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Party of Communists USA | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Chris B. |
| General Secretary | Angelo D'Angelo |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Staten Island, New York, United States |
| Newspaper | The Worker |
| Youth wing | League of Young Communists USA |
| Political orientation | Marxism–Leninism (claimed) Revisionism (de facto) Patriotic socialism[1] |
| Website | |
| https://partyofcommunistsusa.org/ | |
| Part of a series on |
| Communist parties |
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The Party of Communists USA (PCUSA) is a communist and patriotic socialist party[1] in the United States of America. The PCUSA claims to be the Marxist–Leninist continuation of the Communist Party USA. The PCUSA defends the Soviet Union and the leadership and legacy of Joseph Stalin. The PCUSA's 1st Congress was held in April 2016.[2] In August 2022, members of the PCUSA split from the party to form the American Council of Bolsheviks.[3]
Program
Labor
The PCUSA supports raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hour and supports building the World Federation of Trade Unions in North America. It advocates repealing the Taft–Hartley Act, which restricts trade union activities.[4]
Education
The PCUSA supports free education from kindergarten through college.[4]
Health
The PCUSA advocates for socialized medicine and a national program for training physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals. It also supports guaranteed pensions for elderly and disabled people.[4]
Women's rights
The PCUSA supports at least four years of paid parental leave, free childcare, and financial assistance for housework. It also supports free contraception and abortion and advocates for an Equal Rights Amendment.[4]
Housing
The PCUSA demands reducing rent to 15% or less of total income and a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures. It advocates for a construction program to build public housing and retrofit older houses to save energy.[4]
Membership
The PCUSA has three membership levels as well as one non-member status:[5]
- Supporters pay dues to the party but have not officially applied to join the party.
- Associate members are members who pay dues and are non-voting members of mass movements.
- Candidate members are active members who undergo 12 months of training before applying for cadre status.
- Cadres are active members of the party that can hold leadership positions in the party.
Structure
The PCUSA is organized into four districts: Eastern, Southern, Midwestern, and Pacific. These districts are divided into local units called cells or clubs.
Congress
The national congress of the PCUSA elects a Central Committee, Politburo, and Council of Secretaries to serve between congresses. The Central Committee meets at least twice a year.[5]
Politburo
The Politburo of the PCUSA contains eight officers (including a General Secretary), four district organizers (Eastern, Southern, Midwestern, and Pacific), and three other members. The Politburo meets at least once a week except during the holiday season from late November to early January.[5]
Politburo officers
The General Secretary presides over meeting of the Politburo and Central Committee but cannot make a unilateral action without a majority vote of the Politburo. If the General Secretary is incapacitated, the National Chair acts as General Secretary until the Central Committee elects a new General Secretary.[5]
Party organizations
The PCUSA maintains the organization US Friends of the Soviet People,[6] active in support of the peoples of the former Soviet Union including the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic.
Publications
The newspaper of the PCUSA is The Worker and its theoretical journal is The Communist. The League of Young Communists USA has a magazine called Red Patriot.[7]
Elections
The PCUSA runs candidates in local, state, and national elections. In the 2020 general election, PCUSA ran Christopher Helali as a candidate for Vermont's at-large congressional district.[8][9][10] When not running its own candidates, the PCUSA endorses other anti-racist, anti-war, and pro-worker candidates who are not part of the Democratic or Republican parties.
Controversies
Lack of internal democracy
The ACB, which split from the PCUSA in August 2022, accused General Secretary Angelo D'Angelo of violating democratic centralism. He attempted to appoint the Politburo of the LYC instead of letting the LYC Central Committee elect it. He violated the PCUSA's own constitution which forbids unilateral actions by the General Secretary. Another party member, Christian L., used the party's Twitter account to make posts about the Russo-Ukrainian conflict that did not reflect the membership's views.[11]
Protection of alleged rapist and pedophile
On 12/17/2019, the Politburo of the PCUSA (at that time) had setup an inquiry committee to investigate allegations of pedophilia committed by one of its members. The inquiry committee’s results established the final offense as statutory rape of a minor and was provided to the PCUSA Politburo for a final decision. Ultimately, it was motioned that this member “step down,” and this was subsequently passed. No later than 01/29/2020, this member was already back inside the PCUSA. This information was kept hidden from both the rank-and-file membership, as well as other Party leaders. The exact motion that applied Party discipline to this member on 12/17/2019 states that they were “found guilty of the alleged charge of statutory rape [of a minor] and the inquiry concluded [that this person] should seek therapy and will be asked to step down from PCUSA making [this person] no longer a party member (can still attend PSMLS).” While multiple members had heard rumors of this, and tried extensively to gather information and expel this person from the PCUSA, these attempts were constantly denied, mainly by the General Secretary of the PCUSA. As of September 2022, this person is a Central Committee member and a club chair of the PCUSA.
Anti-science
Central Committee member Christian L. made anti-vaccine statements and was never criticized for his views.[11]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “This tradition, history, and heroic struggle are sorely needed to provide a clear path for the American people and youth out of the present ruin in our homeland today. For it is our organizations and revolutionary youth whom we represent, who are the true patriots of America.”
Executive Committee (2022). Dear comrades of the League of Young Communists USA. - ↑ Letters of greetings, founding congress of the PCUSA
- ↑ People's School For Marxist-Leninist Studies (2022-08-15). "Declaration of the ACB To The Workers In The PCUSA" Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Party Program". Party of Communists USA. Archived from the original on 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Party of Communists USA (2014). Statutes of the Party of Communists USA.
- ↑ https://usfriendsofthesovietpeople.org
- ↑ "About". Red Patriot. Archived from the original on 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ↑ https://suncommunitynews.com/news/82310/the-communist-next-door-christopher-helali-of-vermont/
- ↑ https://mynewsonthego.com/denton/Epaper/PdfReader.aspx?pageid=88b7e858-1b18-4e66-8e2f-4eec498e9d37&freeid=4f4a062d-4eab-46ad-ac48-8f11211e6734&tarp=dfab5bd1-dcf2-4027-aca6-f9d041151df7&signInAction=&isPhony=0&isMgr=0&isEdit=0&isBook=0&search=#puzzle,1640,1609519897361
- ↑ https://sos.vermont.gov/elections/election-info-resources/candidates/
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "The Birth of the American Council of Bolsheviks" (2023-02-07). New Spark. Archived from the original on 2023-02-18. Retrieved 2023-02-26.