by Richard Valdes
Worcester, MA
I live in Central Massachusetts and I work as a lab analyst in the biopharmaceutical industry. I’ve only recently considered myself a socialist, as I’ve always been very left-leaning, but I never took the initiative to really establish my political beliefs. I certainly never sought out a way to meaningfully act on those beliefs. I’ve always felt since high school that the system that runs our society is completely unjust, and set up in a way to allow greedy people to earn more money while squeezing the life out of everyone else.
You can see it in the way we’re forced to work for someone else for the majority of our waking lives in order to exist in our society. You can see it in the way millions of people perish or are unable to afford healthcare, especially when the materials they need are sold for a hundred times the cost it takes to produce them. Industries poisoning and bleeding the planet when they know the consequences, minorities incarcerated at much higher rates in order to be slaves for the prison system, our laws decided by enormously wealthy lobbying groups with their own self-interests, horrible wars waged over land and resources – the list goes on and on.
But why should we be content to live in such an unjust world? As my generation continues to step into the workplace and take control, we have the opportunity to make a change if we work together and organize. A year ago, my company was bought out and we were given an ultimatum: sign a contract saying that we would stay onboard within 48 hours without being told how our work, pay, or benefits would be affected.
Luckily for me, one of my coworkers was a socialist and a member of the Independent Socialist Group (ISG). We worked to organize a union for our department in the company, and while our efforts fell short, I was able to learn many valuable lessons regarding the power of the workers. I’ve since joined ISG, and I’m proud to be part of an organization that not only correctly identifies the issues with society and their roots in capitalism, but also has plans to meaningfully address these issues. We can use the lessons taught to us by the revolutions and ideologies of the past, and do everything we can to fight the injustices of our world.
Now, when I rally with protestors against the genocide in Gaza, or stand with the striking UAW members, or meet with my fellow comrades to discuss the issues of the day and how we can address them, I feel that I am using a part of my time towards something meaningful and am participating in something that is for the betterment of society. It’s a great feeling, especially when you can see the support from other communities and get the sense that there are people out there believing in and fighting for what’s right. I’m proud to be a socialist, and I encourage anyone who’s interested in learning more to find your local ISG branch and get involved!
Independent Socialist Group 