Those present related their experiences from across North America. One of the strongest of these fights was the 23-day strike at the Tyson-owned Lakeside Packers plant in Brooks, Alberta—the largest beef slaughterhouse in Canada, with 2,100 employees. These workers succeeded against many obstacles, including company violence, in crippling production and winning their first union contract since the 1980s.

John Hawkins, a member of UFCW Local 400 in the Washington-Baltimore area, described how he and another socialist worker joined a union contingent to gain publicity and solidarity for the Lakeside strike at the October 15 Millions More Movement rally in Washington, D.C. “This contingent was an important initiative of the union,” Hawkins said. “Getting solidarity for the Lakeside packers fight wasalso of organizing our co-workers into the union where we work too.”

Edwin Fruit, a meat packer in Des Moines, Iowa, said he went to Brooks, Alberta, to bring solidarity from his plant to the unionists on strike at the Lakeside plant. “When I came back, the president of my union local asked me to give a report at a union meeting where the local decided to send a letter of congratulations to the workers in Brooks,” he said. The letter was translated into Arabic and Spanish and was circulated throughout the plant by union stewards, who got many workers to sign.

An important fight has been unfolding at a huge poultry plant, Foster Farms, in Livingston, California. “Foster Farms workers are fighting for union recognition and better working conditions,” explained Gerardo Sánchez, a meat packer from San Francisco. “There are 2,000 workers there and they have just organized their third walkout. The Militant is greatly appreciated since it has a reputation for telling the truth about their fight.”

Mobilizing union power to back struggles by workers in other industries is also part of strengthening the union, several participants pointed out. “One of the centers of the mechanics’ strike against Northwest Airlines is the Twin Cities,” said Tom Fiske, a meat packer in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. “Local 789 of the UFCW has given important aid in this fight. At their last meeting, union members heard strike leaders describe their fight and voted to make a $3,000 contribution to the strike. In addition, one of the longtime leaders of the fight at Dakota Premium Foods, Miguel Olvera, gave a talk at one of the mechanics’ rallies that had a big impact on the strikers. Socialist workers at Dakota Premium participated with others in helping these solidarity actions.”

Socialist workers also resolved to build on initial successes in winning support within the UFCW and the broader labor movement for defending the Militant against a harassment lawsuit by the owners of the Co-Op mine in Huntington, Utah. UFCW locals 120 and 428 in California, the UFCW Minority Coalition, and Gregory Hamblet and Wendell Young III—both international vice presidents of the union—are among the hundreds of endorsers of the Militant Fighting Fund, which was initiated to help the Mililtant defend itself.  
 
 
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