Our History

The long-term origins of the American Party of Labor are in the struggles fought by the legendary American Marxist-Leninist William Z. Foster against Browderism.  Comrade Foster’s aid and personal secretary was the Spanish Civil War veteran and seasoned revolutionary militant, Jack Shulman. Sent by Comrade Foster on numerous outreach jobs, both within and without the United States, to investigate the damage done by Browderism, Comrade Shulman was able to report on the lingering infection of Browderism inside the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA) and in various Communist parties in Latin America.

With the rise of Khrushchev, the battle against revisionism intensified. Only this time, revisionist elements within the CPUSA had the support of the new Soviet leadership. The death of Comrade Foster in 1961 saw the final triumph of the Khrushchevite/Browderite faction in the CPUSA, led by Gus Hall. That same year, Comrade Shulman resigned from the CPUSA and travelled to China and Albania to assist the burgeoning world anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist movement.

After spending some time in Albania, Comrade Shulman moved to China in 1968, working as an editor of English language publications during the Cultural Revolution. Concluding that Maoism itself was a variant of revisionism, Comrade Shulman revisited Albania, and returned to the United States, where he published Albania Report, distributed political and cultural material from the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania, and was instrumental in organizing the USA-Albania Friendship Association. Towards the end of his life, (Comrade Jack passed in 1999) he was associated with the British Marxist-Leninist William “Bill” Bland, and he aided in the formation of Alliance Marxist-Leninist (North America). In 2008, former political associates of Comrade Shulman, and individuals influenced by his work and that of Alliance Marxist-Leninist, founded the APL.

From the time of its founding in 2008 to 2012, the APL underwent several internal struggles against revisionist and incompetent elements within the Party. The APL achieved its present form, both structurally and politically, in 2014. This restructuring was ratified at the 2016 Party Congress.  In November of 2018, the APL was granted Observer status in the International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations (ICMLPO/CIPOML).

Our Members and Activities

The American Party of Labor is a working class organization made up of working class people. We have Divisions (locals) across the country, from New Jersey to Los Angeles, and from Florida to Seattle. We pride ourselves in our diverse working class origins and identity. 

The APL has taken on many political activities among the masses, created sustainable community programs, and continues to grow each Division. One major project which serves as an engine for our growth in working class circles is the Red Aid: Service to the People program, which seeks to provide the homeless and poor working class people with food, clothing, and assistance. This program has been established in multiple cities and has been able not only to provide basic needs but has helped some of the most exploited and targeted residents secure jobs, apply for housing, and other state benefits. The Party has worked with and supported various labor unions in their fights against the capitalists, and when on strike. Various branches of the Party across the country have worked with teachers, transit workers, and heavy industry workers. Most recently, the Party worked to cultivate support for the United Steelworkers. The Party has also organized and helped organize various public demonstrations surrounding important national issues, such as the Dakota Access Pipeline, the growing threat of fascism, and American imperialism.

The Party has worked in coalitions against fascism in Illinois, Texas, Oregon, and Florida. The Party has also organized demonstrations around more general issues so as to propagate the Marxist-Leninist line. Such activities have included anti-imperialist protests on Columbus Day, anti-capitalist marches, and organizing the largest celebration in the country of the October Revolution in New York City.

In November of 2019, APL was one of the organizations that participated in the re-founding of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. NAARPR was initially founded in 1973 in Chicago, IL, to mount organized action against unjust treatment of individuals because of race or political beliefs. Its founding grew out of the struggle to free Angela Davis from a racist frame-up on murder charges surrounding the aborted attempt by Jonathan Jackson to free his brother, George Jackson and the Soledad Brothers in 1970. The goals of the Alliance are to establish civilian control of police; to free political prisoners and innocents; to stop all police torture of suspects; to abolish the death penalty, including the “other” death penalty, life sentences without parole; to defend the rights of labor; to defend civil liberties; to secure healthcare for prisoners; to support affirmative action; to fight racism, sexism, homophobia, antisemitism, xenophobia, religious discrimination, and all other forms of bigotry; and to expose the Prison-Industrial Complex and the “War on Drugs” as the root of the New Jim Crow and the cradle-to-prison pipeline for people of color.

The APL has worked actively in and with coalitions around the country. The Party has successfully worked with Community Control of Police, a number of branches of Students for a Democratic Society, the Green Party, NJ Coalition Against Endless War, Black Lives Matter, The Young Lords, Orlando Workers League, Industrial Workers of the World, No To APEC, and dozens of trade unions such as the American Federation of Teachers and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. We are a member organization of the Resist US-Led War Movement. In everything we participate in, from mass organizations to trade unions, our members have always worked as Marxist-Leninists and attempted to push the struggle forward by presenting a disciplined Marxist-Leninist line as Party members.