Women's liberation classes at ed. conference .. 3 TH£ Struggle for fighting meatpackers union . 7 Why Thatcher backs S. Africa's Botha 18 A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE VOL. 50/NO. 29 JULY 25, 1986 75 CENTS CIA to lead stepped-up N.Y. SWP s1gns• up war against Nicaragua 15,000 in BY HARRY RING The White House decision to reassign fight for the CIA to head up an expanded contra op­ eration signals a sharp escalation of the war against Nicaragua. Unleashing the CIA and plans for beef­ ballot spot ing up the contra force come in the wake of the House of Representatives' allocation of BY TOM LEONARD $1 00 million for the illegal war against NEW YORK- "We are taking these Nicaragua. petitions to the thousands who share our The administration is moving ahead with opposition to apartheid and to Washing­ its war plans on the assumption that a ton's contra war against Nicaragua," de­ slated Senate vote this summer will con­ clared Theresa Delgadillo, Socialist Work­ firm the House decision. ers Party candidate for governor of New Meanwhile, Washington has virtually York. scrapped the fiction that the buildup of its Delgadillo and Mike Shur, SWP candi­ military facilities in Honduras is "tempo­ date for U.S. Senator, spoke to an en­ rary," declaring U.S. forces will be there thusiastic crowd of campaign supporters, for a long time to come. who had spent the day petitioning in a The extensive structure in Honduras fa­ steady rain, at a July 12 open house. cilitates support to the contras and also stands as a ready-made springboard for a Despite the miserable weather, some 90 possible direct invasion of Nicaragua. petitioners collected 5,000 signatures, sold Legally, creation of such a military base hundreds of copies of the Militant and the is supposed to require congressional ap­ Spanish-language socialist periodical Per­ proval, but this has been ignored by all spectiva Mundial, circulated thousands of concerned. pieces of campaign literature, and sold The plans for the CIA-contra war were hundreds of dollars worth of socialist reported in the July 13 Washington Post. books and pamphlets. Petition gatherers Earlier, the New York Times reported on also brought in the names of many people this and on the Honduran operation. ' who wanted to know more about the The Post reported that with the House Socialist Workers Party and the Young U.S. helicopter landing at Honduras airstrip. Officials now admit "temporary" mil­ Socialist Alliance. vote, all agencies involved in the Nicara­ itary bases in Honduras will be kept for a long time and may be springboard for in­ gua operation "are moving toward a kind of vasion of Nicaragua. Petitioning in Albany, New York, was war footing." also successful. More than 600 signatures "It is clear," the paper said, "that the aid were collected. package for antigovernment rebels, known Spearheading the petition campaign is a as contras or counterrevolutionaries, will full-time team of members of the YSA and involve far more money than the $100 mil­ South African workers, the SWP. In the first five days of the peti­ lion voted by the House, far more people tioning drive they collected 8,000 signa­ than the 20,000 fighters who will receive tures and introduced a lot of new people to it .... the program of the party and YSA. "Although surrogate troops and not U.S. students defy apartheid During the first five days of petitioning Marines will spearhead the effort to make more than 15,000 signatures have been col­ the Sandinistas 'cry uncle,' as Reagan once lected; 600 copies of the Militant and Washington Post, many workers in other put it, the contras will be advised and in­ BY FRED FELDMAN $1,500 worth of socialist literature have formed, trained and equipped, criticized Hundreds of thousands of South African areas "opted for symbolic protests rather been sold. Blacks went on strike and boycotted class­ than strikes." and evaluated by U.S. intelligence, mili­ Petitioners have also met people who tary and political strategists." es July 14 to protest massive repression by The job actions had been called for by the apartheid regime. want to help collect signatures or partici­ The report added: the Congress of South African Trade pate in other ways in the socialist cam­ "If the new upsurge of aid to the contras In the Port Elizabeth area, workplaces Unions to protest the arrest without charges paign. is working, administration officials con­ were "virtually deserted," one employer of more than 250 union leaders and de­ One woman asked for two petition tend, these symptoms will be evident: esca­ said, as thousands of workers walked off mand an end to the state of emergency. sheets to sign up friends. Two days later lated military activity throughout Nicara­ the job. The strike was also reported effec­ Those arrested include Amon Msane, she attended a Militant forum at the New gua, possibly including attacks on the cap- tive in Johannesburg and several of the sur­ chairman of the Johannesburg branch of York City campaign headquarters and Continued on Page 5 rounding townships. According to the the Commercial Catering and Allied Work­ brought both sheets neatly filled with sig­ ers Union - a COSA TU affiliate - who natures. was jailed July 10 after he returned to Another petitioning team visited a picket South Africa from a speaking tour of the Continued on Page 13 Minn. meatpackers' drive for United States. In a concession aimed at defusing the protest, the regime released Elijah Barayi, recertification advances president of the Congress of South African BY MAGGIE McCRAW way of workers gaining a decent contract Trade Unions, from prison July 11. He is AUS TIN, Minn. - Officials of the N a­ from Hormel. barred from speaking to the media or par­ tiona! Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have Bigger declined to say when the recer­ ticipating in political activity. acknowledged that a petition filed by the tification election would be held, but said Barayi is also vice-president of the Na­ North American Meat Packers Union that unfair labor practice charges pending tional Union of Mineworkers, and word of (NAMPU) carries enough signatures to against Hormel and the UFCW might af­ his release is said to have headed off a have a recertification election called at the fect the date. wider strike by Black miners. Six thousand Geo. A. Hormel plant here. Meanwhile, solidarity with the meat­ miners joined the strike. That announcement comes at a time packers' fight continues to be won. According to government figures, be­ when the Austin meatpackers are winning "Together we can win" is the title of a tween 50 and 70 percent of students important new support for their 11-month leaflet published by the Women Against Pit boycotted classes in Cape Province. struggle against Hormel. Closures (W APC) in Britain. This is the "Many high schools in Soweto, Alexandra, NLRB spokesperson David Bigger told message W APC members Betty Cook and and the East Rand appeared virtually empty the Militant July 14 that the NAMPU peti­ Gwenn White brought to Austin July 8. this morning with some students trickling tion "has the numerical showing of inter­ The W APC is an organization of female in as the day wore on," the Washington est, the numerical showing of strength" to family members and supporters of the Na­ Post reported from the Johannesburg area. warrant an election. tional Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in On July 13 the apartheid regime imposed More than 600 signatures obtained from Britain formed during the 1984-1985 Brit­ sweeping new restrictions on Black stu­ workers inside and outside the plant were ish coal strike. The two women spoke at a dents, ordering security guards posted at all filed with the NLRB July 7. The petition­ meeting of the Austin United Support schools and ordering students to show ing was carried out by a large group of Group. identity badges. Officials are empowered United Food and Commercial Workers They had come to the United States to to bar or expel any student from school Local P-9 members determined to not let attend the national conference of the Coal without explanation. Militant/Irene Sosa the struggle between their local union and Employment Project (CEP) in Paintsville, Students were warned that those who Petitioners have sold hundreds of copies the top officialdom of the UFCW get in the Continued on Page 16 Continued on Page 6 of socialist periodicals. · 'Militant' is introduced to striking woodworkers BY TIM MAILHOT state have shut down, leaving near a huge Weyerhaeuser mill, Workers also told us about what ABERDEEN, Wash. - The many ghost towns behind. we found a good response to the it was like working in the timber month-long strike against Weyer­ In addition to selling the Mili­ campaign and the campaign's mills over the years and about the haeuser Co. by members of the In­ tant and PM, we spent part of our newspapers. work-rule changes the company ternational Woodworkers of time talking about the Socialist "A union member? Sure," was a has tried to push through. America (IW A) and the Lumber Workers Party election campaign. common response by workers who Four copies of the Militant were agreed to sign the petition. sold on that visit, and 21 people Several people knew about the signed the SWP petition. fight Austin, Minnesota, meat­ We attended a labor picnic and SELLING OUR PRESS packers are waging against Geo. rally in Aberdeen on July 12. A. Hormel & Co. Many there were wearing cam­ AT THE PLANT GATE The workers told us they had re­ paign buttons backing Brock ceived mailings about the battle Adams, the leading Democratic both from Local P-9 and from Party candidate for U.S.