Background

For a few years, individual members of the American Party of Labor have organized in the Twin Cities, MN, using that time to gain practical experience, to deepen our ideological understanding, and to build community connections. We have engaged with the struggles of workers and oppressed people in St. Paul and Minneapolis; we have built relationships with other progressive and revolutionary organizations; and we have come to understand and apply the St. Paul principles. At this point, we feel we can confidently say that the APL has a real presence in the Twin Cities. Therefore, we are proud to officially announce the formation of the Ernst Thälmann Division of the American Party of Labor.

What is the APL?

The American Party of Labor, founded in 2008, is an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist party. We are guided by the theories and experience of the entire communist movement before us, especially by its most pre-eminent theorists: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, and Joseph Stalin. For his defense of these principles, and the critique of modern revisionism, we look to Enver Hoxha. For his critique of neo-colonialism, we look to Kwame Nkrumah. In line with these principles, we aim to develop a revolutionary class struggle to establish a dictatorship of the proletariat – i.e. a working class democracy, devoted to abolishing capitalism, imperialism, and all other oppression. In this fight, we are resolutely opposed to imperialism, fascism, and everything reactionary. We do not give our support to any oppressor of the working people, whether rising or falling.

Ernst Thälmann

Given recent events, we have chosen as our namesake Ernst Thälmann, the resolute fighter against German fascism and its enablers. An early leader of the Communist Party of Germany, Thälmann unwaveringly continued the fight for socialism during the rise of the Nazi Party, andrejected ideological opportunism and acquiescence to bourgeois electoralism. At the same time, he remained principled, and attempted to build fighting coalitions against the new Nazi forces. With Hitler’s rise to power,Thälmann was first imprisoned, and then murdered on Hitler’s direct order in 1944. In the face of rising fascism, Thälmann’s resolve and courage stands as an inspiration to all communists. His martyrdom stands as a mandate to survive and to resist at every possible turn.

Our Vow

We understand that strictly economic trade unionism fundamentally fails to recognize the need for a political revolution to completely destroy capitalism at the root. It fails to adequately address imperialism, and can also fall short in protecting marginalized and criminalized communities. Therefore, we will do everything in our power to build a working-class movement which understands that every modern oppression is part of one integral whole, designed to preserve the profits of the capitalist class at the expense of the rights and dignity of the workers and oppressed masses. Intrinsic to this class struggle are the causes of those who are incarcerated, homeless, and disabled, and of immigrants, oppressed races and nationalities, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Moreover, as a member of the International Conference of Marxist Leninist Parties and Organizations (ICMLPO), we vow to fight U.S. imperialism for the freedom of our comrades in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Get Organized

We invite all class conscious workers who are ready to fight oppression to join us, and to support our work through our newspaper, the Red Phoenix (RP). Visit us online at AmericanPartyOfLabor.com and RedPhoenixNews.com.