Howard Beck, recording secretary for United Steel Workers Local 8-578 and himself an endorser of the Militant Fighting Fund, gave a presentation at the Jobs with Justice meeting and encouraged the organization to become endorsers. “There was a lot of support for the Militant’s freedom of the press rights. Many of the people at the meeting know what the Militant has done writing about the Co-Op miners struggle,” said Beck. “The important thing now is that there were quite a few people in the labor movement who were at the meeting and can be followed up on.”

Jobs with Justice is one of the organizations in the Salt Lake City area that have organized support activities for the Co-Op miners over the past year and a half. As a result of that work, which included food drives, car caravans to Huntington for rallies, and picket lines at C.W. Mining-related businesses in Salt Lake City, the organization became a target of the coal company and was also sued for defamation as part of the C.W. Mining case. “There was also a lot of support at our executive board meeting for organizing another solidarity action with the Co-Op miners in Salt Lake City,” said George Neckel, director of Utah Jobs with Justice.

Another recent endorser of the Militant Fighting Fund in Salt Lake City is Brooke Hopkins, professor of English at the University of Utah. Hopkins gave a list of some 15 other professors at the university he thought would be interested in becoming endorsers and encouraged organizers of the Militant Fighting Fund to use his name when contacting them. Hopkins also contributed $100 to the defense campaign.

Two professors in California have also signed on as endorsers of the defense campaign.

“As a member of our faculty union, I support the right of working people everywhere to organize and bargain collectively,” wrote Eugene Ruyle, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at California State University, Long Beach. “The lawsuit must be opposed, and I thank the Militant Fighting Fund and the Political Rights Defense Fund for their role in fighting this attempt to intimidate and harass the workers and their supporters. I am enclosing a small donation to help in this crucial struggle.”

“The fight to defend the Militant newspaper and the SWP against the mine owners’ harassment lawsuit…is an important battleground today in defense of free speech and freedom of the press,” wrote Peter McLaren, a professor at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, in a May 12 endorsement letter.

New literature has been put out explaining the Militant Fighting Fund campaign and the stakes for the labor movement and supporters of free speech and freedom of the press in beating back the C.W. Mining harassment lawsuit. This new material can be ordered by writing to Militant Fighting Fund, P.O. Box 520994, Salt Lake City, UT, 84152, or sending an email to MilitantFightingFund@yahoo.com. Much needed contributions can also be sent to the above address.
 
 
Related articles:
Endorse, give to Militant Fighting Fund
Socialist workers in U.S. coal mines:
The organization of western coal has begun; ‘let’s act on it’  
 
 
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