Socialist workers and Young Socialists are also taking advantage of the new Pathfinder book Cuba and the Coming American Revolution to deepen discussions about working-class struggles in the United States and the need to build a revolutionary party capable of leading the struggle for political power. This is one of the most effective ways to sell Militant and PM subscriptions.

Coming out of a target week the drive has gained the kind of momentum needed to meet the international goals. This week’s sales chart--in addition to phone calls and e-mail reports indicating even more progress--shows a concerted effort in the final week can make a difference in the drive. The May 26–June 3 target week was our best week yet with sales of 115 Militant subscriptions, 53 PM subs, and a whopping 455 books and pamphlets. Organizing daily sales activities in workers districts, selling at plant gates and on the job, and participating in political events can ensure success and push the drive over the top.

"We made all our sales goals after selling the Militant and PM near the Perdue poultry plant in Georgetown, Delaware, where workers walk and ride their bicycles to work," reports Stu Singer, a meat packer in Washington. Socialist workers in the city plan to continue the circulation campaign on the job this week and have planned sales activities every evening. "Several of us are also going to South Carolina on a bus sponsored by the AFL-CIO for the rally to demand justice for dockworkers fighting frame-up riot charges," Singer reported.

Discussing the new book with workers and youth interested in socialist literature is one of the best ways to win new readers. By going through the photo pages of the book, many protesters against cop brutality, co-workers on the job, unionists on picket lines, and others can be convinced to subscribe and get a copy of Cuba and the Coming American Revolution for only $5 more. The pictures and descriptions of determined and confident workers and farmers in struggle, from civil rights fighters defending themselves against Klan violence to defense guards of the Teamsters confronting employer-financed fascist forces in Minnesota in the 1930s, and the combatants in Cuba who put an end to brutality against working people there by taking political power, help many see the broader goals of and possibilities for revolutionary struggle.

Liz Wayman from Pittsburgh said she and others found a good response at the recent demonstration against police violence in Cincinnati. Young Socialists and Socialist Workers Party members from six cities "joined about 2,000 protesters from all over the country," she wrote. "Many of the marchers there expressed clear disgust with the capitalist system of ‘justice,’ especially concerning the brutality police are allowed to inflict on ordinary citizens who have no recourse for defending themselves against cop attacks that may or may not be witnessed or reported.

"It rained but that didn’t stop our team’s energy," she wrote. "Together we sold eight subscriptions to the Militant, six copies of Cuba and the Coming American Revolution, five of The Working Class and the Transformation of Learning, as well as one copy of Che Guevara Talks to Young People, Is Biology Woman’s Destiny? and several titles in Spanish," said Wayman. "One young woman I talked to asked me what I recommended as a good title to read, and I suggested The Working Class and the Transformation of Learning. She examined the front and back, then stated it seems worth the risk. When I suggested a Militant to go with it, she bought one and asked if there was contact information in it."  
 
Target week boosts sub drive
"In the New York Garment District we set up five literature tables on Sunday and called up people we met earlier who told us to call them back about subscribing to the Militant," said Dan Fein. "We visited a Dominican worker who decided to purchase a Militant subscription and three books. During our discussions with him about working-class politics and the Cuban Revolution he remarked, "Look how the U.S. government is spending all this money on more prisons and cops. What does that tell you about this country?’"

Fein said they sold 10 Militant subscriptions, 5 PM subscriptions, and 21 copies of the three books and pamphlets that are part of the drive that day. "This capped off a successful target week where we sold 22 Militant subscriptions, 11 PM subscriptions, and 45 pamphlets." Fine noted that several garment workers in the area purchased copies or subscriptions to the socialist publications. Two members of the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa visiting the United States stopped by a street table and purchased nearly $100 of literature, including titles by Karl Marx, V.I. Lenin, Malcolm X, and Jack Barnes.

Socialist workers in Grand Junction wrapped up a successful target week with a visit to Kemmerer, Wyoming. They sold the Militant at the Pittsburg & Midway coal mine portal and door-to-door in Kemmerer and neighboring Diamondville.

"At the portal the first miner who stopped said he had sent his subscription in two weeks ago," wrote Jeremy Rose. "Two more miners stopped and signed up for subscriptions. One also got a copy of The Working Class and the Transformation of Learning.

"A third miner said he didn’t have any money with him, but wanted to subscribe. He gave us his phone number and asked us to call him later. When we arrived at his house, he already had a subscription coupon filled out. He explained he’d been reading his brother’s sub for a while and had been meaning to send it in. After a political discussion with us he also decided to buy Cuba and the Coming American Revolution, The Working Class and the Transformation of Learning and Pathfinder was Born with the October Revolution.

"A retired miner also bought a subscription. All told we sold four Militant subscriptions, four pamphlets, a copy of Cuba and the Coming American Revolution, and seven copies of the Militant."  
 
 
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