Jerome Small, ex-construction worker and reporter for Red Flag, about the causes and consequences of this unprecedented anti-union attack. 

Further reading

"Labor set to impose dictatorial powers over construction union" by Jerome Small in Red Flag 

"Strike shows stakes for Queensland CFMEU" by Duncan Hart in Red Flag

Anti-war protestors vs. the Land Forces weapons expo

The Land Forces weapons expo is Australia's largest get-together and money-making opportunity for the booming business of war. When it came to Melbourne in September, activists from Students for Palestine and Disrupt Wars protested the orgy of militarism and violence. In response, the Victorian police unleashed hell, firing rubber bullets and torrents of pepper spray at protestors. The media followed up with a barrage of lies about protestors, presenting anti-war peace activists as the violent thugs while cheering on extreme police violence. 

Emma spoke to Bella Beiraghi, one of the protest organisers, to get an insider's perspective on the protest and its aftermath. 

 

Further reading:

"Guardian fake news helps cops mobilise against anti-war activists" - by Anneke Demanuele in Red Flag 

"Inside the Land Forces protest" - by Jerome Small in Red Flag 

Protesting for refugee rights with Aran Mylvaganam

For over 60 days, Tamil and Iranian refugees have maintained a protest camp outside the Department of Home Affairs in Melbourne. Similar protest camps have spread across Australia's major cities. Their demands are permanent protection and justice for almost 10,000 refugees left in limbo by the federal Labor government.

Emma spoke to Aran Mylvaganam, a staunch refugee activist and socialist who has been heavily involved in protests for refugee rights for years. 

Aran describes the incredible bravery of refugees who have stood up to racists and neo-Nazis on the streets of Melbourne. They plan to maintain their protest against the Labor government until victory. 

Our deepest condolences to the family, friends and comrades of Mano Logalingam, a Tamil refugee activist from the encampment who died. We honour Mano in this episode and call for full rights for all refugees. 

Produced by Jack Morrison and Daniel Kenny

Music by Daniel Kenny

Further reading:

- Amid tragedy, refugee protest encampment continues - by Renee Nayef for Red Flag

- Refugees fighting for permanent protection in Sydney  - by Annabel Petit for Red Flag

- Aran Mylvaganam on the Tamil genocide, 15 years on 

 

The Marxist case for police abolition

Emma and Chloe talk about the cops! We analyse their role in capitalist society, their origins, and the case for their abolition. 

A big thanks to our producers: Daniel Kenny and Jack Morris. 

Further reading:

- "Defunding, disarming, defeating and abolishing the police" - Daniel Taylor in Red Flag 

- "The police serve the system" - Shirley Killen in Red Flag 

Indian politics with Ravibha Jeyanathan

We interviewed Ravibha Jeyanathan about the political situation in India under Narendra Modi, and the task of rebuilding a revolutionary Marxist current. Ravibha is from Tamil Nadu in southern India, having sought refuge there from the Sri Lankan genocide. She completed her PhD research in London, researching post-war asylum experiences among Eelam Tamils in the UK. She is a member of Pothuvudamai Iyakkam (Socialist Movement). Ravibha was a guest speaker at this year's Marxism Conference in Melbourne. 

Trump, Harris and the US election - with Red Flag editor Ben Hillier

The US presidential elections are coming up, promising a showdown between Donald Trump and newly-anointed Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris. Chloe chatted to Ben Hillier to get his analysis of the US political situation. Ben is an editor of Red Flag newspaper and recently visited the US to report for Red Flag on the Gaza Solidarity Camps at American universities. They discuss the Trumpian takeover of the Republican Party and why Trump has a good chance of winning the election. They dig into Kamala Harris' background and what another Democrat in the white house would mean. Importantly, they critique the "lesser-evilism" argument that is building in left circles: the idea that this is the most important election in a generation, and that left-wingers have to get behind Harris to stop the re-election of Trump. 

Ruto must go! Protests in Kenya with Ezra Otieno

Historic protests across Kenya in the past week have mobilised a disenfranchised youth enraged at the Government’s attempt to raise taxes on the working class and poor to pay government debt to the IMF and other international creditors. The 2024 Finance Bill has sparked hatred at a political class who flaunt their opulent lifestyles while hiking the price of bread, cooking oil, and many other essentials.  Protesters refused to back down in the face of intense repression in which many people have been killed protest — with police using live ammunition and disappearing high profile figures in the protest.

 

This episode Chloe spoke with Ezra Otieno, a leading member of the Revolutionary Socialist League of Kenya about the protest movement in Kenya.

Are we living in "Technofeudalism"? A critique of Yanis Varoufakis

Emma and Chloe take on Yanis Varoufakis' new book, Technofeudalism. 

Varoufakis argues that capitalism is dead, ushering in a new mode of production he calls technofeudalism. He claims that the system we live under today is more like the feudal system which predated capitalism: the main economic activity today is the collection of rent by big tech "cloudalists". These tech giants, like Amazon and Google, are now our feudal overlords, while the rest of the capitalist class has been reduced to mere "cloud vassals". Workers are disempowered, a minority of us are "cloud proles", while the majority of the population are "cloud serfs", unwittingly creating value for the cloudalists through our clicks, likes, purchases and posts. 

Chloe and Emma offer a critique of this theory, arguing that Varoufakis' "cloudalists" are just monopolies, which have been a stable feature of capitalist markets for centuries. We defend the idea that the modern working class is a powerful force because they create the profits, not rent, of the capitalist class. We also offer our own theories for why Varoufakis and others like him are so keen on proclaiming the death of capitalism every few years. 

Support the Red Flag cloud media empire:

Subscribe to Red Flag newspaper 

Follow us on Insta! 

Like Socialist Alternative - Red Flag on Facebook 

Check us out on Tiktok 

More links!! Our link tree: https://linktr.ee/redflag.sa 

The Marxist theory of social classes

"Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other — Bourgeoisie and Proletariat."

Chloe and Emma explain the Marxist theory of social class. We go through the Marxist definition of class, and explain the nature and behaviour of the capitalists, the working class, the middle classes and more! 

 

Further reading:

https://redflag.org.au/article/what-social-class

https://redflag.org.au/article/node-7284 

 

The Socialist Movement in Argentina with Cesar Latorre

At the 2024 Marxism Conference, Red Flag Radio spoke to Argentinian socialist Cesar Latorre, union militant and leading member of the Movimiento Socialista Los de Trabajadores (MST). Chloe asked Cesar about the role of the revolutionary left in the struggle against far right Argentine President Javier Milei.

Milei came to power promising radical free market policies, massive cuts to the public sector and a confrontational approach to the unions and the left. Since taking office he has unleashed a wave of attacks on workers, students and the poor -- announcing plans to sack 70,000 public sector workers, lower pensions, defund education and crackdown on dissent with attempts to outlaw forms of protest. Milei’s attacks and rampant inflation mean that working class living standards are in free fall.

But Milei has been met with significant resistance. He has faced mass protests in January, two general strikes since taking office and an emerging student resistance to education cuts. The revolutionary left in Argentina has played a significant role in these mobilisations. Alongside the dangers of the moment, opportunities have emerged in the course of struggle for the socialist left to grow.

 

Further reading:

Red Flag on class struggle in Argentina:

- https://redflag.org.au/article/fight-continues-argentina

- https://redflag.org.au/article/left-argentinas-general-strike 

- https://redflag.org.au/article/shock-therapy-argentina 

MST analysis of the current crisis in Argentina:

- https://mst.org.ar/2024/05/15/panorama-politico-luchas-sociales-tensiones-y-crisis-en-el-horizonte/ 

Don't miss out on the next radical conference near you: 

- Sydney Socialism Conference: 16-18 Aug

- Brisbane Socialism Conference: 23 Aug 

- Perth Socialism Conference: 10-11 Aug

- Adelaide Socialism Conference: 14-15 Aug

 

 

The Radical Jewish Tradition: Interview with Janey Stone

Janey Stone is an anti-Zionist Jewish author and activist. She is the coauthor with Donny Gluckstein of a new book, "The Radical Jewish Tradition: Revolutionaries, Resistance Fighters and Firebrands".

The claim of Israel and its apologists to represent Jews everywhere and the growth of the antisemitic far right, make understanding and celebrating the long history of left-wing and working class Jewish activism essential for leftists today. 

Chloe sat down to talk to Janey about her book and the relevance of its arguments for activsts and socialists today.

Janey's work has done much to uncover the radical Jewish tradition. Before the Second World War the majority of Jews were working class and part of a wider struggle alongside their non-Jewish comrades on the left. The book celebrates Jewish radicalism from the Tsarist Empire to Poland and Germany, from London to New York. Far from the Zionist stereotype of the ultimate victims, Jews were revolutionaries, resistance fighters and firebrands.

This inspiring radical tradition was ultimately checked by the callous indifference of capitalist governments to refugees and the horror of Auschwitz. However, its lessons must be passed on to inform working class and anti-imperialist struggles in a world in crisis.

Buy Janey Stone's book:
"The Radical Jewish Tradition: Revolutionaries, Resistance Fighters and Firebrands"

Available online at Red Flag Books 

 

 

Interview with Dr Gary Foley

We were lucky enough to interview the inimitable Dr Gary Foley at the 2024 Marxism Conference where he was a guest speaker. Gary is a living legend of the Aboriginal rights movement: he was a founding member of the Sydney Black Power movement and the Aboriginal tent embassy in Canberra in the 1970s.

Gary is a staunch supporter of Palestine, speaking at almost every Palestine demonstration in Melbourne since Israel’s war began, making the case for solidarity and resistance to colonialism, racism and capitalism.

As well as being an inspiring activist, Foley is an educator of the next generation through his writings and his archive of Aboriginal history, set to be the largest of its kind. 

Emma asked Gary about his life, about the importance of standing up to Gaza and the importance of conferences like Marxism as gatherings of the radical left. 

Further readings

Check out Gary's website here: https://www.gooriweb.org/

Gary Foley: ‘a direct and fiercely intellectual man’ by Tony Birch in Red Flag 

The 1971 Springbok tour protests- an interview with Gary Foley in Red Flag 

Don't miss out on the next radical conference near you: 

- Sydney Socialism Conference: 16-18 Aug

- Brisbane Socialism Conference: 23 Aug 

- Perth Socialism Conference: 10-11 Aug

- Adelaide Socialism Conference: 14-15 Aug

Gaza Solidarity Camp at the University of Sydney

Inspired by the encampment at Columbia University in New York, students at the University of Sydney this week occupied their campus to stand with the people of Gaza. They're condemning the complicity of their university and the Australian government in the invasion of Gaza, and calling to cut ties with the Israeli state and arms manufacturing corporations.

In this episode Emma interviews the student demonstrators and their supporters about what inspired them to take action, the role of Australian institutions in facilitating genocide, and where the campaign can go from here.

Links

- If you want to support the students or get involved, get in touch with Students For Palestine USyd on Instagram

- Read the coverage in Red Flag

The Movement for Palestine in Australia (+ the gender pay gap)

We interviewed Damian Ridgwell, a veteran socialist activist and leading light in Australia's pro-Palestine movement for almost 20 years. Damian talked about the recent history of the movement and why it's so important to take a stand for Palestine here in Australia. 

Chloe and Emma also talked about the new data which reveals that the majority of Australian corporations have significant internal gender pay gaps. We expose some of the problems with the report and the government's approach, and explain the nature of the deep gender inequality in the Australian economy. 

Further Reading

- "Why the global movement for Palestine matters" - https://redflag.org.au/article/why-global-movement-palestine-matters 

- "To end sexism we need to destroy capitalism" - https://redflag.org.au/article/end-sexism-we-need-destroy-capitalism