The Platform of the American Party of Labor

The platform of a Marxist-Leninist party outlines its present political demands. For a full explanation of our line, visit Our Program. Last updated at the Fifth Congress of the American Party of Labor, 2024.

These are our demands at the present time. We understand that to achieve most of them a socialist revolution must occur.

I. In Regard to the Workers

1. We demand that control of all means of production be in the hands of the working class through the socialist state, represented through worker councils or elected managers with production estimates provided by the state.

2. We demand the right of all workers to organize and the protection of free speech and democracy in the workplace.

3. We demand a 30-hour work week with at least six weeks of annual paid vacation.

4. We demand retirement pensions to be no less than 75% of a person's pay at the time of retirement enacted after at least 10 years of work.

5. We demand the right for part-time workers to be eligible for benefits as well as the right to join a union.

6. We demand a universal basic income for all Americans over the age of 18 in the form of a monthly sum equivalent to an income above the poverty line; the specific amount to be determined by the material conditions of each household.

7. We demand a living wage that is indexed to inflation.

8. We demand an end to corporate welfare and tax breaks to corporations.

9. We demand an end to deportations and an end to the deployment of military forces on the U.S.-Mexican border. We are opposed to racist vigilantes and militias, and we fight for the repeal of xenophobic anti-immigrant laws.

10. We demand equal pay for equal work.

II. In Regard to Education and the Arts

1. We demand that education be in the hands of the community and the state. We oppose the private ownership and corporate management of schools.

2. We demand that libraries, museums and schools be made publicly accessible as centers for promoting America’s rich culture of resistance and revolution. We demand free and open academic and intellectual inquiry, and oppose any attempt to censor texts and curricula on religious, irrationalist, or reactionary grounds.

3. We demand that the socialist state fund art that reflects the struggles and achievements of working and oppressed peoples.

4. We demand free and quality education for all people, including college, professional, vocational, and graduate schools.

5. We demand that every child's right to learn in a safe, clean, and healthy environment be upheld.

6. We demand fair, decent wages and union rights for educators.

7. We demand realistic and science-based sex and gender education programs emphasizing health protection and choice. We oppose abstinence-only sex education.

8. We demand secular, rationalist, and scientific education. While respecting individual religious belief, we oppose religion in schools, including religious instruction, prayer in schools, and creationist curricula.

9. We demand the creation of student-parent-teacher controlled committees that will develop curricula and elect school administrators in order to ensure equality.

10. We demand national financing of public K-12 schools to replace the current funding via property taxes, in order to ensure equality between rural, suburban, and urban schools.

11. We demand the abolition of school voucher programs and school lottery systems, which channel public education funds into private hands.

III. In Regard to Health

1. We demand a socialized national healthcare system that covers all aspects of physical and mental health, and will cover all Americans with an emphasis on preventative care, including specialized healthcare services tailored to the unique needs of individuals with disabilities.

2. We demand the nationalization of the pharmaceutical industry.

3. We demand government research and development towards treatments and cures of health conditions and thorough preparedness in the eventuality of new pathogens.

4. We demand the combating of drug addiction through the use of evidence-based medical and rehabilitative treatments and preventative education. We demand the complete legalization of cannabis and recognition of its potential medical benefits.

5. We demand that every child’s right to learn in a safe, clean, and healthy environment be upheld, including the providing of free nutritious meals.

6. We demand all schools house a clinic to provide general and reproductive medical care to students, at no cost and with full patient privacy rights upheld.

7. We demand that any and all assistive devices, technologies and services that enable people with disabilities to live with dignity, function autonomously and participate in society and in culturally enriching activities be provided at no cost to disabled people and their caregivers.

8. We demand full access to gender-affirming care including access to puberty blockers, medical hormone-based treatment, for youth and adults as well as surgery and other care for adults.

9. We demand free universal access to gymnasiums, physical therapy and rehabilitative and fitness centers.

10. We demand the right for patients to consent to their end-of-life care, including the right to die with dignity.

IV. In Regard to Housing

1. We demand the right of all people to have quality, affordable and accessible housing with proper temperature control, utilities, accommodations and livable conditions.

2. We demand state-funded construction of public housing to end the shortage of affordable housing. We demand that the minimum percentage of accessible housing units be equal to or greater than the percentage of the population with accessibility needs.

3. We demand state-funded broad renovation and remodeling projects for old homes and neighborhoods, including accessibility features as needed.

4. We demand an end to all home foreclosures. We oppose cuts to funding for public housing.

5. We demand the elimination of slum-lording, and an end to discriminatory and abusive practices in housing.

6. We demand that the rights of tenants be upheld.

7. We demand an end to displacement of homeless people and the practice of “sweeping” by police. We demand housing and supportive services to be broadly offered to those without shelter.

V. In Regard to Civil Rights

1. We demand an end to police crimes and racial profiling, and we demand civilian oversight councils be established nationwide to secure community control of the police.

2. We demand the abolition of the repressive apparatus of the capitalist state, including, but not limited to, the Department of Homeland Security, the NSA, the CIA, the FBI, and all other undemocratic state agencies and their “legal” foundation.

3. We demand the end of prison slavery, the abolition of all privately-run prisons, an end to solitary confinement, the release of all political prisoners, and an immediate halt to legal and physical attacks on activists by the state. We demand the restoration of full civil rights to those convicted of felonies.

4. We demand the right of self-determination for all nations within the borders of the U.S., up to and including the right of secession.

5. We demand an end to the repression of Black and other oppressed peoples. We demand funds and services be created to rebuild Black and other historically oppressed communities and abolish inequalities created by systemic racism.

6. We demand amnesty for undocumented workers as well as access for all immigrants to education, health, civil and legal rights.

7. We demand the abolition of ICE and an end to police discrimination and raids against Latino citizens and immigrant communities.

8. We demand access to citizenship after one year of residency with no convictions for violent crime.

9. We demand the protection of the reproductive rights of all people, including access to free and safe contraceptives and abortion, be upheld. We demand an end to the intimidation of the patients and staff of abortion clinics by anti-choice and other groups.

10. We demand an end to sexual slavery and exploitation through the pornography industry and sex trafficking.

11. We demand amnesty and rehabilitation for all non-violent drug offenders.

12. We demand access to fully-funded and quality child care centers and a minimum of 12 months paid leave for new parents and guardians of infants.

13. We demand an end to violence against women, transgender people, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people, and children, and call on the state to actively protect them from battery and other violent offenses. We demand legal protection for transgender and gender-nonconforming youth in schools and at home.

14. We demand the right of women and LGBTQIA+ people to enter into any occupation without discrimination.

15. We demand an end to discrimination and support full employment, benefits, quality education and job training programs for people with disabilities.

16. We demand the dismantling of physical and social barriers that hinder people with disabilities from fully participating in society.

17. We demand an end to all discrimination on the basis of gender or sexual orientation in the spheres of employment, education, housing and adoption.

18. We demand an end to violence against persons on the basis of their race, ethnicity, religion, age, appearance, disability, sex, gender, or sexual orientation.

VI. In Regard to the World

1. We demand the cancellation of all foreign debt.

2. We demand the right of all U.S. colonial territories and commonwealths to self-determination with the right to secession, or to join the U.S. or the new socialist republic as a state with full representation.

3. We demand an end to all current imperialist wars, proxy wars, regime changes, and military interventions and occupations.

4. We demand an end to U.S. involvement in NATO and other imperialist alliances and an end to the coercion and intimidation of other countries.

5. We demand an immediate and unconditional military withdrawal from all foreign countries, the closure of all overseas U.S. military bases, and the nullification of all existing “status of forces” agreements, which place the militaries of sovereign countries under U.S. command.

6. We demand an immediate cessation of military and financial aid to the governments of the Philippines, Colombia, Israel, and other outposts of imperialism, neo-colonialism, and capitalist oppression.

7. We demand the immediate signing of a peace treaty with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

8. We demand an end to the U.S. embargo of Cuba and an end to the occupation of Guantanamo.

VII. In Regard to the Economy

1. We demand an immediate American withdrawal from NAFTA, DR-CAFTA and all other free trade agreements in which the U.S. participates. We oppose the creation of future exploitative trade strategies.

2. We demand an immediate end to the exporting of domestic jobs and demand full employment.

3. We demand that all financial institutions be commonly owned and directed by a peoples’ central bank.

4. We demand a maximum cap on income with a national ratio of 10:1 and a workplace ratio of 2:1.

5. We demand an end to payroll taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, and other regressive taxes.

6. We demand the abolition of the inheritance of all productive capital and liquid assets.

7. We demand retraining programs, compensation, and relocation assistance for workers displaced by technological advances.

8. We demand an end to American involvement in the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization.

VIII. In Regard to Agriculture

1. We demand the abolition of all corporate farms.

2. We demand the establishment and encouragement of agricultural cooperatives and collectives.

3. We demand low-cost state grants, loans, and machinery assistance to farmers.

4. We demand that measures be taken to encourage farmers to produce staple foods rather than non-essentials.

5. We demand forgiveness of current debts placed on farmers.

6. We demand that the cultivation of hemp for food, fuel, fiber, medicinal, and industrial uses be encouraged.

7. We demand the right of farm workers and day laborers to organize for safe, clean working conditions and housing.

8. We demand the abolition of genetic patents.

IX. In Regard to Transportation, Energy, the Environment, and Communications

1. We demand the creation of a publicly-owned national high-speed rail system with low rates and access to all major U.S. cities.

2. We demand the nationalization and workers’ control of automobile production.

3. We demand the creation of publicly-owned light rails or subways in every major city.

4. We demand the nationalization of the airline and tourist industries.

5. We demand the development of safe alternative forms of energy including nuclear power, wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower.

6. We demand public ownership of all domestic natural resources and their conservation.

7. We demand the closure of all trash-burning centers, and the institution of active and effective recycling programs for paper, metal, plastic, and other reusable materials.

8. We demand the integration of accessible and accommodating infrastructure across all aspects of transportation, urban planning, and digital environments.

9. We demand an end to private ownership of print and electronic media.

10. We demand the abolition of intellectual property laws.

11. We demand that all communications that utilize public infrastructure and public maintenance, such as phone service and cable television, be provided free to the public and maintained by the state. We support providing free internet access to the public at large and computers to students.

12. We demand that all communities that have a population of 30,000 or more have a public transit system or be served by a nearby public transit system.