Wheeling-Pitt strikers stand firm against steel bosses, courts

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The unions and the fight against concessions today See FORUM section pp. 9-12 Women in struggle: Cuba, Nairobi. See pp. 4-5 CLEVELAND—Minutes after Federal Judge Warren W. Bentz ruled that Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation could take advantage of the bankruptcy laws to unilaterally void its contract with the United Steelworkers of Amer2NS Rica (USWA), a pamphlet entitled "Modified Wage and Benefit Programs Effective July 21, 1985" was mailed to the 8500 steelworkers who work in Wheeling-Pittsburgh plants in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

This document states: "We [the company] reserve the right to alter, amend, for A discussion with • John Tirpak, vice pres., USWA Local 1223 • Tom Laney, president, UAW Local 879 • Ed Ott, vice pres., OCAW Local 8-149 • Darrell Becker, president, IUMSWA Local 61 interpret and change any conditions listed herein.... This document is not intended to be construed as a labor contract or any agreement and is only intended to communicate terms and conditions of wages now in effect."

Wheeling-Pittsburgh steelworkers, who had already given the company over $15,000 each in concessions the last three years, reacted angrily to the company's latest robbery attempt. Over 5500 workers attended local union meetings, where they unanimously voted not to continue working under these conditions.

Company officials boasted that any strike would be short-lived and easily broken. Ads were run in local newspapers assuring any Wheeling-Pittsburgh steelworker, including laid-off workers, of a job if they'd come in to work. In the depressed Mon Valley, with its thousands of laid-off steelworkers, a similar offer was made to steelworkers from other companies.

The company has also tried to coerce the workers back to work. Health benefits were cancelled the day the workers walked out. The company missed a payment to the pension fund and is threat(continued on page 8, in “Stakes are high in Hormel strike”)

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Staff: Paul Colvin, Suzanne Forsyth, May May Gong, Millie Gonzalez, Mark Harris, David Kirschner, Hayden Perry, Joe Ryan, Carole Seligman, Kwame M.A. Somburu, Marion Syrek, Sylvia Weinstein, Adam Wood.

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Abortion rights was the major concern of the 345 women meeting at a state convention of the National Organization for Women held Aug. 16-18 in Long Beach, Calif. The theme of this convention was "Continuing to Make the Difference. ".

Two important resolutions were passed on the issue of abortion rights: the first on clinic harassment, and the other on two anti-choice initiatives sponsored by right-wing, pro-life forces slated for the 1986 California ballot.

The resolution on clinic harassment included a proposal to launch a petitioning drive to demand that State AttorneyGeneral John Van de Kamp take immediate action to preOver 20,000 striking carhaulers, members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, beat back a major vent clinic bombings, arson, and harassment-something he has ignored until now.

The resolution in opposition to the pro-choice ballot initiatives declared California in a state of emergency concerning all aspects of women's reproductive freedom. It mandated California NOW chapters to make women's reproductive rights a high visibility and priority issue through education, demonstrations, advertisement, and local media.

This resolution comes in the context of the national NOW call for simultaneous Reproductive Rights Marches on the West Coast and in Washington, D.C., in the spring of 1986. It has not yet been decided whether the West Coast march will be in San Francisco or Los Angeles.

At NOW the workshops which set action proposals for the coming period. At this conference only two resolutions were allowed from each workshop. All of the resolutions, though, were important and reflected the needs and interests of women.

The resolutions included a broad spectrum of issues: no U.S. intervention in Central America; a call to support anti-apartheid actions planned for Oct. 11 and 12; pay-equity; accessibility for disabled women at NOW meetings; AIDS and its relationship to women; coerced workfare of AFDC recipients; organizing peace committees within local NOW chapters; and discrimination against gay and lesbian families.

Only four of the resolutions came up at the Sunday plenary session due to the time limit of Closing news date:

Editor: ALAN BENJAMIN Assistant Editor: MICHAEL SCHREIBER Business Manager:Don Mahoney Circulation Manager: Ralph Forsyth No. 308, San Francisco, CA 94110.

Socialist Action. These are expressed in editorials.

one hour for discussion. The call to support the anti-apartheid actions in October, for instance, was passed at the plenary session. All the other resolutions were referred to the new incoming State NOW Board for consideration at its next two-day board meeting.

What came across most at ACTiON Losing news date: Aug. 29. 1985 other countries; $14.00 surface mail for all other countries. Signed articles by contributors do not necessarily represent 29, this convention was that women are ready for action on all of the issues they are faced with every day. The resolutions coming from the workshops have set an excellent path for the new state officers to follow. If acted upon, they could lead women to a higher stage in their quest for full equality.

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ON JUSTICE!