Revolutionary Workers League (Oehlerite)

The Revolutionary Workers League (RWL) was a radical left group in the United States. It was led by Hugo Oehler and published The Fighting Worker newspaper.

The RWL originated as a tendency within the Workers Party of the United States, which had been formed by the merger of the Trotskyist Communist League of America (CLA) and A. J. Muste's American Workers Party in December 1934. Some within the new party were advocating an application of Leon Trotsky's French Turn by having the enter in the Socialist Party of America. The issue was first raised at the "Active Workers Conference" at Pittsburgh in March 1935. Though the idea was favored by James Cannon and Max Shachtman, the two former leaders of the CLA, it was opposed by Joseph Zack Kornfeder and Muste.

The issue was again brought up at the WPUS June National Committee Plenum. Though the party issued a declaration denouncing "false rumors" of factionalism and moves toward merger with the socialists, a struggle did apparent take place, Muste, Oehler, and Martin Abern against joining the Socialist, with Cannon and Shachtman favoring the proposal. The group led by Oehler and Tom Stamm were not entirely opposed to work among the left wing members of the Socialist party, but wanted to bring them into the WP as a group, rather than have the Workers Party dissolve into the Socialist Party.

To that end they began negotiations with the Revolutionary Policy Committee. When they reported their talks to the Partys Political Committee, they set up their own negotiating committee without any members of the Oehler-Stamm group on it. When Oehler-Stamm group continued their talks with RPC they were censured by the Partys Control Commission. Things came to a head at the October 4–9 Plenum of the Party's National Committee, at which the Oehler-Stamm group was forbidden to issue a factional periodical and were given a final warning to cease their violations of "organizational discipline". Oehler and his faction then withdrew to form the Revolutionary Workers League. By this time a majority of the National Committee come around to support the French turn.

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