Besides its direct exploitation of the working class majority, the bourgeoisie lives and thrives from different kinds of oppression, sexism, racism, chauvinism and homophobia, as a means to increase its profits and divide the working class. Women have to face lower wages, uncompensated domestic labor, sexual harassment and violence. Black people suffer from a lack of access to public services and education, worse jobs and wages, and racial discrimination, especially in the U.S, where capitalism was built upon chattel slavery. Immigrants are denied the full political rights of citizens, which makes them vulnerable to worse working conditions, deportations, police brutality, and a lack of access to social services. LGBT+ people are victims of prejudice, violence and disrespect for their rights. All of these compounded oppressions make it more difficult for marginalized workers to organize, as they are left with less time, fewer resources, and higher consequences for organizing than a worker who does not face these disadvantages. Historically, various oppressions have been used to divide the labor movement: racism was deployed by bosses in the post-Civil War era to undermine multiracial organizing efforts, xenophobia against immigrant groups has been used to redirect the working class’s anger at their living conditions at immigrant scapegoats (while also providing an opportunity for capitalists to hyper-exploit these same immigrants due to their lack of legal protections compared to workers with full citizenship), and so on.
 We are on the frontline of the struggle against all forms of oppression and for oppressed peoples’ rights. At the same time, unlike liberals, intellectuals and some autonomist groups, we don’t see oppression as an “identity” problem, something that stands apart from the class struggle. Nor is it simply a moral or cultural problem that can be solved through “education” alone. The institutions and ideologies that support and enforce oppression have historically been built into the structure of capitalism, because the capitalist class directly benefits from the effects of oppression. This is why we argue that any coherent struggle against oppression needs to be a struggle against capitalism. Therefore, we must fight the structural causes of oppression and understand that only a fighting & unified working class can liberate the world from sexism, racism and homophobia. We must always connect the demands of oppressed sectors with the general demands of the working class. After all, most oppressed people are themselves workers! 
We also oppose the view espoused by some Marxists that the fight against oppression “divides the class” and should not be dealt with until “after the revolution.” For us, what divides the class is sexism, homophobia, racism and chauvinism, since it prevents the oppressed sectors from joining the struggle. All these forms of oppression must be fought against now; advancing these struggles will make our job of winning a revolution easier, not harder.