BY BILL ESTRADA

With two weeks to go, the 1996 International Pathfinder Fund stands at $76,722, 54 percent of the $125,000 goal, substantially behind schedule. Supporters around the world are organizing to complete the fund by the November 10 deadline. All contributions must be received by the Pathfinder office by noon Tuesday, November 12.

Over the past few days supporters have stepped up efforts to collect pledges - including special events and mailings. In San Francisco 40 people attended a barbecue that raised more than $2,300 in pledges and contributions. One attraction at the event was a computer-generated audio-visual presentation that highlighted Pathfinder publications and charted the progress of the Bay Area efforts. The fund helps keep the full range of Pathfinder titles in print.

At the barbecue, Ved Dookhun, a Young Socialist who participated in "La Marcha," the march organized by Chicano youth from Sacramento to San Diego protesting attacks on affirmative action, explained the key role played by Pathfinder books and pamphlets in meeting the demand for revolutionary ideas among workers and youth as imperialism slides deeper into economic and social crisis. Dookhun sold several Pathfinder titles to others on the march.

A Newark, New Jersey, fund event featured a presentation by Olga Rodríguez, editor of The Politics of Chicano Liberation. Rodríguez explained the importance of the recent upsurge of the Chicano struggle as reflected by Chicano youth defending affirmative action and immigrant rights, such as the October 12 march in Washington, D.C. Ted Leonard, director of the fund in New Jersey, reported that contributions are coming in faster, but that an extra effort will be needed to collect remaining pledges on time. More than $1,600 was collected at the event.

Pittsburgh supporters sent out a letter to everyone who has shown recent interest in Pathfinder books. Written by Lorraine Starsky, it pointed to the fund as a way to put the history and lessons of working-class struggles into the hands of today's fighters. The letter reported interest in the reprint of Labor's Giant Step by Art Preis. This book recounts the titanic labor battles that led to the formation of modern industrial unions in the United States, and was one of many titles sold to strikers and supporters of the McDonnell Douglas strike in St. Louis. Backers of Pathfinder also brought an assortment of books and pamphlets to participants in the United Steelworkers of America convention, which was held in Pittsburgh.  
 
 
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