"We want this to be a campaign jointly waged by the Young Socialists and the Socialist Workers Party," added Greg McCartan. Duval and McCartan are the organizers of the steering committees of SWP and YS members in the United Auto Workers and the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees respectively. They participated in an October 23 phone conference — along with organizers of the steering committees for socialist workers in the United Food and Commercial Workers, United Transportation Union, International Association of Machinists, and United Steelworkers of America —to discuss how to advance the campaign to sell Capitalism's World Disorder as an integral part of deepening their involvement in labor fights and the broader class struggle.

"Our steering committees need to turn our attention to organizing the national fractions to carry out this campaign on a weekly basis," said McCartan. "Capitalism's World Disorder is Pathfinder's most recent publication, and the speeches it contains take on directly the most pressing questions facing working people. Like other titles in Pathfinder's catalogue, it is a tool for those individuals who are part of union and farmers' struggles, or who have been affected and inspired by them."

Duval picked up the same theme. "Today's announcement by Patrick Buchanan — a rightist and a deadly enemy of the interests of working people — of his bid for the Reform Party presidential nomination is an example," he said. "Capitalism's World Disorder contains a number of sections on Buchanan and other rightist figures. The recent elections in Austria and Switzerland, where nationalist parties campaigning against immigrants dramatically increased their vote, show this is a feature of politics around the world today.

"Immigrants make the working class stronger in every country they go to," said Duval. "The book explains that, both in the speeches by Jack Barnes and in the photos."

"Our meeting discussed results from every part of the country where socialist workers are campaigning to sell to individuals, and beginning to get the book placed in different stores," said McCartan. "Socialist workers have used the book effectively in participating in picket lines when they organize to do this. In places like Charlotte, North Carolina, and at the Newport News shipyard in Virginia, trips to meet workers following the conclusion of hard-fought strikes have been valuable.

"Socialist workers recently went back to Natchez, Mississippi, to meet with steelworkers resisting attacks by Titan Tire. More than 20 were charged with trespassing after a peaceful rally and protest on September 11. Workers there helped us locate stores which they think might want to stock the book. This has happened everywhere we have put the time and effort into doing it. In many cases this collaboration with working people, which is what this campaign is all about, has been very fruitful."

"We want to do more of this in the two and a bit months remaining in the campaign until the end of the year," said McCartan. "The campaign needs to be more centralized. In the coming weeks," he said, "we will track our progress toward national goals in the Militant week by week.

"We are making this a campaign of the entire movement, of every socialist worker and member of the YS. We encourage YS members to be part of trips to areas where the socialist movement does not have an organized unit, to sell to farmers, workers, and youth, and to place this book and others in stores and libraries. And we want to work closely together to try to place it in bookstores that high school and college students go to.

"Between now and the end of the year," said McCartan, "we aim to place hundreds of copies of this book in stores and libraries around the country." 
 

A team spent three days in southern Ontario, promoting Capitalism's World Disorder and other Pathfinder titles, along with the Militant and Perspectiva Mundial. These notes cover the first two days of the trip, which focused on discussions with working farmers. The third day participants spent several hours on the picket line at Intraforest, where members of the International Woodworkers of America are on strike (see page 15).  
 

Saturday October 2

Tour started at a "Sales Barn" in St. Thomas, where farmers bring their animals for auction. We met some farmers, mostly older, some retired, some "hobby" or part-time farmers. Prices farmers receive are still way below production costs. Only two main buyers from meat processing plants (one was Maple Leaf) were buying in quantity — no competition between them, kept prices low.

We then headed for the Kaiser Aluminum plant, where we have done several plant-gate sales in the last six months. We sold two copies of the Militant, talking to workers about the lockouts at Kaiser in the United States.

Speaking to friends, we found out something about the struggle of Natives of the Caldwell nation, who have been fighting to set up a reserve on land in the Chatham area. This area has some of the best soil in Ontario, mostly owned by very wealthy farmers. Although the federal government has earmarked funds for the Caldwells to buy back whatever land they can get, the wealthy farmers have refused to sell them land and have led a racist campaign against them, including vandalizing Native property.  
 

Sunday October 3

The team set this day aside to meet farmers. We visited a hog farmer in the Sarnia area we have known for a couple of years who also grows corn and soybeans and runs a small seed distribution center. He farms with his two brothers, renting most of their land from their father. Although they do most of the work themselves, they employ some workers who are Mexican and who live in the area year-round, only for a short time to pick rocks out of the fields. His wife is a manager in a small rural bank. He says that at 39 he is the youngest farmer he knows of in the area.

This farmer renewed his Militant subscription for six months and after asking "what good books do you have for me today?" bought a copy of Capitalism's World Disorder.

We then headed off to visit a retired cash crop farmer who lives in the area. This man is considered a spokesperson for farmers in the area, and has traveled extensively across Canada and the United States to attend and speak at various labor and farm conferences.

As we started talking, it became clear that his perspective on how to solve the problems of farmers is to lobby for more restrictive trade policies to protect Canadian farmers. He didn't think revolutionary Cuba with its internationalist example was an alternative for farmers, because "capitalists and communists have too much in common." This farmer did not buy the book.

—Sylvie Charbin member of International Association of Machinists Local 2113.  
 
 
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