Vol. 75/No. 7 February 21, 2011
To date 252 readers have extended their subscriptions or have bought a sub for six months or longer. The total is short of where the drive should be, and still shy of quotas totaling 400.
Area reports indicate when supporters of the paper reach out to workers, students, and others who have been reading the Militant, many want to renew and are also interested in purchasing books by Pathfinder Press. The reports below give a good feel for the possibilities.
A number of first-time readers have sent in renewals on their own, and interest among prisoners, who read and share the paper, has picked up as well.
It's not too late to join the effort! Renew your subscription today and help win other new readers. All long-term subscriptions received by the end of the day Tuesday, February 15 will be counted. For more information, contact a distributor near you, listed on page 5.
Socialists who are members of Teamsters Local 210 and work at a large pharmaceutical plant in the Bronx adopted a goal of five renewals to the Militant. Three coworkers have renewed, including one who first purchased her subscription when she went with us on the union bus to the October 2 demonstration in Washington, D.C., for jobs. "I like the Militant," said another coworker, Rolando Santos. "It has very interesting articles on topics not covered by other papers."
—Dan Fein
New York
This weekend Helen Meyers and I drove to Keokuk, Iowa, to walk the picket line with members of Local 48G of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers union, locked out by Roquette America since last September.
We made phone calls a few days before the trip to unionists and others in the area who had bought Militant subscriptions in recent months.
Unionist Buddy Howard, who encourages fellow workers to read the Militant, had signed up a couple of coworkers for introductory subscriptions during the week. Two more workers on the picket line decided to subscribe for the first time. One subscriber we had called brought $20 to picket duty and gave it to Howard to keep the paper coming for another six months.
—Maggie Trowe
Des Moines, Iowa
In San Francisco we have tried to meet with as many previous and current subscribers as possible to get long-term renewals. We have also been encouraging protesters at rallies in solidarity with the people of Egypt to get long-term subs. At two recent protests we sold 60 copies of the Militant, a new six-month subscription, and two introductory subs.
Two of us met for more than an hour with a Militant reader in Oakland who had originally subscribed at a rally in solidarity with Oscar Grant, a Black youth killed by BART cops in January 2009. She renewed for six months, bought three Pathfinder books, and was eager to discuss international and local political events, including cuts facing teachers and other workers.
—Eric Simpson
San Francisco
One of the highlights this week was a six-month renewal sold to a former coworker from a meat plant that is now closed down. He is a young Kurdish Australian who said he recently bought a copy of Fidel Castro: My Life. It inspired him to get back in touch with supporters of the Militant to talk politics.
—Bob Aiken
Sydney, Australia