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Vol. 77/No. 32      September 9, 2013

 
25, 50, and 75 Years Ago
 

September 9, 1988

TORONTO — A big victory was won here August 31, when the U.S. State Department finally granted Héctor Marroquín an immigrant visa to the United States.

A national committee member of the Socialist Workers Party and a leader of the struggle for immigrant rights, Marroquín was born in Mexico. He has been fighting for 11 years for his right to live and work in the United States. After 11 years of government efforts to deport him because of his communist views, the State Department finally decided to give up and grant the visa he needs to get a green card, which would make him a permanent resident of the United States.

Thousands of working people in the United States have heard about Marroquín’s case and signed petitions, written letters, or joined rallies in his defense.

September 9, 1963

Where does the Negro people’s fight for equality stand now that the March on Washington has passed into history?

The Aug. 28 march, the largest demonstration Washington has ever seen, commanded the attention of the whole country — indeed of the whole world. Between 200,000 and 250,000 people — about 90 percent of them Negro — made a sacrifice of time and money to journey to the nation’s capital on a work day to register by their physical presence the demand for freedom and jobs. This was eloquent and dramatic testimony of their feelings and their potential power.

But despite this tremendous outpouring, nothing concrete appears to have changed in the oppressed position of the Negro people. The March showed the potential political power of the Negro people — but only the potential. That power has not been made actual, nor can it while the Negroes are trapped in the two-party system.

September 10, 1938

CHICAGO — Employers of 70 percent of the drivers in the 11-state North Central Area last week unanimously voted to sign the agreement reached a week ago by committees representing the unions and the operators, thus ratifying a pact that embraces more than 250,000 workers and brings union conditions and wages to a vast number of hitherto unorganized workers.

Only three hours was needed for the employers to decide to accept the terms reached after nearly a year’s negotiations on the part of the union representatives. The contract lays the foundation for other area agreements and ultimately a nationwide contract.

The contract’s wage provisions win substantial improvements for the great majority of drivers. It establishes a series of minimum wages and working conditions. Seniority rights are established for the whole area.  
 
 
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