Vol. 70/No. 1
January 9, 2006
Militant Fighting Fund wins new support
C.W. Mining, owners of the Co-Op coal mine in Huntington, Utah, have filed a harassment lawsuit targeting 16 coal miners, the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), and other individuals and organizations supporting the miners’ fight to win UMWA representation. The Militant Fighting Fund was launched to help defend the Militant, a prominent target of the suit. Endorsements and contributions can be sent to the Militant Fighting Fund, P.O. Box 520994, Salt Lake City, UT 84152-0994. Materials on the case are posted on www.themilitant.com
BY FELICITY COGGAN
AUCKLAND, New Zealand—Trade unionists in New Zealand are adding their names to the growing list of endorsers of the Militant Fighting Fund.
At a recent meeting of the executive of Local 13 of the Maritime Union of New Zealand, five union officers signed on following a presentation by supporters of the fund. They included local president Denis Carlisle and vice president Dave Phillips. The local voted to make a NZ$500 donation—the second contribution they have made to the fund (NZ$1=US 70 cents).
On December 9, Laila Harré, the national secretary of the National Distribution Union (NDU), whose members include garment workers, drivers, timber workers, meat packers, and shop workers, endorsed the fund on behalf of the union. NDU organizer Teresa Brown has also endorsed.
Other union support has come from Service and Food Workers Union senior organizers Sarah Barker and Jill Ovens, Unite union senior organizer Mike Treen, and Writers Guild member Dean Parker.
Barry Wilson, president of the Auckland Council for Civil Liberties, and John Minto, a well-known anti-apartheid activist and now a spokesperson for Global Peace and Justice Auckland, have also recently endorsed the fund.
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BY SUSAN LAMONT
JACKSON, Mississippi—Supporters of the Militant Fighting Fund from Birmingham, Alabama, were welcomed by unionists at the December 10 AFL-CIO Human Rights Day event here, which drew more than 150 people. New endorsers for the fund who signed up at the event were Brenda Scott, president of Communications Workers of America/Mississippi Alliance of State Employees (MASE/CWA); Brooks Sunkett, CWA vice president for Public, Healthcare, and Education Workers; and Bill Chandler, an organizer for UNITE HERE and president of the Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance (MIRA!). Supporters of the fund were invited to come back to Jackson January 10 to make a presentation at the statewide meeting of MIRA!
Related articles:
Utah miners, fighting for union, picket Co-Op mine
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