On the first day of the tour Italie addressed an impromptu gathering at Edinboro State University, near Erie, hosted by the Young Socialist Organization on campus.

"My fight is one part of the fight for workers' rights today," he told the dozen participants. "The capitalists are driving to squeeze more profits out of our labor through speedup, cuts in wages and benefits, and assaults on our very dignity as human beings," he said.

The socialist worker explained that during a televised candidates' debate just days before being fired, he stated the campaign's positions against the U.S. war on Afghanistan and in defense of the Cuban Revolution. Goodwill bosses, he said, fired him explicitly for the views he expressed in the debate.

One student told Italie that she supported his fight against Goodwill, "but I'm not so sure about why we should make a revolution in this country. Why should I be a communist?"

"It is the capitalist system that produces all the horrors in society--from the bombing of civilian populations in Afghanistan to police brutality and bigotry," Italie said. "The capitalists are the source of violence, not working people. The only way to be rid of this system is for working people to construct a revolutionary party that can lead us in establishing a workers and farmers government that will disarm the capitalists and begin to build a society based on human solidarity. That's why I became a communist, and that's why you should too," he said.

At the end of the event one participant suggested passing the hat to help raise funds for Italie's fight. Those at the meeting contributed $75 to Italie's defense committee in Miami.

The following day the socialist worker joined an April 1 rally in Uniontown demanding black lung benefits for coal miners and their spouses. The featured speakers were Linda Chapman and Phyllis Tipton, who are walking from Charleston, West Virginia, to Washington, D.C., to publicize the fight for federal benefits, and United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) president Cecil Roberts. Italie spoke with several miners and retirees about his fight.

One who had supported Socialist Workers candidate Frank Forrestal in his recent run for mayor of Pittsburgh listened to Italie explain his case, including his fight to receive unemployment benefits, which Goodwill recently contested.

"These are the kinds of things the companies do when you speak out," the mine worker said. "I'm glad to hear you stood up to the company and they backed down from trying to take away your unemployment benefits."

Italie also got a chance to discuss the Israeli government's escalating attacks on the Palestinian struggle with an auto worker who used to work in the coal mines. The worker began to organize support for Italie as soon as he heard about the firing. "The media and government are trying to get us to support the Israeli attack on these fighters. We need some protests to show opposition to the war on Palestinians, just like we need protests against what's done to miners."

Italie said that coal miners' decades-long struggles for safety in the mines, health and pension benefits, and in defense of their union, were the kind of battles that pushed back the employers and expanded workers' rights in the United States. Today, he noted, the fight against political firings by the bosses and the struggle for black lung benefits "have a lot in common. Both demonstrate the attacks on workers' rights by the bosses and show that when you stand up for yourself you can score some victories."

Italie also joined Chapman and Tipton during a portion of their walk through the area to learn more about the struggle.

On his final night in the Pittsburgh area supporters organized a turkey dinner to celebrate the success of the tour. Participants contributed another $250 toward the efforts of the Miami committee.

To arrange speaking engagements for Michael Italie in your area, please send proposed dates and events planned to the Committee to Defend Freedom of Speech and the Bill of Rights, P.O. Box 510127, Miami, FL, 33151-0127. Tel: (305) 724-5965 or E-mail: DefendFreeSpeech@yahoo.com.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home