The Militant (logo)  
   Vol. 69/No. 26           July 11, 2005  
 
 
Militant Fighting Fund gains new endorsers
 
BY PAUL MAILHOT  
SALT LAKE CITY—“As a defender of civil rights for more than six decades, I extend my support to the Militant newspaper and the Socialist Workers Party for defending free speech and freedom of the press,” wrote Frank Wilkinson June 21. “C.W. Mining’s lawsuit should be opposed by all democratically-minded people. It is a serious threat to the First Amendment and to the rights of labor.”

Wilkinson is executive director emeritus of the First Amendment Foundation and the National Committee Against Repressive Legislation. He sent his letter to the Militant Fighting Fund, which is helping the Militant and Socialist Workers Party defend themselves from a “defamation” suit by C.W. Mining that operates the Co-Op mine in Utah. Workers there have been fighting to win recognition of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). Two Utah dailies, the UMWA, 16 Co-Op miners, and other unions that have backed the miners’ organizing fight are also named in the suit.

A target of government harassment for 38 years, Wilkinson spent nine months in jail in 1961 for refusing to testify about his political beliefs before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. He won a court fight in 1984 forcing the FBI to turn over 132,000 pages of government spying reports.

A number of other endorsements for the Militant Fighting Fund were also obtained during the June 13 hearings on Puerto Rico of the United Nations Decolonization Committee. These include: Ismael Guadalupe Ortiz, leader of the successful fight to get the U.S. Navy to remove its troops and close its base on the island of Vieques; Jorge Farinacci, a leader of the Socialist Front, one of the pro-independence organizations in Puerto Rico; and Father Luis Barrios, of the San Romero church in New York.

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3800 in Minneapolis also became an endorser last week. The local is sending a $50 contribution and a support statement. Also, from St. Paul, Minnesota, Rafael Espinosa, union representative of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 789 at Dakota Premium Foods and Lone Prairie Packing, sent an endorser card and a $20 donation.

An updated endorser list and a new brochure has been posted for use on www.themilitant.com. The brochure reports on the June 14 court ruling ordering C.W. Mining attorneys to rewrite their “amorphous complaint.”

Legal and publicity expenses for the Militant and SWP continue to mount in this case. A $60,000 fund was launched June 11 to cover the costs. The deadline for payments is August 15. So far, $42,000 has been pledged toward the goal.

“Every area should adopt a goal for the $60,000 Militant Fighting Fund effort,” said Norton Sandler, one of the organizers of the defense campaign. “The potential is great. In addition to collecting about $1,500 already pledged last week, we received $50 from an attorney in the Miami area, $25 from a professor at Cornell University, and several smaller donations from others.

“When we talk to people about this fight and ask for help we get contributions,” Sandler said. “We need this money quickly. The bills related to preparations for the June 14 hearing on the case will be due in a few days. In addition, the attorneys will be working with the lawyers for the other newspaper defendants to respond to the next filing by the Co-Op mine owners.”  
 
 
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