Given the momentum built over the last week, the $30,000 target can be surpassed. Pledges now exceed the goal by nearly $1,600.

The fund was launched October 31 to help the Militant defend itself against a harassment lawsuit filed by the Kingstons, the owners of the Co-Op mine in Utah. Some readers have decided to contribute based on the Militant’s consistent coverage and support for this union-organizing fight.

“I’ve followed your coverage of the Co-Op mine struggle in Utah since its inception and find it entirely proper,” said Michael Ellsworth from Denver in a note he sent along with his donation. “If outfits like C.W. Mining are allowed to amass fiefdoms on western lands rich with unexploited coal deposits workers will all pay the price. I’d like to add my penny weight to the scale and see it tilt to a full blown victory in defense of your reporting.”

“I recognize the threat posed by the Kingstons’ harassment lawsuit and I have found that the Militant is far and away the best labor paper and the best radical paper,” said Loren Meyer from Montana, in letter that accompanied a fund contribution.

Partisans of the Militant in many cities have taken extra steps to ensure the goal is met in full and on time—mailing fundraising letters, setting goals for contributions in their areas, holding public events, and calling Militant readers in their cities. Distributors in New York said they have $8,525 in pledges towards their goal of $9,000, with more than half collected. They sent a fund appeal to 300 Militant readers and they are following up the letter with phone calls inviting people to a December 10 public forum on the fight to organize western coal and on raising money for the fund. Distributors in Birmingham, Alabama, have $1,000 in pledges towards their goal of $1,200 and are also holding a public event for the fund on the same date.

Distributors in 13 cities have set their own quotas that now total $27,600. In many cases, pledges have surpassed these local goals. In Los Angeles, for example, distributors raised their goal to $3,500 after pledges exceeded their initial target of $3,000.

The Militant is among 120 defendants—including the UMWA, 17 current and former Co-Op miners, the Catholic Church in Utah, and the two main dailies in the state—in the lawsuit. These individuals and organizations are cited on allegations of “unlawful labor practices” and “defamation” of the Co-Op bosses. The fund will cover initial legal fees and costs for organizing a public defense campaign. Contributions should be made out to the Militant, earmarked “Militant Fighting Fund,” and sent to: The Militant, 306 W. 37th Street, 10th floor, New York, N.Y. 10018.  
 
 
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