The Militant is one of those being sued for defamation. We are targeted because of our consistent coverage of the miners’ struggle, our accurate reporting of what the workers involved have to say about their determined fight to be represented by the UMWA and be reinstated in their jobs with safe working conditions and a pay scale worthy of a union mine. The bosses’ suit also lashes out at the Militant’s editorial support for the union-organizing fight.

The Militant Fighting Fund has been established to win support to beat back this attack and to help cover the Militant’s rapidly mounting costs in this case—the most important labor defense case in the United States today. The effort to win support for this campaign is advancing, as the broadening number of endorsers listed in the new Militant Fighting Fund brochure shows. These include Ricardo Icaza, president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; Randy Jasper of Family Farm Defenders in Wisconsin; Bruce Nestor, former president of the National Lawyers Guild; and Ismael Guadalupe, a leader of the successful fight to get the U.S. Navy out of Vieques, Puerto Rico.

Contributions are needed now. Legal bills are due from the June court hearing on the case. Substantial expenses are mounting as attorneys representing the Militant prepare to respond to a new complaint by the Utah mine bosses.

As of today, some $19,000 has been collected in the current effort to raise $60,000 for the fund by August 15. In this week’s issue we are listing quotas toward this goal adopted by local supporters of the campaign (see page 4). Drawing on and expanding that support can help meet the challenge of raising tens of thousands of dollars in the next four weeks. When the issues in this fight and the pressing need for funds are explained, those who lend their names as endorsers are usually glad to chip in financially too.

The new brochure on the Militant Fighting Fund is an effective tool to win support for this fight. It is available in English, Spanish, and French at www.themilitant.com, along with letters from endorsers. Readers and supporters of the Militant can also aid the defense effort by submitting short articles to the paper reporting on progress in their areas—who is signing on and why, and how they see the importance of defending the miners, the UMWA, and the newspapers that report on the miners’ union battle.  
 
 
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