---

After a discussion and analysis of the history and conditions of the working class under capitalism, the Working People’s Association (WPA) has united on becoming a revolutionary organization.

Since its formation, the WPA has operated on an economistic political line, focusing entirely on the day-to-day demands of the working class in Charlotte while only paying lip service to the need for political power for the working class. This appeared in its practical work which tailed behind every worker’s struggle in the city and in the Working People’s Press, the WPA’s newspaper, with its vague stance of “workers needing to get organized.” The root was the lack of a clear political line on what the ultimate solution for the working class is. That solution is the forceful overthrow of capitalism, which can only come through revolution.

The working class owns nothing but their ability to work. Because of this, the working class sells their labor to those who do not work, but own the infrastructure of society: the ruling class, also known as the capitalist class. The capitalist class and the working class have conflicting interests. Capitalists aim to pay workers the lowest wage possible for the highest amount of work, while workers strive to earn the highest wage possible for the least amount of work. These interests cannot be reconciled for the equal benefit of both parties; one must dominate the other. Consequently, the working class can never be liberated under capitalism, as it solely serves the interests of the capitalist class.

The entire US system is rigged against the working class, preventing workers from building political power within it. In the mid-1900s, the US government intervened in and domesticated the labor movement through the creation of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act. This included purging and barring revolutionaries from leadership roles in all NLRB-recognized unions, ensuring that the top business unions are led by individuals who will sell out the rank and file. Consequently, unions have transformed from organizations representing the working class to firefighters for the ruling class used to suppress the embers of any potential working-class rebellion before the spark turns into a flame. Additionally, the electoral process in the US is a dead end, with two dominant parties that solely serve the interests of the capitalist class. All of this makes it impossible for the working class to achieve power through the current system. The above reasons point toward one conclusion: the only path to political power for the working class lies in the forceful overthrow of the existing system.

The Working People’s Association of Charlotte seeks to organize workers to aid in the creation of a revolutionary workers’ movement that can ultimately overthrow the capitalist class. Our strategy is to bring working-class people into revolutionary organizing through education, collective action, and building independent labor organizations and coalitions. To achieve our goals, we work in concert with various other local organizations to raise class consciousness and build a broad front against the capitalist class.