Several YS members had participated in teams last year to Tse Bonito, New Mexico, during the three-month victorious fight by members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) at the Pittsburg and Midway Coal Co.'s McKinley mine. The union fought against the bosses' attacks on the eight-hour day, health care, and overtime pay.

Julian Santana, Layne Mostyn, and myself of the Tucson YS joined the team for the first two days of the five-day effort. One day we set up a table at a flea market with Militants and literature from Pathfinder Press. In a short time we were able to sell a Militant and one of the pamphlets, The Working Class and the Transformation of Learning by Jack Barnes. We spent the rest of the day meeting with the other seven team members and planning what we would do for the rest of the week.

The issue of the Militant that week featured an article, "Uranium miners fight government for funds." The article explained that more than one-fourth of the uranium mines in the United States were established on the Navajo reservation and employed many Navajos. This fact was supported by the team's experiences. Many people came up to the tables after seeing signs about the article and told us how they used to be uranium miners or they knew of friends and relatives who were.

On the second day of our team we did door-to-door sales in Window Rock, Arizona and Gallup, New Mexico. People purchased 32 single issues of the Militant and four subscriptions to the paper. Overall, the team was a success. Eight people signed up to subscribe to the Militant and 148 bought single copies. We sold two of The Working Class and the Transformation of Learning pamphlets, one Pathfinder Was Born with the October Revolution, three of Fertile Ground: Che Guevara and Bolivia, and one Playa Girón/Bay of Pigs: Washington's First Military Defeat in the Americas.

On April 24, in conjunction with a rally in Washington, D.C., the Tucson YS participated in an abortion rights rally of 200 people organized by the Consciousness Raising Collective at the University of Arizona. The rally's main issues were equal access to abortion for all and against forced sterilization. At the conclusion of the rally 50 protesters marched around the campus carrying signs and chanting various pro-choice slogans. We sold two copies of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels and the pamphlet titled Women and the Nicaraguan Revolution.
 

As the crowds grew, workers and other customers emerged from stores and restaurants that dot the street, some joining in with the chanting and the line. Truckers and drivers of cars honked their horns in solidarity with the action, and passengers in city buses waved at the participants as they went along.

The May Day action was organized by Centro Sin Fronteras (Center Without Borders) and the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, along with other community organizations, schools, and churches. Around 30 laundry workers, members of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE), participated in the action and joined the line in front of the UNITE union hall.

Kimberly Martínez, a seventh grader at Lozano School, said she found out about the May Day event during a class field trip to Centro Sin Fronteras. Martínez explained it was important to be at the action on May Day to demand better conditions for immigrant workers and an amnesty. "Today is workers day, the day for all workers," she said.

Angela Lopez, a packinghouse worker who saw the line near her workplace in the meatpacking district, said she "wanted to take a picture because it is a part of history." She described a line of people holding hands of all nationalities, including Poles and Mexicans with red and white flags chanting "Amnesty, amnesty." The Young Socialists, along with supporters of the Militant and Pathfinder Press had a literature table at the event. We sold one Spanish-language Playa Girón/Bay of Pigs, five Militants, and nine Perspectiva Mundials. We meet several young people interested in participating in the Second Cuba-U.S. Youth Exchange, taking place in Havana July 22–30.

The Chicago YS also held a small event April 28 to kick off the YS fund drive where we raised $35. We've planned an event May 13 that will include a class on To Speak the Truth: Why Washington's 'Cold War' against Cuba Doesn't End, followed by a dinner.
 

Founded by Hale in 1996, the WCOC's headquarters is in East Peoria, Illinois. Members consider themselves atheists and believe that their race is their religion and is noted as an anti-Christian, anti-Semitic, and racist outfit.

Some of the 200 protesters picketed Hale when he arrived at the local train station, then they marched to the picnic area where the WCOC was meeting. Many members of local churches and the community joined the demonstration. There were about 50 members of WCOC and 150 police officers present, some in riot gear with K-9 units. Others were undercover. The KKK had security guards present as well.

Two fences and a line of cops separated the protesters from the WCOC. Police surrounded the protesters at one point by lining the parking lot with K-9 units and two rows of other police officers.

Adam Davis of Connecticut Global Action Network said of the police presence, "They were there to protect the Nazis. It is ridiculous that they would be fighting anti-racists for the benefit of Nazis. It just shows how racist our government and criminal injustice system is and how far we have to go to eliminate racism and fascism."

The undercover police officers arrested five people. One was suspected of starting a fight and several were arrested for possession of weapons.

Kristen Perrault of Connecticut Citizen's Action Group said, "I knew there were going to be people confronting the white supremacists, and I wanted to be there in solidarity. I wasn't convinced that it was something I wanted to do but was glad I went, [and] that it remained low key and no one got hurt." Despite the heavy police presence, the message came through clearly: racism will not go unanswered.
 
 
Related articles:
Communist movement organizes to win members to Young Socialists
Build the communist movement
Pathfinder supporters broaden reach of revolutionary books
 
 
 
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