BY HELEN MEYERS
PHILADELPHIA - The Socialist Workers campaign will be on
the ballot in Philadelphia in the November elections. The
socialist candidates - Deborah Lia-tos for mayor and Hattie
McCutcheon and John Staggs for city council at-large - are
all active unionists who are involved in the struggles of
working people.
To achieve this ballot victory, supporters of the Socialist Workers campaign collected 4,392 signatures, well over the 3,007 required. Activists from Delaware, New York, New Jersey, and West Virginia joined with others in Philadelphia to publicize the campaign. They introduced the socialist alternative to thousands of people at shopping malls, grocery stores, street corners, factories, and various political events.
Liatos works for USAir at the Philadelphia airport and is a member of International Association of Machinists Local 1776. Staggs works at Ford Electronic and is a member of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 1695. McCutcheon, a member of UAW Local 1069 and one of 7,000 workers recently laid off from Boeing Co., participated in an international youth festival held in Havana in early August.
At a July 29 campaign rally to celebrate the completion of the petitioning effort, socialist campaigner Bob Stanton described how in the past week campaign supporters had been involved in protests against the execution of Mumia Abu- Jamal, and an event sponsored by the Cuba Support Coalition to raise funds for local youth going to the festival in Cuba. They also took part in an activity sponsored by supporters of the African National Congress of South Africa and a meeting organized by Friends of Sinn Fein, which is active in the struggle against the British occupation of Northern Ireland.
Campaigners invited people they met to attend two campaign discussions. One was on the Cuban revolution today and the other, addressed by socialist candidate Staggs, was titled, "Working people confront the bosses and government attacks."
Candidates Liatos and Staggs, who petitioned on the job, reported a positive response from fellow unionists. Staggs collected 48 signatures from co-workers. "In several cases, after explaining our position to defend affirmative action, many women co-workers were eager to sign. One said, `You got my vote. Where can I sign?' " said Staggs.
Mayoral candidate Liatos reported that political discussions take place constantly on the job. Co-workers say they've read about the socialist campaign in one of the two main Philadelphia daily newspapers or heard about it on National Public Radio or KYW, the major radio news station here. A writer for the Philadelphia Weekly arranged for a photographer to take pictures of the mayoral candidate at work. A photo ran with a recent article printed on the Socialist Workers Campaign.
The socialist campaign proposal that has drawn the most interest is the demand "Jobs for all - shorten the workweek with no cut in pay," Liatos noted. Many co-workers have said, "I'll vote for that." Some question if it is possible to achieve this demand, since the bosses and the capitalist government will object to it. This has opened up discussions on the fight that it took by workers to win the 8-hour day and the fact that a similar social movement will be needed to win the shorter workweek today - a struggle that has the potential to unite the employed and unemployed. The socialists' defense of affirmative action has also sparked wide ranging discussions and debates on the job.
Co-workers of the socialist campaigners have a variety of positions on the case of Abu-Jamal and the death penalty, as well as on the Cuban revolution, which the socialist candidates point to as an example for working people in the United States.
The Socialist Workers candidates stand in complete contrast to the candidates of big business, such as incumbent Democratic mayor Ed Rendell. The Socialists have joined Philadelphia city workers in their fight against the Rendell administration's imposition of a $100 million concession contract. They also supported the Transport Workers Union's victorious strike against the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and its backers in City Hall .
The Socialist Workers campaign has vocally supported Abu- Jamal's demand for a new trial and opposes the death penalty. The candidates and their supporters marched in the August 12 demonstration here calling for justice for Abu- Jamal.
The mayor, on the other hand, maintains his position that Abu-Jamal - who has won a stay of execution - should be put to death. Thirteen years ago, Rendell was the District Attorney who helped to get the death penalty imposed against him.
Also running for Mayor are Republican Joe Rocks and Lance Haver, the candidate of the Consumer Party.