PSL analysis: Northrop Grumman plant in W.V. receives $178 million contract
Let’s be clear, if the taxpayers (i.e. the working people) really owned this facility, it would be shut down immediately and all funding would be directed to meeting the needs of the people!
The following text is a Party for Socialism and Liberation- West Virginia analysis:
Expansion of US Imperialism
Weapons manufacturer and multi-billion-dollar corporation, Northrop Grumman, was recently “awarded” a $178 million contract from the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to expand its operations at the Allegheny Ballistics Laboratory (ABL) in Rocket Center, W.V.
Frank DeMauro, vice president and general manager of the Northrop Grumman weapon systems sector, claims that this expansion will allow the plant to double its production of critical missile components such as rocket motors, warheads, and fuses necessary to meet the needs of “recent customer demands.”
The “recent customer demands” that DeMauro is referring to is the expansion of US imperialism. Under the guise of “national security,” the US ruling class continues to funnel weapons to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan in order to maintain global dominance and escalate tensions with Russia, China, and Iran.
Divest from the War Machine
This $178 million handout is a slap in the face to the working people of West Virginia who are struggling to make ends meet while companies like Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin profit off of the destruction caused by US imperialism around the world.
While Northrop Grumman raked in $6.5 billion in profits in 2023 alone, the childhood poverty rate in West Virginia rose to 25%, students at West Virginia University and Shepherd University experienced massive program cuts, thousands of workers lost their jobs, and lawmakers ramped up their attacks on the fundamental rights of women and LGBTQ+ people.
As working people here in West Virginia, we have more in common with the victims of US imperialism in Gaza, Russia, Ukraine, Korea, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo than we do with the executives of weapons manufacturers or the politicians—Democrat and Republican alike—who only serve the interests of the ruling class.
Fund the Needs of the People
In a statement from Senator Joe Manchin last week, he boasts that “this taxpayer-owned facility is building the missiles that keep our forces safe.”
Let’s be clear, if the taxpayers (i.e. the working people) really owned this facility, it would be shut down immediately and all funding would be directed to meeting the needs of the people!
From crumbling infrastructure and polluted waterways to the lack of child care, health care, and education, there are no shortages of issues facing the people of West Virginia. However, through a socialist reconstruction of society, seizure of the top corporations into the hands of the working class, and immediate divestment from the military industrial complex, we will build a world that services the needs of the people, not US imperialism and its shareholders.
WV Holler links: https://linktr.ee/hollerwestvirginia