The following account gives a glimpse: “Normally we sell three to six copies of the Militant here,” said Dave Prince from New York in a September 29 note. He was referring to the Hunts Point meat market in the Bronx, New York, where Militant readers sell the paper every week. “Yesterday morning we sold 10 copies and one driver out of Pennsylvania bought a subscription,” Prince said.

“The guy who subscribed reached out to shake my hand after looking over the paper. A second driver who bought the paper, an independent trucker out of the South, told us he was ready to sign up for something. He described the low pay, favoritism, and long hours they face.”

This was a typical response among truckers along the East Coast of the United States and many other working people last week.

In addition to regular weekly sales at factory gates around New York, special Militant sub teams went to other workplaces. “We organized teams to workers at UPS, DHL, Overnite trucking, and the port in Red Hook, Brooklyn,” said Dan Fein. “The response has been extremely good. We have sold more subscriptions in New York in two weeks than we did during the entire seven-week effort last spring.” New York raised its quota from 250 to 350.

At Port Newark, New Jersey, subbing has been brisk. “After 40 minutes we had sold 4 subscriptions and 17 copies of the paper,” said Angel Lariscy from Newark about a September 28 visit. There was a similar response a week later. “We had another great sale to truckers this morning,” Lariscy said October 4, “selling 6 subs and 12 singles, and then 3 more subs on campus.”

At a truck stop in Wilmington, California, sandwiched between the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, truckers bought 25 copies and one sub October 1, in spite of slow Saturday traffic.

“We sold the sub to a Mexican driver, a real union guy,” reported Frank Forrestal from Los Angeles. “On his most recent trip, he said he was paid $850, but his fuel costs came to $500, and he had to replace a tire for $370. He was glad to hear about some of the successes in Miami and told us about port drivers’ efforts in Los Angeles to organize—so far unsuccessfully. We exchanged phone numbers and he told us about another location to meet drivers.”

A team of Militant readers went subbing at coal mining areas in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia September 29-October 2, selling 25 subs and 155 copies. They sold outside eight mine portals in northern Appalachia, door-to-door in many coalfield towns, on campuses, and at picket lines of striking workers at the PPG chemical plant in West Virginia, the Ormet Aluminum plant in Hannibal, Ohio, and of parking lot attendants in Pittsburgh organized by the Teamsters.

“There was a real positive response in the discussion with workers to what’s in the paper, like the strike coverage and the articles on Hurricane Katrina,” said Chris Sang from Pittsburgh. “People knew what they could expect and wanted to try a subscription.”

A regional team will sell subs in Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska October 8-11. Efforts to reach coal miners in the West and truckers in Charleston, South Carolina, begin October 15. Readers are urged to help. To join a team contact Militant supporters nearest you (see directory of local distributors) or the paper directly.

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