The article “Asarco Miners End Strike, Look to Continue to Fight” in the last issue of the Militant wasn’t able to do full justice to the determined battle by the big majority of the copper miners to defend their unions, fight for higher pay, and defend union-won working conditions against Asarco bosses’ nine-month-long effort to crush them. And it didn’t give enough of a picture of the breadth of solidarity the strikers got from workers across the country. If you look back over the extensive coverage of the strike in the Militant you get a feel for this. It sets an example for workers to build on.
One rail worker representing a Seattle local visited the pickets, brought greetings from his local, took reports back and raised about $2,000 for the fight. Steelworkers from Chicago, refinery unionists from Los Angeles, Walmart workers from many cities, the Nal-Nishii Labor Federation from the Navajo Nation, International Longshore and Warehouse Union retirees’ locals in the Seattle area, unions in Australia and Colombia and more sent tens of thousands in donations and expressions of support that made a real difference.
The Militant will run a follow-up article in the next few weeks to describe this important battle and the lessons we can draw for future battles we know are coming.