Vol. 75/No. 47      December 26, 2011

I read where a subscriber was concerned that the Militant might be sleeping through the revolution, because they chose to have the 1,300 workers locked out by Crystal Sugar on the cover instead of “Occupy Wall St.”

I assure you it’s not the Militant that is sleeping through anything. Even the lame corporate media will cover the big events in New York or Oakland.

The Militant realizes the workers of industry and the workers that feed the country are being slapped around by the kings of capitalism. Our families are being attacked and our benefits that we fought for for years are being destroyed.

I plead with the Militant to keep covering struggles like the Crystal Sugar workers in North Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota; the Steelworkers in Pennsylvania; the Millworkers in Texas; the Longshoremen in Washington; the Steelworkers in Ohio; the Millworkers in Indiana; etc. etc.

We also need to know about courageous campaigns like the Jimmy John’s workers, the Hyatt hotel workers, the newly organized coal miners in Illinois and the Hershey intern workers.

In the past the Militant informed us about the Delta Airlines workers and kept us posted on the Steelworkers in Metropolis, Ill., and BCTGM Local 48G in Keokuk, Iowa (which I had a first hand look at).

Not to forget the postal workers and every public sector worker in nearly every state. And our brothers and sisters in courageous struggles around the world from Canada to Greece to the Middle East.

These workers read about each other’s struggles in the Militant and then contact each other and share stories and take part in each other’s events, including the “occupy movement.”

Now that sounds like how you would start a movement toward the working class taking power.

-Buddy Howard

Howard was one of 237 members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 48G locked out from September 2010 to July 2011 by Roquette America at its corn processing plant in Keokuk, Iowa. He was a leader in that struggle. The letter he refers to appeared in the letters’ column of the Oct. 31 issue. —Editor.
 
 
Related articles:
Locked-out tire workers in Ohio build support rally
Rally slams Manitowoc Cranes’ union busting
Striker: ‘If we don’t stop it here, it will spread’
1,700 McGill Univ. strikers win, now ‘together, stronger’
Illinois miners win court ruling in fight for union
Bosses get off easy in 2010 death of 29 W.Va. miners
Minn. tank trailer workers strike against ‘outsourcing’
Licorice workers in fight ‘for long haul’
Striking limestone workers receive solidarity
Pa. Steelworkers return to jobs with heads held high
Union power key to defend life and limb  
 
 
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