TH£ Drug, alcohol testing on the job . • • • • • 8 Inside El Salvador's prisons ... 11 FBI 'subversives' list i'n Puerto Rico 14

A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE VOL. 51/NO. 28 JULY 31, 1987 75 CENTS

El Salvador Nicaraguans celebrate death squads attack in 8 years of revolution Los Angeles BY ROBERTO KOPEC MATAGALPA, Nicaragua- Flanked BY OLGA RODRIGUEZ by a huge billboard welcoming African Na­ AND ANDRES PEREZ tional Congress leader Oliver Tambo, LOS ANGELES - A series of abduc­ 40,000 Nicaraguan workers and peasants tions, violent attacks, and threats have oc­ here celebrated the eighth anniversary of curred here in the past few weeks against their revolution, which overthrew dictator Central Americans who oppose U.S. gov­ Anastasio Somoza July 19. ernment policy. Matagalpa is the government seat of On July 7 Yanira "N," a leading activist Nicaragua's north-central Region VI. B9r­ in the Association of Progressive Salvador­ dering Honduras, it is the region that has an Women (AMPES), was abducted near suffered most from the six-year.contra war the offices of the Committee in Solidarity imposed by the U.S. government. U.S. en­ with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) gineer Benjamin Linder was murdered by by two Salvadoran men. They interrogated the contras not far from here in April. her about other Central American activists, Thousands of peasants and workers burned her fingers with cigarettes, cut her came to the rally despite increased contra hands and tongue, and raped her. The attacks in the region in the last few weeks ordeal lasted for six hours. They further and threats by the mercenaries to disrupt threatened, "We won't kill you this time, the celebrations. Thousands of army but it will continue with your son," refer­ r~.f"'ists were mobilized along the high­ ring to her child. Yanira was found by way to guarantee the safety of travelers. police officers the next morning dumped Prominent among the banners and signs under a bridge. displayed at the rally were several from in­ On July 17 Ana Maria LOpez, a young ternational solidarity brigades working in Guatemalan refugee activist, was abducted Nicaragua, including teachers from the Oliver Tambo, president of the African National Congress of South Africa, ad­ at gun point while waiting for a bus by a United States, the Roberto Clemente dressed 40,000 workers and peasants who rallied to mark anniversary of Nicaraguan masked man who spoke what she described Brigade from Puerto Rico, and brigades revolution. Banner reads, ''Welcome Comrade Oliver Tambo." as "Salvadoran Spanish." She was driven from Italy and Switzerland, among others. around for two hours, verbally threatened, tional Congress of South Africa, and Puerto During the rally he was awarded the Order A large red-and-black banner carried by and terrorized. She was also interrogated Rican independence hero Irving Flores. of Carlos Fonseca, the highest honor given West German metalworkers read, "We are about her activities with the Guatemalan workers, we are internationalists." The well-known U.S. country and west­ to distinguished members of the Sandinista Cultural Center, other Guatemalans, Sal­ National Liberation Front. The·FSLN gave Sharing the platform with leaders of the em singer, Kris Kristofferson, sang "San­ vadorans, and two U.S. citizens who sup­ dinista", a song he wrote in honor of the him the award in recognition of his contri­ Sandinista National Liberation Front (FS­ port the Salvadoran refugee community. LN) and the Nicaraguan government were revolution's anniversary. bution, together with Nelson Mandela, "to She was warned to stop her activities or Tambo was the featured guest speaker. Continued on Page 13 Oliver Tambo, president of the African Na- "others" would come after her. Marta Alicia Rivera, a well-known exiled Salvadoran trade union leader who had been kidnapped and tortured in El Sal­ North, Congress, and the contra war vador, received a death threat in her mail­ box. The letter also named 18 other Central BY HARRY RING tivity." . taken to support them was justified. American solidarity activists as targets, At the congressional hearing on the Iran­ North quickly realized what a damning In the face of North's challenge to make among them Angela Sanbrano, national contra arms scandal, Lt. Col. Oliver North admission he had made - that if the support of the contra war the standard by coordinator of CIS PES. proved himself a fast-talking, shifty wit­ people of this country knew what was which eyery action is measured, all of the Luis Oliveres, a Catholic priest and ness. But, for one brief moment, he slipped going on, Washington's contra war would members ofthe congressional investigating leader in the fight for immigrant and refu­ and let it all hang out. be totally undermined. committee backed down. Rather than chal­ gee rights and against U.S. intervention in Pressed on why he and his associates had So he shifted gears, returning to his lenging the war itself, they kept insisting Central America, received a similar letter. lied about the covert contra supply opera­ stock argument that exposure of the illegal that how U.S. policy is implemented is the The letter was signed "E.M." for escuad­ tion, he blurted out: operation would have jeopardized lives. key issue. In fact, they accepted North's rones de Ia muerte- death squads. "Quite simply . . . the exposure of the Throughout his testimony, North took basic political thesis - that the Sandinista Phillip Zwerling announced that the the political offensive, pressing his line government is "bad" and a way must be operation would have caused it to be termi­ First Unitarian Church, a well-known nated .... I'm talking about the political about the need to stop "communism" in found to get rid of it. movement center, had been vandalized debate that would have occurred here in Nicaragua, insisting that the U.S. mer­ With that as their starting point, they sometime on July 18 or 19. this country and the revelations piece by cenaries were an authentic "democratic re­ couldn't politically stand up to North effec­ piece by piece, just like we have on this ac- sistance" in Nicaragua, and that any means tively - even if they had wanted to. In a statement to a broadly attended As North developed his testimony, it press conference, Angela Sanbrano said, was disclosed that his concern for the se­ "The attacks against CISPES, religious or­ crecy of the operation was not limited to ganizations, and the Salvadoran communi­ Haitians protest U.S. support assuring that the contra war would con­ ty are, we believe, part of the overall strat­ tinue. egy to intimidate, harass, and delegitimize He explained to the committee that there those who are working to change U.S. for­ to repressive ntilitary junta was a long-term perspective of creating an eign policy." ongoing secret operation for use worldwide The CISPES leader called on the Los BY HARVEY McARTHUR Junta leaders Gen. Henri Namphy and - a CIA within the CIA, an underground Angeles Police Department to investigate PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti- Chanting Col. Williams Regala were top officers in enterprise that would not suffer even the and prosecute those responsible, and de­ "Down with the KNG" and "People's Duvalier's army. . Continued on Page 4 Continued on Page 2 power," 4,000 protesters marched here "The KNG is anticonstitutional, it's a July 20 in a demonstration called by uni­ dictatorship," one demonstrator told this versity and high school students. reporter as the action passed in front of the The marchers held rallies in front of the National Palace. U.S. warships threaten Iran Ministry of Education, the National Another said the junta had prepared a BY FRED FELDMAN armed naval escorts in the Persian Gulf is Palace, and the U.S. consulate. They de­ "coup d'etat" against the constitution by The escorting by U.S. warships of manded the ouster of the ruling military trying to control elections scheduled for to provoke incidents that can provide cred­ Kuwaiti tankers placed under U.S. flag and ible pretexts for U.S. military strikes junta, the National Council of Govern­ later this year. "We want democracy," he command began July 22, days after Secre­ against Iran. ment, known by its creole initials KNG, said. "The KNG must go before there can and an end to the U.S. government's polit­ tary of Defense Caspar Weinberger reiter­ Washington now has a fleet of nine be elections." ated the threat to strike at Iranian ships, ical and military intervention in Haiti. "The U.S. government should get it [the ships, including guided missile frigates and planes, and territory at the first "evidence Similar demonstrations were reported in junta] out," a marcher shouted. "The destroyers, in the gulf. In addition, an·air­ of hostile intent." Jeremie, Cap Haltien, Gonai:ves, Port-de­ United States put it in and is backing it to craft carrier, guided missile cruiser, guided Paix, and Jacmel. keep it in power against the people." U.S. naval cdmmanders have been missile frigate, and other U.S. ships are These marches were the latest in a month granted wide authority to strike at Iranian now operating near the entrance to the Per­ of strikes and protests against the govern­ "We will strike and demonstrate like this targets which they judge to be hostile, even sian Gulf. / ment. The junta was appointed by dictator until the KNG goes. When Namphy goes, if U.S. forces have not come under fire. The battleship Missouri, heading up a Jean-Claude Duvalier shortly before mas­ then we will be free," a man explained as task force estimated at six warships, in­ sive protests forced him to flee the country he passed by. This upsurge began June 22 Washington's goal in reflagging Kuwaiti cluding an Aegis cruiser specializing in an­ in early 1986. ee.tinued on~ 7 tankers and providing them with heavily Continued on Page 13 Cuba to be a theme of socialist conference BY SAM MANUEL The Nicaraguan revolution will also be Some 1 ,000 unionists; students; activists the topic of classes and discussions. There in the anti-apartheid, farm, Black rights, will be classes on the Atlantic Coast auton­ and women's rights struggles; and interna­ omy program and on the fight for women's tional fighters are expected to attend a equality in Nicaragua today. Socialist Educational and Active Workers A slide show on the organization and Conference in Oberlin, Ohio, next month. struggles of political prisoners in El Sal­ The conference, sponsored by the Socialist vador will be given by U.S. trade unionists Workers Party and Young Socialist Al­ who visited El Salvador. liance, will be held August 8-13. Significant developments in the Carib­ A central theme of the gathering will be bean will also be featured. Among them today's historic turning point in the Cuban will be a series of classes on the Grenada revolution. Although it has been virtually revolution based on the article, "The Sec­ ignored by the press around the world, in­ ond Assassination of Maurice Bishop," side Cuba the last year and a half an intense which also appears in the current issue of public discussion has been occurring on the New International. next steps for advancing toward socialism. Classes on other international struggles This process, led by the Cuban Com­ will include ones on the Philippines, Haiti, munist Party, involves every sector and Korea, India, Britain, and Canada. level of society. Cuban leaders have Representatives of political organiza­ pointed to the obstacles that had developed tions and trade unions from the Caribbean, in Cuba - reliance on economic Central America, and Africa will be in at­ mechanisms rather than political con­ tendance to address the conference and par­ sciousness and activity, the growth of so­ ticipate in all of these classes and discus­ cial inequalities and privileged sectors - sions. and they· initiated the major reorientation The conference will also take up the Socialist Workers Party leader Mac Warren speaks to session of last year's Socialist needed to overcome them. They are coun­ struggles of workers and working farmers Educational and Active Workers Conference in Oberlin, Ohio. Hundreds of fighters tering these trends by taking steps to deep­ in the United. States. There will be a major will discuss struggles of working people here and around world at upcoming meeting. en the development of communist under­ presentation called "U.S. Labor at the standing throughout the country. Crossroads" and discussions of struggles Two major talks will be given on this by farm workers and meat-packing work­ theme. The first talk, Cuba - A Historic ers. Turning Point, will be given by Socialist One of the class series on U.S. politics D~ath squads target war foes Workers Party leader Mary-Alice Waters will be based on the article, "Washington's at the opening session of the conference on 50-Year Domestic Contra Operation." It Continued from front page tinue their work in solidarity with Central Saturday evening, August 8. will examine the government's use of polit­ manded an independent investigation by America. The second talk will be given the follow­ ical police against the socialist, Black, and the U.S. House and Senate judiciary com­ In a July 19 "Hands Off the Americas ing morning by Jack Barnes, national sec­ labor movements, and other social strug­ mittees. retary of the Socialist Workers Party. It gles. Festival," attended by more than I,OOO people, opposition to the death squads was will focus on where the developments in A number of basic classes on Marxism For its part, the LAPD claims to have prominent. Speakers included John Linder, Cuba fit into the pattern of world revolu­ will be presented on the Communist Man­ begun an investigation. The Federal Bu­ the brother of the American engineer killed tion and the tasks of communist party­ ifesto, the Wages System, and other promi­ reau of Investigation announced that it is by the contras in Nicaragua, State As­ building today, including the struggle nent writings by Karl Marx and Frederick also looking into "the possibility of ter­ semblywoman Maxine Waters, and others. against privilege and bureaucratism in Engels. rorist activity" in Los Angeles. those countries where capitalism has been There will also be an activist side to the overturned. conference. Ample opportunity will be These incidents of violence, threats, and There will be a series of classes on Cuba provided for unionists to get together to vandalism have provoked an outcry and New Yorkers protest and another series on the role of the com­ share ideas and discuss perspectives. Op­ have been featured in the Los Angeles and death squad attacks munist party in the· transition from ponents of U.S. intervention in Central other national and international press. In a capitalism to socialism. July 17 editorial, La Opinion, the leading America and of the apartheid regime in BY NANCY BLYTH The Cuba series will focus on two im­ South Africa, and activists in other social Spanish-language daily in the area, said, NEW YORK - Forty people at­ portant speeches by Fidel Castro that ap­ struggles, will meet to talk about coming "In reality, the attack is testimony to the tended a press conference and picket pear in the current issue of New Interna­ activities. truth of claims and accusations of exiled tional, and around books published by Salvadorans, gives the lie to the assertion at City Hall here July 14 to denounce A wide range of entertainment and recre­ Pathfinder, including Women and the by our government that El Salvador is a the recent rise in government repres­ ation will be available for conference par­ Cuban Revolution by Betsey Stone and country that marches toward democracy, sion in El Salvador and the first ticipants. These will include concerts, Fidel Castro's Political Strategy - From and invalidates the whole policy destined death-squad-style attack on Central dancing, movies, swimffiing, and other Moncada to Victory by Marta Harnecker. to hide the true face of the Salvadoran real­ America solidarity activists in the sports. A recital of music including from ity." United States. The series on the role of communist Spain and Latin America will be given by leadership in the transition to socialism will City Councilman Stanley Michels Claudia Hommel. Central American solidarity activists told the press, "We have a responsi­ be based on the forthcoming Pathfinder here have made clear that they will not bow book, Lenin's Unfinished Fight, contain­ Another concert on Tuesday evening, bility to see human rights observed to these terror tactics. They are urging op­ there and here. This violation should ing articles by V.I. Lenin; Revolution Be­ August II, will feature the Brazilian jazz ponents of these antidemocratic attacks to trayed by Russian revolutionist Leon composer-singer Thiago de Mello and his be investigated." pressure LAPD Chief of Police Daryl Chanting "Hey, hey, ho, ho, the Trotsky; and Socialism and Man by Che band Amazon. The concert will be dedi­ Gates and Mayor Thomas Bradley to set up Guevara. cated to Benjamin Linder and other martyrs death squads have gotta go!" 60 an emergency hot line where incidents people, many of them Salvadorans, A class will focus on the meaning of the of the Nicaraguan revolution and to the could be reported and acted on promptly. economic and political reforms launched fighters against apartheid in southern Af­ picketed the Salvadoran consulate by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the rica. Protests against these attacks featured at here on the same day. The picket was USSR. If you are interested in attending the two large events celebrating the eighth an­ called by the Committee in Solidarity One of the major presentations will be Socialist Educational and Active Workers niversary of the Nicaraguan revolution. At with the People of El Salvador given on the Philippines. It will take up the Conference contact the branch of the a meeting held at the hall of the Amalga­ (CISPES) and Coordinadora Sal­ challenges to building a communist leader­ Socialist Workers Party nearest you. (See mated Clothing and Textile Workers Union vadorefia. ship in that country. directory page I2). here, Oliveres and others pledged to con-

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2 Tb,e.MiJitant Linders hit U.S. war at meetings celebrating Nicaragua· victory

Members of the family of Ben Linder, workers' union, and from Rep. Ronald age other young Americans from par­ the U.S. volunteer worker murdered in Dellums. A message from Young Koreans ticipating in building a new Nicaragua by Nicaragua by the U:S.-organized contras, United drew a parallel between the Nicara­ murdering Ben and his coworkers," she were featured speakers in several cities at guan peoples' victory over a U.S. -backed said. "But Ben's death has had the opposite · celebrations of the eighth anniversary of dictatorship and the struggle in South effect-the number of volunteers for work the July 19, 1979 Nicaraguan revolution. Korea today. brigades in Nicaragua has doubled." About 1 ,000 people packed the First Un­ The meeting was the high point of a six­ Elisabeth Linder spoke the next day in itarian Church in San Francisco July 18 as day tour of the Bay Area by John Linder. Washington, D.C., at an anniversary cele­ John Linder- Ben's brother- and Nica­ The tour included talks before the San bration attended by 700 people. Other fea­ raguan embassy official Martin Vega sa­ Francisco AFL- CIO Central Labor Coun­ tured speakers included Ben Chavis and luted the anniversary. cil, the executive board of United Auto Carlos Tiinnermann, Nicaragua's ambas­ Linder denounced the campaign of Workers Local 2244 in Fremont, and the sador to the United States. "media hype" aimed at winning support for San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Board The Benjan1in Linder Peace Tour is the contra war by painting Oliver North as of Supervisors President Walker also sponsored nationally by the Nicaragua Net­ a hero. "They give more coverage to 200 joined Linder at a crowded City Hall news work, Quixote Center/Quest for Peace, and people demonstrating their support for conference. The major newspapers, televi­ National Witness for Peace, and supported 'Ollie' than they gave to 200,000 people sion stations, and radio stations in the area by dozens of other organizations. The demonstrating in Washington and San covered the tour. Peace Tour's national office is located at Francisco on April 25 against the U.S. Linder spoke to meetings of more than 2025 I Street NW, Suite 208A, Washing­ government's war in Central America. 300 in San Jose, 500 in Santa Cruz, 200 in ton, D.C. 20006, (202) 331-7675. Militant They show North's fan mail, but they Davis, and 75 in Marin. John Linder, brother of U.S. volunteer never show the boxes and boxes of letters About $10,000 was collected for pro­ This article was based on reporting by Ike worker murdered by contras in Nicara· at my parents' home in Portland" ex­ jects to aid the people of Nicaragua. Nahem, Ed Warren, and Matilde Zimmer­ gua, spoke at San Francisco meeting of pressing solidarity with them and with the Elisabeth Linder, Ben Linder's mother, mann. 1,000. work that Ben Linder was doing in Nicara­ was the featured speaker in New York City gua. at the July 18 celebration of the anniver­ "Nobody challenged North," Linder said sary. of the congressional committee that heard She spoke first to the crowd of 300 who Watsonville, Calif., rally his testimony. "Nobody in those hearings could not get into the packed Washington asked, 'What about Ben Linder? What Square Church, and then to the 600 people about the 20,000 Nicaraguan dead?' inside. The meeting was dedicated to Lin­ backs suit against FBI "Nobody in the hearings said what Nica­ der and to the thousands of others mur­ ragua really is: a free people, a country dered by the contras. BY FRED FELDMAN pawns in U.S. wars." where there are democratic elections, a She described the project that Ben had Cannery workers made up most of the On June 28 about 45 supporters of the country where land is being distributed to been working on - building hydroelectric audience at the July 9 meeting held in Wat­ suit against illegal government spying ral­ the peasants. Our voices, the voices of the plants to better enable the region around El sonville, California, to support the Politi­ lied in Portland, Oregon. The panel of American people, were not heard in those Cua in northern Nicaragua to produce food cal Rights Defense Fund. The PROF helps speakers included Kevin Czapla, a student hearings." and to free it from dependence on expen­ fund and publicize the suit against govern­ who is a member of Reed Out of Apart­ Nancy Walker, president of the San sive imported gas and technology. ment political spying brought by the heid. Francisco Board of Supervisors, sent a She discussed projects that the Ben Lin­ Socialist Workers Party and Young Czapla has been suspended from Reed message to the meeting saluting the work der Memorial Fund is helping to finance: Socialist Alliance. College because of his involvement in a of Ben Linder and the "many thousands the building of a hydroelectric plant in The meeting,held at a local church that protest demanding that the board of trust­ who have traveled to Central America to Bocay, the setting up of a machine shop in had been a center of strike support activity, ees divest more than $3 million from cor-­ try to build where others have tried to tear El Cua to repair agricultural implements was conducted in Spanish - the first lan­ porations doing business in South Africa. down." and machinery' a water purification plant, guage of most frozen-food and cannery He is barred from the campus. Czapla said Messages to the rally also came from and the training of Nicaraguan mechanics. workers in the area. he plans to return to Reed when he is elig­ Locals 2 and 28 of the hotel and restaurant "The contras thought they could discour- ible "so that I can carry on the same strug­ The workers were mostly veterans of the gle." 18-month strike by International Brother­ "In defending your democratic rights," hood of Teamsters Local 912. The union he said, "you are defending me, you are Political Rights Delense Fund defeated a union-busting drive at three defending everyone." local food-processing plants here. Johnny Jackson, sub-chief of the Co­ The speakers included Hector Marro­ lumbia River Tribes, denounced the fed­ $90,000 Fund Scoreboard quin, the Mexican-born socialist who is eral frame-up that led to the conviction of (as of July 22, 1987) fighting for the right to live permanently in Indian activist David Sohappy on charges Region Goal Received % Region Goal Received % the United States, and Carlos Hernandez, a of violating fishing laws. leader of the strike committee. Texas 3,500 4,611 132 Utah 1,950 1,118 57 "The farm workers' struggle is really a Marroquin denounced the government's struggle for freedom of association and rec­ Pennsylvania 2,200 2,699 123 N. Carolina 1,000 517 52 hunting down and persecution of un­ ognition. Fami workers are fighting for po­ Wisconsin 1,200 1,360 113 Mid-Atlantic 3,025 1,453 48 documented Mexican immigrants as . the litical, economic, and civil rights," de­ Iowa 750 756 101 Oregon 1,200 560 47 cause of the deaths of 18 whose bodies clared Tomas Villanueva, president of the Washington Northern were found in a boxcar near El Paso, United Farm Workers of Washington state 2,000 1,975 99 California 7,000 3,246 46 Texas, July 2. "My fight is part of the.fight State. Three members of the Farm Workers Illinois- Arizona- for the human rights of all so-called ille­ and Tree Planters Union in Oregon also at­ Indiana 2,500 2,402 96 NewMex. 1,010 377 37 gals," he said. tended the rally. New Jersey 5,000 4,477 90 Louisiana 1,000 368 37 Hernandez told the audience of 30 how Phil Perry of International Association Southern Colorado 1,200 430 36 police from surrounding towns and coun­ of Machinists Lodge 63 also spoke. California 11,200 9,639 86 Alabama 1,200 358 30 ties had been brought in during the Wat­ Messages of support to the rally came Ohio 2,810 2,227 79 Florida 1,_020 308 30 sonville strike to escort scabs, break- up from David Linder, father of Ben Linder, W. Virginia- picket lines, and harass strikers. He said the U.S. engineer murdered by the contras Nebraska- in Nicaragua; Bob Rodgers, executive Kentucky 2,200 1,677 76 S. Dakota that he and other workers still face frame­ 750 196 26 vice-president of the Association of West­ New York 9,100 6,839 75 up charges stemming from the strike. New England 3,020 755 25 em Pulp and Paper Workers Union; and Missouri- Minnesota- · Atlanta meeting Chisao Hata of the Japanese American Kansas 3,550 2,434 69 N. Dakota 2,750 306 11 Representatives of the Coalition to Sup­ Citizens League. Georgia 1,500 969 65 Other 15,(XX) 10,686 71 port Cuban Detainees, which defends the Michigan 2,000 1,288 64 Total 90,635 64,031 71 rights of Cuban immigrants being held This article is based in part on reporting without charges in federal custody in At­ by Diana Cantu and Fred Auger. lanta, were among the speakers at a June lain file liglll 27 public meeting in Atlanta sponsored by the PROF. Coming next week •.• Sally Sandidge described the investiga­ lor demacrafic rigllls • • • tion into the fatal beating of one Cuban­ Next week's Militant will contain born prisoner, reportedly by a prison an eight-page "International Socialist lelplhe Political Rlgbll Defeue Fud protect the BW ol Rights. Support guard. She denounced the Immigration and Review" supplement featuring a lhe nit lnagbt lly lhe Socialist Worken Party and Youg Socialist Naturalization Service claim that these im­ speech by Cuban President Fidel Uiace agaiut govermaat lpyillg. migrants are "excludable aliens" with no Castro. rights. Given before a meeting of the Na­ • Contribute to the $90,000 fund Anna Perez, wife of one of the de­ tional Council of the Cuban Workers tainees, told how her husband was seized Confederation, it covers important • Sponsor the suit against FBI spying by federal officials after his release from aspects of the process now under jail in New Jersey and taken to Atlanta to way to make a historic correction in • Get & distribute information on the suit be imprisoned as an "excludable alien." the course of the Cuban revolution. 0 EDclaNclll my 1111-dlducllbll CODtrlbulloll of: Jarrod Hayes, a student at Emory Uni­ In this particular speech, Castro dis­ $500 __ $100 --$10--alhlr $-- lfllllll versity who heads the Emory Central cusses some of the problems related 0 I WilDt 1D bt a 1po1110r of tbt PRDF. .Adclnaa America Network, spoke about the govern­ to the transition from capitalism to 0 S.Dd ma __ coplea of tbt llderal )udge'a declaloD City ment's harassment of those who offer socialism, including the persistence agaiDat FBI apyiDg aDd baraumant ($leach). State Zip sanctuary to refugees from El Salvador. of inequalities and how to reduce 0 S.Dd IIIII __ caplll af an 8-page tabloid CODtallllllg Orvcmlzatlao He described his experiences in winning them. The workers, Castro explains, tbt )lllllca Dlpartmaut' I attack Clll tbt decialoD. Rlprinll Signature have a special role to play in combat­ goYmlllllllt GgiiiCIII' atallmanll clalmlug "right" 1D apy. endorsers for the PROF at antiwar activ­ ities. "Students are really open to the ing inefficiency and privilege. Sllld lo: Palltlc:allllghll O.U. FUDd, P.O. Ba 649, Cooper StatioD, Rn York, R.Y. 10003 PROF, ~cause young people are the Congress, North, Poindexter and the U.S. contra war Continued from front page Energetically rapping his gavel, com- . minimum oversight or legal constraints of mittee head Sen. Daniel Inouye (D­ the existing one. This, according to North, Hawaii) declared this touched upon "a was conceived of by the recently deceased highly sensitive and classified area," which CIA chief, William Casey. would not be discussed in public session. It wasn't just that Casey liked conspir­ Brooks responded: "I was particularly acy, North indicated. Rather, he conceived concerned, Mr. Chairman, because I read of the supersecret agency as necessary for in Miami papers and several others that the pursuit of the government's political there had been a plan developed by that objectives. same agency, a contingency plan in the event of an emergency that would suspend A strong admirer of the late cloak-and­ North and Poindexter vigorously defended contra war before congressional hearings dagger honcho, North told the committee, the American Constitution." "After all, Director, Casey was the one Although information about possible who, in the Union League Club speech, ba­ plans to suspend the Constitution was others were actively involved in this pa­ What law, national or international - sically formulated or laid out for the first shunted aside, North's admissions made tently illegal activity, and its cover-up. what standard of authentic justice - gives time publicly . . . what has come to be cleru. that insofar as the contra operation The evidence further shows that they all the U.S. government the right to try to called the Reagan Doctrine." was concerned, the Constitution and laws lied to each other, lied to Congress, lied to overthrow the government of Nicaragua? That "doctrine" boils down to trying to of the land were inoperative. the media, and, above all, lied to the What gives it the right to try to prevent do the same thing previous administrations people of this country and the world. the people of Nicaragua from determining have tried to do, crush liberation struggles Operation began in '84 At the same time they continue to try to their own destiny? everywhere. In pursuit of that objective, In 1984, according to the testimony, the politically justify their reactionary en­ True, there are members of Congress Casey wanted an operation, North CIA anticipated passage of the Boland deavor. and others in capitalist ruling circles who explained, that could be shelved or acti­ Amendment, which, for a time, barred With calculated demagogy, North in­ take a bleak view of the contras' prospects, vated as needed. U.S. military aid to the contras. North, as a sisted on referring to the contras as the "re­ and who recognize that direct U.S. troop "Director Casey and I," he confided to National Security Council staff person, sistance," and even had the brass to insist intervention to overthrow the Sandinistas the committee, "talked at length on a vari­ was assigned to take charge of the illegal that this gang of cutthroat~, fashioned by would mean a calamitous overhead price. ety of occasions about the use of those work of supplying and directing the contras the CIA out of the remnants of ex-dictator But they accept the administration's monies [the contra supply fund] to support and buttressing their murderous efforts Anastasio Somoza's murder machine, is a other operations . . . activities that were against Nicaragua's popularly chosen and basic premise - that the Nicaraguan gov­ "democratic" force thrown up in response ernment must be dislodged from power. planned beyond the Nicaraguan resis­ legally elected government. to alleged Sandinista "totalitarianism." tance .... Funds were illegally solicited from pri­ As Sen. John Kerry, the liberal Mas­ For whatever reason, North's boss, Ad­ sachusetts Democrat put it, "There are bet­ "And, at various times, he and I talked vate sources in this country. Such dauntless miral John Poindexter, chose to speak champions of "democracy" as the South ter ways of containing communism in Cen­ about the fact that it might be necessary at somewhat differently. tral America." some point in the future to have something Korean regime and other governments were also leaned on to contribute. Some, In his appearance, Poindexter told the It was this basic political agreement on . . . to pull off the shelf and to help support committee, "I have no problem with call­ other activities like that." apparently, were simply conned. The gov­ the goal that gave North the opening to uti­ ernment of the Southeast Asian country ing them contras." lize the national publicity offered by the A 'stand alone' agency Brunei, which just got that misplaced $10 Some might tab that as the most truthful committee. He exploited the hearings to statement of his entire testimony. Casey, North added, had in mind an million back, claims it was told the money aggressively stump for the contras. And he was not for the contras, but for "humani­ Contra is Spanish shorthand for counter­ almost got away with presenting his rigged overseas entity that would be "capable of revolutionary. And that is indeed why conducting operations or activities of as­ tarian" aid for the people of Central Amer­ slide show designed to depict the Sandinis­ ica. Poindexter and all those he speaks for are tas as an "evil" force that must be de­ sistance to the U.S. foreign policy goals supporting them. that was a 'stand alone.' Secord, who had to quit the army be­ stroyed by any means necessary. "It was self-financing, independent of cause of his ties with ex-CIA man Edwin What Washington aspires to in Nicara­ North's testimony gave a boost to right­ appropriated monies, and capable of con­ Wilson, now doing 52 years in federal gua is to impose a counterrevolutionary wing supporters of aid to the contras, who ducting activities similar to the ones that prison, was given the franchise to sell gov­ solution. It wants to roll back the clock of are now stepping up their efforts to get we had conducted here." ernment-owned military hardware to Iran, history to the days when puppet govern­ some "overt" appropriations from Con­ Discussion of a new agency that, hope­ with the "residuals" siphoned off to the ments kept the people in check and assured gress as the next vote on financing the mer­ fully, the people of this country wouldn't contras. safe investment and superprofits for U.S. cenaries approaches. even know existed, was not limited to cof­ (The congressional probe indicated that capitalists and financiers. As North exploited the televised hear­ fee break chitchat. ings to press his procontra line, a few ques­ for every dollar the contras got, Secord and Administration's goal Former general Richard Secord, bagman his partner, Albert Hakim, pocketed two. tions were readily apparent: for the contra funding operation, was According to North, he didn't see an ac­ Poindexter, it can also be said, summed • Why is it that a small band of San­ brought in on the planning, according to counting; periodically, Secord would sim­ up administration policy quite succinctly. dinistas was able to win the allegiance of North's testimony. ply tell him how much was left.) "The president," he testified, "was the Nicaraguan people and, without being Secord, North said, "did prepare a lay­ The money that went for the war was not bound and determined, and still is, that he armed or financed by anyone outside the out which showed how others of those restricted to the contras. North told of will not sit still for the consolidation of a country, succeeded in toppling a tyranny commercial entities [his various dummy David Walker, a British mercenary he Communist government on the mainland that was armed to the teeth by Washington?. companies] could be used to support activ­ hired to conduct attacks on Nicaraguan air­ of America." • Why is it that the contras .:___ the so­ ities in other places besides Central Amer­ craft, plus unspecified "internal opera­ By that, of course, he means a Nicara­ called "democratic resistance" - can't ica, and besides the U.S.-Israeli opera­ tions" within the city of Managua. These guan government that is resolved not to ac­ survive without U.S. guns and dollars? tions . . .." were designed, according to North, "to im­ cept U.S. imperialist dictates and that leads • Why is it that even with those guns In addition to plans for a supersecret prove the perception that the Nicarguan re­ the reorganization of Nicaraguan society in and dollars, they can't win the allegiance warfare agency, there was apparently some sistance could operate anywhere that it so a way that puts people before profits. of any significant sector of the Nicaraguan other mind-boggling work on the drawing desired." Perhaps the most striking aspect of the people? board to deal with major disasters. hearing was the refusal of the investigating • Why do the contras carry out terrorist The issue was raised by Rep. Jack North did it all? committee members to deal with the key attacks on food sources, schools, farm co­ Brooks (D.-Texas), who asked North if it All of this, a skeptical congressional issue - the contra war itself. ops, and medical centers? was true that as part of his work at the Na­ committee asked, was accomplished by a Some of them contested the legality and • Why do they routinely rape, kidnap, tional Security Council he was "assigned at lone lieutenant colonel? constitutionality of the administration's and murder civilians? one time to work on plans for the con­ No. The evidence shows that personnel covert operations, But they mainly preoc­ The members of Congress didn't ask tinuity of government in the event of a from the White House, State Department, cupied themselves with such questions as North such questions because it would major disaster?" Pentagon, CIA, Justice Department, and · what the president knew and when he knew have exposed them as much as it would it. him. After all, just a year ago, they voted a $100-million military appropriation for the While members of the committee took a contra war. somewhat jaundiced view of what they were being told, they still would not utter PoUtical crisis anything resembling a serious challenge to That dirty war, and the current revela­ the White House policy on Nicaragua, tions about how it is being conducted, is a which North and Poindexter vigorously de­ mark of an ongoing political crisis that be­ fended during the hearings. sets the capitalist rulers of this country. Members of the committee, right-wing In key areas of the world, including Cen­ and liberal alike, fell over each other in tral and Latin America, they face growing, their haste to assure that they too were stubborn resistance to their drive for domi­ "patriots" and opponents of "com­ nation and its ruinous consequences. munism," that they. too had no use for the And at home, despite their best efforts, Sandinista government, and that they too the U.S. ruling families have not been able recognized the claimed need of Washing­ to "cure" the Vietnam syndrome. Working ton to engage in "covert activity" - that is, people and youth are not about to be Nicaragua-style dirty wars. dragooned into a Central American Viet­ nam. Not a voice That's why Washington is compelled to There has not been a single voice on the rely so heavily on a wretched instrument committee, nor in the entire Congress, that like the contras, function in the shadows has posed the elementary but decisive and delegate an Oliver North to break all of Contra army organized, trained, and f'manced by Washington. questions: their own laws.

4 The Militant July 31, 1987 Trinidad union sponsors bookfair Malcolm X, Fidel Castro, Maurice Bishop, women's liberation top sales

BY SAM MANUEL the public library of Trinidad and Tobago. SAN FERNANDO, Trinidad and To­ They were especially interested in Cuba, bago- Books and pamphlets published by the Caribbean, and Marxism. Pathfinder were well received here at the A unionist from the Communications First Caribbean Peoples International Workers Union purchased for the union's Bookfair and Bookfair Festival June 21- library titles on U.S. labor history and July 5. Pathfinder publishes and distributes works by Leon Trotsky, a central leader of books and pamphlets by many working­ the Russian revolution in October 1917. class and revolutionary leaders. Other individuals brought lists in order to The book events were sponsored by the carefully select their purchases. Oilfields Workers' Trade Union (OWTU) Due to the response to the bookfair, the of Trinidad and Tobago. They were part of organizers extended it two days and moved a series of activities commemorating the it to the island's capital city, Port of Spain. 50th anniversary of the 1937 strike wave The First Caribbean Peoples Interna­ that established industrial unions in this tional Festival ran concurrently with the two-island nation and in other Caribbean bookfair. It featured arts, crafts, an interna­ countries. tional film forum, musical performances The events were opened by Errol from the islands in the region, and a theater McLeod, acting president general of t)le production entitled "I Marcus Garvey." OWTU. He pointed to the significance of Garvey was a prominent nationalist leader the union movement playing the main role from Jamaica in the early part of this cen­ in organizing this bookfair- the first of its tury. He founded and led the Universal kind in the Caribbean. Co-organizers of the Negro Improvement Association, which events included John La Rose of Race attracted thousands of supporters in the Today Publications and New Beacon United States and the Caribbean. Books in London. In closing the events, McLeod an­ Participating in the bookfair were eigh­ nounced the decision of the organizers to teen exhibitors and publishers from nine hold the Second Caribbean Peoples Inter­ countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, national Bookfair and Bookfair Festival in Jamaica, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, the latter part of 1988. Pathfinder booth at Caribbean bookfair Suriname, Guadeloupe, Belgium, Britain, and the United States. More than 400 books and pamphlets were sold at the Pathfinder exhibit. Ninety Reviews in Irish, British labor and were about the Black struggle in the United States, 60 of them by or about Malcolm X. "If I had the money I would buy all that you have on Malcolm X," said one.high school Black press boost Castro book sales student who purchased Malcolm X Talks to Young People. BY BILL LYONS fronting the labor movement internation­ the nonaligned countries - with whom we Interest ran high about the Cuban revolu- LONDON - Since the sales of Fidel ally." have so much in common - than staying . tion. Ten copies of Nothing Can Stop the Castro: Nothing Can Stop the Course of in the rich man's EEC club where we don't Course of History were sold. It is based on His tory were launched by Pathfinder Press' Gains of revolution and never will belong." an interview with Cuban President Fidel office here in November, 750 copies have Many of the reviews rooted the growing New Beacon editor La Rose welcomed Castro conducted by Professor Jeffrey El­ been sold. The bulk of these have been to international interest in Castro's ideas in the publication of Nothing Can Stop the liot and Congressman Mervyn Dymally. customers in Britain, but significant sales the gains and strengths of the Cuban revo­ Course of History, commenting that it is a Altogether 73 copies of titles about Cuba have also been made in Iceland, Ireland, lution. "very important book, and special attention were sold. and Sweden. The book is the current Benn's opening remarks in the Guardian should be paid to Fidel Castro's views on There has been an explosion of interest bestseller among Pathfinder sales here, and review explained it this way: Grenada." In response to one of the ques­ here in the fight for women's liberation. new orders are coming in daily. "For nearly 30 years Fidel Castro has led tions in the book, Castro explains that the Three women from a women's study group The higher sales of this title over other the Cuban people in their revolution. Cuba assassination of Prime Minister Maurice at the Trinidad and Tobago campus of the books by Castro that Pathfinder has pub­ has made astonishing progress in every as­ Bishop in 1983 by the faction headed by University of the West Indies purchased a lished can be, in part, attributed to the re­ pect of life, industrial and agricultural, in­ Bernard Coard destroyed the revolutionary copy of every title on women's liberation views and endorsements by prominent cluding the establishment of modem and government. Castro described the Coard­ available at the Pathfinder booth. "Many newspapers and individuals in this country. comprehensive social services in health, ites as a "Pol Pot-type group." women are interested in these books," one To date, the book has been reviewed by education, and housing, raising living stan­ The promotion and sales of Nothing Can of them explained, "but only those who eight newspapers in Britain and Ireland. dards in health, education, and housing, Stop the Course of History show the in­ have traveled outside the country have These include Labour Weekly (the weekly raising living standards that put it high creasing stature of the Cuban revolution been able to get them." paper of the Labour Party), New Socialist amongst the so-called third world coun­ and the growing interest here in the ideas of A total of 67 books and pamphlets on (monthly magazine of the Labour Party), tries. Fidel. At the same time, they reveal the women's liberation were bought. Among Morning Star (daily paper produced by "All this," Benn continued, "has been continuing prejudices against the Cuban the best sellers were Woman's Evolution, supporters of the Communist Party), Seven achieved against the most sustained and revolution, due to lack of information, and by Evelyn Reed, and Cosmetics, Fashion, ·Days (official weekly journal of the Com­ bitter opposition of the United States of the deliberate frame-up of Cuba. and the Exploitation of Women, by Joseph munist Party), and New Society (a liberal America, which has attacked it, at the Bay This is confirmed by the sales here of the Hansen and Evelyn Reed. Two pamphlets, social science weekly). of Pigs, blockaded it throughout, attemp­ book Cuba Libre: Breaking the Chains? Abortion is a Woman's Right and Abortion ted to subvert it and to assassinate its authored by Peter Marshall and published and the Catholic Church, also sold well. The two major weekly's oriented to leadership, while retaining a U.S. military by Gollancz. In some publications this Although abortion is illegal in Trinidad and Blacks, the Voice and the Caribbean base on Cuban territory, at Guantanamo. book was reviewed jointly with Nothing Tobago, the Catholic hierarchy has Times, both featured substantial extracts "Yet the Cuban Revolution has sur­ Can Stop the Course of History. launched a campaign here against it in re­ from the book as part of news dispatches vived," Benn pointed out, "and Fidel has The review of both of these books in the sponse to the growing number of abortions from Barbados. In addition, An Phoblachtl emerged as one of the greatest leaders in journal Seven Days referred to "bureaucrat­ performed despite the ban on them. Republican News, (weekly newspaper of the postwar world .... His role in the ic abuses ... perpetrated on the Cubans" Lessons of the Grenada revolution and the Irish republican organization, Sinn nonaligned movement is widely recog­ but challenged the "factual innacuracies its overthrow in 1983 was a much dis­ Fein), carried a full-page review of the nized and no one doubts that Cuba has a and mistranslations" of Cuba Libre, cussed topic during the bookfair and at the book in its Nov. 13, 1986, issue. central role to play in the future of Latin which, it argued, "are frequent enough for Conference of Caribbean trade Unions The May 9 Guardian, a mass-circulation American politics." the book to forfeit overall trust." In con­ held a few days earlier. Twenty-two copies daily with a readership of over a half mil­ trast, it congratulated Pathfinder for per­ of Maurice Bishop Speaks, a collection of lion, carri11d a review by Tony Benn, a The debt crisis forming "the invaluable service of making speeches by Grenada's murdered prime Labour Party member of Parliament (MP). The most extensive comment on Cas­ President Castro's speeches and statements· minister, were sold. The book has also been endorsed by tro's call for cancelling the foreign debts of available to an international audience. Pathfinder's sales also reflected interest Lord Pitt of Hemstea.d, a Black member of oppressed Third World countries was con­ Nothing Can Stop the Course of History is in Marxism. Thirty-six titles by Karl Marx, the House of Lords; Ken Livingstone, a tained in the Irish republican An Phob­ well translated and very readable ...." Frederick Engels, V.I. Lenin, and Leon newly elected Labour MP; Victoria Brit­ lacht. Explaining the change that the sales of Trotsky were sold. Among the most popu­ tain, editor of the Guardian Third World Relative to its population and income, Nothing Can Stop the Course of History lar were The Communist Manifesto and Review page; and by John La Rose, editor the massive $30 billion foreign debt of the represented, Pathfinder's London director, Socialism: Utopian and Scientific . of New Beacon, Britain's major Black government of the 26 counties of Ireland, Alan Harris, commented: "In the past, Many trade unionists, women's rights publisher and bookseller. places the Irish nation as a whole in the bookshops have been reluctant to stock activists, and others came with prepared Overwhelmingly these reviews and en­ same boat as the debtor nations of the books by Castro and the audience for the lists and budgets from their organizations. dorsements recommended Nothing Can Nonaligned Movement. Cuban revolution has been quite narrow. Two librarians purchased several titles for Stop the Course of History. The An Phoblacht review explained, The endorsements and reviews for this "The 26 Counties' position is very much book indicate a growth in the impact of the Writing in Labour Weekly, Jane Mcin­ like that of the Latin American and African Cuban revolution." Labor news in the Militant tosh commented, "Beyond its content, the countries. Indeed, in some ways it is worse Harris said that after Benn' s review ap­ book has also been translated well - a rare off.... If for no other reason, Irish people The Militant stays on top of the most peared in the Guardian, Pathfinder placed achievement. It is seldom that interesting should read Nothing Can Stop the Course an advertisement in the same paper. "As a important developments in the labor content is matched with a fluid style, and of History in order to understand the for­ movement. It has correspondents who result," he noted, "several bookshops this book has both." It is, she said, "a eign debt problem and how we are being placed large orders, and individuals and work in the mines. mills. and shops thoroughly good read." where the events are breaking. You used and abused by the large creditor na­ booksellers from all over the country have won't miss any of it if you subscribe. See Labour MP Livingstone stated, "This is tions. been ordering continuously. Although the the ad on page 2 of this issue for sub­ a remarkable book - remarkable for the "Of course," An Phoblacht continued, book had already been on sale for six scription rates. honesty, incisiveness, and clarity with "the obvious conclusion is that we would months, following the Guardian review which Fidel answers major questions con- be much better off putting in our lot with and ad, additional sales exceeded 200." July 31, 1987 The Militant s Good response to paper at mines near Pittsburgh

BY GREG JACKSON paper to miners at portals in sev- sold 13 Militants. One miner Co.'s Homer City mine, 50 miles over ownership of the Homer City PmSBURGH - "That's a eral counties in the Pittsburgh suggested we sell at a second por­ east of Pittsburgh, were glad to see mine. "A lot of people have been good idea!" declared one miner as area. tal. We did and sold eight copies us too. Almost every car stopped, getting fired" since then, miners more. with many miners expressing ex­ told us. One miner explained that citement at seeing the Militant's the company wanted to cut their The third week of portal sales coverage of coal strikes in the wages by $7 an hour. No one we SELLING OUR PRESS we met a miner who had bought western states. talked to thought Quaker Oil the paper previously. He told us he A number of workers ap­ would get away with this. AT THE PLANT GATE had liked the Militant so much that preciated the Militant's coverage That day, we sold 15 Militants. he sent in for a subscription. of the assassination of Ben Linder We would have sold more if we he dug 75 cents out of his car The initial response has been Three truckers who haul coal in Nicaragua by U.S.-backed con­ hadn't run out of papers. We as­ ashtray. We had explained that great. During the first week, our also talked to us about politics. tras and wanted to learn what the sured several other miners wanting Militant supporters have begun sales team visited the Fawn mine, They bought the paper. Linder family had to say about it. to buy the Militant that we would regularly bringing the socialist owned by Bethlehem, where we Miners from the Helen Mining Two years ago Quaker Oil took be back every week. Postal workers rebuff takeback contract demands BY BILL RAYSON The postal service backed down on its the number of hours they would be allowed WASHINGTON, D.C. -A tentative demand to increase the number of part­ to work. contract between unions representing time, casual workers. Casuals have no benefits, are not al­ 580,000postal workers and the U.S. Postal The agreement still has to be approved lowed union representation, and are paid at Servic.e was announced July 21. by the membership of the two unions. half the rate of full-time workers. The settlement calls. for members of the With the contract deadline approaching, National Association of Letter Carriers more than 6,000 postal workers, from U.S. postal management also sought to (NALC) and the American Postal Workers Alaska to Puerto Rico converged on Wash­ overturn gains made in the 1984 contract Union (APWU) to receive a 2 percent raise ington, D.C., July 10 to protest the govern­ limiting forced overtime. Since 1985, any­ in each of the next three years. According ment's outrageous giveback demands. one working more than 10 hours a day is to APWU President Moe Biller, postal Negotiations had been stalled for weeks paid double time. Management has con­ workers will also receive cost-of-living over management's proposal to double the stantly tried to get around this. The union payments equal to 60 percent of the rise in number of casual workers from 5 to 10 per­ has filed thousands of grievances and spent the Consumer Price Index. cent of the work force, as well as double . considerable money contesting the contract violations. When officials from the NALC and APWU issued a call for a demonstration in Meat-packers win contract front of postal service headquarters in Washington, thousands of workers re­ sponded in spite of the short notice. at two Swift Co. plants Buses came from Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, North Carolina, BY BAILEY COOK $8 an hour and the 50-cents-an-hour raise Ohio, and many other places. Many of ST. JOSEPH, Mo.- Meat-packers at that was due would be foregone. After two those participating were Blacks and Swift Independent Packing Co. plants here years, wages would rise 25 cents an hour women, reflecting their growing numbers and in Worthington, Minnesota, voted and then rise again by 75 cents over the in the two unions. June 22 to approve new contracts. next two years. , Entertainer Ossie Davis spoke at the The two locals of the United Food and Terms also included restoration of med­ rally, comparing the attempt to increase the Commercial Workers union (UFCW), rep­ ical care benefits. Many of the stand-by number of second-class jobs to-the struggle resenting some 700 workers, had held out workers would be designated permanent against second-class citizenship waged by against most of Swift's takeback demands employees eligible to join the union, reduc­ Blacks during the 1960s. since May. ing the stand-bys to 10 percent of the total Bill Rayson is a letter carrier and member Armour owned the St. Joseph's plant work force. The new contract was overwhelmingly of NALC Branch 1071 and the APWU in ~-.-J:' .. from 1912 to 1983. It was one of several Miami. packinghouses in the city, for decades a approved by both locals. Postal workers center of unionized meat-packing. Swift bought the plant from Armour, and reopened it as a nonunion operation hiring 'Militant' subscription renewal drive picks up steam new workers. Wages were drastically cut. Drawn from the area, the new work BY HMWHITE those who renew are taking the offer for a port re Iran-contra-Ollie hearings!" She force quickly grasped the need for a union Seventy-eight Militant readers have re­ longer term. Altogether these new readers also took advantage of our offer of a free and in 1984 voted to affiliate to the UFCW. newed their subscriptions in the two weeks make up 44 percent of the grand total, but issue of New International with a renewal At the beginning of the recent negotia­ since we last reported. The pace is now be­ in the last two weeks they account for of six months or longer. tions, Swift demanded a $1-an-hour wage ginning to pick up since the July 4 holiday exactly half of the subscriptions renewed. A reader from Atlanta, who renewed for cut, sharp reductions in medical benefits, weekend. We continue to get nearly a third of the a year, let us know why he considers the and other givebacks that would further un­ Our total so far in the renewal drive is renewals on sub blanks, a sure sign that Militant important and got in a sly dig at dermine already exhausting and dangerous 205. A quick look at the facts reveals three Militant supporters around the country are the big-business media. He writes: "Good working conditions. encouraging trends: a tendency to renew getting out and talking to people about re­ · newspaper. You don't cut comers on your Then Swift unilaterally imposed its de­ for six months or longer, an increasing newing their subscriptions. opinions or ideas. You always report on mands on UFCW Local P-58 on May 9. In number of subscribers renewing' for the The tendency to take the longer-term sub important issues, and I get a personal ex­ addition, the company also forced workers fll'St time, and a large number of renewals is not just deduced statistically. A reader perience of the issues instead of just enter­ to tum in their company-paid discount pre­ through personal contact from Militant from Seattle, who bought her first sub­ tainment." scription cards and to begin assuming med­ scription during our subscription drive last ical insurance payments. supporters. That's about as good an endorsement as Nearly two-thirds of the renewals are for fall and has renewed twice for three a newspaper could ask for. And it is a good Swift quickly moved to double the months, sent this note with her six-month number of "stand-by" workers in the plant six months or longer. Even among readers summary of the reasons for pushing hard renewal: "You see, I'm increasing the sub to more than 85. These temporary workers who first bought the paper during the the next few weeks to complete the sum­ time. Hope you have something pithy tore- mer renewal drive. were paid $6 an hour and had no union pro­ spring subscription drive, 57 percent of tection. The chain speed was increased so that 970 hogs an hour were being processed. Four years ago, the same plant processed 550 hogs an hour. The company demanded, a 13-week limit on the duration of sick pay. It further pro­ posed eliminating overtime pay after eight T-shirts hours, ending the guaranteed 36-hour • Stop the U.S. War workweek, and ending its obligation to on Nicaragua! provide six months' notification before a • Free Nelson Mandela plant shutdown. Similar demands were • Abortion: A Woman's presented to workers at the Worthington Right to Choose plant. • plus Che Guevara, Swift tried to sweeten the takeback deal by offering a $1,000 cash payment if the Malcolm X workers would sign it. But Local P-58 $8 each Sizes: S, M, L, XL members voted 236-15 to reject the con­ tract and decided to work without an agree­ Buttons ment until June 23 when the contract was scheduled to expire in W orttlington. • Divest Now The UFCW Packinghouse Bargaining • Stop Racist Attacks Council approved joint negotiations be­ • Stop the U.S. War on Central tween the two locals, and tentative plans America & the Caribbean were made for a coordinated strike. • And morel On June 22 Swift offered both locals $1 each identical four-year pacts that would main­ tain the terms of the previous contract with Order from YSA, 64 Watts St., New York, N.Y. 10013. Include $1 for postage. one change. Wages would remain frozen at

6 Jtily 31~ 1987 Why Haitian workers demand resignation of military junta

BY HARVEY McARTHUR sional government, a civilian government, PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti- The gen­ that would organize fair, clean elections," eral strike called to demand the resignation Mont-Louis Amilcar, an unemployed of Haiti's ruling military junta shut down worker, added. "The KNG has got to go this capital city and most other cities here before the elections. There are decent lead­ again on July 15. A few government of­ ers here, lUld with elections, we can put fices were open here and a handful of street them in the government." merchants hawked their wares, but stores, One worker said the provisional govern­ markets, and schools were closed and shut­ ment should include a "good" military offi­ tered. The tap taps, brightly colored pickup cer, as well as civilian leaders. Another trucks that provide transportation and usu­ vehemently disagreed. . ally jam the capital streets, were nowhere "We don't want the military," he said. to be seen. "Look at the Dominican Republic and There was little activity at the Acierie other countries. It's always better when d'Haiti metal plant or the Huilerie there is no' dictatorship. We want democ­ Nationale cooking-oil plant, so this report­ racy." Shantytown in Cap-Haitien. Workers' dwellings are made of discarded sheet metal · er decided to visit the big industrial park on and wood, crowded along drainage ditches full of sewage and garbage. the northern edge of the city. 'Where are you from?' I arrived at lunchtime and drove through The workers then started asking me the main gate and passed dozens of large questions. "This is good work you are doing here, but thing. But each scrap of sheet metal, each factory buildings. This park is the home of "Where are you from?" "How come you I want to know if you really want to see piece of wood used in building a shack, we speak Creole?" "What do American.work­ what things are like for the people." got ourselves. The government has never ers know about Haiti?" "Why does the given us anything." In its next several issues, the Mil­ U.S. government support the KNG?'' Dite Solei! At a small church, made of sheet metal itant wHI carry firsthand cover­ I explained that I had learned Creole by When I said, "Yes," he answered with, and woven mats, I was introduced to age ofdevelopments in Haiti from working alongside Haitian immigrants in "Good, then we'll take you to Dite Soleil." Fruzzner, the president of Group Associa­ Miami's garment plants, and that I was vis­ Dite Soleil is a shantytown slum wedged tion No. 3 of Dite Solei!, and Anthonne reporters Harvey McArthur and iting Haiti as a correspondent for a work­ between a sewage-filled lagoon and the Dumat, a church activist. Art Young. ers' newspaper. HASCO sugar mill, along the northern "This neighborhood is contaminated," "Ah, that's good," a woman worker re­ coast line of Port-au-Prince.· More than Dumat said in anger. "People don't want to plied. "He's an American journalist, but garment, furniture, electronic-assembly, 100,000 people are estimated to live there. live here. Many die, and they have no one he's a worker, too." and similar plants owned by U.S. , Cana­ Tiny huts, made of discarded sheet to help them. Look at this water," he said, "We like the USA and we like the U.S. metal, crowd together along drainage pointing to the sewage all around us. dian, and other foreign capitalists. people," another said. "We know the Some streets were deserted, but in ditches full of black water, sewage, and "We're all contaminated." The group United States gives us aid. The problem is others, hundreds of workers clustered garbage. The huts bake under the tropical . wants to improve living conditions, "but the aid never gets to the people. It all goes around vendors selling food and drink sun and leak badly during rainstorms. Dite we don't have any land, and we don't have to the government and they put it in the under shade trees. I parked on a side street Solei! is only a few inches above sea level, any money, not even a few cents," Dumat Swiss bank." and started talking with the first worker and the canals often flood , pouring water said. "The government doesn't give us any "Why does the United States always and sewage into the homes. help at all." who came by. Within minutes, 50 workers give money to the army?" one worker had gathered for a lively discussion that The workers led the way along narrow By then a crowd had gathered in front of asked. "We don't need an army. We're not lasted an hour. alleyways covered with discarded rags and the church. I asked them what they thought fighting a war. It's the people that need of the KNG, the constitution, and how These workers said they supported the rotting food. We crossed drainage ditches help." on one-plank bridges, stopping to talk to things could be changed in Dite Soleil. antijunta strike but many had come to the He and several others stressed that they people along the way. Several answered at once. industrial park because they were afraid of hoped a freely elected government would "We like the constitution." "We don't losing their jobs, or could not afford to ·.guarantee that international aid benefitted "The Americans are responsible for like the KNG." "The KNG violates the miss another day's pay. Some said they the impoverished workers and peasants this," one said angrily as he pointed to a constitution." "We want clean, honest were unemployed and came to the park here. group of huts at the water's edge. "They in­ elections." "The KNG must go before the every day looking for work, even if it was "Today, the peasants don't get any­ vaded Haiti in 1915. They always support election." just day labor loading trucks. thing," Amilcar said. "Many of us would corrupt governments. They don't care that I asked about the general strike, and one "We make only $3 a day," Rosemond go back to the countryside and work, but their aid never goes to the people." man answered, "We're for the strike, but Sanon said. "Wages have not gone up at all we don't have a plot of land, tools, or even He showed me two open wounds on his we're not doing anything special, we're al­ since Duvalier was overthrown." a little money to get started." arm, injuries he sustained when govern­ ways on strike here. There's never any "And that's for 12 hours' work," another Sanon insisted that I tell them what I ment troops attacked protesters in Dite Sol­ work for us." worker said. "I have a wife and childen. thought the U.S. government should do for ei! a week ago. Troops killed 23 and As we started to leave, a woman pointed We can't even eat on $3 a day." Haiti. The workers applauded and cheered wounded more than 100 in different repres­ to me and asked angrily, "So what's he when I began by saying that Washington sive attacks throughout Port-au-Prince in Unions going to do for us?" should let Haiti alone and allow the Haitian late June and early July. "He'll tell the American workers what I asked if the workers had organized people to choose their own leader. "You should understand, we are proud he saw and what we said," one of my hosts unions in these plants. Finally, Sanon had another question. people here," he said. "We don't have any- replied. "Some factories have them," Sanon an- · swered, "but they have no strength. If 15 or 20 workers get together and decide to form a union, the boss fires all of them. Some­ Haitians demand U.S. stop support to regime times they have shut down the entire fac­ tory when the workers wanted a union." Continued from front page protests. Army troops murdered 23 people strike after July 17, although it did call for One older worker showed me a small when the Autonomous Confederation of and wounded 100 in late June and July. slip of paper that was circulating in the participation in the July 20 student march. Haitian Workers (CATH) launched a two­ This fueled anger and spurred more de­ Another important rally took place July plant. Written in Creole, it invited the mands for the junta's overthrow. workers to attend a rally sponsored by the day protest strike that shut down the coun­ 16 when CATH officially reopened its try. On June 27, Monsignor Willy Romelus, Autonomous Confederation of Haitian headquarters. Earlier, the government, The union raised 18 demands, including the Catholic bishop of Jeremie, issued a Workers (CATH) July 16. The ruling junta under pressure from the protests, had said a minimum wage of $6 a day, land for poor public call for the ouster of the juqta. His CATH would be allowed to function le­ issued a decree dissolving CATH on June slogan, "KNG: uproot it like a manyok 22, but massive protests forced them to peasants, and freedom for unions to or­ gally again if it chose new leaders. ganize. plant, make the land free again," quickly allow the union to function again. The July The union refused to meet this demand. The junta responded by ordering CATH became a national rallying cry. 16 rally would be the official reopening of "CATH is an organization of the workers to dissolve. The union's offices were By the first week of July, the Committee CATH headquarters . and peasants," it said in a statement. "It is seized, and three union leaders were ar­ of 57 also began calling for the junta to go. The discussion moved on to the ruling only the members of CATH not the gov­ rested and beaten. It proposed that a new provisional govern­ ernment, who can decide who its leaders military junta, known by its Creole initials, That same day, the regime issued a de­ ment take over and organize the elections. are." KNG, and the new constitution adopted in cree giving it control over future elections, Then another protest strike shut down More than 1 ,000 workers and other ac­ a referendum last March 29. in open violation of the new constitution transportation and commerce here for three tivists attended the rally in front of CATH Everyone who spoke agreed that the adopted in a national referendum March consecutive days. Government offices re­ headquarters. Dozens of leaders from po­ junta had to go. 29. mained open, however, and many industri­ litical and democratic rights groups partici­ "Namphy and Regala, they're no good," The junta's attack on democratic and po­ al workers reported to their jobs. pated in a show of solidarity. one older worker said, referring to two litical rights and its attempt to perpetuate Radio Solei!, the Catholic church's radio Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a Catholic priest army officers in the junta. "Regala says its own rule led to a general strike that network, stated that the strike was 80 to who has led protests here since before the paying us $3 a day is too much. He thinks began June 29. 100 percent effective in several other overthrow of the Duvalier dictatorship, we should get only $2," he added indig­ The strike was coordinated by a coalition cities. was the keynote speaker. nantly. of moderate and radical political parties The regime responded July 17 with a "Light will triumph over darkness," "We like the constitution," Sanon said, and a democratic rights organization pompous ceremony. Army officers, led by Aristide told the crowd. "CATHis the light as others nodded in agreement. "It's the known as the Committee of 57. The com­ N amphy, swore allegiance "to the constitu­ of the workers, of the peasants, of the best solution for us, to get the Macoutes mittee's initial demands called for lifting tion and to the flag." Namphy, pointedly Lord. What is darkness?" he asked. out of the government and to lift the people the ban on CATH , freedom for the arrested referred to as "the highest-ranking officer "The KNG," the crowd answered. out of misery." Macoutes, secret police unionists, and respect for the constitution's of the Haitian armed forces," told the offi­ "Stand together until we control our under the overthrown Duvalier dictator­ provisions for elections. Organizations de­ cers tobe ready to act against "those who country. We want a people's revolution, ship, is the name given now for supporters manding the ouster of the junta also joined abuse the newly acquired freedoms of we want a people's government," Aristide of the ousted regime. in the strike. speech, association, and assembly." said. The crowd chanted, "People's power, "The best thing now is to put in a provi- The regime initially tried to crush the The Committee of 57 did not resume the people's power."

July 31, 1987 The Militant 7 Why employers, gov't want to expand drug and alcohol testing Unions must control rehabilitation programs

BY MICHAEL CARPER protected right to privacy. AND FRED STANTON Unionists have every right to object to an "Conrail Killer Crew Was High on Pot," employer asking them questions about the one tabloid blared after the January 4 Am­ results of a mandatory test. This type of in­ trak-Conrail collision near Baltimore left quiry can range from asking whether you 16 dead. Another paper said traces of THC had a beer after work to why you are taking (a chemical in marijuana) had been found certain prescription medications. Your cur­ in the blood of Ricky Gates, the Conrail rent and past medical history, and whether engineer. • or how often you have a beer away from In another instance, a Philadelphia TV work are none of the employer's business. Train crash near Baltimore in January killed 16. Employers often try to cover up reporter claimed cocaine had showed up in A growing number . of workers also their own role in accidents by blaming them on workers' drug and alcohol abuse. the urine of Kevin Bland, one of the en­ realize that mandatory drug or alcohol test­ gineers in a Southeastern Pennsylvania ing programs can be used to victimize Transportation Authority (SEPT A) train union activists. Supervisors can try to force Most railroads have been stripping trains Under the impact of the employer and accident that injured 42. unionists who defend their rights, or the of their most important safety features: government campaign for mandatory test­ But drug use was eventually ruled out as rights of other workers, into the testing ample crews. Firemen, for example, have ing, many union officials are now claiming a cause of both accidents. program. Those who complain about been eliminated on some lines leaving en­ that joint company-union testing programs . The intense campaign by the employers dangerous work conditions can become gineers alone in the cabs during long are needed to fight drug and alcohol addic­ and the government to tie accidents to prime candidates for a test. stretches of high-speed operation. tion. workers' abuse of alcohol and drugs raises Workers who come in late or miss days The small crews add to fatigue, the While the officials sometimes demand a number of questions that are on the minds are often forced to submit to the boss' pro­ biggest problem faced by rail workers. assurances that the democratic rights of in­ of rail workers and other workers today. gram. The goal is to try to intimidate the At SEPTA, crew sizes have been dividuals be protected under the programs, What attitude should the unions take to em­ work force, break down solidarity on the slashed. Many workers are kept on duty up this approach accepts the framework of the ployer demands for drug and alcohol test­ job, and to weaken the union. to 14 hours a day, 6 days a week. A con­ employers' right to conduct alcohol and ing? What stance should the unions take to Moreover, there is considerable margin ductor was recently disciplined for taking a drug tests. alcohol and drug abuse on dangerous jobs for error in drug tests. Such things as day off after 10 straight weeks on the job. Right now, rail union officials are that endanger the safety of coworkers, the poppy seed rolls, tonic water, various her­ The truth . is that many rail workers are negotiating with management to come up surrounding communities, and passengers? bal teas, and over-the-counter drugs like already exhausted when they report for with a "fair" testing program. This falsely Backed up by federal and state officials, Midol, and Dristan, have contributed to duty. Having to work high pressure jobs assumes that the employers share our re­ the employers are on a drive to expand producing false positive test results. under these conditions contributes to al­ gard for workers' well-being. It can lead to mandatory drug and alcohol testing. Many employers also scream about drug cohol and drug abuse. the officialdom giving a rubber stamp to This campaign, however, isn't moti­ and alcohol abuse as part of covering up Pressures on the job are compounded by programs that ultimately victimize the vated by concern for on-the-job safety. their own role in certain accidents. strains away from work. Alcohol and drug union membership. Material supporting increased worker abuse are part of the normal, routine func­ testing circulated by the National Safety Safety gutted tioning of the decaying capitalist system Working-class alternative Council claims that because of workers' Much could have been done to prevent where a life of alienation and drudgery is Instead, unionists need to present our drug and alcohol abuse, the employers lose the Amtrak tragedy. Fred Hardin, presi­ the norm for millions. own alternative to company and govern­ millions of dollars every year from lost­ dent of the United Transportation Union ment testing programs. Workers who are time accidents, low productivity, absen­ (UTU), noted in the February UTU News · Carried over into work place addicted to drugs or alcohol have the right teeism, civil suits, and worker's compen­ that Conrail management had removed de­ Given the level of alcohol and drug to the best treatment available, and to the sation claims. vices that could have shunted Conrail die­ abuse in society, it invariably carries over right to be defended against company re­ Rail workers know that in the event of a sels off the track if they ran a stop signal. " into the work place. Workers ·are generally prisals. These rights can ·be· gilaranteed mishap one of the first arrivals on the scene And, as part of its speed-up drive, Con­ conscious about safety on dangerous jobs, only if the union controls rehabilitation will be a boss demanding a blood or urine rail got rid of braking devices that automat­ look out for the safety of their coworkers, programs from beginning to end. test. ically slow or stop trains when a signal in­ and do their utmost to prevent accidents dicates danger ahead. that can endanger neighboring com­ That way workers who need help can get Right to privacy The rail bosses also allow much-needed munities. it without company snoops prying into Many workers correctly see mandatory equipment and track maintenance to be ig­ It does happen, however, that an indi­ their lives. tests as an invasion of their constitutionally nored for months. vidual worker can be high on alcohol or Union-controlled programs could also drugs on a dangerous job. Other workers guarantee a workers' income while they are do not like working with them in these situ­ being treated and a return to their normal ations. Normally, they are mainly ignored job as soon as possible. Calif. high school students or worked around. That's because most There is no way for the unions to address workers recognize that if they complain to alcohol and drug abuse without relating it the boss about a coworker being drunk or to long shifts that often include mandatory report on trip to Nicaragua high on drugs that individual faces almost overtime, extended periods of few or no certain victimization, including loss of days off, undersized work crews, and their job. At the least, they face a pro­ dangerous working conditions. BY PAT NIXON longed period with the company prying A serious fight against drug and alcohol SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Five stu­ into their personal lives. abuse and against company and govern­ dents who had just returned from Nicara­ Sometimes when a situation gets out of ment drug testing will have to involve rais­ gua held a news conference here July 8 to hand, a worker, or several workers includ­ ing and winning demands for a shorter tell the story of what they saw in that coun­ ing a union representative, will try to talk workweek without a loss in pay. And union try. They were part of the first high school to the individual with the problem and en­ power will have to be mobilized to enforce delegation sponsored by the Office of the courage them to go home for the day or to safer working conditions and to win better Americas, a West Coast anti-intervention get some help. job training programs. organization. Nine high school and one Over the years, many unions have se­ Over the past decade the employers and college student participated, ranging in age cured company-paid health care and sick their government have waged a broadside from 14 to 20. leave. In the 1960s and the early 1970s, as offensive against working people. This has They read a statement in English and awareness about the problems of alcohol included attacks on our living standards, Spanish: "As high school students, we are abuse increased, the Steelworkers, Auto union rights on the job, and democratic the people who will be called to serve in the Workers, and other unions were able to rights. The drive to expand mandatory test­ Central American War. We have been to have medical benefits extended to cover ing is an aspect of this assault. Nicaragua and have come to know and love workers suffering from alcoholism. Resistance to these attacks is increasing. the people who live there. Actually, the Initially, these programs were tools to Workers today who are trying to effec­ majority of the citizens of Nicaragua are help the unions defend workers and prevent tively fight back immediately see the need younger than us. them from being victimized. for solidarity and discipline in our ranks: "We can imagine no circumstance in But, these programs have come to be And they expect the union as a whole to set which the people of Nicaragua can be iden­ more and more started up and dominated policy on important questions. Drunken­ tified as our enemy. Hence, we insist that by the companies. The unions have had ness on a strike picket line can lead to a President Reagan engage in effective non­ breakdown in discipline and open the door Militant/Bill Gretter less and less say in how they are run. military negotiations with the Contadora SEPTA workers routinely avoid man­ to cop provocations and attacks that can nations" of Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Young Nicaraguans participating in mil­ damage the struggle. itary training. California students said, agement's drug "rehabilitation" program. and Venezuela. One union newsletter called it "painting a A positive example in that regard was set Tamara Oyola, 15, explained that the "People of Nicaragua are not our during the 1985-86 Hormel meat-packers' enemy." target on your back." Those who seek re­ group went to find out the truth. They habilitation can later be subjected to ran­ ·strike in Austin, Minnesota, when United wanted to see Nicaragua with their own dom testing and their medical records, Food and Commercial Workers Union eyes. "The Sandinista revolution," she would fight again to defend his country. which are supposed to be confidential, can Local P~9 did not tolerate union members said, "has bettered the people's lives." The Jacob Pinger, 17, explained that "even be used as "evidence" in current or future drinking in the union's headquarters or on students talked about advances in health, the press says Nicaragua is the next Viet­ disciplinary matters. the picket line. literacy, and electrification. nam. I wanted to learn ifl should go fight." . The group spoke with many young But what he and the others intend to fight is Programs like these also tie workers and Michael Carper is a conductor on people. One was Tomas, who fought U.S. government intervention. They say their families more closely to the company, SEPTA in Philadelphia and a member of against the Somoza tyranny at age 14 and they will talk to anyone who will listen, tell put the company in a stronger position over UTU Local 61. Fred Stanton works in the the contras at 19. He was crippled at the them the truth about Nicaragua, and work a workers' personal. life, and reduce the Amtrak rail yard in Washington, D.C., and front, but said that if he got better, he hard to stop the U.S. war. power of the union to defend its members. is a member of UTU Local 1522.

8 The Militant July 31, 1987 Exploitation of Canada's working farmers How landlords,. capitalists extract profits from the toilers on the land . I The foUowing is an excerpt from an tion similar to that facing the underde­ Marx explains in volume 3 of Capital exaggerated the assets of some farmers as article by Michel Dugre, ''Land, Labor, veloped countries vis-a-vis the imperialist that "the purchase and sale of land, the cir­ part of pressuring them to take higher loans and the Canadian Socialist Revolution," powers: they confront unequal terms of culation of land as a commodity . . . is the than they themselves had initially re­ which appears in the latest issue of New trade. The farmers confront powerful practical result of the development of the quested. International. The article describes the monopolies capable of imposing prices and capitalist mode of production, in as much current problems of working farmers terms. They must pay inflated monopoly as here the commodity becomes the general Land rents and a perspective for fighting to resolve prices for the commodities they need form of every product and of all instru­ The capitalists also expropriate a portion them, and provides a historical outline (machinery, fuel, fertilizer, fodder, etc.), ments of production. "3 of the value produced by the farmers of how land relations have developed in while they receive far less for their prod­ Under capitalism, therefore, the farmers through land rents. In Canada, nearly 37 Canada. ucts than they are worth from the govern­ have to either buy land or rent it from a percent of the farmers rent at least some of The New International, published in ment marketing boards and the big process­ landowner. They have to pay rent or inter­ the land they work. Land rents in 1981 rep­ New York, is a magazine of Marxist ing and marketing concerns. The wealthy est on a mortgage loan to cover a land pur­ resented an expense to farmers of at least politics and theory. capitalist families who own the monopolies chase, simply to get access to grazing land US$470 million. Dugre's article is copyright 10 1987 pocket the difference. or a field to till. At least 45 percent of this rent is paid and is reprinted by permission of the Four corporations selling agricultural either in kind or as a share of production or publisher. machinery control . practically the entire The October 1985 issue of Union Farm­ revenue. This modem version of share­ market in Canada. Cominco and Imperial er, the monthly newspaper of the National cropping is increasingly widespread. In a Contrary to a widespread misconcep­ Oil control 55 percent of the market for Farmers Union, reported the case of two typical agreement, the farmer will pay a • tion, capitalism's growing domination of chemical fertilizers. Kraft controls 60 per­ farmers from Dawson Creek, British Col­ rent of one-third of the total revenue from agriculture in Canada has not taken place cent of the canning industry in Quebec. umbia, Carl and Joyce Torio. "The Torios, sales of the crop, while the landowner pays primarily through the transformation of the Kraft and Aulds control the sales of 90 per­ who have been farming for 38 years in the the land tax. community, started to get into trouble in lands of independent farmers into vast fac­ cent of the cheese produced in Ontario. A The renting of land is an obstacle to the tories in the fields employing agricultural handful of companies control the entire 1977. A year in which, ironically, their farm was virtually debt-free. development of agriculture. Landlords try workers. In fact, the exploitation of work­ market in Canada for red meat. In 1983 to negotiate relatively short leases with ing farmers has remained a central feature five big chains of stores controlled 86 per­ ''The Bank of Montreal encouraged the farmers, so that they can quickly re­ of capitalist domination of agriculture. cent of the retail food trade. Two rail giants Torios to use their equity towards investing negotiate them with higher rents. As a re­ The exploitation of these working farm­ share the entire rail transportation of ag­ in the feedlot business and supplied a major sult, farmers are discouraged from making ers, as Marx explained, "differs only in ricultural products. loan." Eight years later, after a fall in beef lasting improvements on the land. Farmers form from the exploitation of the industrial The meat-packing industry provides a prices and a rise in interest rates, the Torios know that any benefits from these improve­ proletariat. The exploiter is the same: cap­ good example of how these monopolies had their backs to the wall. "After having ments - which they have had to pay for in ita/."1 Capitalist exploitation in Canada function. Since the 1930s, this industry has paid the bank in excess of $700,000 in in­ higher production costs - will end up in today is not limited to a single form: wage been completely dominated by three terest payments since 1977, the Torios are the pockets of the landlords, who will use labor. The class structure of modem giants: Canada Packers,. Swift, and Bums. still $400,000 in debt and face foreclosure such improvements in order to raise rents capitalist society cannot be reduced solely On at least two occasions - in the 1930s, proceedings," the Union Farmer com­ when the next lease comes around. to bosses and wage workers. On a world and again in 1959-these companies have mented. scale, the form of exploitation that the been cited by Royal Commissions. of In­ This system of renting, whose most small farmer is subjected to is still a pre­ quiry for their price-fixing practices. In The Torios' case is typical. The pres­ grotesque form is sharecropping, illustrates dominant way in which wealth is extorted 1969, they were found guilty of collusion sures that the Bank of Montreal exerted on the parasitical character of the capitalist from the toilers, and- as we have seen­ in price-fixing over a five-year period, but the Torios to switch sectors of production landlords. The landlords make no contribu­ it remains a vital source of profits today for the matter was settled out of court. are a common practice. The bankers' aim tion to production. They acquire the right capitalists in Canada, as well. The capitalist government in Canada, far is to keep the farmers in debt. That is how to profit from the labor of others simply by from suppressing the development of these the banks make their money. the possession of a land title. Exploitation of working farmers To complete the picture, another layer of monopolies, encourages them. When a bank lends money to industrial Working farmers are exploited differ­ One of the most direct expressions of exploiting parasites must be mentioned: the capitalists for expansion of their factories, land speculators. These speculators, who ently from wage workers. Wage workers, this exploitation of working farmers the interest on the debt is the bank's share having no other means of making their liv­ through the monopolies' control over the in no way participate in production, ac­ in the overall surplus value that the indus­ cumulate fortunes simply by profiting from ing, are forced to sell their labor power - prices of farm inputs and farm products is trial capitalists take from the unpaid labor their ability to work - to a capitalist. contract farming. Farmers sign contracts variations in land prices. This form of prof­ of workers. When a bank lends money to a iteering has emerged as a growing aspect of Wages received by workers'represent only committing them to sell their products only working farmer, on the other hand, the in­ a portion of the total value they produce to a specific company at a set price. Some­ the exploitative practices of big capital in terest paid by that farmer on the loan con­ Canada. during their hours of labor. They produce a times companies concentrating in one sec­ stitutes the bank's direct expropriation of value equivalent to their total· wage during tor of agricultural production branch out part of the value produced by the farmer. In addition to these particular forms of one part of their work day; during the rest into others in order to build up a guaranteed The bank therefore is directly involved in exploitation, many farmers are exploited as of the day they work for free for the market for their products among farmers. exploiting the farmer. wage workers, as well. These semiprole­ capitalist. The products workers produce Grain companies, for example, sign con­ tarian farmers must take jobs in a factory, · do not belong to them but to the employer. tracts with independent pork producers. Several governmental bodies and pro­ as farm hands, or elsewhere in order to After the sale of the product on the market, The companies agree to buy the farmer's grams also work to increase the farmers' make a living income. Farmers, like other the capitalists pocket the value produced by entire production on the condition that the indebtedness. Legal proceedings that exploited working people, are also victims this unpaid labor in the form of profit. This farmer buy feed grain only from them. In Quebec farmers brought against the Que­ of the other evils of capitalist society: im­ is the fundamental method of the exploita­ 1981 a majority of the pork producers in bec Office of Agricultural Credit in March perialist wars, inflation, racism and na­ tion of workers under capitalism. Quebec operated under such contracts. 1985 revealed that the credit office actually tional oppression, women's inequality and Farmers, by contrast, generally possess Farmers placed in that situation become al­ subjugation, nuclear power and other en­ · some means of production with which to most employees of the company. While 3. Marx, Capital, vol. 3, p. 948. vironmental destruction, and so on. make a living. They do not have to rely they lose nearly all control over their pro­ solely on the sale of their labor power to a duction, however, the farmers continue to capitalist. Many hold title to the land on take all the risks. which they work, and even if they rent the land, they own some farm machinery and System of rents and mortgages Just out! livestock. The majority of farmers also Farmers are also exploited by capital possess the product of their labor, which through the system of rents and mortgages. New International · they then sell on the market. With the decline of feudal social rela­ Nevertheless, after the sale of their prod­ tions and the development of the capitalist ucts, the working farmers do not realize the mode of production, land began to take on entire value they produced. The capitalists the character of a commodity, that is, it "Land , take a portion of that value from these began to be bought and sold. The land it­ farmers; they reap profits from a portion of self did not become a commodity, how­ Labor, and the the farmers' labor time. ever, since land is not a product of human This exploitation of farmers takes place labor. While land, or rather the right to use in two principal ways. The first is through of the land, comes to have a market price Canadian the gap between their production costs and (regulated by a combination of factors not cuba\. l their minimum living expenses, on the one discussed in this article), the land itself has LarA~~~~ l\\\\stot\C Revo ution" hand, and, on the other, the price they re­ no value. 2 c.auad\3{\ n,l1ftl\.t l1Qtnent "cl b ceive from the capitalist "middlemen" - ~ "'~ . ~ ttc\\ts \'>'I an arti e y whether government marketing boards or -- n"~C5t\C 1~f0\;!l- cl\s1RO Michel Dugre' private corporations - who purchase, 2. Neither land nor labor has value. Value (or exchange value) is a social relation, not a 1 c,ontta 5f-tu1J, Based on an analysis of the process, and market agricultural products. natural or material product. Labor produces all ~\,)\1\.1\.'i And the second is through the system of L.:~~~~~~~;~;DO~r;~~~~~~~~;r.:::;:;~evolution of the economy, class struggle, and value. Labor and land, on the other hand, are capitalist state in Canada, Dugre deals with questions of com­ rents and mortgages. equally the source of use values, which are the ' The gap between costs and prices flows material products that make up all the wealth of munist strategy in forging an alliance of workers and farmers against their from the farmers' exploitation by society. "Labour is the father of material common exploiters. capitalists at both ends of the food produc­ wealth, the earth is its mother," Marx wrote in tion chain. They are exploited both by Capital (New York: Random House, I977), Please send me this issue those capitalists who sell them the goods vol. I, p. I34. they need in order to produce, and by those For Marx's discussion of the relation between Nrune ______land (or nature) and labor in the production of to whom they sell their products. value and wealth, see Marx, Capital, vol. I, pp. Address------~----- When they come to the market to buy or I33-34, 176; Marx, "Value, Price, and Profit," Gcy ______to sell, farmers find themselves in a situa- in Marx and Frederick Engels, Collected Works, vol. 20, pp. 124-25; and Marx, "Margi­ nal Notes to the Programme of the German Stat~aP------~~----­ 1. Karl Marx, "The Class Struggles in Workers' Party" [Critique of the Gotha Pro­ France," in Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, gram], in Marx and Engels, Selected Works Oip and mail $6.50 to New International, 410 West St., New York, Collected Works (New York: International Pub­ (Moscow: Progress Publishers, I977), vol. 3, N.Y. 10014. lishers, 1978), vol. 10, p. I22. p. 13.

July 31, 1987 The Militant 9 Right-wing provocation backfires·in peasant towns

"Notes from Nicaragua" is a by the right-wing provocateurs to raguan villages and taking them to column prepared by Cindy take over the offices of the Red Honduras, where they were placed Jaquith, Roberto Kopec, and Cross in Boaco and Camoapa on in "refugee camps." Harvey McArthur of the Mili­ June 19. They demanded that the Mauricio Isaias was Pro-war tant's bureau in Managua. soldiers be brought home. Many KISAN's head of "psychological involved in the. takeovers were operations," recruiting Miskito Counterrevolutionary elements women. youth from these camps to join took advantage of the accidental Upon hearing what had hap­ combat units against the San­ death of a Sandinista soldier in pened, the soldiers at the training dinista army. June to foment demonstrations school sent a delegation to the Red Both said they finally decided to against military service in Nicara­ Cross offices to inform their rela­ quit Pro-war KISAN because of gua. tives that they had been tricked. in-fighting within it . and because The events took place in Region They also took a delegation of sol­ of the abusive treatment they re­ V, a rural area where U.S.-armed diers' mothers to visit the school ceived from the CIA, the contras and ascertain the facts. of the Nicaraguan Democratic On June 20, convinced they had Force, and from the Honduran been used, the family members army. NOTES FROM left the Red Cross offices. One The thousands of Nicaraguan woman, who said she had been Miskitos in Honduran camps NICARAGUA ready to physically attack mem­ "don't have a single right," said bers of the Sandinista National Ramirez. "They have no land to contras are very active. On the Liberation Front and army, said, plant. They have no food because night of June 18, a Sandinista sol­ "the people [who led the takeover] they aren't allowed to fish or hunt. dier was accidentally shot to death were infiltrators who manipulated Nor are they allowed to cut wood at a training school when he failed us." to sell." Thirty Miskitos have re­ to give the proper password and Nicaragua's Ministry of the In­ cently been jailed, he said, for vio­ lating these Honduran regulations. was mistaken for a contra. terior arrested five men who or­ Militant/Michael Baumann Many of the draftees and re­ ganized the rumor campaign and Isaias said he considered Nica­ Peasant woman of Boaco region with her daughter. FoUowing acci­ servists at the school had families Red Cross takeover. Three are ragua's autonomy project for In­ dental killing of Sandinista soldier there, contra backers began vis­ in the nearby towns of Boaco and members of the Independent Lib­ dians "something serious, the only iting families trying to get them to demonstrate against draft. Camoapa. Rightist elements in the eral Party and two belong to the solution to our problems, so that two towns began· visiting the Social Christian Party. None of we can start to work and live, in­ families, giving them false ver­ the five has any family members stead of destroying each other. to Nicaragua in June. Most of the and responded readily to Baseball sions of what had happened at the in the military service. group's members are amateur ball for Peace's appeal. players, but some supporters are training school and how the young • English teacher Cynthia Cilen­ man died. One version said 16 sol­ professional players or sports writ­ • More Nicaraguan little leaguers sek said Baseball for Peace is or­ ers. diers were dead. Another said that Two more top leaders of a will be playing with real gloves ganizing a brigade to Nicaragua the troops had risen up against group known as Pro-war KISAN, this year instead of socks wrapped One member of the delegation, next November to help build a their commanders and been the Miskito contra organization, around their hands. This is a result . _warehouse worker Kathy Rosen­ stadium in Boaco. machine-gunned. Still another tale have laid down their arms and re­ of a donation of baseball ·equip­ meier, told the Militant that the To donate your glove or bat, had the contras attacking the turned to Nicaragua to accept am­ ment from the United States. Little League of Dixon, Califor­ contact Baseball for Peace, c/o J. school and wiping out everyone. nesty. The donation came from the nia, contributed much of the do­ Feldman, Box 379, Winters, Panicked and confused, some Ismael Ramirez had organized California-based group Baseball nated equipment. T.he town has a Calif. 95694. Telephone: (916) family members were convinced kidnapping ofMiskitos from Nica- for Peace, which sent a delegation large Spanish-speaking population 795-4818. Contras murder Salvadoran priest in Nicaragua

BY ROBERTO KOPEC Survivor Ignacio Urbina, a Nicaraguan Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega laid world, a world where information is so MANAGUA, Nicaragua- A Salvador­ priest, told reporters that the four were re­ full responsibility for Zavaleta's murder on manipulated. Who? Only God knows." an priest working with Nicaraguan peas­ turning to Matiguas from Rio Blanco at President Ronald Reagan, who "claims to He then stated that the Nicaraguan Cath­ ants was killed July 3 when his truck hit a about five in the afternoon, when their be a defender of religious Nicaraguans." olic church hierarchy had already spoken in contra land mine. Toyota truck struck the mine. Zavaleta, Ortega said, "is a victim ofthe favor of "reconciliation and dialogu~" with Tomas Agustin Zavaleta is the first "This was a planned crime," Urbina U.S. government's terrorist policies." the contras. priest murdered by the U.S. -sponsored said, "because just two hours earlier, we Ortega challenged Nicaraguan Cardinal Responding to Obando's sermon, contra mercenaries in their six-year war had crossed to Rio Blanco, and on our way Miguel Obando y Bravo to condemn the Ortega said that the cardinal "is supposed against Nicaragua. back, they had already placed the bomb contras' murder of Zavaleta. Obando was to be a religious leader of the Nicaraguan Three passengers with him were seri­ that killed brother Tomas." recently named in a Newsweek article as a people, but he is acting like a paid employ­ ously wounded in the blast, one dying two Zavaleta had been in Nicaragua since likely recipient of CIA funds for the con­ ee of the CIA, an accomplice to its days later. The attack occurred near the March working in a peasant cooperative tras. The most prominent opponent here of crimes." town of Matiguas, in north-central Nicara­ project sponsored by the Franciscan order Thousands of members of Christian base in Matiguas. the Nicaraguan government, Obando has gua. given masses to the contras in Miami and communities met July 5 to celebrate the has never denounced their crimes in Nica­ . eighth anniversary of the Sandinista revo­ ragua. The contras call him "our Cardinal." lution. They denounced Zavaleta's murder at the hands of the contras. Subscribe to 'Perspectiva Mundial' At a Sunday mass in his Managua church July 5, Obando made reference to A statement in the name of the Christian July issue: U.S. out of Persian Gulf! Zavaleta's murder but refused to blame the base communities said, "We repudiate the contras for planting the mine. murder of Brother Tomas Zavaleta and reassert our Christian commitment to sup­ As a reader of the Militant you ~Npti "Who did it?" he asked rhetorically. port our revolution, which favors the are familiar with our weekly cover­ "Well, it's a question in such a confusing poor." age of the struggles of working MW\dial people around the world. EU fuera del Golfo P~rsico If you can read or are studying Spanish, there is a complementary ESPECIAL Israeli backer of Palestinian monthly magazine for you: Per­ Entrevista con dirigente spectiva Mundial. PM is a Spanish­ dela rights on tour in the U.S. language socialist magazine that Central de carries many of the same articles Trabajadores BYIKENAHEM years ago as a source of information on you read in the Militant. de Cuba EUA WASHINGTON, D.C. -Supporters of Palestinian political activity and Israeli re­ The July issue features a news Congreso Palestinian rights here heard the noted Is­ pression in the West Bank and Gaza. analysis of the current U.S. war en Hartford l1der de Ia huelga de raeli lawyer and human rights fighter Lea The director of the center is Michel War­ porlos shawsky, well-known Israeli socialist and moves in the Persian Gulf and Watsonville describe Tsemel at a special reception July 1. The - derechos de como los obreros supporter of Palestinian self-determina­ their connection to the Iran-contra los boricuas event was organized by the Arab-American ganaron Ia lucha Anti-Discrimination Committee. tion. Warshawsky was held for 32 days in scandal. detention by Israeli authorities, until pro­ Tsemel is a longtime and prominent sup­ tests forced his release after paying exorbi­ The article points out that Wash­ porter of the rights of Palestinian Arabs in Subscriptions: $7 for one year; tant baiL He still faces serious criminal ington's policy in the Persian Gulf $4 for six months; Introductory Israel and in the West Bank and Gaza terri­ charges of "identification" with an illegal tories occupied by Israeli troops. is to prevent the toppling of the offer, $2.00 for five months. organization and possession of written ma­ Iraqi regime. It explains how resis­ 0 Begin my sub with current She recently toured several U.S . cities to terial published by illegal organizations. tance by the people of the United publicize the case of the West Jerusalem­ Vigorous protests have been lodged by States to using U.S. military forces issue. based · Alternative Information Centre organizations of Israeli journalists. More­ has deepened the crisis of the gov­ Name------­ (AIC), which was shut down by Israeli au­ over, the prestigious U.S. Committee to ernment. thorities February 16 and remains shut Protect Journalists, whose honorary chair­ Address------­ Also in this issue is an interview down despite protests in Israel and around man is Walter Cronkite, sent a protest letter the world. The Israeli police charged the with Jesus Antonio Escandell, sec­ City/State/Zip -----­ to the Israeli embassy in Washington. center with "rendering services" to "ter­ retary of international relations for Letters and telegrams protesting the Clip and mail to PM, 410 West rorist" organizations. This is one of the few the Cuban trade union federation. shutdown of the AIC should be sent to: St., New York, NY 10014. cases of censorship directed against a Ambassador Meir Rosenne, Embassy of group organized by Israeli Jews. Israel, 3415 International Way NW, Wash­ The AIC was established nearly three ington, D.C. 20008.

18- Tbe .Militant July 31, 1987 El Salvador's prisons 'Trenches of the revolution'

BY DON GUREWITZ forming surgery, providing dental ser­ Entering El Salvador's political prisons vices, and counseling older peasants suf­ is an astonishing experience: the guards es­ fering claustrophobia from being confined cort you through the common prisoners' after a life outdoors. All their medical section up to the entrance where political supplies are donated. prisoners are held - and then they stop. Most of the prisoners in Mariona were They are not "allowed" in. You are greeted dayworkers. Many were trade union activ­ and escorted in by representatives of the ists. Some were captured in the countryside elected leadership of the political prisoners and accused of being guerrillas. themselves. This is true in both the men's We were told that none of the political and women's prisons. . prisoners had ever been tried and that the Inside, the walls are festooned with po­ average "sentence" served was two years. litical murals, slogans, posters, and an­ Even then, once the authorities have de­ nouncements. "Workers of the world cided to release someone, a substantial unite," proclaims one mural in the Mariona bribe has to be paid. The amount depends Prison. "Against imperialist intervention, on the prisoner's occupation and social Central America prepares itself," reads status. another. "Stop the Yankee aggression in At Ilopango we were told a story that Nicaragua," says the first mural you see helped explain the remarkable amount of ~- upon entering the women's prison at control exercised by the political prisoners. Ilopango. "Political prisoners of Mariona­ In February 1985, the prison authorities Ilopango," says another, "are making of had announced that they intended to come the prison a trench of the revolution." into the political section of the prison and On the wall of the exercise yard they remove all of the women's personal be­ share with the common prisoners, they longings. This would have been a devastat­ have painted an enormous mural depicting ing blow. the assassination of San Salvador Arch­ Like the men, the women are forced by bishop Oscar Romero in 1980. A ghostlike the paltry prison budget to provide for most hand points the finger of guilt at a figure of their own needs: they produce handi­ labeled "D'Aubuisson," a cashiered mili­ crafts for sale, purchase most of their own tary officer and leader of the right-wing food, do their own cooking, provide their Slogan on wall of Mariona Prison in El Salvador says, "Let us all join the Mothe_r's ARENA party, long-associated with the own rudimentary medical care, organize Committees!" notorious death squads. their own education and recreation, etc. Both Mariona and Ilopango have three They even have to organize child care since sections: common, political, and military. most of them have their younger children The political prisoners are segregated in in prison with them. separate, walled sections. This was one of -WORLD NEWS BRIEFS-- the first demands they won in 1980 when The 68 women held a general assembly their organization, Committee of Political and decided to resist the authorities' threat. S. African whites countries. The Iranian government Prisoners of El Salvador (COPPES), was They used a phone in an office to call the quickly reciprocated, citing as its reason formed. Through a lengthy hunger strike, press. They seized a number of administra­ meet with banned ANC the poor treatment of Iranian officials in they forced the government to grant them tors as hostages. France. political prisoner status and give them their The military surrounded the prison. The The biggest meeting yet held between Although not cited as a direct factor in own sections where they could organize air force was put on alert. A helicopter the outlawed African National Congress this diplomatic rupture, relations be­ themselves. landed on the roof of the building the (ANC) and South African whites op­ tween the two governments have been Today, COPPES functions as a joint women were occupying. Soldiers opened posed to apartheid took place over a strained for some years by the continued committee of the male and female political fire, and four women were wounded. four-day period in the West African city and massive French arms sales to Iraq. prisoners. In each prison, general as­ of Dakar, Senegal. Iran and Iraq have been at war since The political prisoners offered .to ex­ Sixty-one participants came to Dakar 1980, following an Iraqi invasion aimed semblies are held where a five-person di­ change some of the hostages for the right to from South Africa, most of them Afri­ at turning back the Iranian revolution. rectorate is elected for a term of six have the Red Cross take the wounded kaans-speaking whites, who included in­ Two weeks before the break in ties, months. The prisoners are organized for women out the front gate, past some 100 tellectuals, writers, clergy, politicians, French police encircled the Iranian em­ political study, sports, physical therapy for international reporters gathered there. . artists, and businessmen. They were led bassy in Paris and have surrounded it those injured in the war, arts and crafts, Eventually, the authorities bowed to the by Frederick van Zyl Slabbert, former ever since. They claimed that an Iranian and other activities. They raise money by militancy of the women prisoners and the leader of the main white liberal parlia­ employee at the embassy was wanted for selling handicrafts, run their own canteen, glare of the international spotlight and do their own cooking, and maintain their mentary opposition party, who resigned questioning in a series of terrorist bomb­ agreed to abandon their threat to remove ings. own discipline. the personal belongings. from parliament last year. Benjamin, Mariona's youngest political The 17-member ANC delegation was Then an Iranian diplomat, Mohsen prisoner, is 13 years old and had been in It has becm through a constant series of led by Thabo Mbeki. Aminzadeh, was roughed up by French Mariona five months. His crime? He had hunger strikes, demonstrations in the pris­ Upon his arrival in Dakar, Slabbert customs officials at the French-con­ refused an order by some soldiers to buy ons, rallies by supporters on the outside, proclaimed that there could be no solu­ trolled section of the Geneva airport. them cigarettes. In Mariona, Benjamin was and confrontations such as the one just de­ tion to the crisis in South Africa without Documents in Aminzadeh's briefcase in school for the first time in his life thanks scribed, that the prisoners in the men's and the ANC, which he acknowledged as were taken and photocopied. to the literacy campaign run by COPPES. women's prisons have gradually forced the "the largest and oldest movement work­ The Iranian government demanded We also visited the clinic run by the po­ authorities to relinquish to them the degree ing for liberation in South Africa." punishment for the French customs offi­ litical prisoners in a converted cell in of control they now have. A declaration at the end of the talks cials and the lifting of the police siege on Mariona. There is also an "official" clinic, noted the two sides' "shared commit­ its Paris embassy. The French au­ with a licensed doctor, run by the prison ment towards the removal of the apart­ thorities termed these "unacceptable Don Gurewitz is a member of International conditions." authorities. But the COPPES clinic serves Union ofElectronic workers Local201. He heid system and the building of a united, not only the 1,100 political prisoners, but democratic, and nonracial South Af­ Meanwhile, a French consul in visited Ilopango Prison in November 1985 Tehran has been summoned to appear the 2, 100 common prisoners - and even as part of the U.S. delegation to a conven­ rica." the guards. . Care is provided by a staff of before an Iranian court on accusations of tion of FENASTRAS, a Salvadoran trade Although Slabbert's delegation raised espionage and drug trafficking. six, most of whom have had no previous union federation. some concerns about the ANC's deter­ medical training. Last November he visited Mariona mination to maintain and intensify its The clinic coordinator, Vladimir Cen­ Prison as part of another U.S. delegation armed struggle against apartheid rule, all teno, was chosen to run the clinic because that participated in the Conference in the participants in the Dakar talks "ac­ Political prisoners he had briefly attended medical school. Search of Peace: U.S.-El Salvador, spon­ cepted the historical reality of the armed freed in S. Korea At the time of our visit, besides routine sored by the National Union of Salvadoran struggle" and "recognized that the medical services, the staff was also per- Workers. source of violence in South Africa de­ The South Korean government an­ rives from the fact that the use of force is nounced a broad political amnesty July 9 fundamental to the existence and prac­ covering 2,335 people. By that date, tice of racial domination." some 500 political prisoners had already Forum hears Hartford 16 defendant been freed. Some of those covered by The apartheid authorities, who have the amnesty had been convicted of an­ NEW YORK-"U.S. corporations take their land, to prevent the poisoning of the strongly discouraged such contacts with out $6 billion in profits from Puerto Rico environment by U.S. corporations, and to tigovernment activities going back to the the ANC, blasted the 61 South Africans 1970s. every year. The FBI protects their ability to stop ·young Puerto Ricans from being who traveled to Dakar as "political ter­ do this," explained Elfas Castro Ramos, forced to participate in U.S. wars like the The Justice Ministry affirmed, how­ rorists." The ultrarightist Afrikaner Re­ ever, that scores of alleged communists one of the Hartford 16. one in Vietnam, he said. sistance Movement threatened to take Castro Ramos was the featured speaker U.S. military intervention in Central and "unrepentant" prisoners would re­ physical reprisals against them when main in jail. at a July 10 Militant Labor Forum defend­ America relies heavily on U.S. bases in they returned to South Africa. ing 16 Puerto Rican independence fighters Puerto Rico and on Puerto Rican troops, The regime's amnesty came as dem­ being framed up by the U.S. government. Castro Ramos added. The U.S. govern­ onstrations for greater democratic rights Arrested in August 1985 and early 1986, ment wants to prevent opposition · to its Iran and France continued. they are being ~ed in a courtroom in wars from developing in Puerto Rico. On July 9 up to a million South Ko­ Hartford, Connecticut, on charges that Another of the Hartford 16, Ivonne break diplomatic ties reans poured into the streets of Seoul for they robbed a Wells Fargo depot there in Melendez, participated in the forum. Zoilo the funeral of Lee Han Yol, a student 1983. Torres, president of the National Congress A -day after the Iranian government killed by riot police during tl).e recent FBI harassment, Castro Ramos ex­ for Puerto Rican Rights; Roger Wareham, warned that it might sever diplomatic re­ protests against dictatorial rule. Hun­ plained, is meant to intimidate Puerto Ri­ one of the New York 8+ defendants, lations with France, the French Foreign dreds of thousands also turned out for a cans from speaking out and organizing Black and Puerto Rican activists framed up Ministry announced July 17 that it was similar funeral inKwangju, Lee's home­ against U.S. colonial domination. The in 1984; and Victor Nieto of the Socialist cutting formal ties between the two town. Puerto Rican people have fought to keep Workers Party also spoke.

July 31, 1987 -THE GREAT SOCIETY------Like, crazy - Haitian de­ are contaminated with vinyl One result, a new shredder that Judge Bork are sporting stubbles are "halitosis, excessive saliva­ mands for the resignation of junta chloride, benzene, and other will rip through nine tons an hour. and insisting they won't shave tion, and fever." chief Henri Namphy are a "fairy deadly chemicals. The EPA an­ until he's conftrmed. tale" wish for a "utopian solu- nounced standards to control this, Back to the fray - When he Who's ''we"? - "The main with environmentalists assailing was tossed out of PTL, Jim Bak­ So then Baker threw away his economic problem is that as a na­ the standards as totally in­ ker "stayed on the couch for weeks cards - Initially, Reagan consid­ tion we consume too much in rela­ adequate. But the question's and curled up in a ball listening to ered his current aide, Howard tion to what we produce." - moot. Congress didn't vote any Bible tapes," conftdes spouse Baker, to head the CIA, and, a Economist Allan Meltzer. money for the program. Tammy. But, after a few days' source said, Baker would have ac­ rest on the yacht of his attorney, cepted if the prez had really urged Sounds like a reasonable chap Harry Our rational society-"About Melvin Belli, Jim's ready to un­ him. But Ron forgot to follow the - "Fashion is so expensive. the only hope left for U.S. wheat dertake the legal battle to regain script written on his ftle cards, so When a T-shirt costs $295, the Ring prices is summertime damage to control of the ministry. Baker said no. price exceeds fairness. I think the nation's soybean and com there should be a middle ground." crops ...." - News item. -Designer Randolph Duke, who tion," according to Richard Hoi­ Repeating history as farce?­ That's why they're so popu­ recently whipped up a black pique will, a U.S. deputy assistant secre­ Note to Fawn and ODie - In Cuba, the barbudos, or beard­ lar?- Yuppies work and play so trench coat. $650. tary of state. What with increased liability and ed, were the guerrillas who vowed hard, many of them are being hit malpractice suits, regulatory laws, they wouldn't shave until they top­ by trench mouth, a gum infection, The march of science - You See no problem - About etc., business is destroying more pled Batista. Now, in Washing­ says Dr. Dwight Weathers of the can now have your pet (deceased, 1 ,800 public drinking water sys­ documents than ever, reports ton, right-wing supporters of the Emory University School of Den­ natch) freeze-dried. A medium­ tems, serving 10 million people, Waste Age, voice of the industry. Supreme Court nomination of tistry. Principal symptoms, he said size cat, $225.

-CALENDAR------~---- ers: William Taylor, president Oil, Chemical Mary-Alice Waters, member of Socialist Work­ Bishop." Speaker: Janet Post, Socialist Workers cALIFoRNIA and Atomic Workers Local 7-507; Rachel Del ers Party Political Committee, reported for Mil­ Party, member International Association of Los Angeles Golia, director Chicago Committee to Defend itant on Third Congress of the Cuban Com­ MachinistsLocall005. Sun.,July26,11 a.m. U.S. Out of the Persian Gulf! Washington's the Bill of Rights; Ibrahim Adu-Lughod, pro­ munist Party and congress of the Union of All events at 2732 NE Union. Translation to Role in the Iran-Iraq War. Speaker: Dean fessor of political science, Northwestern Uni­ Young Communists. Translation to Spanish. Spanish. Sponsors: Socialist Workers Party and Denno, Socialist Workers Party and member versity, member Palestine National Council; Fri., July 24, Reception, 7 p.m.; forum, 7:30 Young Socialist Alliance. For more information United Auto Workers Locall48. Translation to Carrie Brown, member United Food and Com­ p.m. 79 Leonard St. Donation: $3 . Sponsor: call (503) 287-7416. Spanish. Sat., July 25, 7:30p.m. 2546 W Pico. mercial Workers Local 100-A; Lee Ravens­ Militant Labor Forum/Foro Perspectiva Mun­ Donation: $2. Sponsor: Militant Labor Forum. croft, representative of tecNICA; Joe Swanson, dial. For more information call (212) 226-8445. TEXAS For more information call (213) 380-9460. Political Rights Defense Fund. Sun. Aug. 2. · Socialist Educational Weekend. Classes on Houston Program 5-7 p.m.; reception, 7-9. United Elec­ Oakland Cuban and Nicaraguan revolutions. Sat., July Socialist Summer School. A series of classes trical Workers Hall, 37 S Ashland. Donation Oakland (East Bay) Socialist Summer 25, II a.m. and 3 p.m. Translation to Spanish. on the foundations of communist politics. Open $3. Sponsor: PRDF. For more information call School. 79 Leonard St. Donation: $1 per class. Spon­ to both English- and Spanish-speaking partici­ (312) 326-5853. Sat., July 25, 3-5 p.m. "What Causes War sors: Socialist Workers Party and Young pants. Classes every Sunday at II a.m. and Protest U.S. Attacks on El Yunque Rain - How To Fight It." Socialist Alliance. For more information call Thursday at 7 p.m. through Aug. 6. Forest. Speakers: Prof. Monte Lloyd, Univer­ Class translated to Spanish and held at 3808 E (212) 226-8445. Classes held at 4806 Almeda. Donation: 14th St. Donation: $1. Sponsors: Young sity of Chicago zoologist and rainforest defen­ Art and Revolution. Slideshow and presenta­ $1.50 per class. For more ii.tformation call (713) Socialist Alliance and Socialist Workers Party. der; Prof. Jose L6pez, Puerto Rican community tion on the Cuban revolution. Speakers: Eva 522-8054. For more information call (415) 261-3014 or Center on Culture and the Arts. Fri., Aug. 7, Cockroft, artist-writer; Juan Sanchez, artist; 658-8898. 7:30p.m. Chicago Academy of Sciences, 2001 Mike Alewitz, director of Pathfinder mural pro­ UTAH San Francisco N Clark St. Sponsor: Chicago Comite Pro-Yun­ ject. Fri., July 31, 7:30p.m. 79 Leonard St. Chile: Popular Resistance Against Govern­ que Defense and Green Flag. Donation: $3. Sponsor: Militant Labor Forum. Price An Evening for Political Rights. Speakers: ment Terror. Speaker: Lee Anderson, re­ For more information call (212) 226-8445. Kipp Dawson, national labor spokesperson for cently returned from fact-finding tour of Chile. .MINNESOTA Translation to Spanish. Sat., Aug. I, 7 p.m. Austin the Political Rights Defense Fund, member 3284 23rd St. Donation: $2. Sponsor: Militant OHIO United Mine Workers of America; Translation What Socialists Stand For. Speaker: Wendy to Spanish. Fri., July 31 . Reception, 6:30p.m.; Forum. For more information call (415) 282- Cleveland Lyons, Socialist Workers Party, member program, 7:30p.m. 23 S Carbon Ave. Sponsor: 6255. The Cuban Revolution: Eyewitness Report. United Food and Commericial Workers Local PRDF. For more information call (801) 637- 789. Sun., July 26, 6:30 p.m. Pathfinder Speakers: Mylion Waite, associate director, In­ 6294. FLORIDA Bookstore, 4071fz N Main St. Donation: $2. terchurch Council of Greater Cleveland; repre­ Miami Sponsor: Militant Labor Forum. For more infor­ sentative, Socialist Workers Party. Sat., July WASHINGTON Socialist Summer School and Educational mation call (507) 433-3461. 25, 7:30p.m. 2521 Market Ave. Donation: $2. Weekend: Cuba's Road to Socialism. Sponsor: Militant Forum. For more information . Seattle Sat., July 25. Two classes: "Cuba: A Giant in St. Paul call (216) 861-6150. Socialist Summer School. Two series of class­ Stop U.S. Domestic Contra War. Speakers: World Politics," I p.m. "Cuba: A Historic Socialist Summer School. Class on Socialism: es. Joe Swanson, labor spokesman, Political Rights Turning Point," 5 p.m. Speaker:· Thabo by Frederick Engels. Series on Stalinism. Sundays at 2 p.m. on Defense Fund; Mahmoud El-kati, civil rights Utopian and Scientific Ntweng, Socialist Workers Party National Sun., July 26. 2521 Market Ave. Sponsor: July 26, and Aug. 2. Readings from the Revolu­ activist, history professor at Macalester Col­ Committee. Translation to Spanish and Creole. Socialist Workers Party and Young Socialist tion Betrayed, In Defense of Marxism, Our lege: John Morrin, American Indian activist in 137 NE 54th St. Donation: $2 per class or $3 for Alliance. For more information call (216) 861- Power Is That of the Working People, and New White Earth land struggle. Sat., July 25, 7 p.m. weekend. Sponsor: Socialist Workers Party. 6150. International No. 6. 508 N Snelling Ave. Sponsor: PRDF. For more For more information call (305) 756-1020. Series on the fundamentals of Marxism. information call (612) 644-6325. OREGON Thursdays at 6:30p.m. and Saturdays at 1:30 GEORGIA NEBRASKA p.m. on July 25, 30, Aug. l;and Aug. 6. Read­ Atlanta Portland ings from Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, Cuba Today: Celebration of the Cuban Rev­ Omaha Socialist Educational Weekend. Wage-Labor and Capital, Value, Price and The Cuban Revolution: 28 Years of Prog­ olution. Speaker: Maceo Dixon, Socialist Forum: "Cuba, Eyewitness Report." Presen­ Profit, and the Wages System. ress. Slideshow and presentations by Bob Workers Party, member United Auto Workers tation and slideshow by Cathy Sedwick, partic­ Translation to Spanish. All classes at 5517 Local 34. Film: Fidel and Cuba. Translation to Schwarz and Meisa Patterson, Socialist Work­ ipant in recent Venceremos Brigade to Cuba; Rainier Ave. S. Donation: $1 per class or $5 for ers Party. Sat., July 25, 7 p.m. Dinner, 5:30 Spanish. Sat., July 25, 7:30p.m. 132 Cone St. Lorna Lockwood, participant in 1987 Center for both series. Sponsors: Socialist Workers Party NW. Donation: $3. Sponsor: Militant Labor p.m. 140 S 40th St. Donation: $2. Sponsor: Cuban Studies tour in Cuba focusing on educa­ and Young Socialist Alliance. For more infor­ Militant Labor Forum. For more information Forum. For more information call (404) 577- tion. Sat., July 25, 7:30p.m. Dinner, 6 p.m. mation call (602) 723-5330. call (402) 553-0245. 4065. Donation: $2. Sponsor: Militant Labor Forum. Revolutionary Cuba Today. Speakers to be Two classes. "The Cuban Rectification Pro­ announced. Translation to Spanish. Sat., July ILLINOIS NEW YORK cess: A Turning Point in the Revolution." 25, 7:30p.m. 5517 Rainier Ave. S. Donation: Chicago Manhattan Speaker: Cathy Sedwick. Sat., July 25, 4 p.m. $2. Sponsor: Militant Labor Forum. For more Political Rights Defense Fund Rally. Speak- Cuba: A Historic Turning Point. Speaker: "The Second Assassination of Maurice information call (206) 723-5330. -IF YOU LIKE THIS PAPER, LOOK US UP------Where to find the Socialist Workers Party, GEORGIA: Atlanta: SWP, YSA, 132 Cone 55104. Tel: (612) 644-6325. Mark Mateja, Edinboro University of Pa. Zip: Young Socialist AUiance, and Pathfinder St. NW, 2nd Floor. Zip: 30303. Tel: (404) 577- 'MISSOURI: Kansas City: SWP, YSA, 16412. Tel: (814) 398-2574. Philadelphia: bookstores. 4065. 4725 Troost. Zip: 64110. Tel: (816) 753-0224. SWP, YSA, 2744 Germantown Ave. Zip: ILLINOIS: Chicago: SWP, YSA, 3455 S. St. Louis: SWP, YSA, 4907 Martin Luther 19133. Tel: (215) 225-0213. Pittsburgh: SWP, ALABAMA: Birmingham: SWP, YSA, Michigan Ave. Zip: 60616. Tel: (312) 326- King Dr. Zip: 63113. Tel: (314) 361-0250. YSA, 402 N. Highland Ave. Zip: 15206. Tel: 1306 1st Ave. N. Zip: 35203. Tel: (205) 323- 5853 or 326-5453. NEBRASKA: Omaha: SWP, YSA, 140 S. (412) 362-6767. 3079. INDIANA: Muncie: YSA, c/o Scott Shaf­ 40th St. Zip: 68131. Tel: (402) 553-0245. TEXAS: Austin: YSA, c/o Mike Rose, 7409 ARIWNA: Phoenix: SWP, YSA, t809 froth, 1125 W. Marsh St. Zip: 47303. Tel: (317) NEW JERSEY: Newark: SWP, YSA, 141 Berkman Dr. Zip: 78752. Tel. (512) 452-3923. W. Indian School Rd. Zip: 85015. Tel: (602) 282-2996. Halsey. Zip: 07102. Tel: (201) 643-3341. Houston: SWP, YSA, 4806 Almeda. Zip: 77004. 279-5850. IOWA: Des Moines: SWP, YSA, 2105 For­ NEW YORK: Albany: YSA c/o Lisa Sand­ Tel: (713) 522-8054. Lubbock: YSA, c/o Amy CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles: SWP, YSA, est Ave. Zip: 50311. Tel: (515) 246-1695. berg, 120 Lark St. Zip: 12210. Tel: (518) Waugh, 2202 22nd St., Apt. B. Zip: 79411. 2546 W. Pico Blvd. Zip: 90006. Tel: (213) 380- WUISIANA: Baton Rouge: YSA, 4264 463-8001. Mid-Hudson: YSA, Box 650, UTAH: Price: SWP, YSA, 23 S. Carbon 9460. Oakland: SWP, YSA,3808 E 14th St. Oxford Ave. #4, Zip: 70808. Tel: (504) Annandale. Zip: 12504. Tel: (914) 758-0408. Ave., Suite 19, P.O. Box 758. Zip: 84501. Tel: Zip: 94601. Tel: (415) 261-3014. San Diego: 766-0510. New Orleans: YSA, c/o Ray Medina, New York: SWP, YSA, 79 Leonard St. Zip: (801) 637-6294. Salt Lake City: SWP, YSA, SWP, YSA, 2803 B St. Zip: 92102. Tel: (619) 730 Peniston St. Zip: 70115. Tel: (504) 899- 10013. Tel: (212) 219-3679 or 925-1668. Path­ 767 S. State, 3rd floor. Zip: 84111. Tel: (801) 234-4630. San Francisco: SWP, YSA, 3284 5094. finder Books, 226-8445. Rome: YSA, c/o Cos­ 355-1124. 23rd St. Zip: 94110. Tel: (415) 282-6255. San MARYLAND: Baltimore: SWP, YSA, 2913 mos Andoloro, 7172 Rickmeyer Rd. Zip: 13440. WASHINGTON, D.C.: SWP, YSA, Jose: SWP,YSA, 46Vz Race St. Zip: 95126. Greenmount Ave. Zip: 21218. Tel: (301) 235- Stony Brook: YSA, P.O. Box 1384, Patchogue, 3106 Mt. Pleasant St. NW. Zip: 20010. Tel: Tel: '(408) 998-4007. Seaside: YSA, P .0. Box 0013. N.Y. Zip: 11772. (202)797-7699, 797-7021. 1645. Zip: 93955. Tel: (408) 394-1855. StQck­ MASSACHUSETIS: Boston: SWP, YSA, NORTH CAROLINA: Greensboro: SWP, WASHINGTON: Seattle: SWP, YSA, ton: YSA, c/o Ted Barratt and Gustavo Men­ 605 Massachusetts Ave. Zip: 02118. Tel: (617) YSA, 2219 E Market. Zip: 27401. Tel: (919) 5517 Rainier Ave. South. Zip: 98118. Tel: doza, 825 N. San Jose St. Zip: 95203. Tel: 247-6772. 272-5996. (206) 723-5330. (209) 941-8544. MICHIGAN: Detroit: SWP, YSA, 2135 OHIO: Cincinnati: SWP, YSA, 4945 Pad­ WEST VIRGINIA: Charleston: SWP, COLORADO: Denver: SWP, YSA, Tel: Woodward Ave. Zip:48201. Tel: (313)961-0395. dock Rd .. Zip: 45237. Tel: (513) 242-7161. YSA, 116 McFarland St. Zip: 25301. Tel: (304) (303) 733-3280. MINNESOTA: Austin: SWP, YSA, 407Yz N. Cleveland: SWP, YSA, 2521 Market Ave. Zip: 345-3040. Morgantown: SWP, YSA, 221 FLORIDA: Miami: SWP, YSA, 137 NE Main. Zip: 55912. Tel: (507) 433-3461. North­ 44113. Tel: (216) 861-6150. Columbus: YSA, Pleasant St. Zip: 26505. Tel: (304) 296- 54th St. Mailing address: P.O. Box 370486. Zip: field: YSA, c/o Heiko Koester and Pat Rombero, P.O. Box 02097. Zip: 43202. 0055. 33137. Tel: (305) 756-1020. Tallahassee: YSA, Carlton College. Zip: 55057. Tel: (507) 663- OREGON: Portland: SWP, YSA, 2732 NE WISCONSIN: Milwaukee: SWP, YSA, P.O. Box 20715. Zip: 32316. Tel: (904) 222- 4000, ext. 4570 or 4563. Twin Cities: SWP, Union. Zip: 97212. Tel: (503) 287-7416. 4707 W. Lisbon Ave. Zip: 53208. Tel: (414) 4434. YSA, 508 N. Snelling Ave., St. Paul. Zip: PENNSYLVANIA: Edinboro: YSA. c/o 445-2076.

12 The Militant July 31, 1987 Ortega, Tambo address 40,000 in Matagalpa

Continued from front page "the most powerful solidarity we can ex­ stressed, the contra aggression "is an inter­ sion, Ortega added, "is the deepening of the struggle all of humanity is waging for tend to you is to hasten the defeat of apart­ ventionist war whose aim is to destroy the the land reform, which has meant the the definitive elimination of racial dis­ heid and the establishment of a .nonracial, Sandinista People's Revolution." It is a granting of 5. 5 million acres of arable land crimination." democratic, and united South Africa." war that "resorts to all forms of aggression to 103,000 families" since the revolution The Carlos Fonseca award, Tambo told Tambo's speech was repeatedly inter­ and state terrorism on all fronts: military, triumphed. He pledged that the revolution the crowd, "is more than a recognition of rupted by enthusiastic applause and chants economic, social, political, and ideologi­ will "continue to grant land to all those the fact that we share a community of ob­ of "South Africa will win!" and "Free Nel­ cal." peasants who demand land to work." jectives, which are freedom, the right to son Mandela!" Since 1981, a total of 43,176 Nicara­ Ortega also singled out the role of the self-determination, democracy, peace, and Speaking after Tambo, Nicaraguan Pres­ guans, including contras, have been killed, autonomy process on the Atlantic Coast, progress. It is a recognition also of the fact ident Daniel Ortega reported that in a July wounded, or kidnapped in the U.S.-spon­ where most of Nicaragua's Blacks and In­ that our peoples are both facing the same 18 speech President Ronald Reagan had sored war, Ortega told the rally. In the first dians live. enemy: imperialism. While the people of called for more funds for the contras at­ half of 1987 alone, he reported, more than In fact, the day before, on July 18, an or­ Nicaragua have to confront U.S. im­ tacking Nicaragua. 6,000 Nicaraguans have been killed or ganization of Miskito Indians who had perialism directly, the people of South Af­ Nicaragua's answer, Ortega went on, is wounded, and material losses have fought against the Sandinista government, rica and N arnibia are confronting the U.S.­ to "demand more solidarity with the people amounted to $51.6 million. Pro-Peace KISAN, released a statement allied Pretoria regime." of South Africa and sanctions against the The negative effects on the economy are saluting the eighth anniversary of the revo­ Tambo also referred to the struggle of racist regime of South Africa!" compounded by the fact that almost half lution. They pledged to "continue deepen­ the national budget has to be earmarked for ing and consolidating the process of peace, Angola and Mozambique to defend their Cost of U.S. aggression autonomy, and development, threatened independence against the UNITA (Na­ military defense. Ortega described how the today by the s.trongest power on earth: U.S. tional Union for the Total Independence of The bulk of Ortega's speech focused on proportion of the Nicaraguan budget de­ imperialism." Angola) and Renamo (Mozambique Na­ the murderous U.S. contra war against voted to defense has increased, from tional Resistance) contras backed by the Nicaragua. "This is no 'low intensity around 20 percent in the years 1981-84, to Other factors in pushing back the contras South African and U.S. governments, in war,'" he emphasized. The strategists of 34 percent in 1985, a total of 38.5 percent have been the resettlement of peasants the same way that Nicaraguans have "been the Pentagon gave it that name, Ortega in 1986, and 46.3 percent in 1987. from war zones, and the amnesty law, forced to defend your revolution against said, "to calm the people of the United Nicaragua's economy has also been hard explained Ortega. Some 9,500 people who imperialism's surrogates." States, who fear that their youth may have hit by the world capitalist economic crisis left Nicaragua, many of them to join the to come and die in a new Vietnam in Cen­ and the unequal terms of trade between the contras, have returned to Nicaragua under "Just as your triumph of 1979 was a vic­ tral America." imperialist countries and underdeveloped the amnesty program. tory for our struggle," Tambo concluded, Far from "low intensity," Ortega nations. Low prices for Nicaragua's major Despite Nicaragua's victories and its in­ exports, such as coffee and cotton, have ternational support, "We must be clear that combined with a sharp decrease in produc­ at the moment there is no perspective, no tion brought about by the war. In 1981, possibility of negotiations with the U.S. U.S. armada threatens Iran Ortega reported, Nicaragua's exports government" to end the contra war, Ortega amounted to $449.8 million. By 1986 these Continued from front page after the Iraqi regime began.the war by in­ said. "And not because Nicaragua is an ob­ vading Iran. While the current resolution had dropped to only $229 million. stacle to these [negotiations], but because tiaircraft operations, is also heading for the Despite the crimes committed against demands that a cease-fire include a the government of the United States does gulf area. Nicaragua, and the economic pressures, pullback by Iranian forces, the 1980 mea­ not want a peaceful solution, does not want This will bring the size of Washington's the U.S. aggression "is being resisted and sure did not urge the withdrawal of Iraqi this revolution to remain alive, and wants armada in the region to more than two defeated by the [Nicaraguan] people," dozen ships. forces from Iranian territory they had to destroy it at whatever cost." seized. Ortega said. He went over the factors that Navy officials described the purpose of have determined this successful resistance. In these conditions, Ortega added, "we sending the Missouri-led task force to the need a dialogue between the governments region in terms that left little doubt that Campaign to isolate Iran First is the "fighting will of all sectors of of Central America. We need a dialogue they expect the ships to see action. The Washington had pressed hard for the Nicaraguan society who have joined the between the United States and Nicaragua. June 27 Washington Post cited them as de­ adoption of the resolution, which U.S. of­ Patriotic Military Service [Nicaragua's We need more decisive actions on the part scribing the role of the task force in the gulf ficials portray as legitimizing U.S. war draft] and the reserve batallions," he said. of the U.S. people so that we do not repeat as "an experiment in combining the fire­ moves in the region. Also decisive in defeating the aggres- a new Vietnam in Central America." power of the battleship with the electronic The UN resolution is part of a concerted eyes of an advanced-technology Aegis effort by the U.S. government and its im­ ship." perialist allies to set the stage for a military confrontation by isolating Iran diplomati­ -10AND25 YEARS AGO--- Iran targeted cally. fulness for the great battle that is beginning The Missouri "will have computerized In June, police in Britain detained an Ira­ THE MILITANT and that is going to decide the destiny of disks containing detailed maps of Iran to nian diplomat. The government of Mar­ Algeria and of Africa. guide the battleship's Tomahawk cruise garet Thatcher seized on this to initiate July 29, 1977 At every moment we sensed the sym­ missiles." steps that eventually reduced the embassies pathy that Ben Bella has for the Cuban rev­ Washington claims that its war moves of Iran in Britain and of the British govern­ NEW YORK - It seemed as if the olution. He knows Fidel's speeches, Che's against Iran are intended to protect the ment in Iran to one diplomat each. whole of this city's Black and Puerto Rican book, the Second Declaration -of Havana, "freedom of navigation" of "neutral ship­ The French government launched a dip­ Central and East Harlem was seized with and the many books and documents about ping" in the gulf. But the Kuwaiti regime is lomatic provocation of its own that led to one idea as the lights flickered out at 9:34 Cuba that have been published in Europe. far from neutral in the Persian Gulf con­ breaking diplomatic relations with Iran p.m., July 13-to get back some of what He enthusiastically recalled that each day flict. It is an active ally of the Iraqi regime July 17. had been taken_from them during years of in [a French] jail he and his comrades had of Saddam Hussein in its nearly seven-year The 'Reagan administration is also get­ cutbacks and layoffs, and callous gouging read our newspaper, Revoluci6n. war against Iran. by Harlem's merchants. ting sufficient bipartisan support from the "What are the perspectives and tasks of The Kuwaiti rulers have devoted a large Democratic-controlled Congress to enable Minutes after the blackout hit, large portion of the country's oil production to crowds had already begun forming. the revolution after the peace accords it to continue the military escalation in the [leading to independence]?" we asked. bankrolling the Iraqi war. Persian Gulf. Working in teams, those gathered on the War materiel for Iraq passes through streets began pulling open the heavy awn­ "The peace itself does not fulfill the ob­ Kuwait's port of Shuaiba - which has On July 8 the House of Representatives ings and gratings that guarded the more jectives of the revolution. The peace is a functioned as Iraq's main port since the voted by 283 to 126 to reject an amend­ opulent clothing, jewelry, and shoe shops. compromise. We need to transform this war shut down Iraq's ports. And Iraqi air­ ment that would have prevented the reflag­ Almost immediately the police came. situation toward the fundamental objec­ craft are permitted to fly over Kuwaiti ter­ ging of Kuwaiti tankers. The cops displayed none of the restraint for tives of the revolution. The reconversion ritory to bomb Iranian targets. The House then approved an amendment which liberal commentators have been sets before us the problem of time. If the It was the Iraqi regime - not Iran - to an appropriations measure recommend­ showering them with praise. With billy time were to be too extended, the revolu­ that began the attacks on gulf shipping in ing a 90-day delay in the plan. The U.S. clubs swinging and guns drawn, they tore tionary enthusiasm, the revolutionary 1981 and that massively escalated the Senate voted to urge "alternatives" to the into the crowds, beating and shoving spirit, the morale to struggle of our people . "tanker war" in 1984. It is the Iraqi regime reflagging . people to the pavement. would be liquidated. The revolutionary that resumed the attacks June 20 after a "The amendment," the Times explained, consciousness, the energy and enthusiasm month in which no ship had been hit. "was a way for the Democrats to distance of the Algerian people are the fundamental themselves from the reflagging proposal capital that must be directed toward the es­ U.S. backs Iraq's tanker war while avoiding direct opposition to the THE sential tasks of the revolution now, toward Top U.S. officials have clearly signaled plan." the construction of socialism later." And Ben Bella "-ontinued: "The first ob­ that they have no objection to the Iraqi air The congressional moves, which effec­ MILITANT Published in the Interests of .the W onin

July 31, 1987 The Militant 13 -EDITORIALS------What is the source of crime Are presidents above the law? in our society?

When Lt. Col. Oliver North appeared before the con­ Roosevelt's drive against "subversives." BY DOUG JENNESS gressional committee investigating the Iran-contra arms The 1939 executive order mandating the FBI to target We are publishing two letters in this issue on the court dealings, he insisted that everything he did was legal. "subversives" became a cornerstone of the network of ex­ decision acquitting Bernhard Goetz in the shooting of There could be no restrictions on his actions as a pres­ . ecutive orders and other measures that spurred the post­ four Black youths in New York (See page 15). The com­ idential appointee, North explained, because "the presi­ World War II witch-hunt against union militants and ments of both readers raise some questions about "crime" dent can do what he wants" with his own staff. other opponents of the government's policies. in our society. This offers an opportunity to present a ''The president of the United States is an elected offi­ In a 1977 television interview, former President socialist view on this issue. cial of this land. And by the Constitution, as I understand Richard Nixon summed up the broad powers claimed by Joseph Carroll argues that the main problem is un­ it, he is the person charged with making and carrying out presidents since Roosevelt to target opponents of U.S. employment. Unless Black youths get jobs, "unrest, the foreign policy of this country." North argued that his policy: · mugging, and robberies will continue to prevail." own actions were legal because they were in "furtherance "When the president does it, that means it is not ille­ But the flaw in this argument is that it assumes the of the foreign policy established by the president." gal ... ." source of "crime" in our society is unemployed workers There is nothing new about this broad assertion of These claims of virtually totalitarian authority are nec­ presidential power - although it has no basis in the Con­ essary because the task of the U.S. government - pre­ stitution. serving the exploitation of workers and farmers around For 50 years U.S. presidents have claimed virtually the world by a handful of billionaire U.S. families - run LEARNING ABOUT unlimited executive authority to carry out actions ranging counter to the democratic rights guaranteed in the Con­ from waging war abroad to violating the provisions of the stitution. SOCIALISM Bill of Rights at home. · The rulers' interests require dragging U.S. working Under the Constitution, for example only Congress people into increasingly unpopular wars against peoples and the poor, particularly Black youth. The logic of this can declare war. But although Congress has not declared fighting for freedom from domination by U.S. big busi­ view is that if joblessness can't be eliminated right away, any war since World War II, wars have been waged in ness. The rulers require measures to weaken the unions, we have to either accept this problem or repress poor Korea, Indochina, and Central America on the authority push back the gains of Blacks and women, and reduce people. In other words, "Since poverty still exists, give of the president. workers' living standards. This course necessitates in­ me a gun." Or: "Let's get the cops in there and control This sweeping claim of presidential power began dur­ creasingly extensive use of presidential directives - those poor people, since they breed crime - unfortu­ ing the administration of President Franklin Roosevelt. often secret - backed up by covert operations that the nately." Some of the facts about this were brought to light in the rulers frequently dare not publicly admit to, much less Carroll shows the result of this logic. His complaint 1981 trial of the suit brought by the Socialist Workers submit to democratic debate and decision. against Goetz is that he used "excessive force," not that Party and the Young Socialist Alliance against the FBI But this growing concentration of powers in the presi­ he was acting as a vigilante. He assumes that Goetz and other government police agencies. dency has not made it possible for the U.S. rulers to roll should have been carrying a gun, but that in this particu­ One of the government's chief witnesses at the trial back the advances of liberation struggles in Cuba, Cen­ lar situation, "the display of a gun ... would have been was Deputy Assistant Attorney General Robert Keuch. tral America, Vietnam, or elsewhere. Nor have they been adequate." As if threatening someone with a gun isn't an Making a case similar to North's, Keuch asserted that the able to decisively turn back the democratic and social act of violence. president has the "inherent power" under the Constitution gains won by workers and farmers in this country. The problem with using abstract categories such as "to protect our government against those who would seek This failure underlies the successive exposures of the "crime" is that it obscures the all-important fact that dif­ to change it by unlawful means." government's secret operations against working people, ferent classes in society have different views on the ques­ Under his "inherent power" to violate the Bill of from the revelations sparked by the Bay of Pigs invasion tion of crime and of lawbreaking, depending upon which Rights, Keuch explained that in 1939 Roosevelt ordered of Cuba in 1961 to the exposure of the FBI's Cointelpro laws are broken. the FBI to go after the SWP and other allegedly "subver­ (Counter-Intelligence Program) operations against the For example, who were the lawbreakers in the 1985- sive" groups. civil rights and antiwar movements to the recent exposes 86 meat-packers strike against Hormel in Austin, Min­ Keuch stressed that one did not have to advocate or concerning U.S. backing of _the contras. nesota? Gov. Rudy Perpich, who mobilized the National commit any unlawful act in order to qualify as a "subver­ Guard to herd scabs for the employers; or the unionists, sive" under the order. The Federal authorities merely had The suit brought by the SWP and YSA against the gov­ who were attempting to win a better contract by keeping to judge that a target was "acting inimically to our form ernment has contributed to this process. By bringing the plant closed? of government." some of the crimes against these organizations to public From the standpoint of working people, the entire "There are simply ways- that individuals and groups view and winning an August 1986 court ruling that gov­ capitalist system has been a criminal system from its be­ may act that may not necessarily constitute violations of ernment spying on and disruption of the socialists' polit­ ginning. the criminal statutes," Keuch stated. ical activity is illegal, the suit added to the obstacles the The capitalists will violate any law when necessary. government faces in putting its totalitarian claims into He said that those whom Roosevelt had targeted for They have unleashed the greatest crimes in history practice. Now the socialists are pressing for an injunction spying and disruption beginning in 1939 were first and through their wars, and used atomic weapons against the barring the use of millions of files on the SWP and YSA foremost people "who were trying to influence public Japanese people. To maintain their rule, they spawned that were illegally gathered by the government. opinion to keep the United States out of war, to keep us the most "criminal" movement ever to appear- fascism. neutral." Since the president had secretly set a course to­ This continuing battle against Washington's 50-year Today, their policies breed massive famines. And they ward full-scale U.S. participation in the war, opposition domestic covert operation against the Bill of Rights de­ hold all of humanity hostage to the threat of universal nu­ to this policy became "subversive" long before Congress serves the strong support of unionists, farmers, and clear destruction. wa8 asked to declare war. everyone else with a stake in defending democratic And this doesn't account for the day-to-day criminal The labor movement became a prime target of rights. violence against working people due to hazardous work­ ing conditions, fatigue, and countless indignities perpe­ trated by the employers. Part of the criminality of capitalism, although not sep­ arate from or opposed to it, is what is called organized crime. This is the illegal side of business- drugs, pros­ titution, and gambling. It is tqose aspects of business that 'Subversives' lists in Puerto Rico the capitalist class as a whole illegalizes, usually for ideological reasons related to public relations necessary The government of Puerto Rico has admitted the exis­ Puerto Rican independence movement. Washington to maintain its rule. tence of lists of so-called subversives compiled by the In­ wants to portray these lawyers, as well as their clients and For employers, the criminals are the toilers, particu­ telligence Division of the Puerto Rican Police. Main­ Puerto Rican lawyers, as "subversive." larly those that express any kind of resistance to their ex­ ploitation. tained for decades, these lists include members of civic Claridad noted that the police lists date from the and religious organizations, unionists, members of left For example, there's always a little bit of getting your 1950s. A list of alleged subversives, including more than own back on the job-tools, building materials, etc.­ and liberal parties, and supporters of independence for 40,000 names, was discovered at the time of an October Puerto Rico. or ripping off some wealth - a robbery of a bank or 1950 nationalist uprising on the island colony. This roster jewelry store. This is lawbreaking. But it's also a primi­ The existence of the files was revealed by one of the was used to arrest more than 1,000 Puerto Ricans, none tive form of rebellion against exploitation. Its limitation police agents convicted a few weeks ago for the 1978 of whom had anything to do with the uprising. is that it is individual, projecting a social war of one murders of two independence activists at Cerro The FBI had already established a Custodial Detention against all. Maravilla. The two were ambushed by cops on the re­ List in 1940 of those the government deemed to be "secu­ It leads toward ineffective individualism, not toward mote mountaintop after being lured there by a police rity threats" iri the United States. Thousands of people collective political organization of the class. agent who had infiltrated the independence movement. were placed on this hit list and subjected to harassment There is also all kinds of violence within the working "A big part of the responsibility for this list falls on the and gross invasion of privacy simply because Washing­ class- assault, murder, robbery, ripping each other off. FBI, which created, developed, and maintains the Intelli­ ton didn't like their ideas. The FBI claims the list was This results from the demoralization that capitalist rule gence Division" of the police department, declared discontinued in 1976. brings into the working class. It leads to the breakdown Claridad, a proindependence and socialist newspaper, in Following the revelation by the police agent in the of elementary human solidarity. a July 16 editorial. "In practice," Claridad continued, Cerro Maravilla case, the Puerto Rican House of Repre­ But the answer to this is not for all of us to arm our­ "these 'intelligence' agents work for the FBI, and the FBI sentatives adopted a resolution demanding that the gov­ selves and shoot it out inside the working class. Or to get uses these lists in carrying out its repression." That issue ernment turn over the lists of names to that body. Two the cops to do it for us. Our response has got to be in the of Claridad printed 998 of the estimated 60,000 names suits have been brought against the government. One, by opposite direction. on the lists. a representative of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, It's been repeatedly shown that violence in the work­ These files are not only at the disposal of the FBI and demands that the documents not be tampered with or hid­ ing class declines when there is a working-class upsurge other U.S. police agencies, but an arrangement between den. The other, brought by the former president of the and increased solidarity. There's no sign that it is greatly the political police and large corporations on the island Lawyers Association, demands that the lists be declared affected by the ups and downs of the business cycle, by allows the lists to be used to screen job applicants as well. illegal and unconstitutional. changes in unemployment levels. The lists include the names of 16 activists fighting for The discovery of the "subversives" lists exposes the Rather, it's with the rise of politicized, organized, Puerto Rican independence who are being framed up by amount of disruption activities carried out by the FBI and class-struggle action and the self-confidence of the work­ the U.S. government on charges of robbing a Wells other U.S. police agencies in the colony of Puerto Rico. ing class that violence inside the working class will di­ Fargo depot in 1983 in Hartford, Connecticut. Most of U.S. working people, many of whom are victimized by minish. the defendants were arrested by FBI agents who invaded the same police agencies here, have a vital interest in And it's precisely this kind of working~class solidarity Puerto Rico in August 1985, raiding the homes and of­ joining with their Puerto Rican brothers and sisters in that is necessary for building a revolutionary mass move­ fices of dozens of people. condemning the compilation of "subversives" lists and ment that will overturn the ·political rule of the truly The list also names the defendants' U.S. lawyers, who demanding that the FBI and other U.S. police agencies criminal classes in our society- the landlords, indus­ are not Puerto Rican and who have had no ties to the get out of Puerto Rico. trialists, bankers, and big merchants.

July 31, 1987 . ;~ , ... -. . . - Protests against ravaging of tropical rain forests

BYPIDLCLARK Their demand: That the government designate "extrac­ dams, mines, and military testing ranges." In the sylvan peace of tropical jungles in three widely tive preserves" where tropical forests will be left for the This struggle began with the Chipko movement of separated areas, combined ecological-economic prob­ local people to manage. peasants and women of the Himalayan foothills of north­ em India. lems are pushing long-exploited peoples into angry, or­ At stake are the .livelihoods and the way of life of the ganized action. This is happening in Brazil, India, and jungle dwellers who work in the rain forests by lightly A woman Chipko activist is quoted as saying: "Before Puerto Rico. harvesting wild products, a process that has left the there were forests all over the hills around here and plenty In Brazil, the rubber tappers - seringueiros - have habitat undamaged. of water and fodder for animals. The crops were wonder­ ful. But these hypocrites who talk of 'scientific' plans Now the habitats are being destroyed by cattle ranchers have swept the jungle clean. PROTECTING OUR and huge government resettlement programs that, at first, "They have destroyed the water and fodder, they have seem brilliantly successful. forced our men to go outside for work, and then they But the ranchers are making hay while the sun shines would teach us about forest protection!" ENVIRONMENT - or, more exactly, while the thin layer of fragile rain­ (The word Chipko refers to the nonviolent defense of forest soil remains viable. the trees, embracing them when the axman comes.) seen a slow decline in the numbers of the wild rubber After a few years at most, the leached, exhausted soil A young Bhil tribal organizer in western India is trees along their routes through the jungle. gives out and the ranchers, pockets stuffed with profits, quoted, speaking at a tribal forest conference with 50 Others- including Brazil's Indians, who rely on the leave for new fields to conquer and deplete. area villages represented: plants and animals of the rain forest - have also felt the "Only tribals can save the forests! If this exploitation pressures of capitalist development on their lives. These projects are similar to those of the "turf busters" by the contractors keeps up, we will stop the lumber The sudden break-in of road builders, loggers, and cat­ of the U.S. West who buy and plow thin-soiled prairie trucks from going out of the hills. tle ranchers have evoked a quick response from the land and grow bonanza crops for three or four years until "If they are planting only commercial trees, we will 500,000 jungle dwellers, led by the militant rubber tap­ the land is exhausted. tear up their nurseries. pers. Most of the bankrolling for the Brazilian get-rich­ "Deforestation is leading to drought all over, and mis­ The July-August issue of the Garden, organ of 16 U.S. quick schemes comes from the World Bank, the Inter­ ery for us. Put the forests under our control and help us botanical and horticultural societies, described it this American Development Bank, and mainly U.S. private get the knowledge and resources for scientific forestry, way: banks and corporations. and we can stop it!" "In what may be the first grasSl:oots conservation Particularly ruinous are the monocultural plantations A report from India is found in the British publication, movement to spring from the Third World, Brazil's rub­ (all of one tree- such as teak or eucalyptus. Funding for Race and Class (Vol. 28, No. 4, 1987). It says that in ber harvesters have come out of the shade of tropical trees . these devastating enterprises comes from the World Bank to protest the threat to their livelihood from deforestation. 1972 "the Third World's first grassroots ecology move­ and other financial groups. ment burst out in the Himalayan foothills. ''The rubber tappers recently organized under a na­ tional council, virtually unheard of in South America "By today, at least in India, peasants whose lives are Phil Clark is the former editor of Horticulture where the underclass has little political voice. being disrupted by environmental destruction have magazine and a founder ofGreen Flag, a Chicago-based Together with rural workers and native Indians, the grown so desperate that they are halting work on such organization that links the struggle for environmental rubber tappers recently led a march to save the forests." shibboleths of development and national independence as protection with the fight for social justice. -LETTERS------Goetz I appalled at the treatment of Good (yet) as to what I would change the name to. But I hope you will con­ There are two grievous faults Lad employees by their medieval sider the idea. I would would love with the court decision that exon­ Mary Queen of Scots descendant, employers. to see this publication on every erated Bernhard Goetz in the kitchen table from here to Florida. shooting of four Black youths. Are we back in the dark ages? A Matt Mero First, I believe Goetz used ex­ cake· for several 12-hour, 7-day SCOUT'S Seattle, Washington cessive force in defending himself week shifts? It's 1987, not 1950, HONOR against an apparent attack, which when a paycheck would go fur­ never occurred. I am sure that the ther. I mean get with it! Mexico display of a gun by Goetz would D. Henning You have a very interesting have been adequate to call a halt to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania paper that seems to cover a lot of the fracas. Also, if it were a Black conflicts taking pliu;:e all over the man shooting four white, mis­ Plant-gate·sales world, and especially in Central chievous youths, he would have I noticed the demise of the America, with the problem in Nic­ been railroaded to jail, without plant-gate sales column in the last aragua. delay. two Militants. But for once, I would like to see The second, more serious fault Too bad for Pittsburgh. We've your newspaper write about a is that the jury failed to point to the geared up these sales for the first problem that is right under the role and responsibility of society time in the two years I've been noses of the American people, and and the government to show that here. that's the southern borders of the the reason for this behavior by We're focusing on United Steel­ United States and the friendly na­ many Black youths is because they workers and United Mine Workers tion of Mexico. are unable to acquire the means of union sites. This week we sold 1, Maybe it's time to send one of living an American standard of 3, and 6 papers at 3 steel mills and your journalists into Mexico to life. With more than 25 percent of 3, 5, and 13 at portals of mines or­ write about how U.S. imperialism Black youths unemployed, how ganized by the United Mine Work­ and capitalist domination has af­ are they supposed to exist? In the ers. A total of 31. More than we fected Mexico and its people. past, work programs helped to al­ sold at those locations in the last R.Z. leviate some of this hardship, but year, I'm sure. Gilroy, California Reagan and company has put an At the mine where we sold the end to this in favor of military most, miners face some especially Irish solidarity spending. harsh attacks by their company. A reception for Sinn Fein leader Unless legislation is pas_sed to Michael Pennock Martha McClelland brought to­ provide jobs for all unemployed, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania gether more than 50 activists from at union wages, conditions of un­ the Irish and Puerto Rican move- rest, muggings, and robberies will . Every kitchen table ments at a community center on continue to prevail. I started reading the Militant a Manhattan's Upper West Side July Joseph Carroll couple months ago. I have been 12. Sinn Fein is a revolutionary Newark, New Jersey amazed to discover that it carries nationalist party that works for a news and background information - united, independent Ireland free of Goetz II on the current issues that I do not British domination. I am a white male, 34 years of find in any mainstream news Rafael Anglada LOpez, an attor- ney for the 16 Puerto Rican inde- age, and at present am confined in coverage. pendence fighters on trial in prison for violating the law. I hap­ The Militant is the only place I Hartford, Connecticut, spoke in pened upon one of your issues, have seen any mention of the re- solidarity with the Irish nationalist June 26. cent Sandinista capture of a contra movement, pointing out the influ­ As a lawbreaker, I am afraid I base, the congressional vote to re- ence of Irish nationalism on Puerto have to side with Goetz. Strange? strict travel to Nicaragua, and a Rican independence leader Pedro Not really. You see, I fully accept well-informed, honest article on Albizu Campos. McClelland urged the Irish Correction the fact that if I mug, rob, rape, or the history of and situation in McClelland vividly described movement to seek broader support The speaker in the photograph break and enter that these people Panamanian politics. the British occupation of northeast in this country and called on activ­ on page 3 of the July 17 Militant is have the right to use deadly force Every time I pick it up, I wish Ireland, which involves more than ists to join the August 30 demonstra­ against me. It is called the risk fac­ incorrectly identified. He is Don that a few million others in this na- 30,000 troops and paramilitary tion in support of the Hartford 16. White of the Los Angeles chapter tor. If I myself caught someone tion were doing the same. So I ask police. Marc Lichtman - harming me or my family, I would of the Committee in Solidarity myself, why aren't more people Discussing the country's dismal New York, New York kill them with no regrets. with the People of El Salvador reading it? economic situation; she explained (CISPES). A prisoner Good paper London, Ohio I think the Militant never that Ireland can be viewed as a reaches a lot of people because of Third World country: the south of Good newspaper. You don't cut :rhe letters column is an open its name. · The word "militant" Ireland has the highest per capita comers on your opinions or ideas. forum for all viewpoints on sub­ 'Workers get cake' connotes violence ·to most people foreign debt of any country in the You. always report on important is­ jects of general interest to our After reading the June 19 Mili­ and violent revolution to many. I world, including Mexico and sues, and I get a personal experi­ readers. Please keep your letters tant article, "Workers get cake for think the word turns most people Brazil. Since the. early 1980s the ence from the issues instead of just brief. Where necessary they will 12-hour days, 7-day weeks" by off; it did me when I first saw the lack of jobs has forced the emigra­ entertainment. be abridged. Please indicate if Richard Gaeta, a presser at Good cover. tion of thousands of Irish youth to M.L. you p("efer that your initials be Lad, I was not only astonished but I ·don't have any suggestions the United States Atlanta, Georgia used rather than your full name.

July 31, 1987 THE MILITANT Colo. miners fighting for a contract Company tries to do away with union rights on job

BY MARY GREY OAK CREEK, Colo. - The United Mine Workers of America (UMW A) won contracts at a number of Western mines in May after hard-fought strikes. But, Col­ orado Yampa Coal Co. (CYCC) has re­ fused to sign a contract. Some 45 members of UMWA Local 1344 have been on strike since April 22. Miners here told the Militant that CYCC is trying to get them to accept a union-bust­ ing scheme. The company will pay them $18 an hour if the UMW A members agree to give up all rights to bid on jobs, and to do away with job classifications and seniority. Jerry Nelson, a member of both the strike committee and the negotiating come mittee, explained that the company's aim is to eliminate jobs and, if possible, do away with the union. He said being paid $18 an hour means nothing if an electrician can be forced to drive a truck and vice versa. Nelson said that the Yampa mine has been a union operation since it opened in the 1950s. In past negotiations, CYCC Militant/Nancy Burton would sign basically the same contract agreed to at Peabody Coal and Pittsburg & United Mine Workers offices in Hayden, Colorado. Area miners are helping Local1344 fight union-busting attack, and seven Midway mines in the West. This time it UMW A locals are sponsoring July 25 "UMWA unity rally." was different. Though the union agreed to continue working under the old contract 1344 clearly is winning community sup­ while negotiations continued, the company port. Virtually every storefront window in rejected a contract extension. Oak Creek, with the exception of the police TWA ordered to reinstate "We're up against the Steamboat Pilot (a station, prominently displays a "We sup­ local newspaper), the judge, and the port UMW A" sign. Wives of the strikers, sheriff/' Nelson said. The sheriff has been members of th~ Communications Workers 1,500 flight attendants helping to herd 11 scabs into the mine. of America, and UMW A members from other locals are participating in the picket and Naturalization Service had issued The company has bought full-page ads BY MARCIA HALVERSON lines. Rail workers are refusing to drive CLEVELAND - The United States "easy visas" to flight attendants from in local papers slandering the UMWA. coal trains to the mine. Europe to come into the United States to "Children have been brought to witness the Court of Appeals has ordered Trans World Miners explain that this is UMW A coun­ Airlines (TWA) to reinstate 1,500 former work on TWA planes. spectacle of their parents shouting A few details may help explain the is­ obscenities at our employees who chose try and they intend to keep it that way. strikers who ale members of the Indepen­ Seven UMW A locals in the area joined to­ dent Federation of Flight Attendants sues at stake in the unanimous decision by not to strike," an ad in the Hayden Valley the United States Court of Appeals on May Press complained. A judge has limited the gether to sponsor a "UMWA unity rally" (IFFA). on July 25. After taking over the reins at TWA in 26 of this year. number of pickets the union can have to The court ruled that TWA had violated six. Messages of support can be sent to 1985, corporate raider Carl Ieabo de­ UMWA Local 1344, Oak Creek, Colo., manded that most unions at the airline take the Railway Labor Act by hiring 463 trainees after the union had announced it In spite of these attacks, UMWA Local 80467. a 15 percent pay cut. But he told the IFF A membership, which is 85 percent female, was willing to return to work. The decision that we had to take a 44 percent wage and upheld the union's contention that TWA benefit cut. was trying to change its long-standing em­ Ill. miners seek union recognition He said the additional cut was necessary ployment practices so it could recognize since "you girls aren't breadwinners" and trainees who had never worked for the air­ BY BOB ALLEN employed miners have set up camp near the that we were only working for "second line prior to May 17, 1986, as regular, full­ OAKLAND, Ill. - On July 12, mem­ picket line for days at a time. [family] incomes." time "employees." bers of the United Mine Workers of Amer­ The company is trying to defeat the IFF A went on strike to resist Ieabo' s de­ That was TWA's way of trying to pre­ ica (UMW A) struck the Miracle Mine here strike by operating with management and mands. Ieabo hired replacement worker-s. vent union members from being able to re­ seeking union recognition. scabs. The union has been building up the The six-week strike ended in May 1986 . turn to work. Last October, Energy Resources began picket lines. On the second day, union when IFF A made an "unconditional offer" The second part of the decision con­ construction on the Miracle Mine located members convinced six of the seven scabs to return to work in order to save our jobs. cerned some 1 ,000 union members who outside Oakland near the Indiana border. not to come back the next day. But more This had become necessary since the crossed the picket lines during the strike. At flfSt, the owner publicly expressed dis­ are expected to try to cross the picket line. Federal Aviation Association (FAA) had TWA tried to give them "permanent re­ interest in whether or not the workers were On the third day of the strike, my given TWA permission to reduce its train­ placement" status as a way of cutting UMW A members. UMWA local, along with other miners' ing time for flight attendants from five across seniority. The judges said this dis­ That is until eight of the 12 workers union members, participated on the picket weeks to only 18 days and the Immigration criminated against union members "on the doing the mine construction signed line and discussed the issues with the strik­ basis of the degree of their union activity" UMWA cards. Since then, he has refused ers. and was TWA's way of trying to induce to bargain with the union. Conditions described to us were subject "members of the work force to abandon the to both jokes and outrage. In violation of strike." The ruling also noted TWA's at­ This follows a recent trend of nonunion federal and state law, some shifts work tempt to create "long-term division among mines opening in Illinois. Until the 1980s without a hoist operator. This is the only the work force." all major mines in the state were union op­ means of mechanical transportation out of TWA can appeal the decision to the Su­ erations. Then Shell Oil and Kerr-McGee the slope, which is now more than 500 feet preme Court. sunk large mines and are determined to deep. Government inspectors refuse to en­ IFF A members consider this an impor­ keep them nonunion. While these non­ force this or any of the other safety laws. tant victory. It comes more than a year union mines are running at full capacity, Workers are being paid a flat weekly rate after the strike's end. Flight attendants talk union miners have suffered extensive with no extra pay for overtime. Recently, about how difficult the waiting has been. layoffs and many mines in the state have management has been forcing them to put Many union members have had to declare been shut down. in 12-hour days. bankruptcy, and many have lost their If the strike is won, the union will repre­ Solidarity is strong on the picket line and homes and cars. sent the mine construction workers. But there is a sense of the importance of this More than 3,000 strikers, however, with 250 miners projected to be hired once strike for the union. The UMW A has the were not affected by the decision. For them the construction is completed, the UMW A opportunity to draw the line against non­ the waiting goes on. IFFA hasa bad-faith will be in a strong position to win a contract union coal companies operating in the state bargaining lawsuit against TWA that is in for the entire operation. and strengthen our position for the 1988 the early stages. The most junior flight at­ The UMW A International and districts 6 national contract fight. tendant covered by the current decision and 12 in Illinois are encouraging union started work at TWA in August 1966. members from across the state to help out Bob Allen is a member of UMWA Local TWA flight attendants during 1986 on the picket line. One group of un- 2295 in Albers, Illinois. strike. Marcia Halverson is an IFFA member.

16 The Militant July 31, 1987