The Militant - January 22, 2007 -- Hundreds buy ‘Militant’ at packing plant gates

Vol. 71/No. 3 January 22, 2007

Hundreds buy ‘Militant’ at packing plant gates

BY FRANK FORRESTAL
AND GABRIELA MOREANO
WORTHINGTON, Minnesota, January 6—During the afternoon shift change at the Swift plant here today, dozens of workers driving out of the slaughterhouse stopped to talk to workers distributing the Militant. Many pulled their cars over in response to the team’s placard that read: “No Deportations!" in English and Spanish. They were eager to talk. Some had earlier issues of the paper in their cars.

In two hours, packinghouse workers bought 96 copies of the Militant. One worker, a mechanic with 12 years at Swift, bought a six-month subscription. Another two individuals bought introductory subscriptions.

Following the plant gate sale, Militant supporters met with Nelson Gómez at his home. He works on the cut floor at Swift. At a previous plant gate sale Gómez had renewed his subscription to the Militant for six months. Gómez said he appreciated getting the paper and has been recommending it to other workers. In addition, the meat cutter bought the Spanish-language editions of two titles published by Pathfinder Press: The book Our History Is Still Being Written: The Story of Three Chinese-Cuban Generals in the Cuban Revolution and the pamphlet The 1985-86 Hormel Meat Packers Strike in Austin, Minnesota.

In Austin supporters of the Militant sold 22 copies of the paper at the Hormel-owned Quality Pork Processing (QCC) plant during the afternoon shift change the same day. Another three workers bought introductory subs there. One QCC worker, Jesús Rodríguez, who bought a subscription, said he was glad to see people distributing the Militant. He brought sodas for everyone on the sales team. The following day, Rodríguez met the sales team at his restaurant, where he picked up a copy of Teamster Rebellion by Farrell Dobbs and the pamphlet The Working Class and the Transformation of Learning: The Fraud of Education Reform Under Capitalism.

These have been typical reactions to the Militant among meat packers and other workers in the Midwest over the last month. Since the December 12 immigration raids at six Swift plants, supporters of the Militant in Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois have sold 1,000 copies of the paper and nearly 90 subscriptions to workers and others. Some 600 copies and 30 subscriptions have been sold at plant gates, many of them at the Swift plants that immigration agents raided.

Related articles:
220 workers arrested in Swift raids are charged with ‘identity theft’
Chicago worker denounces gov’t effort to deport her

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