The Militant - 3/2/98 -- Miners, Boeing Workers Buy The `Militant'

Vol.62/No.8 March 2, 1998

Miners, Boeing Workers Buy The `Militant'
RED JACKET, West Virginia - "I'm opposed to the United States going to war with Iraq. Three of my friends from high school were killed in the Gulf War. Its senseless killing," 23- year-old Darlene Rowe told a team of four socialist workers from Birmingham, Alabama, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who were selling the Militant door-to-door in the coal mining communities of southern West Virginia. Over three days the sales team sold 25 copies of the Militant newspaper, two subscriptions, and one copy of the booklet Celebrating the Homecoming of Ernesto Che Guevara's Reinforcement Brigade.

Coal miners at seven different mine portals bought 13 single issues of the socialist paper. We sold at least one Militant at every portal we went to. During the shift change at the Norfolk-Southern rail yard in Williamson the team sold five papers to rail workers. The team also visited the Matewan Historical Museum and talked to the director about stocking Pathfinder titles. The Museum, which commemorates the struggles of coal miners in Mingo county, carries a lot of labor titles and the director agreed to place an order for five copies of Mother Jones Speaks and possibly other titles in the future.

Mark Gilsdorf

*****
SEATTLE - On February 14 supporters of the Militant went to Fort Lewis Army Base south of Tacoma, Washington, to sell the paper and campaign against U.S. war moves in Iraq. One soldier expressed opposition to the war the U.S. government is about to wage against the Iraqi people, as well as interest in the Militant's coverage on the occupation of Northern Ireland by British imperialism. The team sold seven copies of the Militant to soldiers stationed at the base.

Volunteer distributors have been regularly - and consistently - selling the Militant at the Boeing factory in Renton every Thursday during the afternoon shift change for the last 12 weeks. At least one newspaper each week, and as many as four Militants are sold at a time. The plant gate sale is a collaborative effort of members of both the Socialist Workers Party and the Young Socialists chapter in Seattle. We also distribute leaflets advertising the Militant Labor forums held in Seattle each week.

One woman worker who stopped to buy a paper said her daughter was in the armed forces in the Persian Gulf and she was concerned about her. That same day a Black worker wearing an "Operation Desert Storm" hat, stopped to talk. He had been in the Persian Gulf War in 1991. He thought Saddam had to "be taken out." The next week he stopped again to talk.

Recently, a Boeing worker stopped when she realized that this paper was against the war drive, and came back to buy one. On another day, an Asian worker already had his money out to buy the Militant as he walked across the street to the spot where we stand.

Autumn Knowlton and Scott Breen

*****
MIAMI - Sales at the CSX rail yard here continue at a brisk pace. This past week a co-worker bought a copy of the New International with the article "The Opening Guns of World War III" in Spanish. Two others bought copies of the Militant this week. One was a veteran of the Persian Gulf War in 1991. He was very interested in the picket lines and protests that have occurred already before the war has started. The other person who got the Militant wanted to go to our regular weekly picket line protesting U.S. involvement in Iraq but couldn't make it last week due to work. When he found out that the cops came and tried to shut down the picket line, he wanted to be there this week to defend our right to protest Washington's drive to war.

At a rally for immigrant rights on February 9, Militant supporters sold 16 single issues of the socialist newsweekly and two copies of New International no. 7 in French, as well as several other Pathfinder titles.

Kay Sedam

*****
ATLANTA - We have launched a campaign of James Harris for Governor of Georgia and already put out a statement on Washington's drive toward war against Iraq at two protests.

We found out February 16 that Ward Connerly, the man who introduced the anti-affirmative action measure Prop. 209 in California, was to speak at Emory University. We immediately joined with others to protest and held a lively picket in front of Emory, marching to the meeting and entering the hall chanting, "Fight Discrimination, Defend Affirmative Action." There were about 60 people who attended the protest. Supporters of the Militant sold 10 papers and built a planning meeting for February 19 to forge a coalition against the war drive, as well as building a meeting for Cuban Interests Section representative Johana Tablada on February 24.

Abby Tilsner

*****
AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Two socialist workers from Auckland joined Militant supporters in the capital city of Wellington February 17 to sell 16 copies of the paper at a 1,200-strong antigovernment protest, which was called by unions in the city to coincide with the opening of parliament. A team of socialist campaigners also got a good response when they set up sales tables in the northern town of Waitangi on Waitangi Day, February 6. The day has become a focus of protest and discussion in support of Maori rights. Twenty-two copies of the Militant were sold, as well as a copy of Bolshevik leader V.I. Lenin's Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism.

At demonstrations in Auckland and Christchurch February 13 to protest Washington's plans to bomb Iraq, 15 copies of the Militant and a copy of NI no. 7 were sold. A young worker who had helped to build the protest in Christchurch came to a Militant Labor Forum later that night and decided to buy a copy of NI no. 7 and of the book Socialism on Trial.

Socialist workers have been stepping up sales on the job in response to Washington's impending war, selling 16 copies of the paper nationally to co-workers in the first two weeks of the campaign and a copy of Celebrating the Homecoming of Ernesto Che Guevara's Reinforcement Brigade to Cuba.

A young woman at a food processing plant in Auckland, who had a subscription to the Militant last year, decided to buy a single copy to find out about the U.S. war moves against Iraq. After reading it, she asked to renew her subscription.

Michael Tucker

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