BY JACK WILLEY AND VERÓNICA POSES
ST. PAUL, Minnesota - Young Socialists have gotten a good start on our goal of doubling the size of our membership by the end of the Socialist Workers election campaign - recruiting 80 new members. Ten revolutionary youth have joined since July 9 when the YS announced this goal at the international socialist conference at Oberlin College. The recruitment drive will last through November 15.

The major axes of this effort revolve around campaigning for SWP candidates, carrying out activities in defense of the Cuban revolution, and joining protests against capitalist austerity.

Social protest actions on rise
Young Socialists in Illinois are drawing up a plan to respond to actions like the August 17 "Fight the Right" rally sponsored by the National Organization for Women and protests at the Democratic National Convention taking place in Chicago. YS members are going to St. Louis with other youth to lend solidarity to striking workers at McDonnell Douglas.

Protests against government attacks on immigrant workers are on the rise. Throughout the country, coalitions are forming to build the march for immigrant rights in Washington, D.C., on October 12. Young Socialists are bringing communist politics to others fighting for equal rights for immigrants, in addition to aiding efforts to get large contingents of activists in their area to the demonstration.

Jason Phelps and Gaetan Whiston are helping to lead a team of socialist campaigners in San Diego, California, where several demonstrations are taking place to fight against attacks on immigrants and affirmative action. YS members there have set a goal of recruiting at least five young fighters to the Young Socialists. They are holding classes each evening on political topics such as the fight for Chicano liberation to defense of Cuba's socialist revolution.

Ballot drive, campus openings
YS members are turning their attention to getting socialist candidates on the ballot in as many states as possible. The YS will help petition in Rhode Island and Vermont for James Harris and Laura Garza and in Texas for a socialist candidate for U.S. Congress. Through these efforts, YS members will meet thousands of young people and find many interested in getting involved in the socialist movement.

Candidates for local and state offices can plan to take time off work and lead teams to go to protests, speak at high schools and colleges, and campaign at picket lines.

In a few weeks, high schools and colleges will be opening up across the country. Many students will also be interested in inviting Young Socialists and candidates to their classes and student groups to speak.

Here in Minneapolis and St. Paul, the YS will aggressively take the socialist campaign to campuses, selling Pathfinder books and the Militant. In addition, we will be challenging other youth groups like the Young Democrats and Young Republicans to debates on major issues facing working people and youth.

Defense of the Cuban Revolution
Nearly 150 young people recently returned from the US-Cuba Youth Exchange. Many youth on the trip were excited when Cuban president Fidel Castro addressed the Exchange, explaining the growing world capitalist disorder and that revolution does not need to be exported to the United States because it will rise out of the struggles by those fighting injustice. Coming out of this experience, six people have asked to join the YS and over a dozen others are interested.

After witnessing first-hand a living socialist revolution where the working class holds state power and has a communist leadership with an unblemished record of proletarian internationalism, participants in each area are eager to speak about their experiences.

In New York City, for example, youth who came back from the trip set up a speakers bureau to do report-backs in school classes, on the radio, and to community organizations.

Working with other Youth Exchange participants, YS members will be building the 1997 World Festival of Youth and Students as part of their report-backs. Many people who look to the Cuban revolution as an example of intransigent resistance to U.S. imperialism will want to join an organization fighting for socialism in the very belly of the beast.

Battle plans to build the YS
Young Socialists members in every city are encouraged to organize meetings to draw up a battle plan for recruiting young fighters. This includes bringing them to struggles we are involved in, holding classes, working with others to set up report-backs from the U.S.-Cuba Youth Exchange and participate in other activities in opposition to Washington's economic war on the Cuban people, and setting up campaign events.

Out of these discussions, Young Socialist chapters can adopt numerical goals for recruiting new members to our organization by November 15.

A new recruitment tool is the YS pamphlet released in July containing the political principles, campaigns, and rules of organization the YS adopted at our first convention in April. Young Socialists put this pamphlet in the hands of all young people interested in joining. Over 300 individual copies and 200 pre-orders have been sold so far.

Coming out of the international socialist conference at Oberlin college in July, the YS leadership has made many shifts to make this campaign possible. YS National Steering Committee members Tom Alter, Verónica Poses, and Jack Willey are now working as full-time field organizers. Young Socialists can ask YS leaders in their region to spend some time in cities where chapters are being formed. This puts the YS in a position to respond to developments in politics as they unfold, work with members in several areas to build chapters, and organize the national office.

Ryan Kelly and Gaetan Whiston are currently touring with the Socialist Workers presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

Over the next three months, the Militant will feature interviews with people who join the Young Socialists.

Weekly reports on the results of the recruitment effort and new members goals adopted in each city should be sent to the YS national office at P.O. Box 14392, St. Paul, MN 55114. Tel: (612) 644-0051. Please include photographs of YS members participating in political activities and stories on these actions. If you send in interviews with new members, please include photos.  
 
 
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