• AUSTRALIA $2.00 • BELGIUM BF60 • CANADA $2.00 • FRANCE FF1 0 • ICELAND Kr150 • NEW ZEALAND $2.50 • SWEDEN Kr12 • UK £1.00 • U.S. $1.50 INSIDE Socialist gets on ballot for mayor of Los Angeles THE -PAGE 10 A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE VOL. 61 NO.6 FEBRUARY 10, 1997 Workers Albanian workers rebel strike GM, Johnson over financial fraud Controls Capitalist 'market reforms' ruin living standards BY VAL LIBBY BY ARGIRIS MALAPANIS MORAINE, Ohio-The 4,300 members In the biggest challenge yet to the of International Union of Electrical Work­ pro-capitalist regime of President ers (IUE) Local 801 reached a tentative Sali Berisha, tens of thousands of agreement January 28, ending a three-day workers and others have been pro­ walkout at a General Motors truck assem­ testing, setting roadblocks, and clash­ bly plant here. Meanwhile, 500 United Auto ing with the police in Albania since Workers (U AW) members went on strike at January 15. The demonstrations Johnson Controls auto parts plants in Michi­ spread nationwide, swelled, and be­ gan and Ohio. came more explosive the last week­ The Moraine strike was the fourth work end of January, as working people stoppage against the world's largest car took control of some cities out of the maker in the past year. The GM plant was hands of the authorities. shut down tight by the Saturday night walk­ Protesters are demanding their out, after the IUE workers rejected the lo­ money back from failed "pyramid cal three-year contract by a vote of 1,990 to schemes." Managers of these fraudu­ 1,534. The union was prepared for the strike. lent investment funds lured hundreds Several weeks ago some 3,800 IUE mem­ of thousands to deposit their savings bers had signed up for strike duty and gate by promising to double people's captains had been assigned. money in two to three months. Op­ The Moraine plant is a final assembly erators of some of these schemes, plant for GM's popular Chevrolet Blazer, which were promoted on state tele­ Oldsmobile, Bravada, and GMC Jimmy. vision, began declaring bankruptcy Although Local 801 members ratified the in early January, igniting the social national GM contract in December, the lo­ explosion. Workers who have taken . . cal contract had been extended several times to the streets are demanding the gov­ Albanian police cower in Tirana January 26 as protesters throw stones demanding the gov­ since it expired in September. System-wide, ernment cover their losses. ernment cover their losses from "pyramid schemes," officially promoted in this workers state. there are dozens of plants without local con­ "I invested $30,000 I saved work­ tracts. ing in Germany and I have lost it all," sajd funds. In J~dition to immigrant workers on Wall Streel; they are based on the illu­ Jcihil, aworker with 28 years, seniority, Agem Mucaj, an unemployed construction depositing their savings, others sold land, sion that new investments will keep pour­ said the major issue of the strike was GM's worker, standing at a barricade in the town homes, or livestock to invest in the so-called ing in endlessly, that money will generate "no fault" absentee policy. (John asked that of Rrogozhine. "Why did the government pyramids, which offered interest rates of 50 more money without the medium of produc­ his last name not be used out offear of com­ allow these schemes to go on collecting to 300 percent. tion. While the financing of the funds is se­ pany retaliation.) money?" In a way, these get-rich-quick scams are cretive, the basic premise is that contribu­ "Even if you have a doctor's excuse, the About 500,000 Albanians out of a popu­ a rather crude reminder of the current finan­ tors are paid handsomely from the deposits Continued on Page 11 lation of 3.2 million have put money in these cial bubble building up in the stock markets Continued on Page 4 Labor battle Clinton: open to means testing Medicare BY ARGIRIS MALAPANIS to Clinton on the issue of pegging Medi­ 1960s, as a by-product of the civil rights shows failure At a White House press conference Janu­ care payments to one's income. "I'm pre­ movement and an extension of the Social ary 28, President William Clinton said he pared to meet with Senator Lott and discuss Security Act of 1935. does not rule out raising monthly premiums that and other issues," Clinton said at his The bipartisan propaganda campaign of'S. Korean for Medicare recipients with income above White House news conference. aimed at numbing labor opposition to slash­ a certain level- in other words instituting Working people won Medicare along ing these social programs has been unfold­ a form of means testing for the federal pro­ with Medicaid, which provides medical ing methodically ever since the November miracle' gram that provides health coverage for the coverage for low income families, in the Continued on Page 7 BY BRIAN TAYLOR elderly and disabled. Officials of the Korean Confederation of A week earlier the Democratic Trade Unions (KCTU) on January 28 an­ president had announced he will nounced an end to the weekly one-day seek $138 billion in cuts in The Communist Leagues and Young Socialists strikes that had been planned to demand the Medicare when he presents his in Canada and the United Kingdom invite you to government repeal antiunion legislation federal budget proposal to Con­ passed last December. The union maintains gress, $22 billion more than that if the laws, scheduled to go into effect what he offered to chop during Sociali1t Educational Conf~r~nc~' March 1, are not rescinded, however, an­ his re-election campaign. other general strike will be called. An article in the January 29 Some 100,000 workers and youth rallied Wall Street Journal stated, "Re­ YancoUYctr in Seoul, the south Korean capital, January publicans are hopeful that bud­ February 15-16 london 26 to show their determination to push back get talks can produce an agree­ . •oalfctCII March 8-9 the laws, which grant employers more rights ment with President Clinton to Main presentations: to lay off workers, maintain a ban on the increase Medicare premiums, at February 22-23 • British imperialism's crisis, the Irish KCTU, and expand the powers of the least for upper-income benefi­ Main presentations: freedom struggle - Recruiting work­ regime's secret police. The protesters wore ciaries." • The struggle for Quebec independence and ers and rebel youth to the communist headbands reading "collective struggle." In the absence of any protests the socialist revolution in Canada: recruiting movement The outpouring by workers in response from the organized labor move­ the gravediggers of capitalism to the antilabor laws adopted December • Communist League election rally ment, there is growing biparti­ • Building a proletarian revolutionary youth 26- including a three-week strike that • The working-class party and the trade san convergence on how far to organization, building the Young Socialists halted many industries - highlights the go in slashing Medicare, and unions • Working-class politics and the trade-unions: failure of the much-touted Korean "eco­ now apparently in ending it as a forging a communist party of industrial work­ nomic miracle." It brings home the fact that social entitlement available to all it is too late in history to transform a without means testing. erstoday semicolonial country into a capitalist world "We keep talking about hold­ power. ing hands and jumping off to­ For more information contact: Conflicts between the Seoul regime and gether, but we're still saying, Montreal (514) 284-7369 the working class in south Korea have ex­ 'You first,'" stated Senate ma­ Toronto (416) 533-4324 ~couver(604)872-8343 Classes •!• Socials •!• Book sales ploded almost annually over the last decade. jority leader Trent Lott, referring Continued on Page 12

How Social Security was won through class struggle - page 8 IN BR~f------

French workers seize bank women walked off their jobs demand­ On January 17, more than 1,000 ing wages increase to $40 a month, a bank workers seized Credit Foncier 48-hour work week, sick leave, and de France bank, and took bank presi­ a right to elect representation. Cur­ dent Jerome Meyssonnier and seven rently these workers put in seven days others from his executive committee a week, for a dollar a day with forced, hostage. They were protesting gov­ unpaid overtime. "We will not go ernment plans to lay off 1,800 of the back until our demands are met," said state-owned bank's 3,300 workers. Lao Bonna, one of the workers in the Last year, Paris bought all the out­ plant. Cops were sent in and strikers standing stock of the failing bank, giv­ were beaten and sprayed with water ing it enough control to start down­ canons. The Associated Press re­ sizing the operation. ported that the more than 18,000 On the sixth day of the takeover, people in Cambodia's textile mills workers released the bank president produced $70 million in exports in but continued to occupy the facility, 1996- almost triple the 1995 fig­ vowing to stay there until the govern­ ure - comprising 30 percent of the ment renounced its job cut plans. nation's total exports. Other workers in France have carried out similar plant takeovers in the face U.S. pharmaceutical bosses of French prime minister Alan push tariff on Argentina Juppe's austerity drive. Unemploy­ The U.S. government issued a ment in France is 12.7 percent and January 15 tariff threat against Argen­ expected to rise. The New York Times, tina, to go into effect on March 1. The in an article on the seizure wrote that Argentinian government allows do­ "worker protests are becoming almost Bank workers occupy Paris headquarters of Credit Fonder de France to protest layoffs mestic pharmaceutical companies to weekly events in some European copy medications without paying countries." the Iranian government, were in battle patent fees. Charlene Barshefsky, act­ be considered as an attack against Turkey," against Amal, a Syrian-backed militia group ing U.S. trade representative, said unless Italy farmers refuse to be milked Demirel declared. Tensions in that region that began taking over Lebanon. Buenos Aires enforces copyright laws Wash­ Dairy farmers in northern Italy have been escalated following the recent purchase of In the name of ending "factional strife," ington will withdraw 50 percent of the South refusing to pay $240 million in European surface-to-air missiles in southern Cyprus. the Syrian government waged war on Leba­ American country's duty-free trade privi­ Union (EU) fines for breaching EU milk Cyprus, a Mediterranean island, is a nese toilers, invading the country and mur­ leges, affecting $260 million in products quotas during 1995-96. During four days of former British colony that has been divided dering members of the Palestine Liberation shipped to the United States. protests in Milan in mid-January, farmers since 1974, with the north controlled by Organization. The assault was also aimed at blocked access to Linate airport, among Turkish forces and the south dominated by other resistance fronts, in a crackdown ef­ Port workers strike in Colombia other actions. EU rules, introduced in 1984, the Greek government. In response to the fort to aid Amal's forces. The Israeli gov­ Colombian port workers began a strike allow Italy to produce only 9.9 million tons rising conflict, German foreign minister ernment, also trying to crush resistance, of 2,500 the second week of January in of milk a year, a limit farmers insist is too Klaus Kinkel said this could jeopardize launched a Sept. 5, 1987, missile strike­ Buenaventura. Strikers have prevented any low. Italian President Romano Prodi, while Turkey's entry into the European Union. one of many- that killed 41 people. Tel shipments from going out. The Buena­ promising some aid, still maintains that the Aviv claimed they were attacking "terror­ ventura port ships out 60 percent of the farmers must pay the fine. U.S. renews Lebanon travel ban ist" bases; Lebanese police confirmed that coffee in Colombia, the world's second larg­ Warren Christopher, the outgoing U.S. civilian homes were also bombed. In addi­ est coffee producer. Turkey, Greece tensions mount secretary of state, renewed a 10-year ban on tion to protesting, resistance fighters retali­ Turkish president Suleyman Demirel is­ U.S. citizens traveling to Lebanon. State ated with any means available including Plant fined over injuries sued a warning January 20 that if the Greek Department spokeswoman Nancy Beck bombings and kidnapping, among other Landis, a nonunion plastics factory, was government were to set up air and naval claims the ban is based on "concerns" about methods. found guilty of failure to report and record bases in southern Cyprus, it· would do the "the safety of Americans" in that region fol­ workers' injuries, and fined $720,700 Janu­ same in the north. Demirel made this state­ lowing a series of military actions, includ­ U.S.-Japan shipping conflict ary 14 in New York State. The Occupational ment as he signed a declaration of military ing bombings, carried out by various groups The United States government is at the Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cooperation with Turkish Cypriot leader in Lebanon. The ban originated in 1987. At brink of imposing economic sanctions on held a six-month investigation on the plant Rauf Denktash. "Any attack against the the time Palestinian refugees, peasants, and several Japanese shipping companies. The after workers came forward to tell about the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will Hezbollah, a guerrilla group that supported move is promoted as retaliation against re­ conditions. They found that four workers had quirements at Japanese ports that U.S. ship­ fingers cut off in the last 18 months. Broken ping bosses say restricts competition among pelvises, amputated extremities, and man­ those providing harbor service. After Wash­ gled digits are among the gruesome unre­ ington and the European Union warned To­ ported findings uncovered. The company kyo about its "discriminatory" treatment of was also cited for having inadequate safety foreign companies and got no reply, the U.S. mechanisms on machines and a poor safety Federal Maritime Commission proposed a training. The amputation rate at Landis is $100,000 fee per trip to any U.S. port. This 100 times higher than the average New York fee would be imposed on three Japanese factory, according to state safety statistics. shipping operators: Mitsui OSK Lines, Landis spokeswoman Linda Russell said Kawasaki Kisen, and Nippon Yusen. the company would "vigorously contest" the fines laid down on them. Russell said of the Cambodia textile workers strike penalties placed on the company for maim­ Thousands of textile workers from five ing dozens of workers, "We believe that textile companies in Cambodia have gone these violations are the work place equiva­ on strike or protested since late December. lent of old parking tickets." At one factory in Phnom Penh, hundreds of -BRIAN TAYLOR

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2 The Militant February 10, 1997 Mexico 'bailout' fosters economic crisis BY HILDA CUZCO percent against the U.S. dollar in one week. On January 15, U.S. president William The collapse of the peso raised fears among Clinton announced that the government of bankers and financiers in the United States Mexico paid the entire $12.5 billion it bor­ and other imperialist countries that Mexico rowed from Washington, plus interest, three could default in interest payments on its years ahead of schedule. Government offi­ loans. The country's foreign debt stood at cials are also bragging that the U.S. Trea­ $98 billion last year, or 38 percent of sury pocketed a larger-than-normal profit Mexico's gross domestic product. from the loan, which the White House In February 1995, Clinton authorized cobbled together after the collapse of the "loan guarantees" to Mexico of $20 billion Mexican peso in 1994. from the U.S. Treasury, while the Interna­ Nearly a week later, a hunger strike by tional Monetary Fund and other lenders of­ street sweepers in Mexico City was attacked fered an additional $30 billion. In exchange, by the police January 20. The incident re­ the Zedillo regime agreed to carry out a ceived nationwide media attention in harsh austerity plan to guarantee payments Mexico and highlighted the devastating toll on the debt. This included imposing a cap Clinton's "bailout" brought on the country's on wages well below the rate of inflation, workers and peasants. layoffs, increasing the sale tax from 10 to After two years of protests and a 97-day 15 percent, and raising fees for public ser­ hunger strike, the street sweepers reached a vices. settlement with the government on January At the time the White House faced oppo­ 22. The administration of Mexican presi­ sition from many politicians in both the dent Emesto Zedillo agreed to rehire 190 Republican and Democratic parties and de­ of the dismissed workers and compensate cided not to ask approval from Congress. March in Mexico City to demand access to unused land for new housing construction another ll 0. The hunger strikers were fight­ Among the most outspoken critics were Senator Alfonse D' Amato, a Republican the cost of living rose by 913 percent be- Skirmishes in the countryside have also ing to win back the jobs of 366 street sweep­ tween 1987 and 1996, the minimum wage included demonstrations by peasants against ers from Tabasco state, in the southeast, who from New York, and rightist politicians Ross Perot and Patrick Buchanan. "They were grew only by 249 percent in the same pe- political repression and economic condi- were fired in 1995. Their dismissals were riod. In December, the Zedillo administra- tions. Guerrilla groups have also began part of the austerity measures the Zedillo wrong," Clinton said on January 15, with­ out referring to specific names. "Today the tion raised the minimum wage to 23-26 pe- functioning more widely in rural areas like regime implemented in the last three years sos ($2.90-$3.30) per day. According to the Guerrero and Chiapas, winning sympathy to repay the U.S. loans and continue mak­ American people can be proud that we did the right thing." UNAM report, a basket of basic food among peasants. Last year, when a train ing payments on the country's foreign debt. staples- tortillas, beans, eggs, rice and loaded with corn passed through a Orlando Benito Martinez, one of hunger Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said Washington made an extra $580 million cooking oil- costs today an average 64.50 shantytown in the northern city of Monterey, strikers, told the New York Times that the pesos ($8.16) per person daily. residents halted it while families rushed to Tabasco workers were fired after they de­ profit on the loan. This is because the White House charged a "premium" on interest to Many workers who have lost their jobs fill sacks of grain. manded back pay they were owed from ex­ have resorted to marginal employment for An official census in Mexico of 1995 re- tra services they were required to perform Mexico, 4 percent higher than normal U.S. interest rates, supposedly to make up for the an income. Thousands from the countryside leased last December described the states for local politicians, like cleaning their pri­ continue to flock to the capital city. of Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas as falling vate homes and building swimming pools. risk involved. Today the peso stands below the rate of 8 Juan Calderon, a young man who used behind the national average by almost ev- In the early hours of January 20, prior to to work in a government job and now sells ery measure. The southern states mostly reaching an accord with the government, to the dollar. Inflation was 29 percent at the end of 1996. knockoff perfumes out of a car trunk, told populated by indigenous people have un- 200 policemen carrying shields and trun­ the Christian Science Monitor, "My other paved roads, schools are in poor conditions cheons stormed the strikers' campsite on a The Mexican government is paying back 1.5 billion borrowed from the IMF as well. job was better, but this puts food on the with irregularities in the attendance from highway median across from the National table." Calderon is one of the tens of thou- both teachers and students, and illiteracy Human Rights commission office in Mexico Mexico's Finance Minister Guillermo Ortiz said in an interview that the Zedillo admin­ sands of street vendors, amhulantes, that runs rampant, while one out of three homes City. The police officers beat up the work­ take over the sidewalks in front of the store lacks running water. These are also areas ers who pelted them back with stones. One istrations financed these loan repayments by selling bonds denominated mostly in for­ shops in Mexico City's historic center. Their where guerrilla groups carry out armed as- worker was hospitalized. Two hunger strik­ growing numbers have been noticeable saults on government installations. ers, Venancio Jimenez, 22, and Jorge Luis eign currencies in European, Asian, and U.S. markets in five to 10-year term. since the 1994 currency crisis, and have Last November, a group of peasants Magana Alamilla, 35, were forcibly taken survived conflicts with both the shop own- blocked the highways in Chiapas restrict- to a city hospital. The workers called this The austerity measures imposed as con­ ditions for these loans led to plunging liv­ ers and the police who conduct raids and ing access to four municipalities. They were action a kidnapping, as did a major news­ confiscate their merchandises alleging they demanding a price increase for their com paper columnist, while the city authorities ing standards for Mexico's workers and peasants and many in the middle classes. have not paid permit fees. "I already pay from $162.8 per ton to $320.5. The authori- dubbed it a "humanitarian" intervention. every day to keep this spot, but I couldn't ties gave them the run around while argu- Zedillo complimented the officers, saying "Obviously the crisis took a toll in terms of economic welfare, and incomes are still tell you where the money goes," said Rosa ing that "other groups" have been forcing they "acted well" to end the fast. Angua, who sells nylons. "It's all corrup- people to join their protests. In the munici- The Tabasco workers had occupied the down from their 1994level," said Ortiz. Since 1994, many people have lost their tion." pality of Laja Tendida, near the border with town hall in Villahermosa, the state capital, Guatemala, a group of peasants holding a last year forcing the authorities to reach a jobs or are underemployed, scores of small businesses have gone bankrupt, many Resistance by workers and peasants protest were attacked by the police leaving settlement. Later in October, they decided three dead and several injured. Seven po­ to march to Mexico City accusing the gov­ homeowners cannot pay their mortgages, The strike of the street sweepers in and real wages have fallen sharply. A study Mexico, adds to the thousands of protests lice officers were eventually jailed for the ernor of Tabasco, Roberto Madrazo, of not killings. complying with the agreement. Madrazo has published in 1996 by Mexico's National taken place last year against austerity mea­ been the target of opposition parties on Autonomous University (UNAM) reported sures. "We are dying of hunger in Tabasco," Stopping flow of immigrants to U.S.? that 50 percent of the Mexican population Benito Martinez, one of the hunger strik­ charges of illegally spending $39 million on An editorial in the January 16 New York his 1994 gubernatorial campaign. The fed­ of 92 million live in extreme poverty, up ers, told the New York Times. The workers from 31 percent in 1993. there said that they have no land to farm Times stated that Washington "bailed out" eral authorities declined to prosecute him, Mexico, "because Mexico's economic col­ and the state officials dismissed the case. In 1996, the country's gross domestic and fishing is out of the question since the product grew 4.5 percent and Mercedes waters are polluted by Pemex - the state­ lapse would have slashed demand for American exports and driven illegal work­ Fall and bailout of the Mexican peso Benz sales in Mexico jumped 50 percent run oil enterprise. Some 3,000 protest over 1995. But inflation, cuts in social ser­ marches took place in 1996 in Mexico City ers across the border." The current crisis in Mexico dates back A study by the Organization for Eco­ to Dec. 20, 1994, when Zedillo announced vices, and other austerity measures meant a alone, including nurses who squirted blood rapid deterioration in living and working drawn from their arms with syringes, de­ nomic Cooperation and Development a devaluation of the peso. In response, in­ (OECD) said that economic conditions in ternational money traders unloaded the cur­ conditions for workers. manding medicines for the social security A recent report by UNAM said that while hospitals. the country since 1994 have fostered immi­ rency hand over fist, driving it down 40 gration. The OECD predicts that more than 6 million peasants will be moving to either Mexico City or will cross the Mexico-U.S. border in the next decade. Bonn continues attacks on immigrants Meanwhile the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service announced a plan to BY CARL-ERIK ISACSSON Jagoda, the head of Germany's labor depart­ grant campaign is to deport 320,000 refu­ spend $400 million in addition to their al­ The Christian Social Union (CSU), the ment. Criticized by liberals and social demo­ gees back to Bosnia. lotted budget, "to secure the border," ac­ sister party and coalition partner of German crats in parliament for playing on prejudices, As of January 15, children from Morocco, cording to INS Commissioner Doris chancellor Helmut Kohl's Christian Demo­ Waigel countered that "in times like these Turkey, Tunisia, and Yugoslavia are re­ Meissner. The agency will hire 1,000 addi­ cratic Union (CDU), are waging a campaign immigration has to be checked. Germany is quired to have visas if they are to visit Ger­ tional border cops and 350 new border in­ to blame immigrants for the high unemploy­ still too attractive. Otherwise not so many many. Minister of Interior Manfred Kanther spectors. ment in Germany. At the party's traditional foreigners would come here," he said. In motivated the decision by the government New Years' meeting in Bad Kreuth, a cam­ 1991-1993, when refugee camps were set declaring, "There has been an abuse of the paign was launched demanding that foreign­ on fire in Heuerswerda and Rostock, promi­ present rules leading to an increased influx ,,...... , ers from non-European Union countries not nent government politicians also had openly of youth from these states." The present rules be granted work permits the first five years blamed the immigrants for the high unem­ allowed children from these countries, be­ 1l:le Leninist they live in Germany. ployment and social crises that followed the low 16 years, to visit Germany without vi­ On January 7, CSU chairman Theo reunification of Germany. Several immi­ sas if they stay for less than three months. S~atesyof Waigel who is also minister of finance in grants of Turkish origin were killed in ar­ Kanthel accused the parents of children P81'tY ~lfJi~: the coalition government stated, "We have son attacks in Molin and Solingen during from these countries to arrange for their 1'he Debate on to keep the steady jobs for Germans." He that period. At the time, then-Minister of children to go to Germany, apply for asy­ Guetmlilwarfare asserted that so many foreigners are needed Interior Wolfgang Schauble had stated, lum and live on welfare and in the end the In latin Arrlertca on the labor market in Germany just because "Large parts of the population are concerned parents and their relatives end up as asylum many Germans do not want to do the heavy, about the influx of asylum seekers. We have seekers in Germany too. The new rules bY .k)Seph Hansen dirty and low paid jobs. His statement coin­ to check the uncontrollable influx of foreign­ could even require that the 600,000 children $2b.95 cided with the publication of the unemploy­ ers." of immigrant workers who were born and ment figures for December 1996, listed at Stricter asylum laws were proposed and grew up in Germany, have to apply for their 4.2 million workers. The jobless rate is up enacted to solve the problem. Tens of thou­ own permit to stay in Germany. from 10.2 percent of the workforce to 10.8 sands took part in demonstrations at that percent and is even expected to reach 4.5 time in Germany against the attacks on the Carl-Erik Isacsson is a member of the Met­ million this winter, according to Bernard immigrants. Another part of the anti-immi- alworkers union in Sodertiilje, Sweden. February 10, 1997 The Militant 3 Revolt in Albania Continued from front page As protests raged, the Albanian parlia­ of later investors. When new deposits slow ment gave the president special powers on down, they quickly become insolvent. January 26 to deploy the army to guard roads Albanians put their money in these and government buildings. schemes en masse, searching for income higher than the average wages of $60-80 per Regime has trouble defusing protests month, in a largely agricultural and under­ The protests spread rapidly despite hasty developed country-the poorest in Europe. actions by the regime to defuse them. On Tens of thousands are now incensed that the January 23, the Albanian parliament passed government, which urged them to invest, a law banning "pyramid schemes." The leg­ appears to be shielding some of these would­ islation includes minimum sentences of 20 be capitalists. years for starting up such enterprises and "Albania entered the market economy no confiscation of assets. The government also more than four years ago, coming from a froze 25.5 billion leks ($232 million) de­ strong centralized economy," declared posited by owners of the Xhaferrie and Tritan Shehu, foreign minister and chairman Populli funds in state-owned banks and ar­ of the ruling Democratic Party. "I guess it is rested 60 of their officials, including top normal for Albania to have problems that managers. But many protesters are demand­ are normal for Western economies. The gov­ ing these swindlers be released so they can ernment has never undertaken to manage its pay out at least some of the debts. citizens' portfolios." On January 28 Prime Minister Aleksan­ der Meksi reiterated earlier official pledges Thousands of workers have left Albania to find jobs, like these refugees in Italy, 1991. Anti-government revolt spreads that the government would begin paying About 35,000 people gathered in back investors on February 5. Meksi stated, Officials of some of these companies were since the mid-1970s. Skanderberg Square at the center of Tirana, however, that authorities can only guaran­ prominent supporters and financial contribu­ The Democratic Party was formed and the country's capital January 26, in the larg­ tee up to 70 percent of the principal. And he tors to the Democratic Party in last year's recognized as a legal opposition group in est protest to date. "The government are indicated it may take months before the controversial elections. While some of these December 1990, and held its first rally at thieves, we want our money back," many money is returned, heightening fears that de­ foundations have now collapsed, the gov­ the University of Tirana. It was founded by shouted. Riot police attacked the rally but posits will be quickly eaten up by inflation, ernment has declared continued backing for pro-capitalist professors, intellectuals, dis­ had to retreat initially, after being pelted with which jumped to 18 percent in December, companies like VEFA, which has re-applied gruntled government officials, students, and rocks. The cops later returned in force with up from 6 percent a year earlier. for a banking license that was denied ear- others. water cannons and assault dogs, dispersing lier by the central bank. The SP and Democratic Party represent the crowd. Witnesses said the police badly To avert financial collapse and weather competing interests among the petty-bour­ beat protesters who attempted to reach par­ the storm, the Berisha administration, which geois ruling caste and aspiring bourgeois liament to present their demands, including has strong backing from Washington, has layers in Albania. Both parties joined in a a call for Berisha's resignation. requested new loans from the International brief coalition cabinet in 1991. This bureau­ The revolt spread throughout this work­ Monetary Fund. An IMF delegation is ex­ cratic caste, in power since the degenera­ ers state the same day. In some cities police pected in Tirana soon. An article in the Janu­ tion of the Albanian revolution in the late stood aside as protesters blocked roads, sev­ ary 29 Financial Times of London quoted 1940s, is interested only in safeguarding its ering transport links between the north and an anonymous official of an imperialist fi­ own privileges, diverting workers from act­ the south and with neighboring Greece and nancial institution saying, "It is important ing in their own class interests, and continu­ Yugoslavia. In Rrogozhine, which was para­ to ... find ways of minimizing the economic ing the fruitless attempt - at different tem­ lyzed by a mile of makeshift blockades, one and political costs." pos - to be welcomed as equal partners in police officer said orders had been received The government also launched a propa­ the world capitalist system. from the interior ministry not to break up ganda offensive. After threatening a counter­ After Hoxha's death his successor, Ramiz demonstrations by force. demonstration in front of the opposition Alia, began opening Albania's economy to The government lost control of some large Socialist Party (SP) headquarters, Berisha's capitalist investment. Alia's regime won the cities, like Lushnje in central Albania, home Democratic Party held a pro-government first bourgeois-type parliamentary ballot in of the founders of two failed pyramid rally in central Tirana on January 28. Only March 1991. The Albanian Workers Party schemes. The courthouse and the offices of 3,000 people showed up, a much smaller was subsequently renamed the Socialist the Bureau oflnvestigation were reportedly crowd than previous pro­ Party, as hundreds of thousands of workers burned there January 24. The headquarters Berisha mobilizations. struck demanding wage raises and improved of the Democratic Party were also ran­ "The future of Albania is working conditions. But after dozens were sacked. not based on pyramid killed in anti-government food riots in De­ On January 25, Tritan Shehu, who is also schemes, which will not cember 1991, the Stalinist regime was forced deputy prime minister, was chased by an­ exist anymore," Berisha to call new elections, which swept the gry demonstrators in Lushnje. Shehu had to told the rally in his first Democratic Party to power in March 1992. lock himself in the changing rooms of the public appearance since the While the SP adopted a social democratic town soccer stadium with his bodyguards Even to meet these prom­ crisis began. "But there posture, the Democratic Party favored a and 10 riot policemen. A government heli­ ises, the government will will be in Albania a great more rapid integration into the world capi­ copter sent to rescue him was left hovering probably have to print more freedom of initiative." talist market and espoused right-wing views. over the soccer field as protesters prevented money, accelerating infla­ The president and his Ever since it came to power, Berisha 's group it from landing. tionary trends. State-owned entourage accused SP lead­ has been trying to purge its Socialist Party In Patos, demonstrators attacked the head­ banks are already burdened by many bad ers of fomenting the unrest. "Stop the red rivals from the state bureaucracy. SP leader quarters of Albpetrol, the state-owned oil debts. Nine leading companies and founda­ terror!" their supporters shouted. Fatos Nano, who was Albania's premier in company. In the southern port of Vlora, base tions taking deposits at exorbitant interest "These were terrorist acts that tried to 1991, is serving a 12-year sentence on of the failed Gjalica scheme, the municipal rates have their funds in state banks. And distort the image of Albania, and to block charges of embezzling Italian aid funds. building and police station was set ablaze, some of the few privately owned companies support from Europe and the world," stated while four policemen were hurt in clashes with productive investments in agriculture . foreign minister Shehu. "But those who try Washington backs Berisha regime January 26. In Korea, near the border with and industry, such as VEFA Holdings and to set fires in Albania will themselves be Washington has backed the Berisha ad­ Greece, the headquarters of the governing the Kamberi group, have been financing consumed by fire." ministration with economic and military aid party was also torched. their activities through pyramid schemes. The night before the pro-government since 1992. In exchange, the Albanian gov­ rally, SP leader Ndrek Legisi was badly ernment has provided a military base for beaten in the head. Prime Minister Mkesi U.S. reconnaissance activities over neigh­ told reporters he did not know who carried boring Yugoslavia. It has also discouraged out the attack, but added that Legisi has been Albanians in the Kosovo region of Serbia among the most active anti-Democratic from pressing demands for autonomy. Party politicians. The Socialist Party, which All opposition groups, including the SP has backed the protests, is calling on Berisha and the Human Rights Union, which is to resign. backed mainly by the ethnic Greek minor­ ity in southern Albania, alleged widespread Roots of economic crisis fraud and organized protests demanding new The SP is the former Communist Party, elections after the last parliamentary ballot or Albanian Workers Party, which ruled the in May 1996. Berisha responded with a bru­ country until the opening of the 1990s. The tal police crackdown, beating and jailing former Stalinist regime, headed by Enver many opposition leaders. Washington and Hoxha until his death in 1985, shattered other imperialist powers refrained from rais­ under pressure of mass mobilizations for ing even mild criticism. The Berisha admin­ democratic rights and better economic and istration managed to hold onto power, claim­ social conditions. These included large stu­ ing a landslide victory. dent protests and strikes by half of the During its five years in office, the Berisha country's 700,000 wage workers. The regime has implemented austerity measures change in the ruling guard was part of simi­ such as cutting social services, sold off some lar developments in other workers states in state-owned companies to foreign investors, the region. and has relied on loans from the IMF to fi­ Between 1989 and 1991 , Stalinist regimes nance imports. Albania has been touted by and governing parties crumbled across East­ the big-business media as one of the suc­ em Europe and the Soviet Union; often in cess stories of "market reform" in Eastern the face of popular protests. These regimes Europe. But Berisha 's pro-capitalist policies had been weakened by years of economic have plunged the Albanian workers state, and political crisis. The Stalinist bureau­ already backward economically, into a cratic and anti-working-class methods of deeper social crisis by making it more vul­ planning and management had proved in­ nerable to the ups and downs of the busi­ capable of raising labor productivity. The ness cycle in a period of world depression. resulting crisis was worsened by the accel­ Today, some 300,000 people are unem­ erating economic stagnation of capitalism Continued on Page 5

4 The Militant February 10, 1997 SELL THE BOOKS WORKERS OF THE WORLD NEED

Pathfinder announces new titles in Spanish

BY GREG McCAKI'AN the revolution made by workers and peas­ protests against the anti-immigrant Propo­ heart of his final fight had never before been NEW YORK - Pathfinder Press an­ ants Cuba," Madrid said. "It also explains sition 187 in California in 1994 and who presented in any language in full, or in chro­ nounced this week that two new titles in the class character of society, the revolu­ marched on Washington in October 1996 to nological order as the battle actually un­ Spanish will be released at the end of Febru­ tionary potential of the working class, and tell the U.S. ruling families that 'No human folded. ary: a pamphlet, La segunda declaraci6n why working people will wage massive anti­ being is illegal! ' The increasing numbers of Madrid says La ultima lucha de Lenin de La Habana (The Second Declaration of imperialist and anticapitalist battles as they accelerating social and political weight in and other books published by Pathfinder in Havana), and a book, La ultima lucha de fight for political power in country after the United States of immigrants from Mexico Spanish "are the product of the enthusiasm, Lenin (Lenin's Final Fight). country around the world." and elsewhere throughout the Americas attention to detail, and hard work of many "The new titles, drawing on the lessons In the preface to La ultima lucha de Lenin guarantees they will be heavily represented translators and volunteers across the United of the Russian and Cuban revolution"s;will Madrid writes, ."The growth of a receptive in the leading battalions of U.S. labor as the States, throughout the Americas, and be an important addition to the Spanish-lan­ audience in the United States for revolution­ class struggle unfolds in the years to come." around the world." guage books and pamphlets published and ary literature in Spanish has been demon­ Until Pathfinder prepared and published In June, Pathfinder will publish for the first distributed by Pathfinder," said Luis Madrid, strated in recent years by the tens of thou­ this collection in English in 1995, Madrid time in Spanish, The Changing Face ofU.S. who edited both. "They make available writ­ sands of Mexicans, Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, noted, the articles, letters, speeches, resolu­ Politics: Working-Class Politics and the ings and speeches that are central to the and other Latinos who mobilized in street tions, and memos by Lenin that were at the Trade Unions, by Jack Barnes. living continuity of the communist workers movement." Both titles are also available from Pathfinder in English. The pamphlet can also be obtained in French. Albanian workers rebel over fraud La segunda dec/araci6n de La Habana Continued from Page 4 Victor Emanuel ill. The German army under ing of Moscow. Many others followed. By is available for $4.50 and La ultima lucha de ployed. The official jobless rate is 10 per­ Adolph Hitler took over from the Italian 1953 only three members of the original Al­ Lenin is priced at $21.95. Pathfinder Read­ cent. Despite an initial upswing in the rate forces in 1941, after the Italian army suffered banian CP Central Committee were still mem­ ers Club members, however, can take advan­ of growth of the gross domestic product humiliating defeats by troops of the capital­ bers. Hoxha 's regime cut off ties with Yugo­ tage of a special pre-publication offer (GDP) in the mid-1990s, and the curbing of ist regime in Greece. slavia and allied itself totally with Moscow. through the end of March: a 30 percent dis­ inflation from 237 percent in 1992 to 6 per­ Resistance to the occupation developed During this period, a bureaucratic caste count on La ultima lucha de Lenin, for cent in 1995, working people face economic among workers and peasants in a similar headed by Enver Hoxha crystallized, lead­ $14.95. During the same period, the same ruin. Ninety percent of industry has been fashion as in Yugoslavia. A guerrilla move­ ing to the rapid degeneration of the initial special $14.95 price will apply to Lenin's Fi­ shut down and most in the country's major­ ment flourished, which was heavily influ­ gains of the revolution and closing of any nal Fight. ity rural population live barely above the enced by the Yugoslav partisans. The armed democratic space for the working class. La ultima lucha de Lenin is the record of level of poverty. About 500,000 retirees struggle against the German occupation led Hoxha maintained the alliance with Moscow Lenin's last political struggle. Through it the struggle with average pensions of $30 per to the victory of the popular forces in 1944, until Stalin's death in 1955. Fearing a work­ communist leader fought to win the leader­ month. Hundreds of thousands of workers when Albanian partisan brigades defeated ing-class uprising like the one that devel­ ship of the Bolshevik Party to maintain the and peasants have immigrated to Greece, 20,000 German troops after a 19-day battle oped in the Hungarian workers state in political course that had enabled the work­ Italy, and Germany in search of better jobs. and liberated the capital. 1956- after new Soviet premier Nikita ers and peasants in Russia to overthrow the Their remittances to relatives back home The revolutionary resistance movement Kruschev acknowledged some of Stalin's old tsarist empire, carry out the first suc­ account for nearly half the country's GDP. was led by the Albanian Communist Party, crimes while crushing the Hungarian rebel­ cessful socialist revolution, and begin build­ The recent collapse of the pyramid formed in 1941 out of three groups - the lion with Soviet troops - Hoxha broke away ing a world communist movement. The is­ schemes- which was proceeded by simi­ Seutari, Koritza, and the Youth group­ from Moscow and realigned his government sues posed in that political battle remain at lar phenomena throughout Eastern Europe which claimed adherence to communism but with the Stalinist regime of Mao Zedong in the heart of world politics today. and the former USSR, such as the failure of were in constant conflict with one another. China. In the subsequent decades, Hoxha La segunda declaraci6n de La Habana the $1 billion MMM investment fund in Rus­ Many of its leaders had been trained in ruled with an iron grip, keeping Albanian was read and ratified at a mass rally of a sia in 1994 - may unleash new waves of Moscow's school of Stalinism already, and workers and peasants isolated from the rest million people in Havana's Plaza of the Revo­ immigration. its Central Committee was riven by faction­ of the working class in the region and from lution in Cuba on Feb. 4, 1962. Three years Farm worker Xhyser Lamani is one such alism through the 1940s. Delegates from the world politics. earlier, workers and farmers had carried out example. He worked for six years as an un­ Yugoslav Communist Party played an ac­ a revolution in that country and refused to documented immigrant on farms in the Greek tive role in the.fusion. Isolation of working class is broken back down in the face of military, economic, island of Crete. During that time he saved Following the defeat of the occupying This isolation was broken at the dawn of and political aggression by Washington. $24,000, which he invested in three of the forces, the new government nationalized the the 1990s, as popular protests led to the shat­ Instead, they pointed to the powerful ex­ failed schemes. "I wanted to build a house vast bulk of productive property. All the tering of the Stalinist murder machine that ample of their revolution as the way forward in Tirana and make a proper life for my fam­ German- and Italian-owned enterprises were Hoxha meticulously put together. Any po­ for the oppressed and exploited throughout ily, but now there's nothing else to do but confiscated, along with those belonging to litical continuity with the revolutionary tra­ Latin America. go back to Greece," he told the Financial local capitalists that collaborated with the ditions of the workers and peasants in the "Three and half decades later, this his­ Times. "This is worse than a disaster." Nazis. A radical land reform in 1945-46 redis­ 1940s had been decisively broken, which toric document's unwavering dissection and The challenges facing working people in tributed nearly half the arable land to land­ explains why a pro-capitalist opposition ini­ condemnation of imperialism remains as Albania today can best be appreciated, how­ less peasants. Rationing provided a more tially gained such a wide hearing. sound as ever," Madrid stressed. Previously ever, by taking a look at the road workers equitable distribution of initially scarce food At the same time, Albanian workers and unavailable in pamphlet form, it also includes and peasants have traveled in the last half resources. Foreign trade came under state peasants became part of the class struggle the First Declaration of Havana, issued in century - primarily at the revolution that hands and planning was instituted. in the region, through the massive immigra­ September 1960 in response to the U.S. gov­ abolished capitalist social relations in this The resulting workers state began devel­ tion and travel back and forth that was now ernment-engineered censure of the Cuba Balkan country in the mid-1940s and its sub­ oping close links with its Yugoslav neigh­ permitted. The current mobilizations against government for refusing to reject aid from sequent degeneration. bor, including common price and currency the would-be capitalists of the Democratic the Soviet Union and China. "It helps ex­ systems and joint economic planning. Joint Party, as well as the uprising against the plain not only the character and power of Revolution by workers and peasants Yugoslav-Albanian corporations were orga­ Stalinist regime of Alia in 1991, show that Albania won formal independence in 1912, nized in transportation, mining, foreign trade workers and peasants in Albania can even­ from Pathfinder after 450 years of feudal rule under the Otto­ and banking. Albania was one of the stron­ tually find their way back to building a lead­ man empire. It became a monarchy in 1928 gest candidates for the Balkan federation, ership worthy of their accomplishments in Coming soon in Spanish! under King Ahmed Zogu. Prior to World War proposed by the Yugoslav CP as an alterna­ the 1940s. tive to the Warsaw Pact at the time. 30% off for reader's club members! II, the country was essentially a semicolony That's what worries capitalist investors of Italy. today, as the Berisha regime is shaken by The vast majority of the population were Rapid degeneration of workers state protests. As an article in the January 29 Fi­ Lenin's Final Fight peasants. Illiteracy was rampant. Apart from In 1948, a fierce struggle that had been nancial Times put it, "There is no easy solu­ some handicraft in the towns, the industrial developing between Moscow and Belgrade tion to this. There is going to be a lot of work force was tiny. In 1938, only 300 light broke out into the open. Moscow criticized disruption in Albania, however the problem industrial plants existed in the entire coun­ policies of the Yugoslav government of Josip is approached." try, and wage workers numbered 15,000. Broz Tito and dredged up conflicts from the Many of these workers were employed min­ Yugoslav civil war and before. The Yugoslav In related developments in the neighbor­ ing bitumen, chrome, and copper, as well as leadership condemned Moscow's plunder ing workers states, the Stalinist regime of in oil extraction, owned primarily by Italian of the so-called buffer zone of Eastern Eu­ Slobodan Milosevic has refused to make any capitalists. Rome was the dominant capital­ rope. That year, the regime of Joseph Stalin more concessions to 10 weeks of daily pro­ ist power, absorbing two-thirds of Albania's in the USSR imposed an economic blockade tests by tens of thousands, demanding re­ exports and providing half of its imports. on Yugoslavia, leading to the formal break instatement of municipal election results Italian imperialist domination began in 1925, of the Yugoslav CP from Moscow. Belgrade annulled earlier. At the end of Janu­ with the signing of an agreement for the ex­ Stalin worked to foment divisions within ary, a Yugoslav court overturned a ruling by ploitation of Albania's natural resources. the Albanian CP. During the Soviet break the state electoral commission conceding Rome relegated backward Albania to a mere with Belgrade, the faction headed by one of victory to the Zajedno opposition coalition exporter of raw materials, assuring its un­ the Albanian CP's central leaders, Enver in Belgrade. Other courts have also ruled $14.95 with reader's club card derdevelopment. In addition, the Italian gov­ Hoxha, promoted by Moscow, gained con­ that the governing Socialist Party won in $21.95 regular price ernment and Italian firms provided loans for trol through bloody purges. The fight cen­ eight of the 14 cities where Zajedno claims it (offer good until March 31) imports and capital investments, perpetuat­ tered on matters related to the national ques­ won majorities in the November 17 ballot. ing the country's debt slavery. tion: whether Kosovo would be returned to In Bulgaria, the ruling Socialist Party is Available from bookstores listed on In April 1939, at the outbreak of World Albania as had been the formal position of pressing ahead to form a new government. page 12, or write Pathfinder, 410 West War II, the fascist government of Benito the Yugoslav CP, and Albania's status in The SP parliamentary majority is not heed­ St., New York, NY 10014. Tel: (212) 741- Mussolini, sent 100,000 troops and 400 air­ the proposed Balkan federation. The party's ing calls by the opposition Union of Demo­ 0690. Fax: (212) 727-0150. When order­ craft to occupy Albania. King Zogu fled to organizational secretary, Koci Xoxe, who was cratic Forces for new elections, despite ing by mail, please include $3 to cover neighboring Greece, and Mussolini offered supported by the Yugoslav CP, was ex­ weeks of strikes and demonstrations fueled shipping and handling. the Albanian crown to the Italian monarch, ecuted by Hoxha's group in 1949 atthe urg- by runaway inflation and declining wages.

February 10, 1997 The Militant 5 - YOUNG SOCIALISTS AROUND THE WORLD Sweden YS helps sell and print socialist books This column is written and edited by begin to chart a way forward from capitalist has become known as "The Crystal Night." ists have participated with the Communist the Young Socialists (YS), an interna­ depression and war. Youth have especially Three weeks later, the YS together with League in organizing classes on The Chang­ tional organization of young workers, suffered in Sweden from the economic cri­ the Communist League sent five of its mem­ ing Face of U.S. Politics by Jack Barnes. students, and other youth fighting for so­ sis that hit the country in the beginning of bers to an annual demonstration against rac­ We also had a member speak at a Militant cialism. For more information about the the 1990s. ism and fascism in central Stockholm. This Labor Forum on "Malcolm X and the Civil YS write to: Young Socialists, P.O. Box The YS, together with the Communist year the police restricted the demonstrators Rights Movement." 14392, St. Paul, MN 55114. Tel: (612) 644- League, have been involved in the last three from marching because, as they put it, "they And on January 15 a YS member helped 0051. Compuserve: 105162,605 months in organizing several activities, such would be disturbing the Christmas shop­ to print the new Swedish edition of the Ac­ as selling Pathfinder books at the 12 annual ping." tion Program to Confront the Coming Eco­ BY JOHAN NILSSON Gothenburg book fair at the end of October. One of the most important steps for the nomic Crisis. AND ERNEST OLEINIK Also at the end of October and on Novem­ YS chapter in Sweden STOCKHOLM, Sweden- Members of ber 26 we participated in demonstrations has been the discussion the Young Socialists in Sweden are now against rising unemployment in Sweden - on the functioning of a participating in the international effort to sell now 8.7 percent. Altogether, about 9,000 proletarian youth orga­ Pathfinder books by selling to students in came people to the two demonstrations. nization. This discus­ different Stockholm schools. On November 9, the YS chapter partici­ sion began after two of This is the latest move by the YS chapter pated in a rally of about 200 people honor­ the YS members came to bring socialism to a potential new gen­ ing the 58th anniversary of the night when back from the Wash­ eration of fighters, who will, in the coming the Nazi regime in Germany instigated the ington D.C. regional struggles, unite together with workers and killing of several Jews in Berlin. The event socialist educational conference. After the discussion at the De­ cember 13 YS meet­ ing, we took a vote in COME TO THE which the YS chapter decided with over­ whelming majority to have an executive committee, with orga­ nizers that have the re­ sponsibility of imple­ menting the decisions that the weekly YS chapter meeting makes. Since we made the decision on our organi­ zational form, we de­ cided on having regu­ lar study classes on Marxist books like the • Defend abortion rights Communist Manifesto • Defend the Cuban revolution by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, So­ • Stop police brutality cialism on Trial by James P. Cannon and • Fight for Black freedom Socialism and Man in Militant/Birgitta Issacson • Equal rights for immigrants Cuba by Ernesto Che Young Socialists members in Sweden have put selling Path­ Guevara. finder books at the center of their work. Above, YS members ·The Young Social- • Stop the attacks on affirmative action help staff literature table at unemployment protest. • Support striking workers • Stop the ass au Its on Social Security Sinn Fein youth tour Canada

BY PATTIE KELLY McLaughlin agreed, saying that "the links AND AHMAD HAGHIGHAT between Belfast and South Africa have ex­ TORONTO -"The British Government isted a long time; they existed before I was has failed miserably to break the nationalist born." movement," stated Sinn Fein youth leader During the discussion, the two Irish youth Maeve McLaughlin at a public meeting here said they were inspired by their meeting with January 17. "[British prime minister] John Native activists earlier that day. One par­ Major, in desperation, has tried to sabotage ticipant in the audience also pointed out that peace. But one thing Major overlooks is that, similar links exist between the oppression after he is gone, the republican movement of the Irish and the oppression of the Que­ will continue." becois, who were marching through the McLaughlin, 27, and Marion Donaghy, streets in Quebec last October chanting, "We 19, are currently on a tour of Canadian uni­ want a country!" The meeting was recorded versities and high schools. The tour of the for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation two youth from Northern Ireland is spon­ (CBC) Radio and broadcast twice the next sored by various Irish activist groups in day. Clips of the meeting were shown on Toronto and Montreal, as well as the Ontario CBC Television. Public Interest Research Group. It is aimed In addition to visiting seven universities at broadening solidarity with the Irish in the Toronto and the surrounding area, the struggle and explaining the reality in Ire­ Irish activists also spoke at six high schools. land today. They said the reception they received was "The tour is a learning experience for extremely positive and encouraging, with ourselves," explained McLaughlin. "In 400 students attending at one high school terms of making links, we will work with meeting. Other activities in Toronto included anyone who is willing to work with us. Con­ a public screening of the video The Law And Clip and mail to the Young Socialists, P.O. Box 14392, nections are vital to defeat our oppressors." _The Order, a documentary exposing the vio­ St. Paul, MN, 55114 Being involved in the national struggle lent nature of the Orange marches - pa- · "is not a choice. Politics is your life, a real­ Tel: (612) 644-0051 or E-mail at 1 05162,[email protected] rades organized by Protestant Loyalists ity," said McLaughlin. through predominantly Catholic areas Donaghy, whose father was arrested and aimed at intimidating and terrorizing the ·------~ imprisoned when she was four years old, neighborhood. About 70 people attended. 0 I am interested in attending the YS convention described the years of harassment and in­ Upcoming solidarity events in Toronto 0 I am interested in joining the Young Socialists timidation she endured, as well as interro­ include a commemoration of the 25th anni­ gation at the age of five. At a meeting at the versary of Bloody Sunday, to be held at the 0 Enclosed is $10(U.S.) for a 12-week subscription to the Militant University of Toronto she told an audience Ontario Federation of Labor Hall February of more than 150, "I joined Sinn Fein so 1. Bloody Sunday occurred on Jan. 30, 1972, that I could have a voice." when 13 civil rights protesters were killed The meeting at the University of Toronto, by the British Army in Derry, Northern Ire­ NAME held January 15, was chaired by Faisal land. Moola, a young South African. He spoke The two Sinn Fein youth leaders will then enthusiastically about the connection be­ head on to Ottawa, where they will speak at ADDRESS CITY tween the struggle of the South African Ottawa University and Carlton University people and that of the Irish people. He de­ and will conduct a television interview. They scribed how he and his family had sought will conclude their tour in Montreal, where STATE!PROV. ZIP/POSTAL CODE TELEPHONE refuge in Ireland during apartheid because they will speak at Concordia University and of their association with the African Na­ at a premier of the film Some Mother's Son, tional Congress, and hailed the solidarity of a film about the hunger strikes by Irish po­ ~------· the Irish people. litical prisoners. 6 The Militant February 10, 1997 UK rulers debate legalizing cop spying

BY CHRIS MORRIS the Lords debate, James Callaghan, who was home secretary in a Labour government 30 MANCHESTER, England- The House years ago, said he had no recollection of of Lords approved legislation January 21 warrants to mount bugging operations ever that would expand the spying power of the being approved by him. He proported to be cops. Two amendments to the "Police Bill" "flabbergasted" at the number of surrepti­ adopted by the upper house of Parliament, tious spy operations carried out by the cops. however, reflect some hesitations among Robert Carr, home secretary in a Conser­ Britain's rulers over how fast to move in vative government in the early 1970s, said, attacking democratic rights. "I am not happy with the way the govern­ The Police Bill aims to make legal the ment is doing this. I must vote against the use of bugging equipment and hidden cam­ police being given authority to do these eras by the police. The cops have entered awful deeds by any other than the judiciary." premises secretly for decades, without any The amended bill adopted by the Lords legal basis, to plant surveillance devices or now goes back to the House of Commons, copy material. According to the Daily Tele­ where a new version will be negotiated. graph, authorizations for this activity cur­ Jack Straw assured that "cross-party un­ rently run at more than 1,200 a year, and derstanding will be possible" if the govern­ are given by chief constables or their depu­ ment accepts the "spirit of the amendment ties. "As there was no statute, police were, ... that the principle of prior consent by a in theory, always liable to civil suits for tres­ commissioner is accepted in respect of in­ pass or causing damage," the Telegraph re­ trusive surveillance on premises, and in re­ ported. spect of doctors, lawyers, and journalists, The government's draft bill sought to cre­ Militant/Marcella Fitzgerald save in urgent cases." ate a "commissioner" to oversee the use of Demonstration in London in 1994 against another crime bill that also attacked demo­ London police commissioner William bugs by the police. The Lords passed an cratic rights. New 'Police Bill' aims to legalize use of government spying devices. Taylor joined the debate, speaking for the amendment proposed by Labour Party leg­ Association of Chief Police Officers. He islators saying that the police would need ment, put forward by the Liberal Democrats, The House of Lords, the upper house of said judges were neither "trained nor this commissioner's permission in advance, stipulated the police would need the ap- the United Kingdom's parliament, includes equipped and don't have the availability" except in "emergencies." Jack Straw, proval of a judge before entering private the hereditary aristocracy, the bishops ofthe to make operational decisions. Cops should Labour's shadow home secretary, had origi­ premises to place surveillance equipment. Church of England, and also "life peers," have maximum authority, he claimed, in nally supported the bill. A second amend- It too was adopted. usually retired capitalists or politicians. In order to have speed and flexibility to com­ bat crimes such as terrorism, kidnapping, and armed robbery. The Telegraph said that according to Tay­ Clinton probes means testing Medicare lor, "the use of covert technology was likely to grow. Police use a variety of devices, in­ Continued from front page Means testing has been widely used in bill would give employers the option of not cluding close-quarter audio bugs, long-dis­ elections, with new twists and turns every the existing welfare programs as part of hu­ paying workers time and a half for overtime. tance directional microphones and minia­ week. Unlike the 1994-95 "Republican miliating and demoralizing low-paid or job­ The bosses would instead give workers ture cameras. They bore holes in comers of revolution," it is led by the Clinton admin­ less workers who depend on relief. These points for overtime that would be accumu­ rooms or remove panels to hide cameras or istration and other prominent Democrats. programs are staffed by bureaucrats and lated and workers would cash them in by recording equipment. They regularly place The latest trick is convincing working snoops who pry into every aspect of a getting time off after notifying the employer tracking devices on cars and lorries .... The people that "upper-income" families should person's life- how you spend your money, 30 days in advance. next largest category is 'public or quasi­ pay more toward the Medicare federal fund who you live with, whether or not you de­ The bill is being pushed under the pre­ public places' such as hotel foyers or rooms, to save it from imminent bankruptcy and cide to bear a child. text of helping working families have more where criminals often meet ... But intrusion balance the federal budget. "Something has Last year, Clinton signed the Welfare flexible hours. "We have an opportunity to into homes is very rare, said Mr. Taylor." got to happen in the area of more affluent Reform Act, eliminating Aid to the Fami­ give families the time off they need to care The Police Bill will also establish a na­ citizens in terms of the percentage that they lies with Dependent Children and other parts for their children's school activities and in tional crime squad for England and Wales. pay," said Sen. Peter Domenici, a Republi­ of the federal relief program - the first gut­ many cases, care for their elderly parents," The bill creates a legal basis for the "Na­ can from New Mexico and Budget Commit­ ting of the Social Security Act in 60 years. said Rep. Susan Molinari, a Republican tional Criminal Intelligence Service," which tee. chairman. . Responsibility, for disbursing the reduced from New York. Clinton supported a slightly collects "criminal intelligence for use by But all the funds for Medicare, as well as welfare funds was placed on the states, some different version of such a bill during his police forces and other law enforcement Social Security and other entitlements, come of which are now reapplying the more de­ election campaign last year, using argu­ agencies." out of the value workers produce that is ap­ grading aspects of means testing. ments like Molinari's. Now he is warming The law would set up a Criminal Records propriated by the bosses in the form of profit. In Maine, for example, the state is rein­ up to signing such a measure. Agency to provide individuals with infor­ The rulers' drive to slash the social wage stituting an old practice: when a family "Though he opposed the GOP's effort last mation about their criminal records in the has nothing to do with "responsibilities" of comes in to apply for welfare, a social year," said an article in the January 28 Wall form of a Criminal Conviction Certificate, the wealthy. It has everything to do with worker assigned to the case will visit them Street Journal, "President Clinton now says which employers could ask to see. These reversing the decline in the profit rates of at home. Home visits were abandoned in the he might sign some form of comp-time leg­ aspects of the bill were approved by the the capitalist class. 1970s when they became widely viewed as islation, provided it has safeguards sufficient Lords. Most of the cuts Clinton announced he an invasion of privacy in the aftermath of to ward off potential employer abuses. Even will propose when he unveils his federal the movements for Black freedom, women's some moderate Democrats are giving tacit Chris Morris is a member of the Amalgam­ budget on February 6, $91 billion, are to equality, and against the Vietnam war. approval." ated Electrical and Engineering Union. come from reducing federal payments to Instituting a differential, pegged to per­ hospitals, health maintenance organizations sonal income, on the premium recipients pay (HMOs ), and doctors. This will affect work­ for Medicare coverage guts the character of ing people, because HMOs and hospitals the program as an entitlement. Winning fed­ U.S. committee is formed to will become less likely to serve Medicare erally funded health care programs available patients and will offer lower quality care. to all elderly and disabled people, regard­ The "affluent" can easily afford private, and less of income, was an essential part of the build world youth festival better, health care programs. victories labor scored in its battle to expand Clinton's proposals also include raising working-class solidarity and undercut com­ BY ARGIRIS MALAPANIS Venceremos Brigade is planning its annual the monthly premium Medicare recipients petition imposed by the wages system. WASHINGTON, D.C.- Nearly 20 rep­ two-week trip to the Caribbean island at the pay from an average $44 today to nearly $62 Some of the proposals floated now would resentatives of youth and other organiza­ end of July. And the Detroit-based U.S.­ in five years. require individuals whose income exceeds tions attended a meeting here at the end of Cuba Labor Exchange is organizing a del­ Republicans, seeing the writing on the $60,000, or $80,000 for couples, to pay January to organize a delegation from the egation to Cuba around the same time, wall, are cautiously pushing for more, par­ double the current premium. Once that prin­ United States to the 14th World Festival of which will attend an international confer­ ticularly establishing the principle that the ciple is established, however, the cutoff Youth and Students. ence of trade unionists scheduled immedi­ amount of care anyone gets should be point can be changed easily. The international youth conference is ately after the youth festival. pegged to his or her income. "I don't think The leadership of the Republican Party scheduled to take place in Cuba July 28- Participants at the Washington, D.C., you can solve the problem legitimately just in Congress has also announced it will push August 5 of this year. It is sponsored by the meeting included activists in the National on the provider side," said Lott. "And I think as a priority a bill that would do away with World Federation of Democratic Youth, the Network on Cuba (NNOC), a nationwide he [Clinton] knows that." mandatory overtime pay. The "comp-time" Asian Students Association, and a number coalition of groups organizing activities to of other international, national, and local oppose U.S. policy toward Cuba. They also youth organizations. It will be hosted in included representatives of the All African Cuba by the Federation of University Stu­ Peoples' Revolutionary Party, Committees dents, Union of Young Communists, and of Correspondence, D.C. Hands Off Cuba Tile c...... •••fed• other student and youth groups. Coalition, Socialist Workers Party, Kart Mar.x:, .Fra:tencl<:. Engels A brochure produced by the international Venceremos Brigade, Women's Interna­ ~ains .why'comrrn.mists act on the basis not of preconceive(~ preparatory committee for the event says the tional League for Peace and Freedom, princip!es but of/acts springing frOITI me actual class struggle, festival "will be the continuation of the best Workers World party, and Young Socialists. and why' communism, to the degree it.is a·theory, is the gen­ traditions ofthe previous festivals for Anti­ In a number of cities, local Cuba coali­ eralization of the historical. line of march of the. working dass Imperialist Solidarity, Peace and Friend­ tions and student groups have taken advan­ ano. of .the .. political conditions. for. its ·liberation. Also avail­ ship." The last festival of this kind took tage of visits by Cuban youth leaders and able inSpanish and French. S3. 95 place in Pyongyang, Korea, in 1989. other speakers from Cuba to get the word Participants at the January 25 meeting out about the festival. Tile Wages Syste• decided to form the "U.S. Organizing Com­ Leslie Cagan, a longtime activist in the mittee for the World Youth Festival," which NNOC who attended the meeting, said a Frooerick Engels number of other groups have expressed in­ Is "a fair day's wages for a fair day's work" possible? Should will be responsible for building and mak­ terest in endorsing the effort and taking part workers build their own political part;y? $2.00 ing logistical arrangements for the U.S. del­ egation. in building activities. Available from b()Okstores, inducting those listed on page 12, or write Path­ In addition, a couple of other organiza­ Those interested can contact the "U.S. finder. 4l0west:St.. New York, NY l0014. Tel: f212l741-0690. Fax: f212j tions are planning trips to Cuba in July and Organizing Committee" at 2565 Broadway 727-0150. When ordering by mail, Please lndude S3 to cover shipping and August and will encourage those who join #236, New York, NY 10025; Tel: (212) 866- handling. them to attend the youth gathering. The 7270. February 10, 1997 The Militant 7 Social Security: a product of labor battles

(First in a series) ments, a shorter workweek, social insurance BY MEGAN ARNEY for illness, accident, old age, and maternity, In his second term, U.S. president Will­ and other measures. Many working people iam Jefferson Clinton has made clear he began to organize to combat the depression intends to lead the bipartisan effort to dis­ conditions, both in trade unions and in un­ mantle Social Security. In fighting to defend employed organizations. These groups the gains that are codified in the Social Se­ fought for unemployment compensation curity Act, it's useful to look at how work­ and other social security measures to pro­ ing people won these measures, which of­ tect those most affected by the capitalist fer some minimal protection from the rav­ depression. ages of the capitalist system. An Associated Press dispatch dated Dec. The Social Security Act- first adopted 7, 1931, reported: "Fifteen hundred dem­ in 1935 - encompasses several different onstrators marched back and forth on Penn­ programs. The most well known program sylvania avenue today [in Washington, is social insurance for the elderly. This pro­ D.C.] and found both the White House and gram is funded by both payroll taxes and Capitol doors barred against them. Singing taxes on employers. It provides benefits to the 'lntemationale' and chanting slogans workers after they reach the age of 65, as calling for unemployed insurance they pa­ well as federal grants for the disabled. Un­ raded under a police escort." employment insurance was initiated under Workers' protests were often met by re­ the Social Security Act, but is currently ad­ sistance from the employers and the police. ministered separately by state governments. In Detroit, 3,000 laid-off Ford auto work­ Aid for Families with Dependent Children ers rallied in March 1932 to demand jobs. had been part of the 1935 Social Security Four demonstrators were killed by police Act, but was eliminated last year as part of and Ford security guards. Unemployed organizations in 1930s (above) the "welfare reform" signed by Clinton. The government was forced to concede put forward broad demands affecting the Other federal social programs also run by crumb-like relief, but the federal funds and working class. Women took part in the the Social Security Administration include private relief were inadequate and humili­ picket lines during strike wave of mid-30s supplemental security income, which aug­ ating for those who were forced to rely on in trucking, steel, auto, and other industries. ments Social Security payments, and the them. President Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" of 1933, with its "made work" relief 2, 1934, front page headline of the Militant Medicare and Medicaid programs, which read: "Strike Wave Sweeps Country," with provide health coverage to the elderly and programs, known as the WPA, was in fact more like a "raw deal" for workers. Work­ subheadings on the two main strikes at that poor, respectively. The medical portions time. were added to the original act in the 1960s. ers were paid barely livable wages of as low as $40 a month in the North and as low as One headline read, "General Strike $19 a month in the South. Looms in Toledo." The fight there started Depression leaves millions unemployed with the Electric Auto-Lite strike. In his The October 1929 stock market crash sig­ In his book, Teamster Politics, Farrell book, Labor's Giant Step: The First Twenty naled the opening of an economic depres­ Dobbs, a leader of the Teamsters union in Years of the C/0: 1936-55, Art Preis ex­ the 1930s and longtime leader of the So­ sion. Between 1929 and 1933, industrial plains that this strike by auto parts workers cialist Workers Party, interviewed Max production in the United States dropped "blazed forth to illuminate the whole hori­ nearly 50 percent. The national income spi­ Geldman, a leader of the Federal Workers zon of the American class struggle. The raled downward by one-half, and unemploy­ Section of Minneapolis Teamsters Local American workers were to be given an un­ 574. This union auxiliary organized unem­ ment soared. forgettable lesson in how to confront all the Soon it included 25,000 workers. After ployed workers, including those in the WPA By December 1930 there were between agencies of the capitalist government­ battles with police in which over 100 were programs. Geldman recalled, "Considering 4.5 and 5 million unemployed, though Presi­ courts, labor boards and armed troops -and wounded, San Francisco labor answered the billions spent that could have been used dent Herbert Hoover claimed there were win." with a two-day general strike. On July 31, to creative ends, it was like dumping prod­ only 2.5 million. At its peak in 1933, un­ One out of three people living in Toledo the strike ended with an agreement to arbi­ ucts to maintain high prices and fat profits. employment ranged between 13.3 and were on relief. In 1933, the Unemployed trate. It took repeated job actions before the nearly 18 million workers, according to The labor power of millions was wasted, so League, led by followers of A.J. Muste, head union won its main demand: a union hiring as not to upset the balance of the capitalist government agencies. The symbol of _tQ.e Qf the American Workers Party, had orga­ .Jp, system·. No wonder the symbol of the WPA hall. The stgj(e ga.v.e .impel:us We~:• depression became the "Hoovervilles"­ nized militant mass actions of the unem­ time organizations on the East Coast and was a worker leaning on a shovel." the tarpaper-and-tin shack communities that ployed and won cash relief. When the com­ the 1937 establishment of the CIO National Roosevelt's works program never provided grew up in the dumps of the cities and towns pany hired 1,800 strikebreakers, the union Maritime Union, as well as opening the way jobs for more than 25 percent of the job­ where families who were evicted were had reached out to the Unemployed League. for organization of West Coast industrial less. His historically touted WPA project forced to live. An estimated 1.5 million In a letter to Louis Howe in the White labor. would lay off workers just after presiden­ homeless people wandered the roads in House, newspaper reporter Roy Howard Before the year was out, more than 1.4 tial elections. In 1936, for example, 400,000 search of work. Between 1920 and 1933, wrote, "The point about Toledo was this: million workers had struck across the United WPA workers were fired en masse. one farm in every four was sold for debt or that it is nothing new to see organized un­ States. The labor battles did not stop once taxes, while tenancy increased from 25 per­ Labor battles explode employed appear on the streets, fight po­ the Social Security Act was passed, but ac­ cent of all farmers in 1880 to 42 percent in lice, and raise hell in general. But usually tually increased in the following years. More 1935. Labor resistance to the depression con­ they do this for their own ends, to protest than 1,000 sit-down strikes were reported Many of those who did have jobs worked ditions exploded in a strike wave in 1934. against unemployment or relief conditions. in the press in 1936 and 1937. for starvation wages. The Feb. 15, 1929, In 1929, there had been 921 strikes, involv­ At Toledo they appeared on the picket lines By 1938 Roosevelt had fired 1.5 unem­ Militant reported that already there was "a ing 289,000 workers for a loss of over 5.3 to help striking employees win a strike, ployed from the WPA work-relief pro­ standing army of unemployed workers num­ million workdays. In 1933, an average of though you would expect their interest grams - he would cut 2 million by 1940. bering several millions" and a "growing 603,000 workdays per month were lost to would lie the other way - that is, in going At the same time, Washington spent over series of wage cuts." Between March 1930 strikes in the first half of the year. The num­ in and getting the jobs the other men had $6.3 billion in war preparations. According and March 1931, nearly 3 million workers ber reached nearly 1.4 million in July 1933, laid down." to the June 20, 1939, Socialist Appeal (the in manufacturing industries suffered aver­ and in August it was over 2.3 million. Over­ On June 1, 1934, some 40,000 workers name under which the Militant was pub­ age wage cuts of 9.4 percent. all, 1933 saw the largest number of work turned out for a solidarity rally in Toledo. lished at that time), the total number of per­ After the initial shock of the economic stoppages since 1921. By then, 98 of the 99 AFL union locals in sons dependent on one or another form of catastrophe, working people began to re­ In 1934, three major strikes and numer­ the city had voted for a general strike. On public relief was 23 million. Aid they re­ spond. From Albany, New York, across the ous smaller ones set the stage for workers June 4, the company capitulated and signed ceived was about 22 cents a day. Midwest to the West Coast, local organiza­ to force concessions from the bosses and a six-month contract, including a wage raise Workers on the WPA struck that year for tions popped up and there were many dem­ their lackeys in Washington. These work­ and union recognition. less hours worked, higher pay, back pay, and onstrations demanding work and relief. ing-class struggles transformed the labor Another Militant headline in 1934 read: more jobs - and many were won. In 1939 National hunger marches took place in 1931 movement, opening the process that forged "Union Recognition Gained By Militant the July 13 Northwest Organizer, the Mid­ and 1932, demanding unemployment pay- the industrial unions of the CIO. The June Minneapolis Battles, Victory is an Inspira­ west Teamster newspaper, reported, "The tion to Workers Everywhere." As the Auto­ strike of WPA workers continued to mount Lite strike was reaching its height, truckers and roll across the country like a tidal wave in Minneapolis were waging the second of this week, as fresh thousands of desperate a series of strikes that year. Over 30 percent and disgusted workers downed tools and Labor's Giant Step of the population of Hennepin County, Min­ brought the number of men and women on nesota, consisted of unemployed workers strike close to 500,000 with still more to TheRrst Twenty Years ofthe C/0: 1936-55 and their families at the time. From the very come out." by Art Preis $26.95 beginning the most militant of the unem­ ployed organizations were involved in the Social Security a byproduct of fights strike. The Social Security Act came at a time ,....sterlerles On August 22, after a third strike and sev­ when the most class-conscious workers by Farrell Dobbs eral rounds of street battles against the forces were pushing for a broader political agenda. of the employers and the government, the For example, a "workers security bill" Four books on the 1930s strikes and organizing drive that strikers won. The bosses capitulated and drafted by the National Unemployed League transtormed·the Teamsters union ·;n Minnesota and much gave the Teamsters their main demands, in 1934 called for a 30-hour workweek and of the Midwest into a fighting industrial uniOn movement. including union representation for all work­ a public works program to provide "an up ers employed by the trucking bosses. The to date, fully equipped county hospital in Teamster RebelliOn s 16.95 successful battles in Minneapolis laid the every county; modem libraries and recre­ Teamster Power s 17.95 ground for efforts to organize the trucking ational centers in every city and country." Teamster Politics s 17.95 industry throughout the Midwest. The document also called for other social Teamster· Bureaucracy· S18.95 The third major industrial struggle in needs, including "rural electrification" those 1934 started on May 9, 1934. Between employed by the "relief' program be paid Available from bookstores, Including those listed on page 12, or write Pathfinder. 410 10,000 and 15,000 West Coast members of the standing union wage. The Unemployed West St., Nevil Yollc. NY 10014. Tel: {212) 741-0690. FaK: {212)727..() ISO. When order­ the AFL International Longshoremen's As­ League demanded unemployment and so- Ing by mall, please Include $3 tD cover Shipping and handling. sociation went on an "unauthorized" strike. Continued on Page 11

8 The Militant February 10, 1997 The Fight for Blacl< Freedom BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPECIAL FOR MEMBERS OFTHE PATHFINDER READERS CLUB

OFFER ENDS Discount FEBRUARY 28 Available from bookstores listed on page 12, or from The Changing Face of Pathfinder, u.s. Politics 4 UlWestSt., New 'York, NY Working-Class Politics and the Trade Unions 10014. Jack Barnes If ordering by mail A handbook for workers coming into the please inClude $3.00 factories, mines, and mills, as they react to for the first boOk the uncertain life, ceaseless turmoil, and and $.50 for each brutality of capitalism in the closing years additional boOk to of the twentieth century. It shows how c9ver s~ipping millions of workers, as political resistance and ~ndling. grows, will revolutionize themselves, their Write for a n-ee· unions, and all of society. catalog. $19.95. Special offer $14.95 Imperialism's March toward Fascism and War Malcolm X Speaks Jack Barnes IN SPANISH . ' "No, I'm not an American. I'm one of the 22 million How the working class Black people who are victims of Americanism." 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Special offer $2.50 An Action Program to Confront the Defending Cuba's Coming' £conomic,-crists · ·· SodaHst Revdlution by aQue lejos hemos A Program for International Working-Class Struggle Today Mary-Alice Waters; and llegado los esclavosl Edited by Doug Jenness The Curve of Capitalist Development by Leon Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro How Far We Slaves Have Come. How a program to fight for jobs Trotsky. $14.00 and affirmative action, and to $10.95. Special offer $8.25 combat imperialism's pillage of the Notas criticas sobre Ia Third World, is crucial to uniting cuestion nacional working people internationally. V.I. Lenin Also available in French, Spanish, To Speak the Truth Critical Notes on the National Question. Icelandic, and Swedish $3,00. $3.00. Special offer $2.25 ...... 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Periodic against socialists and activists in the special offers, such as the titles promoted in this ad, are also available at even greater discounts. Black and antiwar movements. Join today! $10 annual fee Includes FBI documents. $15.95. Special offer $11.95 February 10, 1997 The Militant 9 Socialists launch campaign in Los Angeles

BY HARRY RING paign to build the socialist movement have LOS ANGELES - Craig Hoots, the So­ been readily apparent. At the Militant La­ cialist Workers Party nominee for mayor of bor Forum, January 25, Hoots spoke on the Los Angeles, has been certified for the bal­ deepening world crisis of capitalism inter­ lot. In less than two weeks, he and his sup­ nationally. The key issues confronting Los porters collected 1,000 signatures on nomi­ Angeles voters, he explained - the antila­ nating petitions, double the legal require­ bor drive, immigrant-bashing, homeless­ ment. Similar numbers of petitions are be­ ness, pollution, and more - cannot be ef­ ing filed for his running mates, Virginia fectively acted on except from the starting Garza and Eli Green. Gale Shangold is also premise that they are rooted in the crisis that running as a write-in candidate. grips the country and the world. Hoots is an engineer on the Burlington Among those listening most intently was Northern .Santa Fe railroad and a member a half dozen people, four of them youth, who of the United Transportation Union, Local were attending the forum for the first time. 1-674. Garza, running for comptroller, is a Several joined readily in the discussion that health care worker. Green, candidate for followed his talk. Their essential concerns: community colleges board of trustees, Do socialists offer a viable alternative in the works at the Chevron oil refinery and is a election? Concretely, what would Hoots do, member of Oil, Chemical and Atomic Work­ if elected, to deal with the social issues? The ers Local 1-675. Shangold, a garment long-term socialist goals seems fine, but are worker and member of the Union of they relevant to the Los Angeles elections? Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Em­ A young Filipina argued for supporting ployees Local 482, is a candidate for city Democrats as the "realistic" course, but also Militant/Carole Lesnick council in the 13th District. indicated that her own growing skepticism Socialist mayoral candidate Craig Hoots (right) petitioning to get on the ballot in L.A. The April election will be "nonpartisan" about this. She said she had considered Tho­ signing a petition earlier in the day said he and party affiliation of the candidates will mas Hayden "as a last hope." Honts argued woman plans to continue the political dis­ had read some socialist literature at college. not be on the ballot. Among others, Honts that trying to reform a bankrupt capitalist cussion with campaign supporters over din­ After the meeting, he bought three books, will be running against Republican incum­ system is "totally utopian" and dead-end. ner and attend the next forum. by Frederick Engels, George Novack, and bent Richard Riordan and the liberal Demo­ The give-and-take discussion continued Campaign activity has also been reflected Georges Plekanov. crat and 1960s activist, Thomas Hayden. informally when the meeting ended. The in increased sales at the Pathfinder book­ As of last count, some 40 people had The opportunities offered by the cam- upshot, Hoots said later, was that the young store. One fellow who came to forum after signed up to receive information about cam­ paign events. A good number indicated a specific interest in learning more about the Young Socialists organization. 200 protest 'factory farms' in Iowa Elizabeth Lariscy, a pace setter in the petition drive, told of a University of Cali­ BY SIMONE BERG lative session. The focus of this rally, spon­ make him remove a sign, posted on his prop­ fornia -Los Angeles campus meeting mark­ AND MARGE TOWER sored by the Iowa Citizens for Community erty, condemning big-business hog farms ing the twenty-fourth anniversary of the le­ DES MOINES - Holding signs saying Improvement (ICCI), was to protest state and Branstad's support for them. galization of abortion which she, Virginia "Family Farms, Not Factory Farms" and government policies that promote the hog Large-scale hog factories, run by capi­ Garza, and other petitioners attended. "Greed and Hog Factories Stink," some 200 containment facilities. talist farmers and corporations, raise thou­ During discussion at the meeting Garza farmers, their families, and supporters dem­ Larry Ginter, who ·raises hogs near sands of hogs at a time and produce so much vigorously assailed the Clinton administra­ onstrated in the Iowa state capitol after Gov­ Marshalltown, Iowa, chaired the rally. manure that the waste products threaten to tion for not taking meaningful action against ernor Terry Branstad gave his annual address Ginter won an important victory this sum­ contaminate the water table. Many people the new outbreak of abortion clinic bomb­ on January 14 to open the 1997 state legis- mer against state government attempts to get their drinking water from wells on farms ings. The socialist candidate urged the au­ near the hog factories. The manure lagoons, dience to join in demanding that federal often near houses, farms, and roads, emit troops be dispatched to defend abortion clin­ powerful fumes of ammonia and sulfer com­ ics. Her remarks were greeted with substan­ Undemocratic 'Megan's law' pounds that are a health hazard, in addition tial applause. to being extremely t:J.Oxious. Afterwards the campaigners talked with -1 'The size of these facilities makes it diffi­ several people; mctading a student from Sri is implemented in··New Yo·rk· · cult for small producers to compete. Two Lanka who was enthusiastic about meeting speakers at the rally said that in 1996, some socialists in the United States. She and a BY ROSE ANA BERBEO parents. "Now families will begin to be in­ 4,000 small hog producers went out of busi­ friend have been leading dormitory discus­ NEW YORK - Striking a blow to the formed, and be able to take steps to keep ness. This affects all of the other small busi­ sions on political events and she was par­ their children safe," he said. The Attorney democratic rights of working people, New nesses that sell to small family farms, like ticularly interested in learning more about General, Dennis Vacco, is appealing a fed­ York state officials have released a list of feed sellers and veterinarians. the Young Socialists. eral ruling that prohibits publishing an ad­ 17 names, addresses, photos, and descrip­ Larry Lewis, who raises 600 hogs near ditional 5,000 names of people convicted of tions of people in the state who were con­ Creston, Iowa, said he had never been at a sex crimes before Jan. 21, 1996, when the victed of sex crimes and have completed protest of any sort before. "Maybe I can be their jail sentences or are on probation. Some law went into effect. Manhattan Federal one more person protesting what these poli­ L.A. 8 win round Judge Denny Chin ruled that applying the of these names were immediately published ticians are doing," he told the Militant. law retroactively constituted "extra punish­ in the New York Daily News, along with an Lewis said he is concerned about encroach­ against gov't ment" and that "constitutional protections editorial claiming that "Among convicts, ment on surrounding family hog farms by for individuals, even unsympathetic ones, they are the most likely to commit more sex Farmland Industries in southwestern Iowa. BY HARRY RING cannot be set aside in the name of the greater crimes." The big hog producers have received a LOS ANGELES -The Justice Depart­ good." The list was released January 3 under the helping hand from the Iowa Legislature with ment was defeated in a first attempt to use so-called "Megan's Law," which calls for Jury selection in the trial of Jesse K. House File 519, a law passed in 1995. While the reactionary 1996 anti-immigrant law to people who have been convicted of sex Timmendequas, who is charged with Megan this law did increase constraints on capital­ grease the skids for deportation of political crimes to register with the state within 10 Kanka's murder, began January 13. His law­ ist hog farmers- modestly increasing the dissidents. days of release from prison or probation. yers say people with knowledge of distance required between manure lagoons In a January 13 ruling, Federal Judge The state then decides who is included on a "Megan's Law" should be barred from the and nearby houses and farms, for ex­ Stephen Wilson rejected a government mo­ list of names released to police departments jury, because if they knew why the law was ample - H.F. 519 contains a nuisance tion based on the new law that he dismiss a and available to anyone. A federal law was passed, they would also know that clause which makes it very difficult for an suit against the government by the Los An­ passed-New York, New Jersey and other Timmendequas had been convicted of simi­ individual to sue a factory farm to force geles Eight. The L.A. 8 - seven Palestin­ states passed similar laws-after 7-year-old lar crimes before. Potential jurors are fill­ them to comply with protective legislation, ians and a Kenyan- have charged the gov­ Megan Kanka was raped and killed in 1994. ing out 36-page questionnaires about their including on pollution. The law also explic­ ernment with unlawful, selective prosecu­ A neighbor, convicted of prior sex offenses, knowledge of "Megan's Law," and are be­ itly asserts that local jurisdictions have no tion. For 10 years, the government has been was charged with her murder. ing individually interviewed, but Mercer zoning power pertaining to the hog facto­ trying to deport them for their political sup­ Governor George Pataki hailed the list of County Superior Court Judge Andrew ries, and that the pro-agribusiness Iowa port for the Popular Front for the Libera­ 17 names, known as the "Subdirectory of Smithson said that he would not bar jurors Department of Natural Resources controls tion of Palestine. Previously, Judge Wilson Sexually Violent Predators," as a victory for who knew about the law. such matters. A containment facility with had issued an order blocking deportation of less than 5,000 hogs does not need to meet the eight while they were conducting their any special zoning requirements. suit against the government. Harold Weidner, who farms in Glidden, The Justice Department filed a brief ar­ FROM PATHFINDER Iowa, said he was at the rally "to save the guing that judges were barred from taking family farms and the environment." A new such actions under the new "Illegal Immi­ large hog factory has been set up close to gration Reform and Immigrant Responsi­ Farmen Face the Crisis the airport in his area. bility Act." of the1990s After the rally, participants jammed into A government lawyer argued that in pass­ by Doug Jenness $3.50 a conference room to confront state legisla­ ing the law, Congress clearly intended to tive leaders members belonging to the Sen­ curb the right of federal courts to intervene ate Agriculture Committee, most of whom in deportation proceeding. After a deporta­ are Democrats. The exchange was often tion order is issued, he advised, it could be sharp, with farmers taking issue with legis­ considered by an appeals court. Judge Wil­ lators who sided with the large-scale hog son flatly rejected this, endorsing the argu­ The Flsht for a Worken and Farmen producers. The weekend after the rally, a ment by L.A. 8 attorney David Cole that it Government in the United States Des Moines Register editorial called for would "close the door" to any meaningful in New lnterfli1ti0f18/no. 4 stricter environmental constraints on pollu­ appeals. He also agreed with Cole that the by Jack Barnes $9.00 tion of the water supply in central and north­ selective prosecution suit has a higher pri­ ern Iowa by the hog factory operators. ority than other kinds of claims because the Available from bookstores, including those listed on page 12, or write Pathfinder, 410 West St., New York, Ginter told the Militant, "I was encouraged case is based on First Amendment rights. NY 10014. Tel: (212) 741-0690. Fax: (212) 727-0150. When ordering by mail, please include $3 to cover by the turnout. As this crisis deepens, I think Earlier, Wilson had been upheld in his shipping and handling. we '11 see more people come out. The fight landmark ruling that legal residents have the is here, and we're not going to go away." same free-speech rights as citizens.

10 The Militant February 10, 1997 Steel strikers face growing• pressure BY DAVID SANDOR ment of an annual bonus for widows who MORGANTOWN, West Virginia- In receive less than the minimum pension, the aftermath of failed negotiations between which was provided for in the previous con­ I Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Co. and the tract. The company has obtained injunctions United Steel Workers of America (USWA), to limit picketing at the plantgates and ar­ the company has launched a propaganda gued against the strikers' claim for unem­ Days campaign against the union, attempting to ployment benefits, which have been denied before the intensify pressure on the strikers and break in all three states where the strikers live and the unity of their walkout. work. Negotiations broke down January 17 af­ ter several days of bargaining, with rio fu­ 'We have to get a better otTer' ture talks scheduled. That was the 109th day Strikers emphasize that Wheeling-Pitt, of the strike by 4,500 steelworkers at eight the ninth largest integrated steel producer Wheeling-Pittsburgh plants in Ohio, West in the U.S., is profitable and has a signifi­ Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The talks were cant cost advantage over its competitors. overseen by John Pinto, a Pittsburgh-based The company has a lower cost of produc­ federal mediator. The workers struck over ing steel because it doesn't have to pay into a guaranteed pension plan with retirement Militant/Janet Post the company's refusal to discuss restoration Pilots protest in Miami January 28, the first day of informational picketing. of the pension plan that was taken away af­ after 30 years, unlike other producers. ter Wheeling-Pitt's bankruptcy and a sub­ Ed Babel, who works in the Steubenville, sequent 89-day strike in 1985. Ohio, mill and has 24 years at Wheeling­ Pilots picket American Airlines That pension, called a defined benefit Pitt, explained, "Truthfully, this guy pension, requires the employer to guaran­ [LaBow] is trying to do what all the others BY JANET POST of money, but having all of the pilots in tee a monthly benefit amount for retirees [integrated steel producers] want to do. The MIAMI - Pilots at American Air­ the same union." according to years of service and the right flatrolled steel we make here gets $16 per lines who are members of the Allied Pi­ American Eagle is American's com­ to retire after 30 years of employment. This ton; all the rest get $8 per ton." lots Association (APA) began informa­ muter affiliate. It currently uses pilots is the type of pension now in effect at all Speaking of LaBow, striker Ron Moran tional picketing at several airports from four different companies with four other unionized integrated steel companies pointed out, "Everybody thought he was a throughout the United States January 28. different pilots' associations, according in the United States. great guy. We saw him as the savior of the The pilots are garnering support for their to Ward. The company wants a pension system company." Babel said LaBow, who took contract demands and are in a 30-day Jody Hill, a Miami pilot and local as­ where the amount of the monthly benefit over the company in 1991, "promised us "cooling off' period after the APA re­ sociation representative, said the pilots would be based on the level of returns from then that we would get it [the guaranteed jected binding arbitration January 15. At were also fighting against their two­ the stock market and other investments. In pension plan] back in the reorganization 12:01 a.m. February 15, the pilots could tiered pay structure. "We've been fight­ addition, company officials say that their plan." decide to strike. The company and the ing this for a decade," he said. Ward cost of funding the pension should be rene­ Ed Jones, who has worked 25 years at 9,300 pilots represented by the APA have added, "The company doesn't want to gotiated each time a contract expires. Wheeling-Pitt, stopped for lunch at the been in negotiations since 1994. pay reasonable wages for newer pilots." union hall in Steubenville on his way to do At the Miami International Airport, Ward asserted that the Merrill Lynch Company escalates threats picket duty at the Mingo Junction gate. He one of American's largest hubs, pilots financial consultant firm has estimated Commenting on the failure of negotia­ summed up the resolve that is driving the and airline workers walked the picket line that American will lose "$35 to $65 mil­ tions, WHX chairman Ron LaBow stated, strikers to fight for the pension. "I'm look­ for three hours on the first day of picket­ lion a day if the pilots strike." The last "We can sit indefinitely, a year or two years. ing for a secure retirement. I don't want my ing and will continue for several days. strike at American was in November There is no time limit. They have the right family in hock. We have a right to a happy "One of the biggest issues is the 1993 when the flight attendants success­ to strike and we have the right not to give in retirement without fear. We have to get a outsourcing of jobs," Bob Ward, a pilot fully struck during the Thanksgiving to their demands." better offer from the company before return­ with 20 years' seniority and a local asso­ holidays. Pickets carried signs reading Wheeling-Pitt bought a two-page adver­ ing to work." ciation spokesperson, told the Militant. "18 Days Before Strike," "This Em­ tisement in the WheelingNews-Register and "American wants to have non-APA pi­ ployee Supports American Airline Pi­ other newspapers throughout the strike re­ David Sandor is a member of United Steel­ lots fly·American Eagle jets. Right now lots," and "American· Airlines Passen­ gion, attempting to sell their pension offer workers of America, Local 3403 in they say 62 jets, but that's just the tip of gers Need to Rebook Future Flights." and calling on rank-and-file steelworkers to Morgantown, West Virginia. Tony Dutrow, the iceberg - someday it could be thou­ accept the company proposal. The ad de­ a member of USWA Local 1557 in Pitts­ sands of planes," he said. "This is an is­ Janet Post works at United Airlines in mands that the union organize a vote on the burgh, and Dan Fein, a member of USWA sue for the flight attendants and ramp Miami and is a member ofInternational company's latest offer and says, "Let's settle Local 4347 in Salt Lake City, contributed workers as well. It's not just a question Association of Machinists Loca/368. this strike the American way. Free men and to this article. women voting their consciences in a super­ vised, secret ballot election." The ad also touted the company's "improved" pension offer: retirement at age 60 with 42 years of service, instead of age 62 with 44 years, as Auto workers strike in Ohio, Michigan in their previous offer. Continued from front page 6,500 employees at two brake and two sus­ plaints about work going to a nonunion James Wareham, chief executive of supervisor can still mark you with absen­ pension plants that their futures are uncer­ shop," explained a January 28 AP news re­ Wheeling-Pittsburgh, made a veiled threat teeism," said the IUE worker. "That isn't tain unless their factories can become mor~ port. against the strikers. "We're at a point, now, right - anyone can get sick. If you get up profitable." where we have to begin considering more in the morning and your child is sick and "These plants are not earning the return John Sarge, member of UAW Local900 in drastic steps to gird ourselves against the you come into work late, they will try to that they need to," said a GM spokesman. the Detroit area, and Frank F orrestal, mem­ negative impact of what, at this point, ap­ fire you. A lot of the women in the plant are In a related development, some 500 UAW ber ofUAW Loca/551 in Chicago, contrib­ pears will be an extraordinarily prolonged worried about that," he said. In the past few members at two Johnson Controls plants in uted to the article. strike." years GM has hired more than 1,000 work­ Plymouth, Michigan, and Oberlin, Ohio, These statements are consistent with the ers, many of them female, said the striker. walked off the job January 28, as part of a pattern of threats, intimidation, and pressure Random drug testing and alcohol screen- fight for their first union contract. Johnson that the company has used during the strike. ing was another issue that workers were Controls is a major supplier of car seats in Social Security In November, the company canceled pay- concerned about. Some 800 grievances the auto industry. The company is asking have been filed with the company, includ­ for much lower wages than the $12 to $15 Continued from Page 8 ing 50 discharges, according to the union. demanded by the union. cial insurance to be "extended to workers In reaching a tentative agreement GM Close to 1,000 workers hit the picket lines and farmers without discrimination because "agreed to settle all grievances and to scrap in front of the Plymouth plant in solidarity of age, sex, race, or color, religious or po­ a more restrictive absentee policy it had with the strike. Many were UAW workers litical opinion or affiliations ... for all time The Eastern proposed," according to a AP news report. from Ford assembly plants in UAW Region lost." Airlines The walkout caught the GM bosses off lA. There were also GM and Chrysler Under the pressure of the strikes and un­ guard. This was captured by the Dayton workers, as well as Detroit News strikers. employed mobilizations, Roosevelt signed Strike Daily News headline, "IUE walkout Johnson Controls organized scabs tore­ the Social Security Act in August 1935. Far Accomplishments puzzles GM." place the striking workers. But by noon, from being a gift, the Social Security Act In recent days, GM has trumpeted its union officials reported to pickets, Ford had was an attempt to placate the every-increas­ of the Rank-and­ plans to boost dividends to its sharehold­ informed Johnson Controls that it would not ing mobilization of a radicalizing, working­ File Machinists and ers and launch a big stock buyback. Ac­ accept seats from the struck plant. In an class and unemployment movement. Gains for the Labor cording to the January 24 Wall Street Jour­ about face, four busloads of scabs were In subsequent years, workers fought to Movement nal, "Having largely resolved major items driven out of the plant by mid-afternoon. extend unemployment compensation and of business such as reaching new labor Johnson Controls has been on a "union other provisions of the Social Security Act by Emie Mailhot contracts and, more recently, agreeing to free" campaign for several years. Out of 30 to more layers of the working class. As the JudyStraf1ilhan, sell its Hughes defense unit, GM's top of­ of its auto parts plants, 24 are non-union. CIO grew in the 1930s and 40s, unionists and Jack Bames ficials have made enhancing the value of Both the Plymouth and Oberlin plants were continued to fight for social programs for The story of the 686-day strike in which the company's still-stagnant stock one of unionized through a deal between Ford and all workers. What ended the working-class upsurge was World War II, and the capitu­ a rank-and-file resistance by Machinists their top priorities." UAW officials. But much remains unresolved. GM's Reports in the big-business press have lation of the labor bureaucracy to Washing­ prevented Eastern's union-busting on­ "labor problems" are not behind them but suggested that both the Plymouth and ton with a "no-strike" pledge and persecu­ slaught from becoming the road to a ahead of them. After a 18-day strike last Oberlin plants were unionized as part of a tion against those who spoke out against the profitable nonunion airline. S9.95 year at two GM brake plants in Dayton, deal between Ford and the UAW officials. impending imperialist slaughter. Ohio, which shut down the company's car "Johnson Controls recognized UAW repre­ These social gains expanded in the 1960s, assembly production in North America, sentation for 300 workers in Plymouth and including with Medicare and Medicaid, also GM is again on the prod against UAW 200 workers in Oberlin last summer. That as a product of working-class struggle, this parts workers in Dayton. According to a let Ford conclude national UAW talks and time in the form of the advancing civil rights January 16 USA Today report, "GM told launch the Expedition without union com- movement of the 1950s and 60s. February 10, 1997 The Militant 11 --MILITANT LABOR FORUMS------ALABAMA Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Abortion Clinic Bombings in Atlanta and United Steelworkers of America Local 4347. Birmingham Employees. Fri., Feb. 14, 7:30p.m. Tulsa! Speakers: Arlynda Lee Boyer, Young Fri., Feb. 7, 7:30p.m. 209 E. 300 S. Donation: Both events held at 137 N.E. 54th St. Donation: Feminists, National Organization for Women; $4. Tel: (801) 355-1124. Labor's Stake in the Fight to Defend Social $4. Translation into Spanish and English. Tel: Dave Berg, Young Socialists. Fri., Feb. 7, 7:30 Security. Speakers: Mary Jones, consultant at (305) 756-1020. p.m. Greater Birmingham Ministries; Betsy Farley, WASHINGTON, D.C. Socialist Workers Party National Committee and Black Liberation and Socialism: Prospects for Black Farmers Fight Government Discrimi­ member, United Steelworkers of America. Fri., IOWA Freedom in the 21st Century. Speaker: Brock nation. Speaker: John Boyd, President, National Feb. 7, 7:30p.m. Ill 21st St. South. Donation: Des Moines Satter, Young Socialists. Fri., Feb. 14, 7:30p.m. Black Farmers Association. Fri., Feb. 7, 7:30 $4. Tel: (205) 323-3079. The Fight for Public Education and the Both events held at 87A Halsey St. ( 1 block west p.m. 1930 18th St. NW (at 18th and Florida, "Ebonies" Debate. Fri., Feb., 7th, 7:30p.m. of Broad, 2 blocks north of Raymond). Dona­ entrance on Florida). Donation: $4. Tel: (202) tion: $4. Tel: (201) 643-3341. 387-2185. CALIFORNIA Turning Points in the Cuban Revolution. Sat., Los Angeles Feb. 15, 7:30p.m. Korean Labor Fights Back. Panel discussion. Both events held at 2724 Douglas Avenue. Do­ NEW YORK CANADA Fri., Feb. 7, 7:30p.m. 2546 W. Pico Blvd. Dona­ nation: $4. Tel: (515) 277-4600. Brooklyn tion: $4. Tel: (213) 380-9460. Abortion is a Woman's Right: Keep the Clin­ Vancouver San Francisco MICHIGAN ics Open! Panel discussion. Fri., Feb. 7, 7:30 Sovereignty and Justice for Native Peoples. Panel discussion with Bill Lightbown, Kootenai Governor Wilson's 1997 Budget: An Attack Detroit p.m. 59 Fourth Ave. Donation: $4. Tel: (718) 399-7257. elder, supporter of the Gustafsen Lake 18 de­ on Working People. Speaker: Craig Honts, So­ South Korean Workers Fight Anti-Labor fendants; Paul Keller, Communist League. Fri., cialist Workers Party candidate for mayor of Los Laws. Speaker: Gary Boyers, Socialist Workers Feb. 7, 7:30p.m. 3967 Main St. Donation: $4. Angeles and member, United Transportation Party, member of United Steelworkers of Tel: (604) 872-8343. Union. Fri., Feb. 7, 7:30p.m. Dinner, 6 p.m.3284 America. Fri., Feb. 7, 7 p.m. 7414 Woodward PENNSYLVANIA 23rd St.' at Mission St. Donation: $5. Tel: (415) Ave. Donation: $4. Tel: (313) 875-0100. Philadelphia 285-5323. Zaire: The Struggle for Freedom. Fri., Feb. 7, 7:30p.m. Panel discussion. NEW ZEALAND MINNESOTA Auckland FLORIDA St. Paul Racism, Revolution, and Reaction. Fri., Feb. 14,7:30 p.m. Farmers Face the Crisis of the Nineties. Miami INS Raids in the Meatpacking Industry. Speaker: Colin Parker, Communist League. Fri., Labor and the Fight for Affirmative Action. Speaker: Dick McBride, Socialist Workers Party, Both events held at 1906 South St. Donation: $4. Tel: (215) 546-8218. Feb. 7, 7 p.m. La Gonda Arcade, 203 Speaker: Rollande Girard, Socialist Workers member of United Food and Commercial Work­ Karangahape Road. Donation: $3. Tel: (9)379- Party and member, United Steelworkers of ers. Sat., Feb. 8, 7:30p.m. 2490 University Ave. 3075. America. Fri., Feb. 7, 7:30p.m. Donation: $4. Tel: (612) 644-6325. UTAH Christchurch The Crisis in Public Education and the NEW JERSEY Salt Lake City The New Coalition Government: Shift to the "Ebonies" Debate. Speakers: Eugene Fisher, Support the Wheeling-Pitt Strike: A First­ Right. Speaker: Ruth Gray, Communist League. teacher in the Dade County public schools; Ernie Newark hand Report from the Picket Lines. Speaker: Fri., Feb. 14, 7 p.m. 199 High St. (Corner High Mailhot, Socialist Workers Party, member of Defend a Woman's Right to Choose: Protest Dan Fein, Socialist Workers Party, member, St. and Tuam). Donation: $3. Tel: (3) 365-6055. Labor battle shows failure of Korean 'miracle' Continued from front page was described as a "once" chiefly agricul­ unions were organized, and the number of and tortured by management to the point of Workers have won substantial economic and tural country. It has been touted as a major workers in unions grew to 1.3 million or 22 hospitalization. The cops referred to it as an political gains, which the Korean rulers now success among the so-called developing percent of the workforce. Average pay was "internal company matter." Police were also must try to roll back in order to compete markets, and is sometimes referred to as one $2.30 an hour, which covered only 60 per­ sent out to suppress the street actions. with their international rivals. of the "four tigers" of Asia, along with Hong cent of a worker's living expenses. The av­ A recurring component of the these con­ The history of the Korean peninsula in Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. Just last year, erage workweek was 54 hours - among the frontations was the fight for reunification the second half of this century has been Seoul was admitted to the Organization for longest in the world. Workers also fought of Korea. On July 21, 1990, hundreds of shaped by the U.S.-led imperialist war car­ Economic Cooperation and Development. for bonus payments, paid vacations, holi­ thousands blanketed the streets of Seoul, ried out against the Korean people from Washington backed a series of repressive days off, and better cafeteria food, among outraged by a National Assembly meeting 1950-53. U.S. forces leveled much of the regimes in Seoul throughout this period. In other things. held earlier that month that passed 26 bills country through massive bombings and na­ 1980, for example, hundreds of student dem­ In response to this wave of protests, the into law in 30 seconds, with no debate al­ palming, especially in the north. They de­ onstrators protesting a military coup the pre­ Seoul government placed 71 companies on lowed. Included in those bills was legisla­ stroying whole neighborhoods deemed "en­ vious year were massacred at K wangju. its "important defense industries" list. By tion that criminalized any nongovernmen­ emy" outposts, obliterated most of Korea's mandate of a law enacted in I987, workers tal relations to individuals or organizations industrial infrastructure, and systematically Labor upsurge wins some gains in such industries were not permitted to in north Korea. Roh Tae Woo, the president bombed dikes to destroy crops and cause A massive strike wave broke out across strike or even organize unions. at that time, was later ousted by massive flooding. At the same time, they suppressed south Korea in 1988, after decades during Bosses brought in Kusadae, or Save the demonstrations and is now in prison, con­ popular uprisings in the southern region that which company unions were the only legally Company Corps. These were antiunion hoo­ victed for corruption and his role in the took the shape of general strikes and mass recognized labor organizations. Workers ligans hired by employers to attack and ha­ K wangju massacre. demonstrations. Nearly four years of slaugh­ demanded higher wages and a shorter work­ rass workers trying to organize. Workers Out of these fights and many others in ter left 2 million Koreans dead and 3 mil­ week. The previous year at least 1,500 new would be kidnapped by the Kusadae, beaten, Continued on Page 14 lion wounded. U.S. president Harry Truman, together with Washington's puppet, south Korean president Syngman Rhee, set up the 38th -.If YOU LIKE THIS PAPER, LOOK US UP.,._ ___ parallel as the heavily fortified dividing line across the peninsula after failing in their aim Where to find Pathfinder books and dis­ MINNESOTA: Twin Cities: 2490 Univer­ AUSTRALIA to conquer the entire country. Tens of thou­ tributors of the Militant, Perspectiva sity Ave. W., St. Paul. Zip: 55114. Tel: (612) Sydney: I9 Terry St., Surry Hills 2010. sands of U.S. troops remain in south Korea Mundial, New International, Nouvelle 644-6325. Compuserve: 1030I4,326I Mailing address: P.O. Box K879, Haymarket, today, with gunships off the coast, their lnternationale, Nueva lnternacional and Ny NEW JERSEY: Newark: 87 A Halsey. NSW 2000. Tel: 02-281-3297. Compuserve: weapons aimed at Pyongyang. This forced International. Mailing address: II88 Raymond Blvd., Suite 102174,1243 division of Korea remains a burning issue 222. Zip: 07102. Tel: (20I) 643-3341. Compuserve: 104216,2703 BRITAIN for many workers and youth, who want their London: 47 The Cut. Postal code: SEI 8LL. country reunified. UNITED STATES NEW YORK: New York City: 59 4th Av­ Tel: 0171-928-7993. Compuserve: The rapid industrialization of south Ko­ enue (comer of Bergen) Brooklyn, NY Zip: 1015I5,2702 rea began in the 1960s as part of an entire ALABAMA: Birmingham: Ill 21st St. 11217. Tel: (718) 399-7257. Compuserve: South. Mailing address: Suite 252, 267 West Manchester: Unit 4, 60 Shudehill. Postal period of post-World War II capitalist ex­ 102064,2642. Compuserve: 104075,35 ; 167 code: M4 4AA. Tel: 016l-839-I766. pansion in Asia. The 1960 World Almanac Valley Avenue Zip 35209. Tel: (205) 323- Charles St., Manhattan, NY. Zip: 10014. Tel: 3079. Compuserve: 73712,3561 described south Korea as a "chiefly agricul­ (212) 366-1973. CANADA tural area." U.S. military, financial, and tech­ CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles: 2546 W. NORTH CAROLINA: Greensboro: Montreal: 458I Saint-Denis. Postal code: nological aid that year stood at $1.3 billion. Pico Blvd. Zip: 90006. Tel: (213) 380-9460, 2000-C S. Elm-Eugene St. Zip 27406. Tel: H2J 2L4. Tel: (514) 284-7369. Compuserve: A five-year economic plan was launched in 380-9640. Compuserve: 74642,326SanFran­ (910) 272-5996. Compuserve: 103475,672. I04614,2606 1962 to accelerate the industrialization of cisco: 3284 23rd St. Zip: 94110. Tel: (415) OHIO: Cincinnati: P.O. Box 19484. Zip: Toronto: 827 Bloor St. West. Postal code: M6G IMl. Tel: (416) 533-4324. Compuserve: the country. By 1966, U.S. funding had 282-6255, 285-5323. Compuserve: 75604,556 45219. Tel: (513) 662-1931.Cieveland: 1832 103474,13 CONNECTICUT: New Haven: Mailing Euclid. Zip: 44115. Tel: (216) 861-6I50. reached $2.2 billion. Mining and production Vancouver: 3967 Main St. Postal code: of tungsten, coal, iron ore, bismuth, fluor­ address: P.O. Box 16751, Baybrook Station, Compuserve: I 03253, III! West Haven. Zip: 06516. V5V 3P3. Tel: (604) 872-8343. Compuserve: spar, graphite, and cement was picking up, PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia: 1906 l03430,I552 and the timber, rubber, glass, shipbuilding, FLORIDA: Miami: 137 N.E. 54th St. Zip: South St. Zip: I9146. Tel: (215) 546-8218. steel, electronic, and automotive equipment 33137. Tel: (305) 756-1020. Compuserve: Compuserve: 104502,1757 Pittsburgh: 1103 FRANCE industries were also rapidly expanding. In­ 103171,1674 E. Carson St. Zip 15203. Tel: (412) 38I-9785. Paris: MBE 20I, 208 rue de Ia Convention. dustrial growth set records year after year GEORGIA: Atlanta: 803 Peachtree St. Compuserve: 103122,720 Postal code: 75015. Tel: (I) 47-26-58-21. Compuserve: 73504,442 over the next decade. NE. Zip: 30308. Tel: (404) 724-9759. TEXAS: Houston: 3260 South Loop West. In the 1977 World Almanac, south Korea Compuserve: 104226,1245 Zip: 77025. Tel: (713) 349-0090. Compuserve: ICELAND ILLINOIS: Chicago: 1223 N. Milwaukee 102527,2271 Reykjavik: Klapparstig 26. Mailing ad­ dress: P. Box 233, 121 Reykjavik. Tel: 552 Ave. Zip: 60622. Tel: (773) 342-I780. UTAH: Salt Lake City: 209 E. 300 S. Zip: -CALENDAR­ Compuserve: 104077,511 Peoria: 9I5 N. 84111. Tel: (801) 355-1124. Compuserve: 5502. INTERNET:[email protected] Western. Zip: 61650-0302. Mailing address: 76714,1545 NEW ZEALAND P.O. Box 302. Tel: (309) 676-2472. WASIDNGTON,D.C.: 1930 I8thSt.N.W. Auckland: La Gonda Arcade, 203 Compuserve: I04612,147 BRITAIN Suite #3 (Entrance on Florida Av.). Zip: 20009. Karangahape Road. Postal address: P.O. Box London IOWA: Des Moines: 2724 Douglas Ave. Tel: (202) 387-2185. Compuserve: 3025. Tel: (9) 379-3075. Compuserve: Protest the Attack on the Pathfinder Zip: 50310. Tel: (515) 277-4600. Compuserve: 75407,3345. 100035,3205 Bookshop! Defend the Right to read and sell 104107,1412 Christchurch: I99 High St. Postal address: socialist literature! Defend the right to organize WASHINGTON: Seattle: I405 E. Madi­ MASSACHUSETTS: Boston: 780 Tre­ son. Zip: 98122. Tel: (206) 323-I755. P.O. Box 22-530. Tel: (3) 365-6055. politically. Speakers invited from Irish organi­ mont St. Zip: 02118. Tel: (617) 247-6772. Compuserve: I 00250, l5I1 zations, MPs, civil liberties groups, the Commu­ Compuserve: 74461,2544. Compuserve: 103426,3430 nist League, the National Abortion Campaign. WEST VIRGINIA: Morgantown: 242 SWEDEN Fri., Feb. 7, 7 p.m. The Pathfinder Bookshop, MICHIGAN: Detroit: 74I4 Woodward Walnut. Mailing address: P.O. Box 203. Zip: Stockholm: Vikingagatan I 0 (T -bana St 47 The Cut. Donation: £2. For more informa­ Ave. Zip: 48202. Compuserve: 104127,3505 26507. Tel: (304) 296-0055. Compuserve: Eriksplan). Postal code: S-113 42. Tel: (08) tion: 0171-401-2409. Tel: (313) 875-0100. 70543,1637 31 69 33. Compuserve: 1004I6,2362 12 The Militant February 10, 1997 -GR~TSOODY------Guilty, innocent, whatever - chologist Val Farmer chides folks gas fan. In 1919, he declared, "I am sion, reducing the weapons viola- The paper cited a German govern- According to the Supreme Court, a for anti-immigrant prejudices, ex- strongly in favor of using poison- tion charge - a criminal offense - mentreport that a 10.8 percent job- person convicted on one charge and plaining: "To survive in America, ous gas against uncivilized tribes." to a rules infraction. less rate is likely to worsen in com- acquitted on another can be sen- immigrants need time to learn to be A year later, Kurdish freedom fight- ing months. It said German econo- tenced for as long a term as if con- individualistic, goal oriented ... to ers were subjected to British gas The civilizers - In England, mists warn that 1997 "will be the adopt conventional family relation- bombings. Geoffrey Thomas, 25, a prison in- worst year for jobs since the Great ships. They don't have to get rid of mate with terminal cancer, was Depression." that which is valuable from their Frequent flyer points to Pearly chained to a hospice bed for three own culture." Gate -A church in northern Spain days. A court order got him un- We keep chuckling - Miami Harry discarded the traditional collection chained three hours before he died. cops, whose brutality has touched They're icing the current plate in favor of an after-mass There was no problem of escape, off several rebellions in the impov- ··Ring staff? -A CIA help-wanted ad credit-card machine. the hospice director declared. Tho- erished, Black Overtown area, were says the spook agency is looking for mas "needed help to sit up in bed." petulant about going door-to-door candidates "with spirit, personality, The antigun war- Jeffrey The prison service's top dog said asking folks to return any money victed on both charges. Opined the intelligence, and integrity." Parks, 10, was expelled from a Se- the incident would be probed and if they may have scooped up during a top court: "It's impossible to know attle school after being caught pack- anything was done wrong, the fam- cash spill from an overturned why a jury found a defendant not History note- Newly released ing a toy pistol about an inch long. ily would get an apology. Brink's Security truck. Nobody guilty on a certain charge." documents confirm that Winston (It came out of his pocket while fish- forked over any, and some laughed Churchill, British prime minister ing for his lunch money.) After his Neither is capitalism - "Ger- heartily. Declared one resident, How tolerant can you get? - during World War II and secretary parents appealed the decision, many isn't working," declared a "This couldn't happen to a more In the Iowa Farmer Today, psy- of war in WWI, was a great poison school officials revoked the expul- London Daily Telegraph headline. deserving neighborhood." Why abortion is a woman's right Abortion Is a Woman's Right! is a brief ful and barbaric chains on women. Black the ideological offensive against pamphlet that explains how abortion women and Latinas suffered the most from women's rights. The main theme rights were won in the United States, why the illegal status of abortion. Eighty percent sounded was, "Abortion is mur­ they are under attack, and why working of the hundreds of women who died each year der!" ... people should fight to defend them. It in­ were Black and Spanish-speaking women. Week after week, abortion is cludes articles by Pat Grogan, Jose G. And many Black women and Latinas were discussed in the big-business me­ Perez, and Evelyn Reed that originally forced to submit to sterilization in order to dia as a moral, religious, ethical, appeared in the Militant between 1973 obtain an abortion. and scientific question; a private, and 1984, as well as an interview with Dr. Prior to the emergence of the feminist public, personal, and medical Henry Morgentaler on the fight for abor­ movement in the late 1960s, many support­ question. But the real issue is the tion rights in Canada. Below, we reprint ers oflegal abortion presented their arguments right of women to decide if and an excerpt from the opening article, "The in terms of population control - arguments when to have children. Issue Is Women's Rights." The pamphlet, that are used to bolster the racist practice of The torrent of antiabortion pro­ which is available in English and Span­ forced sterilization. paganda does not come out of a ish, is copyright © 1985 by Pathfinder The feminist movement put the axis for the big victory by the capitalist rul­ Press, reprinted with permission. fight to legalize abortion where it belonged - ers against women's rights. on the right of women to control their own Rather it is aimed at launching a BY PAT GROGAN bodies. It was on this basis that majority sup­ fight to reverse the gains women On January 22, 1973, women won their port for legal abortion was won. have won in the last 15 years. most important victory in decades. Because of the stakes involved in the fight The steps taken toward equal­ The U.S. Supreme Court, in Roe vs. Wade, for abortion rights, this right was never se­ ity by both the women's rights Militant/Ellen Lemisch cure. Several years ago, Democrats and Re­ movement and the civil rights Washington, D.C woman's liberation march, 1971. publicans alike began to step up their attacks movement have strengthened the on the right to abortion. entire working class in its ability to struggle BOOK OF The Hyde Amendment, passed by Con­ against the employers. aimed at convincing both men and women gress in 1976, was the most serious blow. It In order to lay the basis for ever deeper that a woman's place is in the home, and THE WEEK cut off Medicaid funding for abortions, ex­ attacks against the rights and living stan­ that the family, not the government, should cept in cases of rape, incest, or when a dards of the working class - and as part bear the cost of caring for children, the sick, ruled that women had the constitutional right woman's life is in danger. In May 1981, Con­ of the preparation for full-scale imperialist and the elderly: to have abortions. The ruling legalized abor­ gress cut off funds even in cases of rape and war in Central America - the ruling class It is aimed at justifying lower pay for tion through the first twenty-four weeks of incest. must pit worker against worker, using rac­ women who work and making unemploy­ pregnancy and struck down all laws that re­ In October 1984, Congress once again de­ ist and sexist prejudices to undermine the ment of women more acceptable. stricted that right. nied abortion funding for victims of rape and unity and strength of the working class. The fire is aimed particularly at abortion For the first time the right of women to incest. Since the Hyde Amendment was The ruling class ideological offensive is rights because the right of women to choose decide whether or not to bear children - passed, thirty-six states have cut off state aimed at undermining the powerful idea whether or not to bear children is an elemen­ not the state, church, husband, father, or funding for abortions. that women should have equal rights.lt is tary precondition for women's liberation. priest - was recognized. This strikes hardest at Black women, The women's liberation movement saw Latinas, and the poorest women. It is part of reproductive freedom as the most fundamen­ the attack against the right of all women to tal right of women, a precondition for full abortion and lays the basis for further attempts -25AND50YEARSAGO~----- equality and liberation. Without the right to to restrict abortion rights. control her own body, a woman could not In the years 1978 and 1979 alone, almost Meanwhile during an emergency debate exercise effective control over her life. 1.5 million women were unable to obtain in the House of Commons in London, the Beginning in the 1960s, contraception abortions, either because of lack of facilities THE Labor Party, rather than calling for the im­ was becoming more available and accepted, or inability to pay. mediate withdrawal of British troops, de­ but it was not foolproof- and still isn't. These attacks against women's rights have manded that British imperialism take over Advances in medical science had made abor­ sharply escalated in the last few years. There MILITANT all responsibility for maintaining "law and tion a safe, simple, medical procedure. But were 180 incidents of violent attacks by right­ Published in the Interest of the Working People order" from Northern Ireland's Protestant in most states, abortion was against the law. wing foes of abortion rights on abortion clin­ Price I 0¢ government. Women were forced to bear children against ics as of November 1984. This includes 20 February 11, 1972 their will, or risk dangerous - and often arsons and firebombings. deadly- illegal or self-induced abortions. Women seeking abortions are harassed, In 1969, the year before New York State threatened, and called "murderers" by "right­ FEB. 2-A general strike of Catholic THE MILITANT workers has spread throughout Northern PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE WOaKING PEOPLE adopted liberalized abortion laws- a step to-lifers" who try to create an atmosphere of NEW YORK, N_Y FIVE (S) c:F.;\ITS that laid the basis for the later Supreme Court fear and intimidation at abortion clinics. They Ireland in the wake of the British army's victory - approximately 210,000 women are the shock troops of a broader assault on murderous attack on a peaceful mass dem­ February 8, 1947 entered city hospitals due to abortion com­ abortion rights. onstration in Derry three days ago. A wave plications. The 1984 presidential elections were used of anti-British protests is also occurring in LONDON -The magnificent demon­ The restrictions on abortion were power- as a staging ground for a major escalation in the Republic of Ireland to the south. stration of solidarity and militancy of the Thirteen civilians were left dead and at transport workers has compelled the gov­ least 16 wounded when British paratroop­ ernment and the employers to grant a 44 hour ers opened fire with automatic weapons on week and a regulated day without any re­ a demonstration of between 15,000 and duction in pay. The capitalist press itself rec­ 20,000 called by the Northern Ireland Civil ognizes this as a "complete victory" for the Pat Grogan and others Rights Association (NICRA). transport workers. Why abortion rights are central to the fight for the full Defying a government ban on all dem­ The direct action of the transport work­ emancipation of women. In English, and Spanish. $3.00 onstrations, the protesters were demanding ers produced the quickest negotiations in an end to the government's policy of in­ union history. The solidarity of the organized ternment under which some 755 Catholics workers has taught the Labor Government also: have been imprisoned without charge or that the working class will not lightly toler­ Communist Continuity and the trial. ate the use of troops as strikebreakers. Fight for Women's Liberation The attack in Derry, now referred to as For the first time since the General Strike "Bloody Sunday," has been compared to of 1926, the struggles of one section of the the 1960 Sharpeville massacre in which 72 workers won the sympathy and solidarity of Available from bookstores, Women's Liberation and the Line of March of the Blacks were shot dead by South African wide sections of the masses. Dockers, por­ including those listed on Working Class Part 1 $10.00 page 12, or write Path­ police and soldiers during an unarmed and ters, and all engaged in the transport indus­ finder, 410 West St., New Women, Leadership, and the Proletarian Norms of peaceful demonstration against that try stopped work as soon as the troops York, NY 10014. Tel: (212) the Communist Movement Part 2 $9.00 country's pass laws. marched in. Other sections, railway work­ 741-0690. Fax: (212) 727- 0150. When ordering by Abortion Rights, the ERA, and the Rebirth of a Femi- A general strike, called by the outlawed ers, passenger transport workers, gas work­ mail, please include $3 to nist Movement Part 3$11.00 Irish Republican Army, has already halted ers, petroleum workers, shop assistants and cover shipping and handling. the commercial life of Derry, according to caterers, were ready for strike action if the the Feb. 1 Washington Post. use of troops was extended. February 10, 1997 The Militant 13 -EDITORIALS------Take Inore, and better, pictures Cancel Mexico's foreign debt! for the 'Militant' Cancel the foreign debt of Mexico and of the entire register the social relationship between the exploiting We have received several inquires recently on how to Third World! That should be the demand of workers in families of finance capital and their states on one side, send in pictures to the Militant. Today, it's easier than the United States and internationally in face of the sys­ backed by the imperialist armed forces, and the capital­ ever to send in pictures - of workers on the picket lines, tematic pillage of Mexico and other semicolonial coun­ ists and governments of the oppressed countries on the Young Socialists and other youth in political action, job tries by the sharks on Wall Street and Washington. other. conditions, sales of the socialist press, and much more. The Clinton administration has been bragging about As the interest due mounts -quickly outstripping the There are several ways in which the Militant can ac­ the extra $580 million in premium profits that the U.S. principal - the imperialists bring their enormous eco­ cept photos for press. You can send unprocessed film or rulers extracted through the recent "bailout" of the Mexi­ nomic and military power to bear on governments in the negatives, although you should be aware that our stan­ can peso. Meanwhile Mexico's foreign debt stood at $98 semi colonial countries, pressing them to squeeze out funds dard policy is not to return the negatives or photographs. billion last year- 38 percent of the country's gross do­ for payments by imposing ever harsher austerity measures Prints are fine, either in black-and-white or color. We scan mestic product - and working people faced growing on the workers and peasants. These include currency de­ photos for publication from either prints or negatives. unemployment, a cap on wage increases well below the valuations, abolition of price subsidies on food and other What an increasing number of contributors are doing inflation rate, and skyrocketing sales taxes and other fees necessities, wage cuts, longer hours, speedup, and sharp is sending their pictures via e-mail, as scanned images in that hit the toilers hardest. cutbacks in spending for health, education, and housing. either TIFF or JPEG format. Now that scanners are rela­ The situation in Mexico is by no means unique. The In exchange for "rescheduling" portions of the debt, gov­ tively inexpensive, and there are facilities that will scan conditions there are part of the long-term debt slavery ernments throughout the Third World have been forced and e-mail pictures (for a small fee), photos can reach the imposed on peoples throughout Latin America, Asia, and to hand over entire factories, mines, and tracts of land to Militant in a matter of minutes. The picture in this week's Africa as a mechanism to transfer massive wealth from imperialist interests. Militant of Young Socialists in Sweden selling Pathfinder the labor of workers and peasants in the region to the cof­ This debt is immoral and unpayable. The revolution­ books at an unemployment demonstration was sent in this fers of the capitalists in New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, ary government in Cuba took the lead in the mid-1980s way, and we placed it directly on the page. The electronic and other imperialist centers. The debt crisis exploded in in calling for its cancellation as a necessary component photo files should be a grayscale scan with a final size the 1980s. Lacking sufficiently profitable ways to invest of the fight to improve the conditions of the toilers in the between 1 and 1.5 megabytes. The scanned images must money capital in the expansion of industrial capacity, the Third World. be sent for IBM compatible computers (not MAC). imperialist rulers foisted gigantic loans onto governments Working people in imperialist countries must cham­ As an aid to our readers taking and sending in more and groups of capitalists in the semicolonial countries at pion this demand today as part of combating the national photos for the Militant, we are reprinting below portions exorbitant rates. divisions the rulers try to foist upon us. The call to cancel of a 1995 article by Eric Simpson, who often takes pic­ For bankers and other financiers, debts are assets, not the debt goes hand in hand with demanding equal rights tures for the Militant, on how to take good photos. problems as they are for most workers. They take the form for immigrants and for a world without borders -for ·:· of paper used as contracts for superexploitation. They international working-class solidarity. BY ERIC SIMPSON Imagine the Militant without pictures. Thanks to our many worker correspondents we don't have to. But the Militant needs more and better photos, on a wider array of topics, and from more countries. Photographs are a big component oftheMilitant's jour­ Oppose 'Megan's Law' nalistic style. We need photos to bring life and action into our pages. Photographs quickly and directly set the scene The recent decision by New York state officials to re­ accept the notion that there are certain people who are for a story -give a sense of place -and show the main lease a list of 17 names, addresses, photos, and descrip­ less than fully human, who don't deserve the same rights characters. Photographs communicate the scale of an tions of people in the state who were convicted of sex as others. event: whether it involves hundreds of people, or hun­ crimes marks an attack on the democratic rights of work­ One prong of this offensive is the attempt, through dreds of thousands. ing people. It goes hand-in-hand with the reinstitution of measures such as the so-called "Megan's law" in New And photographs can substantiate the facts in a story, chain gangs, and other types of punishment designed to York, to gain acceptance for the idea that those who have driving home the point that the Militant tells the truth. degrade working people and portray them as non-human been convicted of crimes should be denied democratic Helping to get the facts out to our readers - to tell the and without rights. rights. The New York law and similar measures across truth directly and without embellishment- is the num­ These moves are part of the offensive by the employ­ the country strike directly at the right to presumption of ber one goal of Militant photography. The facts are in the ing class and its government against the working class. innocence, an important conquest working people have details. We have to reflect the immediacy of the specific As they push to lower wages, lengthen the work day, and won. It allows the state to arbitrarily impose punis!Jment situation we are reporting on as journalists and partici­ gut entitlements such as Social Security, Medicare, and after a person has served out their usual sentence. These pants. Medicaid, the capitalist rulers must find ways to divide are democratic safeguards that the working class needs to A photograph should never show a "picket line" in and weaken the working class as a whole. They seek to defend as it comes up against the employers in battle. general, for example, but should show certain workers, drive a wedge between the unemployed and employed, Class-conscious workers and all supporters of demo­ with first and last names, standing in a unique place for a and foster other divisions based on race, gender, and im­ cratic rights should oppose these "sexual offenders" laws very specific and important reason. A good photograph migrant status. The rulers must force working people to and explain why they are a blow to civil liberties. would put you on the line, and introduce you to fellow fighters. A great photograph would give voice to those fighters, speaking to the reader with their expressions. Get up close Only through clear detail can a photo communicate the facts. To capture the detail, you must put yourself at the Myth of the Korean 'miracle' center of the action. You have to get close. Militant photographers must always photograph what they see, never what they know. From 100 yards in the Continued from Page 12 spokesman for south Korea-based LG Electronics as, "The the following years, workers wrested a number of con­ driving rain, I know the five gray shapes are a picket line Korean home market just isn't big enough for future because I am looking for a strike at that mine. But what cessions from the bosses. Hyundai workers, for example, growth, and has become too expensive for export produc­ get a 50 percent discount at the hospital, apartment subsi­ do I really see? Some shapes and a lot of rain. What is in tion." Some Korean companies have begun setting up fac­ my mind will not show on film. But if I stop and partici­ dies, and free schooling for children. Wages have risen tories abroad, from Vietnam to Mexico, in search of lower 15 percent a year over the past ten years as well. And pate in the picket line for a while, talk with the strikers labor costs. and learn about their struggle, and introduce myself and workers' expectations have also risen. During the recent Even though Korean companies fill a third of the world's strikes Chung Jong Soo, an assembly worker at Hyundai my newspaper, I'll be part of their fight and they'll appre­ new ship orders, in the first quarter of 1996 orders de­ ciate an up-close shot to support their strike. The photo­ Motor, told reporters, "Its true that life is better.... But I creased by 4 7 percent in comparison to the previous year. don't think we are well off." graphs I take of fighters on the line in the driving rain, Tokyo's ship-building operations saw a slight gain in the drenched, with dripping union caps and soggy placards, same period. Ships produced in south Korea had been 10- Economic stagnation will show real people and their determination. 15 percent cheaper than those built in Japan. This price Always shoot a number of pictures. Not only will it be In today's conditions of world depression and intensi­ gap has now closed to only 5 percent. Internationally, the fied competition, Korea's capitalists must face the limits more likely that one of them will tum out to be usable, industry is facing a crisis of overproduction, with more but it also will help to put people at ease. of the rapid industrialization that took place in a period of capacity than can be put to use for an acceptable profit world capitalist expansion. Prices for computer memory Even without an article, a photo and a short caption margin. can communicate a wealth of information. It can show chips, one of south Korea's best exports, plunged by as Banking. and other financial institutions are facing hard much as 70 percent last year. Seoul faces a gap in the how the picket line works. It can show the attitude of the times as well. "Banks are saddled with a heavy burden of workers as they explain their fight to new people .... overall scope of what it buys and sells. In April 1996, for bad debts" and "loans to heavy industrial projects that went instance, merchandise exports grew 6.5 percent, while The subject of every Militant photo should be people sour in the 1970s and 1980s," noted an article in the Janu­ moving into political action. One way or another, these imports rose 14.8 percent. The Far Eastern Economic ary 24 Financial Times. Review summarized comments of Lee Chan Hong, a two words - people and action - cover the entire range The most recent example of this is the January collapse of Militant photography. This is the reality of our class, of the Hanbo Steel Corp., Korea's second largest steel the working class, which is reflected in the pages of the producer. The company defaulted on payment of a $5.8 Militant. We need Militant readers to send photographs billion dollar debt borrowed from national banks. Now of the struggles you are involved in. Of fights against cop 1995 'MUitaut' io

16 The Militant February 10, 1997