The Militant (logo)  

Vol. 78/No. 39      November 3, 2014

 
Workers attracted to SWP’s
fighting course give to fund
 
BY PAUL MAILHOT
Involvement in labor struggles and social protests, along with growing identification of the Militant newspaper as the voice of the resistance and international working-class solidarity, are helping generate support for the SWP Party Building Fund. The once yearly fund to raise $100,000 helps finance the work of the Socialist Workers Party, which seeks to educate and organize the working class to fight to establish a workers and farmers government, abolish capitalism and join in the worldwide struggle for socialism.

Over the past few weeks alone party members have joined in the massive environmental march in New York, protests against police brutality in Missouri, the Nebraskans for Peace conference, responding to the attacks on abortion rights, and many strikes, picket lines and labor rallies.

Local quotas have climbed near the $100,000 goal this week, with a few areas still planning raises. Some $40,500 has been sent in. The challenge now is to get all the pledges in and go over the top by the Nov. 11 deadline.

Party supporters in Chicago raised their quota for a second time to $10,500. “I’m making a contribution because I appreciate the work the party is doing to get out the truth about the struggles of working people around the world,” said James Bouse, one of four new contributors.

In Washington, D.C., the fund got a boost from a Walmart worker who bought an issue of the Militant at a protest for $15 an hour and a union because of its coverage of workers’ struggles and Cuba’s example in sending doctors and other medical workers to fight Ebola in Africa. After joining the discussion at a talk in Washington two days later by SWP leader John Studer on world politics today, he made a pledge to the Party-Building Fund and paid it on the spot. Some $365 in additional pledges were made to the fund at that meeting.

In Minneapolis, a Militant Labor Forum Oct. 18 on “Workers and Union Resistance” where Alyson Kennedy, a leader of the SWP from Chicago, spoke, helped the fund drive there. At the meeting $1,437 was collected and $300 raised in new pledges.

The final scoreboard will be printed in the Militant that goes to press on Nov. 19. This allows for contributions received at the end of the drive to be sent by regular mail and arrive on time.
 
 
Related article:
Party-Building Fund Week 5 (chart)
 
 
 
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