Vol. 73/No. 9      March 9, 2009

Because we have been informed by the post office that prepaid reply envelopes readers use to renew are delayed for processing, we will run the final chart with all mail-in subscriptions next week.

In New York, supporters of the paper picked up the pace of their work over the past two weeks and it paid off. They finished with 50 renewals—shooting them to 111 percent of their quota.

“We divided up into five teams, each responsible for an area of the city,” said Seth Galinsky, organizer of the campaign in New York. “They printed out maps, called subscribers, and organized systematic visits to those we didn’t have numbers for or others we weren’t able to phone. Close to half of the subscription renewals were the result of face-to-face meetings,” he said.

Dan Fein, Socialist Workers Party candidate for mayor of New York, reports he met with Olga Abel, a Dominican worker. She said, “I need the Militant. It is so different from the news on TV and the daily newspapers. I work and don’t have time to read it at home, so I read it at work and share it with my coworkers.”

Four readers in Worthington, Minnesota, renewed their subscriptions after a team of distributors of the paper from Twin Cities visited and talked with them. “I have been waiting for you for a long time,” said one of them, after Militant supporters knocked on his door, reported Tom Fiske. His subscription expired in August. He, along with two others, decided to buy the Spanish-language edition of the booklet Is Socialist Revolution in the U.S. Possible? with their renewal.

“In Miami we have had quite a week getting to know our subscribers and winning long-term readers,” writes Maggie Trowe. After falling behind in the drive, supporters mapped out a day-to-day plan of calls and visits to make their goal of 25 renewals.

This included a discussion with Edilia Galvez, a Cuban child-care worker and member of Alianza Martiana, reports Emily Paul. “Galvez said she thinks the Militant is very important and needed,” said Paul. “She described the campaign of lies by the U.S. government in regards to the Cuban Revolution and thinks it’s important others know the truth about Cuba.” Galvez says she passes the paper on to her neighbors and friends.

The work to contact readers of the paper and convince them to renew their subscriptions helped lead to a successful Militant Labor Forum on Malcolm X in Chicago, reports Ben O’Shaughnessy. Among those attending were two meat packers from the Chicago area, who renewed their subscriptions; a long-time civil rights activist involved in anti-police brutality campaigns, who also renewed her sub; a student and a teaching assistant, who both subscribed to the Militant for the first time during the drive.

While the campaign is over, supporters of the paper can use these positive results to regularly follow up on those who subscribe—to make sure they are getting the paper, to have political discussions, sell them revolutionary literature, and let them know about Socialist Workers Party candidates in their area.

2009 'Militant' subscription renewal drive: January 24 - February 24 (chart)