BY GABRIEL CLARK AND AIDEN BAKER
This column is written and edited by the Young Socialists
(YS), an international organization of young workers,
students, and other youth fighting for socialism. For more
information about the YS write to: Young Socialists, 3284
23rd St., San Francisco, California, 94110. Tel: (415) 824-
1429.
E-mail: 105162.605@compuserve.com
On July 13, a team consisting of members of the Young Socialists and the Socialist Workers Party from Birmingham and Atlanta began a trip to meet workers at textile mills throughout the South. The team was organized in light of the recent unionizing victory of textile workers at Fieldcrest Cannon (now Pillowtex) in Kannapolis, North Carolina.
The team met at Auburn University, where we set up a Pathfinder literature table to sell the Militant and books to students. We sold six copies of the Militant newspaper and a copy of The Struggle Is My Life by Nelson Mandela. Young Socialists were able to meet and discuss various issues surrounding youth today with two Auburn students. One student was eager to hear about the Militant Labor Forum on textile workers struggles that had just taken place in Birmingham, and to discuss more with YS members. We are going back to have a class with him and others on "A Sea Change in Working- Class Politics," the first section in Capitalism's World Disorder: Working-Class Politics at the Millennium.
From Auburn, the team went to the Fieldcrest Cannon mill in Phenix City, Alabama. There we sold eight copies of the Militant to workers.
After spending the night in Atlanta, the team left for the Fieldcrest Cannon mills in Kannapolis. We sold 14 copies of the Militant to workers there, who brought the Militant into work to share it with co-workers and also gave us a good taste of their recent victory. And we got a feel for the various view points on the recent events.
Union supporters are gearing up for the next round in the fight - getting a first contract. They are not waiting around for the National Labor Relation's Board to decide that they won the June 22-23 union election - but are continuing to organize inside the mill. The UNITE union hall on the main street in Kannapolis is active and a union meeting was being planned.
Some workers who voted for the union remain skeptical of what the union will provide. Several young workers expressed that they will be happy if winning the union gets them a raise. Some workers said they hated the job so much that they did not bother to vote
At the second Fieldcrest Cannon plant, where we sold five copies of the Militant, we met a worker who told us, "All I can say is that I'm glad we got the union. It means a lot to us." In the last election a majority of workers in this plant were opposed to the union. Workers reported that the company practice of "devaluing the looms" making weavers work more looms while lowering wages had convinced many workers that their only hope was to join the fight for a union.
Since the team visited Kannapolis, the NLRB began hearings on July 27 on the election at Pillowtex.
After Kannapolis, the team traveled to Greensboro, North Carolina. In the morning, we went to Cone Mills, which makes denim cloth. There, we sold five copies of the Militant newspaper. In the afternoon, we set up a Pathfinder literature table at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Despite the lack of traffic due to the reduced number of classes, we were able to sell six Militants.
Later that afternoon, the team went to Eden, North Carolina to the Karastan mill where rugs are made. Workers there recognized the Militant from when socialist workers were in the mill, and purchased nine copies of the paper.
To conclude the trip, we paid a visit to strikers at Continental General Tire in Charlotte, North Carolina. We were able to discuss the different issues surrounding the strike in recent weeks. The unionists told us they were organizing to get to Washington, D.C., for the planned solidarity rally for the Newport News shipyard workers. Strikers bought four copies of the Militant at the picket line.
During the three day trip, the team sold a total of 58 copies of the Militant to workers and youth from around the South through our various sales at shopping centers, campuses, and mills.