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Anti-Apartheid Defiance Spreads in South Africa

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Anti-Apartheid Defiance Spreads in South Africa Fidel Castro's speech THE in Camagiiey, July 26 International Socialist Review pages 9-12 A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE VOL. 53/NO. 32 SEPTEMBER 1, 1989 $1.00 Anti-apartheid defiance Eastern strikers spreads in South Africa appeal to Gov't violence unleashed to halt protests subcontract BY RONI McCANN Rubber bullets, whips, police dogs, guns, workers truncheons, tear gas. News reports out of South Africa list the weapons used by police BY SUSAN LaMONT against striking workers, schoolchildren, pro­ NEW YORK-On August 21 some 20 testers, and students, the majority of whom striking Eastern Airlines workers and sup­ are Black, as the campaign of defiance porters set up picket lines at three sites at La against apartheid continues. Guardia Airport, in addition to the regular daily picket there. The regime has met the peaceful campaign The added picket lines were aimed at with force and violence. The defiance efforts reaching workers at Hudson General, a sub­ are aimed at Pretoria's repressive and segre­ gationist laws, which severely restrict politi­ contracting company hired by Eastern to do cal activity. fueling, ramp, and cleaning work on flights restarted by the company in July. The strikers' The third week of August brought a sweep union, International Association of Machin­ of arrests of anti-apartheid leaders, including ists Local1018, organized the picketing. Mohammed Valli, acting general secretary of the United Democratic Front, arrested on Au­ Hudson General workers, who make little gust 18. more than minimum wage and have few ben­ The defiance campaign was launched efits, are also lAM members. nearly four weeks ago by the Mass Demo­ Strikers gathered at Local 1018's union cratic Movement, an alliance of restricted hall near the airport before the sun came up anti-apartheid groups. to make picket signs and organize into teams. Since 1986 when the South African regime Strikers' signs read, "Stop Hudson General imposed a state of emergency, many political scabbing." Everyone had leaflets in English organizations have been banned by the gov­ and Spanish directed to "our brothers and ernment and forced to function under difficult sisters at Hudson General." conditions. In 1987-88 new restrictions were "While the fight at Eastern has always been imposed, making this situation even more a fight of the entire membership of the lAM," unbearable. The defiance of these laws today the leaflet explains, "it is now directly and is a fight for more legal space in which to immediately a fight of the /AM at Hudson operate politically. General. Hudson has entered the battle at "We have come to the position where we Eastern on the side of Frank Lorenzo. In New can't accept being restricted, or where we York and Boston Hudson General is provid­ can't accept a meeting being banned," said ing scabs to replace striking members of the Thabo Mbeki, director of international affairs lAM. This goes against the time-honored for the African National Congress of South Afrapix-Impact Visuals/Cedric Nunn principle that unions do not allow the compa­ Africa (ANC). Johannesburg, July 1989. Delegates arrive at the third national congress of the nies they organize to do work for other com­ Efforts are also aimed at apartheid's segre­ Congress of South African Trade Unions. COSATU called for a week of action leading panies where workers are on strike." Similar Continued on Page 2 up to the September 6 parliamentary elections as part of defiance campaign. companies, such as Ogden Allied and Servair, have also been hired in other cities. The leaflet appeals for solidarity from Hudson General workers and explains their stake in the Eastern fight. "If we are able to Behind government shift in Poland defeat Lorenzo's union-busting, this will put our union in a better position to fight for the BY DOUG JENNESS conditions are deteriorating. Rates of serious and led by workers in Poland's shipyards, living wage and decent working conditions The appointment ofTadeusz Mazowiecki, diseases have been increasing sharply during steel plants, and coal mines. They forged an that you deserve. We, the strikers at Eastern, a leader of the Solidarity union movement, as the 1980s, and life expectancy has been fall­ alliance with farmers and inspired students, pledge our support in that fight." the prime minister of Poland, reflects the ing. mobilizing millions in a country of 38 million The leaflet invites Hudson General work­ deepening crisis facing the Polish Commu­ Measures taken by the CP-led government people. Out of this struggle for improvements ers to stop by or call Local 1018's strike nist Party and the bureaucratic caste it serves. have failed to reverse the crisis. These have Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 6 The privileged bureaucracy that has domi­ included attempts to stimulate capitalist busi­ nated Poland for the more than 40 years since ness. Private companies, for example, have capitalism was overturned has not lost power been extended more legal rights. Price controls, which to some extent have kept food and other prices down, are being 'Militant' supporters to set goals NEWS lifted. More than 50 percent of. such controls have already been eliminated. An increase on for Sept. 9-Nov. 12 sales drive August 1 jacked up the price of sugar 42 ANALYSIS percent, flour 100 percent, butter 77 percent, BY SUSAN LaMONT An important component of the drive and ham 277 percent. As the September 9 kickoff date for an will be selling every new subscriber a to Solidarity. But it has been forced to admit Moreover, the government's attempts to international circulation drive nears, Mil­ copy of the Action Program to Confront that it can't govern without the help of this make their manufactured export goods more itant supporters around the world are dis­ the Coming Economic Crisis. organization, which has considerable credi­ competitive on the world capitalist market cussing the goals they will be taking. The basis of the proposed goal is the bility among Poland's working people. have failed. Supporters of the paper in Australia, success of an eight-week circulation The economic and political difficulties fac­ As conditions have gotten worse, the re­ New Zealand, Sweden, Britain, Canada, drive earlier this year that topped by 16 ing the bureaucratic castes throughout East­ sentment of working people has mounted and the United States, Iceland, France, and percent its goal of winning 8,000 new ern Europe and the Soviet Union are espe­ protest strikes have increased. Last year two Puerto Rico will be participating in the readers. cially acute in Poland. Economic stagnation rounds of strikes sounded a warning to the nine-week drive. To get the campaign off to a strong start and low levels of labor productivity com­ bureaucracy about the possibility of a revolt The overall goal is to win 9,000 new international distributors are projecting a pared to capitalist Europe plague the country. like the one in 1980 -81 that gave rise to readers for the Militant, the Spanish-lan­ September 9-16 kickoff week. During Inflation, which was about 60 percent a year Solidarity. guage monthly Perspectiva Mundial, the this eight-day period, supporters of the ago, is running at an annual rate of 100 per­ This led to a series of discussions between French-language quarterly Lutte publications will be taking special mea­ cent today. Chronic shortages of food and government officials and Solidarity leaders, ouvriere, and the Marxist magazines New sures to organize extra sales efforts. other necessities are worsening the living resulting _in the organization's regaining its International and Nouvelle lnternatio­ Militant readers are urged to join in the conditions of working people. legal standing in April of this year and to its nale. international campaign to win new read­ participation in the June parliamentary elec­ Before the drive ends November 12, ers for the socialist press. If you would Cut back on medical care tions. There it made an impressive showing, supporters plan to sell 5,800 introductory like to take on a goal, or order copies of Moreover, many social benefits are being winning 99 of 100 seats in the Senate in or renewal subscriptions to the Militant, the publications, write to the Militant at slashed. Last year, for example, the govern­ addition to the 161 seats assigned to it in the 1,400 to Perspective Mundial, and 400 to the address on page 2. ment cut back on Poland's free medical care, 460-member legislative assembly. Solidarity Lutte ouvriere, to workers, farmers, A scoreboard listing the goals for each forcing people to pay for drugs and hospital had been outlawed since the December 1981 youth, and political activists from Price, city, town, and/or country will be pub­ services. This was the officialdom's response military crackdown. Utah, to Stockholm, Sweden. lished soon in the Militant. to growing protests by workers that hospital The 1980 -81 upsurge was spearheaded Crisis in Poland leads to gov't shifts Continued from front page are usually presented by their supporters, per­ vance to a broader understanding of them­ kenly anticommunist. Many are champion­ in living and working conditions and more estroika and glasnost are a counter reform selves as part of an international class of ing wider use of capitalist economic methods say in the economic and political life of the effort by the crisis-ridden bureaucratic caste workers fighting against exploitation and op­ along the lines of Gorbachev's proposals to country, Solidarity, a mass union organization to try to head off the kind of revolt that pression, from Angola to El Salvador, and try to solve the economic crisis.
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