That is what campaign supporters have done as they have fanned out across the city to collect signatures to put the socialist alternative on the ballot in November. Nearly 800 people signed the Socialist Workers nominating petitions in the first 10 days of the drive. Socialists here aim to collect nearly double the 1,000 names required for ballot status by the end of June.

While some people approached by socialist campaigners have argued against the strike - and some have been won over after hearing the facts - there are many more who have said that the SEPTA strikers are fighting for all working people. Campaign supporters have spoken with Teamsters, city workers, nurses, and construction workers while petitioning, and all have told similar tales of takeback demands and appreciation for the SEPTA strikers.

"I spoke with three teachers over the course of petitioning on Saturday, June 13," reported John Staggs, Socialist Workers candidate for U.S. Senate. "And each of them wanted to know where the candidate stood on the strike before they would sign. They all believed this strike was critical for labor."

J.P. Crysdale of the Young Socialists described the response he got to petitioning that day as "enthusiastic." One woman who signed the petition, Crysdale explained, "came back with her husband who is a TWU striker. I gave him a statement on the strike and he said, `Are you for real? This is great!' "

Socialist campaigners have been at nearly every strike support activity and at many picket lines since the beginning of the battle. At the June 10 labor solidarity rally of 1,500, campaign supporters sold 32 issues of the Militant and signed up 22 of those who stopped by a campaign literature table to put the socialist candidates on the ballot.  
 
 
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