BY NAN BAILEY
SEATTLE - Pledges so far have reached $169,780 in the
campaign launched by the Socialist Workers Party to raise
monthly contributions from supporters of the party to
$175,000 annually. The campaign's goal is to increase these
contributions - which totaled $139,000 over the last
year - to the new level by August 8, the last day of the
Active Workers conference in Oberlin, Ohio.
The increase in pledges reflects goals taken and pledges raised in eight cities so far: Boston, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Twin Cities, and Washington, D.C.
The pledges that have been raised so rapidly reflect a tremendous response from supporters in several cities. They are reacting with enthusiasm to the party's appeal to help raise the funds that will be put to use by the party to help take advantage of the political opportunities opening as we participate as communist workers in struggles taking place across the country: from union struggles like those of Steelworkers striking against Newport News Shipbuilding and Kaiser Aluminum, to political protests such as actions demanding freedom for Puerto Rican political prisoners.
Below we reprint a letter written by Sara Gates, a supporter in Seattle who has agreed to coordinate the campaign nationally. Supporters interested in helping with this campaign are welcome to join us by making a pledge or raising the amount of a current pledge.
Nan Bailey is a member of the SWP's Trade Union Committee.
July 12, 1999
Dear Supporters,
Now is an exciting time to be a supporter of the Socialist Workers Party. Mary-Alice Waters' report to the Toronto convention and conference organized by the Communist League in Canada in April of last year registered the qualitative increase in numbers and breadth of supporters coming forward to help increase the striking power of the SWP and its sister parties around the world. The successful work of the Pathfinder reprint project was cited in that report as one of the important ways supporters are stepping up their activity.
Politics today presents the party with new opportunities, and the party is responding with decisions like establishing a branch organizing committee in St. Louis, to forming two new organizing committees in the coal fields. All these opportunities present new challenges. Finances is one challenge, and is an area where supporters of the party have been of particular help in the past. The party is proposing that we increase that support in an organized way.
The SWP has embarked on a campaign to raise the annual contributions to the party by supporters to the National Office from its present level of $139,000 to $175,000 by the end of the Active Workers Conference in Oberlin, Ohio, on August 8. Supporters around the country are encouraged to participate in this campaign, which begins with working with branch executive committees in your area to set a goal for how much the level of monthly contributions can be raised in your area to help meet the $175,000 goal.
Here in Seattle we held a meeting on Sunday, June 20, at which time we discussed this campaign. The jump from $139,000 to $175,000 is a 26 percent increase, so we decided to increase our participation by that amount. Currently, supporters in Seattle contribute $1,692 monthly. We decided to raise that by $440 to $2,132 monthly. We had a good discussion about how we can reach this goal. We suggested that each supporter who now contributes should consider whether he or she can raise their pledge. We discussed a number of other party supporters who do not currently pledge and agreed that we should suggest to the branch executive committee that we meet with these people and discuss the campaign.
With some preliminary work done before the meeting, and with some raises offered at the meeting, we've raised the amount pledged monthly to $222, more than halfway toward our goal! We think that other areas will be inspired by this campaign, too.
I have been asked to organize the campaign among supporters and a steering committee of other supporters in Seattle is working with me to coordinate this effort. We are asking supporters in every area to contact us directly about the progress you are registering in this campaign, including the local goal you've taken. We will be keeping a chart of our progress nationally and will distribute it to local areas. If you haven't already done so, please contact me at the E-mail address below.
We'd also like to receive the name and E-mail address of the supporter in each area who takes responsibility for collecting the monthly contributions.
In solidarity,
Sara Gates
gatesbruneau@compuserve.com