General Strike· Hits S. Africa; 100,000 March in New York
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TH£ Nicaragua offers land to U.S. farmers 2 Protest hits racist attack in Cleveland 3 Telephone workers angry at AT&T 3 . A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE VOL. 50/NO. 25 JUNE 27, 1986 75 CENTS General strike·hits S. Africa; 100,000 march in New York Masses defy 'Break all repressive• ties with attacks apartheid' BY NORTON SANDLER "A resounding success. The greatest na BY RASHAAD ALI tional strike in the history of South Africa. NEW YORK - The largest anti-apart An act of defiance before South African heid demonstration ever held in the United military might." This was how African Na States took place here June 14. Close to tional Congress President Oliver Tambo 100,000 people converged on Central described June 16 in South Africa, when Park's Great Lawn to demand that Wash millions of workers stayed home. They ington break all U.S. ties to the racist gov were protesting the apartheid regime's re ernment of South Africa. pression and commemorating the lOth an "Remember Soweto" was one of the niversary of the 1976 rebellion in the Black main chants of the day . The protest was township of Soweto, an important land called to commemorate the lOth anniver~ mark in the history of the South African sary of the 1976 uprising in Soweto, South freedom struggle. Africa, where hundreds of students were Most of the country came out of a killed in cold blood by the South African standstill during the strike, which took rulers. place in the midst of the most sweeping re The action occurred in the midst of a Part of crowd on June 14 in Central Park Continued on Page 10 sharp escalation of repression and violence by the Pretoria government, including the banning of any activities commemorating the Soweto events. On June 12 a nation wide state of emergency was imposed, AU out to back Minn. meatpackers! leading to the arrest and imprisonment of thousands of anti-apartheid fighters . Unionists, farmers, students, and fight Hansen sent deputies to take over the of A P-9 retiree who is a butcher-shop owner was threatened. His son received a The New York protesters vented their ers for the rights of Blacks, Latinos, and fices leased by P-9 in the Austin Labor anger at both Pretoria and its supporters in letter explaining that if their shop dido 't women should come to Austin, Minnesota, Center. He sent copies of the court order to Washington. start selling Hormel meat they would be in June 22-28 to support the struggle of Local local banks with a cover letter demanding The anger was expressed in such chants violation of the court order. P-9 United Food and Commercial Workers that they freeze the funds of P-9 and the as "Reagan, Botha you can't hide; we Despite the brutality of these attacks by (UFCW) against the Hormel meatpacking United Support Group, an independent or charge you with genocide," "Free Man the officialdom, backed by the courts, the company. ganization that provides emergency finan deJa, jail Botha," and "Death to apartheid!" P-9 membership refused to capitulate. At a A big and broad show of support is ur cial relief to the strikers and their families . Support for the African National Con June I 1 news conference in St. Paul, Min gently needed as this battle against union- On Hansen's request the post office gress of South Africa (ANC), which is nesota, suspended president Jim Guyette began delivering mail sent to P-9 to the leading the South African liberation strug and the local's consultant, Ray Rogers, trustee. The post office initially held mail gle, was evident throughout the day's said the trustee's and court's action would addressed to the United Support Group and events. Hundreds of protesters carried the EDITORIAL P-9's Adopt-A-Family program. not end the fight. "Just because the courts deem that this strike is over,'' Rogers said, black-green-and-gold flag of the ANC and Hansen attempted to issue gag orders to pictures of jailed ANC leader Nelson Man "doesn't mean that the struggle is over." busting enters a new phase. The UFCW top dozens of P-9 members, threatening that deJa . A big ANC' flag was held up on the Soon after the June 2 court ruling the officialdom has taken a series of actions their jobs would be jeopardized if they con stage during the rally. aimed at smashing the militant local and tinued to speak out publicly in support of membership and suspended leadership of signing a sweetheart contract with Hormel. P-9's fight . These were ignored. Local P-9 met and mapped out a strategy to Broad opposition to apartheid continue fighting for a decent contract and They have received the backing of the fed UFCW International officials took pic Participants reflected the breadth of op to maintain a union that can use its power eral courts in their attempt to crush the 10- tures of unionists' cars that had boycott position in this country to the apartheid to fight the employers. month-Iong battle by P-9 to win a decent Hormel bumper stickers. They also re system. The majority of the marchers were contract and maintain the union. corded license plate numbers. Continued on Page 14 Blacks, but a high percentage were whites. On June 2 a federal district judge ruled There was a large turnout of Puerto Ricans, that a May 7 decision by the UFCW of Dominicans, and other Hispanics, as well ficialdom to impose trusteeship on Local as Asians and Native Americans. P-9 was legal. The trusteeship allowed the 10,000 rally in solidarity Many protesters were from the unions officialdom to suspend P-9's democrat that are the backbone of the New York ically elected leadership and place the local Anti-Apartheid Coordinating Council under the control of an appointed UFCW with Canada meat workers (NYAACC), which called the action. trustee -Joseph Hansen, director of the Last August the forces that later became BY MARY-ELLEN MARUS union's District 13 . teachers. "Keep up the fight: You have the NY AACC organized a march· and rany of EDMONTON, Canada- In a powerful union movement across this land with Before the June 2 court ruling Hansen 30,000 in New York to demand an end to a show of solidarity, 10,000 people rallied at you." was unable to impose the trusteeship be previous state of emergency in South Af the Alberta Legislature at midday June 12 John Oberg brought the full support of cause the officials lacked support in the rica, freedom forNelson Mandela, and the in support of members of the United Food the National Farmers Union, which repre local union. They sought court approval breaking of all U.S . ties with South Africa. and Commercial Workers (UFCW) on sents thousands of working farmers . "We before moving into action. The council was formed in September strike against two Alberta meatpacking have a major mandate to take the message and has grown to represent more than 200 Immediately after the judge ruled plants, Gainers and Fletcher's Fine Foods. to the country that workers and farmers are unions and community organizations. against P-9, the UF<:W tops imposed what Canadian Labor Congress President in the same boat, that we better work to P-9's suspended president, Jim Guyette, Shirley Carr condemned Peter Pock gether and support each other," he said. He This year's stormy campus divestment called a "virtual dictatorship" over the lington, well-known Conservative Party underlined that the government and the struggles brought many students to the membership. leader and multimillionaire owner of Gain corporations in Alberta have a vested inter June 14 protest. Many older people also Hansen officially called off the strike. ers, for labeling strikers "terrorists." She est in seeing workers work for less and withstood the sweltering heat to add their This meant if P-9 members continued to · likened the Gainers strike to the Winnipeg farmers produce food for less. voices to the call for an end to U.S . support strike and organize a consumer boycott of general strike in 1919. "In that most fa A prolonged and thunderous roar of to apartheid. Hormel products they could be legally fired mous of Canadian strikes, the forces of the "NDP! NDP! NDP!" greeted Alberta New Nine feeder marches led into the park by the company and face possible impris employer, the police, and the courts were Democratic Party leader Ray Martin. The where the main rally occurred. onment for violating the court order. used to crush the Winnipeg workers' fight NDP is Canada's union-based Jabot party. Under protest P-9 members withdrew for economic and social justice," she said. He told the rally that the NDP will intro From Harlem and E. Harlem their pickets from the plant in Austin. "The labor movement will not let Pock duce a bill to make it illegal to cross a pick A spirited march of about I ,000 His Hansen then proceeded to use the cover lington starve his employees· into submis et line during a legal strike. Chants of "No panics came from East Harlem. of the court ruling to violate the constitu sion, nor let the police beat our people into more scabs" and "NDP" swept across the They joined up with a contingent of tional rights of the P-9 membership. submission," she told cheering construc crowd again, reflecting the growing labor more than 5,000 from Harlem, which was .