Vol. 73/No. 15      April 20, 2009

“Despite raking in tens of billions of record profits over the past three years,” Green said in a note, “the oil bosses offered us a ‘take it or leave it’ contract that was in no way an improvement over the old inadequate contract that had been twice extended! They then threw in a cheap ‘bribe’ to discourage us from voting the contract down.”

Workers in the revolutionary socialist movement call such “gifts” from the bosses “blood money,” because the bosses use them to try to buy our silence about speedup, long hours, and unsafe working conditions. The bribes come with our blood and that of our coworkers on them.

Green and Smith have joined the contingent of those turning these bribery attempts by the bosses against the employing class. They have contributed these bribes to the Capital Fund to support the long-term publishing program of the communist movement.

Cecelia Moriarity, a sewing-machine operator in Seattle, sent in a $50 Christmas bonus and $2 in “lucky money” for the Chinese Lunar New Year she received from her boss. The company she works for produces gloves for the U.S. military. After completing a large order Moriarity was laid off along with nine of her coworkers without notice.

Dave Ferguson, a sewing-machine operator in Atlanta, sent in $75 from a “productivity” bonus and $50 from a food-shopping card. From the same city Vivian Sahner has contributed $1,730.73. This month she sent in $890.34—the second half of an “incentive” bonus. She sent in the first half last month.

Class-conscious workers have a proud tradition of turning over these bribes—large or small—to the Capital Fund to further the movement’s publishing program. The money helps in the production of books and educational materials needed in workers’ fight to take power out of the hands of the wealthy rulers, end the wages system, and reorganize society based on human solidarity. Join them.

—SAM MANUEL