The New Union Party was a

De Leonist De Leonism, also known as Marxism-De Leonism, is a Marxist tendency developed by Curaçaoan-American trade union organizer and Marxist theoretician Daniel De Leon. De Leon was an early leader of the first American socialist political party, ...

political party based primarily in the U.S. state of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

from 1980 to 2005. Its ideology was primarily based on the ideas of

Daniel De Leon Daniel De Leon (; December 14, 1852 – May 11, 1914), alternatively spelt Daniel de León, was a Curaçaoan-American socialist newspaper editor, politician, Marxist theoretician, and trade union organizer. He is regarded as the forefather o ...

. According to De Leonist theory, militant

industrial unions Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...

are the vehicle of

class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

Industrial unions Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...

serving the interests of the

proletariat The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...

(

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

) will bring about the change needed to establish a

socialist system A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. The term ''communist state'' is ofte ...

. A strict adherent to pacifism, the NUP denounced political violence as a method of achieving revolution.

Ideology

The NUP was, like all similar organizations, based on the ideas on

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

Frederich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
''

. Rather than insurrection, it was committed to legal, non-violent means of overthrowing capitalism. It opposed state control of the economy and instead sought direct worker control over the means of production.

History

Origins

Many of its members were formerly affiliated with that state's section of

Socialist Labor Party of America The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...

. The New Unionists was formed after eight members of the Minneapolis SLP resigned in protest, accusing the national SLP leadership of bureaucratic and authoritarian practices. At a Unity Conference in

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and ...

from 22 August through 24 August 1980, the similarly-minded League for Socialist Reconstruction fused with the New Unionist group to create the New Union Party.

Newspaper

Jeffrey Miller of Minneapolis was the editor of the party's newspaper, New Unionist, which was published from 1978 to 2005. Among the paper's columnists was longtime member Tom Dooley, who died in 2017. Miller died in 2019.

Activism

The New Union Party, like other De Leonist groups, ran candidates for political office and organized workers outside of electoral campaigns. In the 1980s, Jeffrey Miller was the party's nominee for three elections: * 1980:

Minnesota's 5th congressional district Minnesota's 5th congressional district is a geographically small urban and suburban congressional district in Minnesota. It covers eastern Hennepin County, including the entire city of Minneapolis, along with parts of Anoka and Ramsey countie ...

(1.4%), third place of five candidates. *

1982 United States Senate election in Minnesota The 1982 United States Senate election in Minnesota was held on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator David Durenberger was reelected to his first full term. Democratic–Farmer–Labor primary Candidates * William A. Branst ...

, 3,300 votes (5th place of 5 candidates). *

1984 United States Senate election in Minnesota The 1984 United States Senate election in Minnesota was held on November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Rudy Boschwitz defeated Democratic challenger Joan Growe. Boschwitz's victory coincided with President Ronald Reagan's nationwid ...

, 4,653 votes (4th place of 5 candidates). In 1999, delegates from the NUP attended an International Solidarity Conference in San Francisco organized by the local branch of the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines genera ...

and

Workers' Solidarity Alliance Workers' Solidarity Alliance (WSA) is an American anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian group designed to help establish member-managed organizations in the workplace and community. It was founded in 1984, created from an existing network of group ...

. It presented on the contributions of Daniel De Leon to socialist theory.

References