BY JOSHUA CARROLL
CHICAGO - "We would like to thank the many, many people from the Militant...who helped us and for their great coverage through this struggle. They helped us on our picket lines and at our rallies.... Their true fact reporting articles were very important to us," read a letter from six union activists from East Peoria, Illinois, who have been involved in the seven-year battle by the United Auto Workers (UAW) against Caterpillar.

The letter was read by Verónica Poses, a member of the National Executive Committee of the Young Socialists, to an audience of 60 people attending a one-day socialist regional socialist conference in Chicago to welcome back Militant reporters Argiris Malapanis and Jack Willey from their trip to the Balkans and Cairo.

The conference, with participation from around the Midwest, was the site of the most successful fund-raising for the $110,000 international Militant Fund campaign to date: some $5,400 was collected in checks and cash. Supporters of the Militant in Chicago collected more than $4,000 in contributions there. Participants from Des Moines contributed $510, and those present from Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, donated $650.

Malapanis and Willey gave an eyewitness account of the revolt by workers and farmers in Kosovo fighting for the right to self-determination for the Albanian population there, and the moves by imperialist powers toward military confrontation with Yugoslavia, Russia, and other workers states. They also spoke about a meeting in Cairo of the World Federation of Democratic Youth, and the historic opportunities today to begin to rebuild a worldwide anti- imperialist youth organization. Willey referred to the demonstrations of tens of thousands of students in Egypt against U.S. imperialism's war threats against the people of Iraq. Those involved in these actions and the mobilizations for self-determination in Kosovo were among the forces out of which a new anti-imperialist international movement would be built, he stressed.

During the discussion following the presentations, several participants described talking to co-workers who are Albanian and Yugoslav about the fight for Kosovo's independence.

Malapanis pointed out that one of the most important things socialist workers can do is help these workers link up with Puerto Rican independence fighters, workers involved in fights against Caterpillar and other bosses, and others in struggle.

Several conference participants described how workers involved in struggles appreciated the Militant's coverage, not just of labor battles but of other fights of workers, farmers, and those fighting national oppression.

Ray Parsons, a worker at Bridgestone/Firestone in Des Moines, talked about how he and other supporters of the Militant from Des Moines sold 68 copies of the paper in three plant-gate visits to workers involved in a contract fight at Case Corp.

NEWARK, New Jersey - Militant supporters around the world have begun to host political meetings to raise money for the Militant Fund.

Here in Newark, Mámud Shirvani spoke on the growing conflict between imperialism and the workers states in the Caspian Sea region. Those attending the meeting contributed nearly $1,000 and made pledges for $3,000.

At a special Militant Labor Forum in Christchurch, New Zealand, partisans of the Militant received $765 in pledges and donations. Patrick Brown, the featured speaker, reported on the recent International Book Fair in Havana, which he participated in to promote books published by Pathfinder Press. Brown was also part of a Militant reporting team in Cuba that among other things interviewed cooperative workers near Havana on how they are meeting the challenge of organizing agricultural production. Brown spoke at a similar forum in Auckland the week before, where the 25 people present pledged or donated $930.

From Birmingham, Alabama, socialist steelworker Meg Novak reports that Militant supporters there who are members of the United Steelworkers of America have taken on a goal of raising $75 from co-workers for the fund. Novak also said supporters of the socialist paper in the Birmingham area have taken steps to accelerate collection of previously made pledges and get back on schedule.  
 
 
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