Socialist veterans celebrate 50 years of struggle

Scan page 3

Front row (I. to r.): Ada Farrell, Dot Selander, Tiby Marton, Milton Alvin, Esther Perry, and Ruth Harer. Back row: Dave Cooper, Hayden Perry, Asher Harer, Jake Cooper, Henry Austin, and Ted Selander.

SAN FRANCISCO—The ILWU Local 6 meeting hall here was packed on Aug. 30 in witness of a unique event—a meeting in tribute to the activity of 13 socialist veterans who joined the revolutionary movement over 50 years ago. The meeting was sponsored by Socialist Action.

Four of the socialist veterans addressed the rally-Milton Alvin [see speech below], Jake Cooper, Ada Farrell, and Asher Harer. The other socialists who were honored were Henry Austin, Dave Cooper, Ruth Harer, Tiby Martin, Esther Perry, Hayden Perry, Dot Selander, Ted Selander, and Alice Snipper.

The work of these 13 comrades has spanned a range of activities from the mass union-organizing drives of the 1930s and '40s to the civil-rights struggle, the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, and the movement against the Vietnam War in the 1960s and '70s. In recent years, their work has continued in the women's liberation, antiwar, and trade-union movements.

Jake Cooper, for example, was active in the struggles of the Teamsters union in Minneapolis beginning in 1934. He helped to lead the packinghouse workers' strike in St. Paul, Minn., in 1948 and headed up tood collection in Minneapolis for strikers at the Hormel Co. during the past year.

"I was just a young pup, about 17 years old when I got involved in the Teamsters' struggle," Jake Cooper told the rally. "I remember the kind of a world I came into. It seemed to have gone crazy. It was a world where the farms weren't producing, where the factories were glutted, and 20 million workers weren't working."

"About that same time in my life," Cooper continued, "a socialist came up to me and made some sort of sense out of that crazy world. He said that this world can be made rational if only we produce for use and not for profit. And I hung my entire life on this star. I have never given up, and that was 52 years ago."

Throughout their years of activity, the 13 veterans fought to build the revolutionary socialist movement—which is associated with the work and ideas of Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, and the American revolutionist, After they were expelled from the U.S. Communist Party (CP) in 1928, Cannon and other revolutionary socialists formed a new organization, the Communist League of America, as a public faction of the CP. In 1936, the Trotskyists joined the Socialist Party. Two years later, the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) was founded. Most of the 13 veterans were founding members.

Almost three years ago, 11 of the veterans were undemocratically expelled from the SWP for protesting the leadership's revision of the party's historic program. Once again, after 50 years, the 13 comrades set about to help build a new organization—Socialist Action.

Sylvia Weinstein, socialist candidate for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, offered congratulations on behalf of Socialist Action.

"Young people," Weinstein said, "should take a good look at these veterans and say: 'That's what I want to be when I grow up.' You can't be anything finer!"

Suzanne Forsyth, a Socialist Action member at San Francisco State University, told the rally, "The men and women we honor tonight inspire and teach young comrades like myself what it means to be a part of our movement. We can feel grateful and proud that we have joined this same Walter Johnson, secretary-treasurer of the San Francisco Labor Council, addressed the rally. He thanked Socialist Action members —young and old—for playing a "key role" in the San Francisco labor movement and other movements for social change. "The Peace, Jobs, and Justice coalition would not have been a success without the efforts of your organization," he said.

Robert Blowers, a representative of the Original Local P-9 strikers at the Hormel meatpacking company, expressed thanks to Socialist Action for its help with strikesupport activities.

Other speakers included Emigdio Quintero, former Nicaraguan first secretary to the Organization of American States [see speech below], and Guy Benjamin, exec -utive director of Athletes United for Peace.

battle have given an example of labor militancy and solidarity that all can learn from and emulate.

One outstanding feature of this strike has been the support that the union has won from workers and others all over the country. I don't think there has been another strike in American history con -ducted by so few workers that ever reached the level of support as that of Local P-9.

Like the 1934 strikes in Minneapolis and Toledo that paved the way for the CIO, the P-9 strike will prove to be the forerunner of even greater battles and victories to come. I look forward to this and the role that Socialișt Action will inevitably play.

----- pull-quotes -----

Ryan st Action/Joe