New AIDS funding called inadequate

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The event, which drew over 20,000 people, was endorsed by all the major unions in the Bay Area and by the Mobilization for Peace, Jobs and Justice. A number of rock bands—including members of Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish, Dr. Hook and Buddy Miles-donated their services to the event. Several top labor and community figures spoke on the four themes of the MobiNews that the federal government has promised additional funds for the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) crisis is not being seen as a victory by activists working against AIDS.

"We oppose taking money from existing health programs. We want new funds", said Paul Boneberg, coordinator of the Mobilization Against AIDS, a national organization based in San Francisco which campaigns for massive federal funding to fight AIDS. This national health emergency has already claimed 12,000 victims and killed over 6000.

The government announced that the additional funding would come from existing programs such as health services to Indians. If the funds for this crisis need to come from existing programs, "it should be the military,, said Boneberg.

The Reagan administration's promise of an additional $43 million in AIDS funding is, according to Boneberg, "completely inadequate to meet the needs for research, education for prevention, or services" to AIDS victims. Mobilization Against AIDS calls for the government to adopt a "moon-launch mentality" to deal with the crisis. [See July 1985, Socialist Action.] Boneberg told Socialist Action that the reason behind the sudden turnaround by the government— they had previously proposed cutting AIDS funding-was the threat by Rep. Henry A. Waxman's House of Representative's health sub-committee to Fall protests (continued from page 1: “Fall protests, conference planned”) ties with it, can make the movement effective by making it massive.

The Oct. 11 actions reveal that there are more opportunities for fall mass actions in support of the four themes originally raised by the large April 20 spring demonstrations than many thought possible. These demands are: U.S. out of Central America and the Caribbean; no U.S. support to South African apartheid; jobs and justice, not war; and freeze and reverse the nuclear arms race.

On Labor Day, for example, the San Francisco Bay Area Mobilization for Peace, Jobs, and Justice joined with the San Francisco Central Labor Council, Teamsters Joint Council, International Longshore and Warehouse Union, S.F. Labor-sponsored concert/rally Walter Johnson, Council (AFL-CIO), Golden Gate Park.

lization. Food Bank, and S.F. - Council of Churches in endorsing a free concert and rally in Golden Gate Park.

Another example of the potential for broadly sponsored fall activities is the San Francisco Bay Area Mobilization for Peace, Jobs and Justice conference subpoena government documents.

Boneberg said that these documents show that administration officials have privately acknowldeged the seriousness of the AIDS crisis and have stated the need for new funding amounting to $140 to $150 million.

The additional funds resulted from an effort to keep these documents away from public scrutiny, Boneburg said. Such scrutiny would aid the fight to make the government provide the proper response to the crisis and expose its inaction.

"Responding to health crises and epidemics is the business of government, Diego Lopez, clinical director of the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) in New York City, told Socialist Action. GMHC is an organization which, given the lack of sufficient official response to the AIDS crisis, offers comprehensive services to AIDS victims.

"If the gay community had not acted as the conscience of the nation [in providing services to AIDS victims] many more atrocities would have happened, Lopez said.

Randy Chelsey of Shanti Project, an organization which helps AIDS victims in San Francisco yet receives no federal funds, described for Socialist Action the full range of services provided solely by volunteers at the project. These include cooking, cleaning, transportation, laundry, counselingsometimes 60 hours a week of volunteer work.

The Mobilization Against AIDS has called for nationally coordinated actions in cities across the son, president, International Woodworkers of America; David Dyson from the National Labor Committee for Human Rights and Democracy in El Salvador; Edgardo Garcia, leader of country this Sept. 30, the end of fiscal year 1985. Called "A Day of National Accounting on AIDS"' the action will consist of political demonstrations in several cities as well as a delegation of people with AIDS who will go to Washington to attempt to meet with President Reagan and other government leaders to demand an adequate national response to the AIDS crisis.

For more information about the Sept. 30 Day of Accounting contact Mobilization Against Noe St., San Francisco, CA 94114. Tel. (415) 4314660.

Nicaragua's trade-union federation, Coordinadora Sindical Nicaraguense (CSN); and Mario Obledo, past national president op' the League of United Latin American Citizens.

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