BY BROCK SATTER
NEWARK, New Jersey - Using the last two weeks to shift gears
on the New International fund and a strong effort
internationally, we went over the top on our $115,000 goal,
raising more than $119,000, or 104 percent. More that is
reported on the way but not received in New York at press time,
will send the total even higher.
The money will be used to continue publication of New International magazine, including no. 11 featuring the article "U.S. Imperialism Has Lost the Cold War" by Jack Barnes. It will also be used to produce Spanish-, French-, and Swedish- language editions of the issue. This fund drive has shown that growing interest in socialist ideas among fighting workers, farmers, and youth means greater opportunities for financial support for a magazine of Marxist politics and theory. The two go hand in hand.
Fund supporter Nat London wrote from France: "Thierry, who had worked as a temporary worker at the Renault auto plant with me before going to another plant, called me up at the last minute to come over to my house with a check for 200 francs out of his most recent paycheck. This is the sum that put us over the top on the drive. Thierry cannot read English and is quite anxiously awaiting the French edition of New International. The extra 200 francs will help get it out soon." Supporters in France raised $432, 108 percent of their $400 goal.
The final push to reach out further to class-struggle-minded workers, farmers, and youth made the difference. In Des Moines, supporters of New International at the Swift meatpacking plant went on a two-week campaign to raise contributions from other workers, Elvidio Mejía explained. "One worker gave $10 when we talked to her about the fund. But after thinking about it some more and after further discussion, she gave another $20. Another, who was reading New International no. 4 featuring the article by Jack Barnes `For a Workers and Farmers Government in the United States,' gave $10. He said he really liked the book. He said it was important because it was the only way to understand what happened in the past and what we can do right now."
"We collected another $2.65 from a couple other co-workers. One was very interested in New International no. 11 but prefers to read in Spanish and will get a copy as soon as it is published in Spanish. One co-worker from Guatemala who used to study at the university there bought Nueva Internacional no. 1. She said it was important to understand the situation in Iraq. Through the two weeks of campaigning we were able to sell two copies of New International; in the last nine weeks we have sold a total of five copies of New International to our co- workers at Swift."
Although in many cities fund supporters got off to a late start, most were able to meet their goal. In Houston, Dave Ferguson, reported that many contributions came from sales of New International. "In the last day of the drive to win new readers to the Militant, Perspectiva Mundial, and New International, we sold 10 copies of the magazine. Many contributions came from the same people who bought the books. We had a fund celebration that featured Sam Manuel, a leader of the SWP's work in the United Transportation Union; Dean Cook, one of the locked-out workers at Crown fighting a company lawsuit; and Robert Guerrero, a high school student and a member of the Young Socialists.
Those attending included a half-dozen youth, another locked out worker at Crown, and Toylean Johnson, an activist in the coalition fighting for justice for Pedro Oregón, who was killed by the police. A longtime supporter came all the way from New Orleans to the event and gave a contribution."
"A high point of the meeting was Cook's remarks explaining the lessons from the fight at Crown and their efforts to reach out into the labor movement and to other fighters for social justice for support for their struggle. Then Guerrero gave a talk on the ideas expressed in the "Young Socialists Manifesto." The young people who came must have liked the event because they stayed afterwards until midnight discussing politics."
In Cleveland, Steve Warshell, the fund director, reports that supporters there made their goal of $4,000 (though not all of it has gotten to New York yet). "We thought that this was an important accomplishment because we haven't raised this much money in any fund drive in the recent past. Most people who contributed this time were not regular contributors to other fund drives. These included longtime supporters of the communist movement as well as many who were brand new to the ideas of New International."