The temporary end of the government shutdown reveals a fundamental weakness in US capitalism that must be exploited by the American Left.

Trump folds

On Friday January 25th, President Trump announced a temporary end to the longest government shutdown in US history. The shutdown that lasted 35 days was the result of a stalemate between the Trump White House and Congressional Democrats over funding for the border wall. Given that the border wall was the center piece of Trumps electoral pledge, and the Presidents self perceived reputation as “deal maker”, it is nothing less than stunning that Trump capitulated to the Congressional Democrats, even if the shutdown is only over temporarily.

The Wall was the center piece of the 2016 Trump campaign. That promise seems more distant than ever (Joe Raedle/Getty Images).

A powerful sick day

As recently as Thursday, CNN reported that Trump was preparing to declare a state of emergency in order to fund the border wall with Mexico. This would have been an unprecedented use of executive power to facilitate a political outcome. In less than 24 hours, Trump moved from such an extreme strategy to folding to Congressional Democrats in announcing a temporary halt to the Federal government shutdown.

On Friday morning, La Guardia airport announced that it was temporarily restricting flights into and out of the New York airport. These temporary restrictions were a direct result of air traffic controllers calling in sick. These air traffic controllers, along with all other Federal employees affected by the shutdown, were about to miss their second pay check.These air traffic controllers caused widespread air travel delays across the country.

The unions inspiration

It seems that the prospect of even modest delays in air traffic was enough to end, at least temporarily, the Federal government shutdown. President Trump, the “deals” president, was forced to back down on his central political promise because a handful of unpaid air traffic controllers did not show up to work.

President Deals folds (CNN)

This is an critical lesson for progressive Americans. The importance of the aviation industry to the US and global economy cannot be understated. In an age of globalization, and 2 Day Delivery, the aviation industry plays a key roll in the US and global economy. The aviation industry contributes an estimated $3T to the global economy annually. The air traffic controller slowdown the led to the government reopening shows just how vulnerable global capitalism is to any form of worker slowdown or stoppage in the aviation industry.

UTLA strike — workers are finding their voice (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News)

The recent success of the Unified Teachers of Los Angeles (“UTLA”) strike for better classroom conditions and a cost of living increase goes to show that workers still have power over capital. If key workers in the aviation industry were to strike, it would grind global capitalism to a halt. The danger in an aviation industry worker strike would of course be a repeat of the 1981

Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (“PATCO”) strike, whereby the striking PATCO workers were all fired and banned from them from federal service for life. However, the world has only grown more interconnected since 1981, and the role the aviation industry plays in the global economy is exponentially more important now. Striking aviation industry workers would wield immense power, especially if they were protected by a Bernie Sanders White House.

No power greater anywhere beneath the sun

The potential power currently wielded by aviation industry workers must be harnessed by the American left. The prospects of the Left in the US, although still dim, seem brighter than they have in five decades. The popularity of Bernie Sanders, and freshman congressional representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has provided a definite spark of energy in the American left. However, even if Sanders were elected president, and a Democratic majority achieved in both houses, it would still be difficult for a Sanders administration to pass widely popular progressive legislation like Medicare For All.

President Sanders would need the power of the working class to pass progressive legislation (Greg Nash)

A Sanders administration would still need to win votes from Democratic senators in hock to billionaire donors. In the senate, the top six recipients of donations from the healthcare industry were all Democratic senators. These would all be key votes in passing progressive legislation like Medicare For All. Despite the popularity of Medicare For All, legislators are more responsive to the needs of their donors than the demands of their voters. Therefore, the American Left must exercise non-political power in order to force corporate Democratic legislators to pass popular progressive legislation.

If progressive legislation like Medicare For All fails to get support from corporate Democratic senators in hock to their donors, then the left must work to coordinate work stoppages within the aviation industry. We have seen how fast a modest slowdown forced President Trump to fold. A full stoppage of air traffic in the United States would provide all the leverage needed to force corporate Democratic senators to disobey their donors and listen to their voting public to pass Medicare For All. Even the donor class may be forced on board as they would be the first to feel the pain of global transport shutting down. This would be made exponentially more powerful by having the first pro-worker President in Bernie Sanders in office since FDR. Under a Sanders administration there would be no repeat of the PATCO strike. A Sanders administration would unleash the power of the working class and allow it to fight for the improvement of its own material conditions.

Solidarity Forever.