The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.61/No.30           September 8, 1997 
 
 
Use 'Militant' To Reach Out To Fighting Workers  
 Dear reader,As you read this issue, socialist industrial workers, members of the Young Socialists, and other Militant readers are kicking off a drive to win 1,300 new subscribers to our newsweekly and 400 to our sister publication in Spanish Perspectiva Mundial. Our supporters also aim to sell 600 copies of the Marxist magazine New International during the eight-week subscription drive that begins August 30. We urge you to join them and use the Militant to reach out to fighting workers and youth with the tools that provide the facts, a Marxist analysis of world politics, and a revolutionary perspective. There are plenty of opportunities every day. Here's what some of our readers have told us they are planning for the first ten days of the circulation effort.

In Detroit, large contingents of unionists are expected to participate in the Labor Day Parade there September 1. They include Detroit News workers who are fighting to regain their jobs, and members of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, who are demanding a new contract. Many Teamsters, still fresh from their victory against UPS, will join the march. Contingents of United Auto Workers members are also expected, many of whom recently struck General Motors.

Militant supporters in Detroit are organizing classes with members of the Young Socialists over Labor Day weekend that will discuss the latest developments in the Cuban revolution and working-class politics in the trade unions. They have invited readers from Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Toronto to join them. The educational discussions are part of an all out effort to win new subscribers among marchers on Labor Day and elsewhere in the area.

Haitian and other organizations are expecting a sizable turnout for the August 29 march in Brooklyn to demand "Justice for Abner Louima." Buses are coming from throughout the region, including 10 from New Jersey. Militant supporters in New York are hosting an open house for participants in the march that evening. They are also organizing door-to-door teams and literature tables to sell subscriptions and Pathfinder books over the weekend. At the end of the day, on Sunday, August 31, they are holding a class on the lessons of the UPS strike. And the following day, they are planning to set up literature tables at the annual Caribbean Day Parade in Brooklyn. In the past, this festival has attracted up to a million participants. Militant readers from throughout the region are joining in the several-day propaganda effort.

Leaders of Sinn Fein will speak in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco September 5-7. These meetings will be a good place to mix it up with supporters of the Irish freedom struggle and others, talk about politics, and win some new subscribers.

This week, socialist workers in Birmingham are also organizing a regional sales team to visit the coal fields in western Kentucky, where the United Mineworkers of America recently scored important organizing victories. Regional sales teams are being planned in California and Washington state, where the United Farm Workers are fighting to organize strawberry and apple pickers. Other activities include a conference of Working Women in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the AFL-CIO.

Around the world, Militant supporters are involved in similar activities as the subscription drive gets rolling.

Recent reports indicate that there is a growing receptivity for socialist literature among rebellious workers, working farmers, and youth.

Socialists in Birmingham sold two subscriptions to the Militant, several single issues, and 31 books and pamphlets at an August 15-16 conference of Black farmers in Epes, Alabama. They also sold 20 copies of the Militant at three mine portals last week. "Plantgate teams in Detroit found a wide interest in the Militant's coverage on the UPS strike," reported Holly Harkness from that city. "Seven copies were sold to steelworkers at the Monday, August 25, shift change at Great Lakes Steel."

We urge all our readers to join this effort. If you are interested, contact distributors listed on page 12 or the Militant business office. And send us sales stories and photos from these events every week.

Maurice Williams, Business Manager  
 
 
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