Vol. 76/No. 43      November 26, 2012

From what we know, more than 77 readers have joined the circulation drive who have never before been part of distributing the paper.

Some have introduced the Militant to friends, relatives or coworkers, while others have joined the door-to-door outreach that is the backbone of the campaign. Roughly half of the subscriptions have been sold going door to door in working-class neighborhoods, according to reports from distributors.

Since last week, supporters of the paper in Boston, Chicago and New York have adopted goals of 110, 230 and 450 respectively. Long-term readers in Albuquerque, N.M., and Muscoda, Wis., have decided to join the chart with goals of three and five respectively. Readers from Claysville, Pa.; Redding, Calif.; and Yakima, Wash., have increased their goals.

After receiving four new subscriptions from inmates in Illinois and California this past week, the “prisoners” goal on the chart has been increased from five to 10, encouraging workers behind bars to be among the expanding number of readers and distributors of the paper.

The Militant Prisoners’ Fund makes it possible for readers behind bars to order subscriptions at a reduced rate of $6 for six months. Half-year subscriptions are also offered free of charge for those who have no means to pay.

The cumulative local quotas now total 3,361—getting closer to the international goal.

“I want people to experience what I experienced to open their eyes and see the bigger changes,” Charlie Brown said after joining a Nov. 10 protest of some 100 in North Chicago, Ill., marking the first anniversary of the cop killing of Darrin Hanna. Brown then went door to door in the area with other Militant readers. Hanna, 45, died after being beaten and repeatedly fired upon with Tasers by six North Chicago cops.

Brown works at Electro-Motive Diesel in Chicago. He recently renewed his Militant subscription and bought all four books on revolutionary working-class politics offered at reduced prices with a subscription. (See ad on this page.)

“I know people on the westside of Chicago who will be interested in the paper and books,” Brown said as he invited others to join him in his neighborhood next weekend. “There are people in Indiana and Florida I can call and point them to this.”

“By Peabody putting their mines into Patriot Coal and then filing for bankruptcy, we’re all in danger of losing our pensions and everything we fought for,” Linda Carter from Francisco, Ind., told Militant readers from Chicago and Bloomington, Ind. They were going door to door in the coalfield areas of southern Indiana last weekend and a worker who had bought a subscription for herself directed them to Carter’s house.

Carter is a retired coal miner who worked at Old Ben, a mine organized by the United Mine Workers of America near Francisco. She was part of struggles for the right of women to work in the mines and for equal treatment on the job.

Still active in the union, Carter has joined the fight to prevent Peabody Energy from dumping the pensions and benefits of more than 10,000 retirees and 10,000 family members through bankruptcy court proceedings by Patriot Coal, a spinoff created in 2007. She bought a subscription.

The Militant was also well received in another coal mining area of the world.

“A trip to Singleton, a mining town three and a half hours from Sydney in the Hunter Valley, was the high point of the subscription campaign here two weeks ago,” wrote Joanne Kuniansky from Sydney, Australia.

“We sold four subscriptions and eight single copies going door to door, meeting miners and workers in mining-related industries,” she said. “There was interest in the miners’ strikes in South Africa. We also confirmed that the downturn in coal mining has hit Australia, with workers reporting hundreds of layoffs.”

Two weekends ago, readers from Des Moines, Iowa; Lincoln and Omaha, Neb.; and Minneapolis joined forces in the Twin Cities area, selling 14 subscriptions. Tom Fiske from Minneapolis described how he teamed up with Fredy Huinil from Omaha.

“Fredy and I sold at an apartment complex in Richfield, a working-class suburb south of Minneapolis. A large portion of the residents work in construction, hotels and restaurants. Many were interested in hearing and discussing the possibility and necessity for a revolutionary struggle by millions of working people to take political power in the U.S.,” Fiske wrote.

“We sold six subscriptions and two copies of The Cuban Five, one of the books offered at reduced prices.”

Join the campaign. Order a weekly bundle of the paper and subscription blanks at themilitant@mac.com or (212) 244-4899.

And keep sending your reports, comments, quotes and photos by 9 a.m. EST every Monday.
 
 
Related articles:
Fall ‘Militant’ subscription campaign Oct.13 – Dec. 16 (week 4) (chart)
 
 
 
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