By: Victor Gross

On February 12th, the Working People’s Association of Charlotte  (WPA) held a workers’ night school on the history of the Alabama Sharecroppers’ Union. Members of the WPA gave a presentation which highlighted the militant history of the Sharecroppers’ union. After the presentation a discussion was held about what lessons can be taken from the sharecroppers for our work today. The discussion highlighted the contrast between the actions of the modern toothless sell-out state unions to those of the sharecroppers who took a revolutionary stand against landowners, police and white supremacists.

Attendees discussed the need for collective action, militancy, and revolutionary politics in the workplace.  In addition they theorized how certain tactics from the sharecroppers’ union could be applied in their own workplaces. For example, utilizing conditions to creatively disguise meetings, using codes to secure meeting notes and methods to communicate without electronics across different areas of a workplace. Attendees also gave comparisons between the liquidation of the sharecroppers’ union and how state unions sell out their rank and file today.

The WPA typically holds “worker night schools” every month which are educational events aimed at presenting and discussing with workers the often untold history of class conscious and militant labor organizations, using those discussions to highlight tactics that workers can take back and use to organize their own workplaces.

A public study held by the WPA on the electoral boycott in November 2024.