The local Militant supporters on the team were joined by a socialist meat packer from San Francisco.

The team met a lot of interest in the Militant's feature coverage on the widows' walk to Washington demanding black lung benefits, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the 1992 Coal Act that dealt a blow to the health benefit program for retired miners. There has been no other news coverage on these struggles in newspapers published in the Colorado coalfields.

The first stop was the Deserado Mine in Rangely, Colorado. In 1999, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Local 1984 struck the mine, owned by Blue Mountain Energy, for four months. Major issues in the strike were pensions and health care for retired miners.

Many workers driving in and out of the mine slowed down to read the posterboard signs the team had taped to their vehicle in front of the mine portal. The signs read, "Widows Walk to D.C. to Demand Black Lung Benefits" and "U.S. Supreme Court Attacks Retired Miners' Benefits--Read the Militant."

A worker stopped his truck to read the signs, backed up his vehicle to talk to one of the team members, and bought a copy of the paper. He explained that he works as an engineer on the mine railroad, which takes Deserado coal to a power plant in Vernal, Utah. Like the surface and underground miners, the railroad workers are members of the UMWA local.

Two workers driving into the mine to put in job applications also stopped to talk. One had worked in a coal mine in southern Colorado. He said that after his grandfather died of black lung disease, his grandmother received no benefits. Both were glad to hear about the widows' walk, and took out $2 to get the Militant. The workers also pocketed a leaflet advertising the upcoming Militant Labor Forum.

After the portal sale, team members went to an apartment building in Rangely, knocking on doors to talk to the workers and students who live there.

"I saw you at the mine today," said a coal miner who works at the Deserado mine. During a 30-minute discussion on questions ranging from the employers' attacks on coal miners to the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, the miner observed that "the U.S. always tries to impose its culture on other countries."

Team members also spoke to several local college students who were interested in the widows' walk.

"I don't usually read socialist newspapers, but I want to see what you guys are talking about. It is a buck and a half?" said a miner going to work at the big Colowyo surface mine early the next morning. Workers at the nonunion mine, which is owned by Kennecott Energy, produced 5.7 million tons of coal last year, up from 5.1 million in 2000. Many miners who work at Colowyo live in Craig, the location of the Pathfinder Bookstore. Miners purchased five Militants and took away many flyers for the forum.

When the team returned to Colowyo later in the week, coal miners bought another seven copies of the Militant. One miner said that he "got one the other day. The union should come out here. They would get a good response."

Another team travelled to Twenty Mile coal mine. Owned by RAG American Coal Holding Company, the mine is one of the largest underground operations in the United States. Several miners stopped to buy the paper, including a mechanic who said he was glad to find out about the Pathfinder bookstore in Craig.

During the week's sales the wife of a coal miner told a team member who had knocked on her trailer door that she had read about the upcoming forum in the local paper. She was glad to see that there was a place in Craig to talk about subjects like black lung.

Another miner's wife had read the newspaper article about the forum. She liked the fact that someone was going door to door publicizing the meeting. "It's good to see someone believe in a cause," she said.

Three people, including a retired miner, came to the bookstore during the week because of the publicity about the forum.

On the last day of their trip, the socialist workers sold two more Militants to mine workers at the Seneca mine, a UMWA-organized surface mine.

By that time a blizzard was under way and the team decided to call an end to a successful week of sales.
 
 
Related articles:
Forum builds march for black lung benefits
'We will not stop until the laws are changed'
 
 
 
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