November 13, 2004

Dear Reader,

On October 31, the Militant launched a Militant Fighting Fund to raise $30,000 to help the socialist newsweekly defend itself against a harassment lawsuit filed against the paper by the owners of the Co-Op mine in Huntington, Utah.

The fund is off to a good start. So far, 240 people have contributed or made pledges amounting to $25,462. We have set a December 15 deadline for raising the entire $30,000.

On September 24, C.W. Mining and the International Association of United Workers Union, the company union at the Co-Op mine, launched a lawsuit against the United Mine Workers of America, 17 former and current Co-Op miners, and dozens of organizations and individuals who have supported the struggle by UMWA-backers at that mine to be represented by the union of their choice. In addition to the Militant, the 120 defendants include the Salt Lake Tribune, the Deseret Morning News, the Price Sun- Advocate, the Archbishop of Utah, the Salt Lake Archdiocese, the Socialist Workers Party and several dozen more.

Twenty-four of the lawsuit’s 76 pages consist of allegations that the Militant’s coverage on the more than one-year battle to bring the UMWA into the Co-Op mine contains defamations and libelous material.

The Militant has a proud record of covering this struggle since it started in September 2003. Fifty-three of the 58 issues of the paper printed since then have included articles on the miners’ struggle. We make no apologies for reporting accurately on the wages and working conditions facing workers at that mine, their efforts to reach out for solidarity, and how this battle fits into the broader struggle for unionization of the coalfields in the western United States.

Lawsuits like this one are designed to get the attention of those named away from the central issue, which is the UMWA’s organization of this mine.

This nuisance lawsuit is designed to tie up our time, drain us financially, and get us to back off our support. Far from being intimidated, the Militant is continuing its weekly coverage of the workers’ battle to organize this mine.

The $30,000 Militant Fighting Fund will pay for retaining competent attorneys, the initial legal bills, and for mounting a public political defense.

Participants at the New York meeting on October 31, “Before the Vote: The Real Results of the U.S. Election Campaign,” [see article in November 16 Militant] helped get this fund off to an excellent start. Because of this, we have the possibility of going well over the $30,000 goal.

We urge our distributors to reach out broadly to readers of the Militant in your area. Our goal should be to talk to every subscriber to the Militant and its sister Spanish-language monthly Perspectiva Mundial. Ask them to dig deeply to contribute to this fund.

Please have contributions sent to: The Militant, 306 W. 37th Street, 10th floor, New York, N.Y. 10018. Please write checks or money orders to The Militant and earmark them “Militant Fighting Fund.”

Fraternally,
Sam Manuel
Director, Militant Fighting Fund  
 
 
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