BY ESTELLE DEBATES
NEW YORK - Supporters of the Socialist Workers 1999 Party
Building Fund organized substantial collections over the past
week totaling $12,143. This effort helped the national fund
drive get closer on target. By building on this effort and
collecting $16,235 each week over the next three weeks, we can
close the gap and complete the drive successfully by the June
15 deadline.
The systematic effort by supporters in Detroit has steadily moved them up the chart and should serve as an example to fund backers throughout the country. The work done to win new pledges has been combined with selling copies of Capitalism's World Disorder: Working-Class Politics at the Millennium and encouraging people to get a current subscription to the Militant. "We have found that more and more workers who read the Militant and books by Pathfinder are open to taking these materials to work and encouraging co-workers to read them," said Willie Reid, a fund supporter who is a member of the United Auto Workers. "We decided that we needed to make a special effort to get these workers, who we've gotten to know through various labor struggles here, involved in the fund." A special focus is building a June 6 meeting featuring Jack Willey, a meatpacker from central Illinois who has recently been a part a Militant sales team reaching out to workers in that region.
"We decided to not only invite fighters we know to come to the meeting," said Reid, "but to involve them in building the meeting in their workplaces. That is, working with them to see if we can win a few others to participate in the meeting as well."
Through their efforts they were able to send in an additional $1,030 collected on pledges this past week. In addition, Reid reported that the pledges in the Detroit area now go far over their initial goal, which they plan to raise. Doing this prior to the fund events planned in many cities will make them events where workers, farmers, and youth can come together, share experiences and discuss working-class politics - and raise money.
Twin Cities also moved up the chart this week, sending in $1,659 collected mostly at a fund meeting held on May 21. Several supporters spent the day doing door-to-door sales in southern Minnesota before heading up to Minneapolis for the meeting, which featured Maggie Trowe, a meatpacker from Des Moines, Iowa. Trowe spoke on the struggles of packinghouse workers today, including the fight to defend the rights of immigrant workers and why this is a central question for the working class and its unions. Lawrence Mikesh, a member of the Young Socialists, spoke on his experiences on a recent sales team to the Wyoming coal mining region.
He also prepared a photo exhibit of the trip for the meeting. Gaetan Whiston, a meatpacker from southern Minnesota, gave a pitch for the fund and encouraged participants to join a week- long Militant and Perspectiva Mundial sales team to working- class neighborhoods and packinghouses in Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska.
A meeting sponsored by supporters in New York and New Jersey added an additional $2,609 to this week's total. The "Eyewitness Report from Yugoslavia" included a talk and photo display by Argiris Malapanis, who headed up an international team of reporters for the Militant. Twenty new pledges were made at the event.
By continuing to reach out to struggles in the working class and organizing discussions with workers supportive of the activities of the Socialist Workers Party, we can build the special meetings coming up in several cities and win new contributors to the fund. Cities that have already held a meeting should consider holding a wrap up event to help ensure local goals are met.
All funds received by Tuesday at noon will appear on next week's scoreboard.
Contributions can be sent to 410 West Street, New York, NY 10014. Please make checks and money orders out to Socialist Workers Party.