FOR Organizing Committee of the United States
Encyclopedia
The FOR Organizing Committee in the United States or FOCUS was a small group of leftists in the United States. It was the US section of the Revolutionary Workers Ferment
, known by its Spanish initials FOR (Fomento Obrero Revolutionario).
FOCUS was founded by Stephen Schwartz
, a writer in San Francisco, who entered into correspondence with the FOR group and began contributing to its French journal Alarme. After visiting France in 1979 and having discussions with the leader of the FOR tendency, G. Munis
, Schwartz returned to the US and established FOCUS. The group began to publish a periodical, The Alarm based in San Francisco.
FOCUS was expelled from FOR in 1981, after it defended the Spanish section which had also been purged by Munis. Thereafter, FOCUS focused on the weakness of the original FOR analysis, agreeing that the mainstream trade unions were a break on the proletarian revolution. by October 1983 they had come to the conclusion that the revolutionary workers should enter the small Anarcho-syndicalist
unions such as the CNT
and IWW
. The FOCUS group entered the IWW in early 1984 and, according to them, were "received positively by the other wobblies.
By this time, Schwartz had dropped out of the organization, and The Alarm had been moved from San Francisco to Portland, Oregon
where FOCUS had its largest following.
Revolutionary Workers Ferment
The Revolutionary Workers Ferment, often know by its Spanish name or initials Fomento Obrero Revolucionario or FOR, was a small left communist international founded by Grandizo Munis, which arose as a split from the Trotskyist Fourth International at its Second Congress in 1948.Though Munis and his...
, known by its Spanish initials FOR (Fomento Obrero Revolutionario).
FOCUS was founded by Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Schwartz may refer to:*Stephen Schwartz , American musical theater and film lyricist and composer*Stephen Suleyman Schwartz , journalist, political author, and historian...
, a writer in San Francisco, who entered into correspondence with the FOR group and began contributing to its French journal Alarme. After visiting France in 1979 and having discussions with the leader of the FOR tendency, G. Munis
Grandizo Munis
Grandizo Munis was a Spanish politician.Grandizo first entered revolutionary politics as a member of the Izquierda Comunista de España or Left Communists of Spain...
, Schwartz returned to the US and established FOCUS. The group began to publish a periodical, The Alarm based in San Francisco.
FOCUS was expelled from FOR in 1981, after it defended the Spanish section which had also been purged by Munis. Thereafter, FOCUS focused on the weakness of the original FOR analysis, agreeing that the mainstream trade unions were a break on the proletarian revolution. by October 1983 they had come to the conclusion that the revolutionary workers should enter the small Anarcho-syndicalist
Anarcho-syndicalism
Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism which focuses on the labour movement. The word syndicalism comes from the French word syndicat which means trade union , from the Latin word syndicus which in turn comes from the Greek word σύνδικος which means caretaker of an issue...
unions such as the CNT
Confederación Nacional del Trabajo
The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo is a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist labor unions affiliated with the International Workers Association . When working with the latter group it is also known as CNT-AIT...
and IWW
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
. The FOCUS group entered the IWW in early 1984 and, according to them, were "received positively by the other wobblies.
By this time, Schwartz had dropped out of the organization, and The Alarm had been moved from San Francisco to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
where FOCUS had its largest following.
External links
- Comments On Poland From The Alarm, Number 5, Nov.-Dec. 1980.