BY O'LOF ANDRA PROPPE'
This column is written and edited by the Young
Socialists, an international organization of young workers,
students, and other youth fighting for socialism. For more
information or to join, write: Young Socialists, P.O. Box
2396, New York, NY 10009. Tel: (212) 475-6482. Fax: (212)
388-1659.
REYKJAVIK, Iceland - "Don't scab for the bosses - don't listen to their lies." These lines came to my attention as I was talking to Caterpillar strikers in York, Pennsylvania. I had never been to a picket line before so I didn't quite know what to expect.
It turned out that I had not been expecting what I saw and even less what I heard. The first thing that got my attention were the security guards inside the fences on both sides of the street. At first I thought it was comical having those men in combat boots filming the few workers standing there having coffee. It wasn't so funny when I was told that these men were trained in dealing with strikers, moving from one picket to another.
I wanted to take a picture of them to bring home with me, so I went up to the fence to get a better shot. But as I was moving closer, one of the two cars backed away and the men who had been standing by the other car were bending over behind its doors. I took the picture and went back to the strikers.
Then one of the men in the car came walking down with a camera trying to take my picture. I thought it was only fair that I would take his as well and walked toward him. He clearly didn't agree with me because as I came closer he walked away until he was behind the fence again. This was quite amusing and we had a good laugh.
There was more to come. The company had been bringing in prisoners to work in the factory for quite some time. That reminded me of the time when prisoners were dressed in striped suits and had to work outside in chains. And some politicians dare say that the society we live in is making progress in human rights.
The spirit among the workers seemed to be good despite all that adversity. They felt that solidarity was increasing among people although some of them said the fight was hard to explain to their families. The need for unity and solidarity is expressed in the last line of the verse I started with: "Us poor folk haven't got a chance - unless we organize."
Later I spent a couple of days in Philadelphia to help campaign to get Socialist Workers candidates on the ballot. That was an experience I wouldn't want to be without.
People had all kinds of questions and made all kinds of comments and you have to respond fast and have convincing arguments to support your opinion. Knowing the answer is not enough if you can't explain it so that other people understand. In most cases I think I did, but not always.
These experiences took place as I was visiting the United States for the Socialist Workers Party convention in July. There was also a meeting of Young Socialists from many countries. The whole event was a very good opportunity for a young socialist from Iceland to raise comments and ask questions.
My experiences will help the discussions of how the Young Socialists in Iceland are going to help organize upcoming activities. Among these activities is a tour of Iceland by a member of Cuba's Union of Young Communists. The tour is going to take place in October and will be a good opportunity to bring our perspectives to students and others. We are also planning classes to which we will invite people who are interested in learning more about socialism.