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NEW YORK-On Jan. 28, some 150 activists met at the offices of the Hospital and Healthcare Workers union, District 1199, to launch the New York Mobili -zation for Justice and Peace in Central America and South Africa.

The meeting was chaired by Leslie Cagan, national staff director of the Washington march. Cagan explained the need to maintain the focus on the two central demands of the national coalition, while at the same time recognizing the need to address other related issues.

The New York Mobilization has added Beaches" to the two national demands.

The two keynote speakers at the meeting were Dave Dyson, a leader of the National Labor Committee in Support of Democracy and Human Rights in El Salvador, and Jeff Mackler, a representative of the Western States Mobilization for Peace, Jobs and Justice.

Dyson, who has played a key role in securing labor support for the national march in Washington, D.C., reported on a recent visit he and a delegation of U.S. trade unionists made to Nicaragua.

Dyson described the attempt of a small group of Nicaraguan farmers to defend their land against a sizeable contra attack. The battle ended with the capture and murder of 14 peasants, Dyson said.

"Their throats were cut from ear to ear with machetes shortly before we arrived on the scene," Dyson said. "And we returned to the United States just in time to hear President Reagan say that the contras were the moral equivalent of our founding fathers."

"There's only one way to say 'no' to the U.S./contra war," Dyson said. "It's by organizing the most massive march ever on Washington, D.C."

Dyson noted that the national march had been initiated by the presidents of 19 national unions. "The list includes five of the six largest trade unions in the United States. Together they represent almost 6 million workers," he said.

Mackler presented greetings on behalf of the Mobilization for Peace, Jobs and Justice in San Francisco, which is organizing the official Western states component of the April 25 action.

"The gap between public opposition to to funding the contras and to support for apartheid, on the one hand, and U.S. policy, on the other, has never been greater," Mackler said Pointing to the unprecedented support of the labor movement for the April 25 demonstrations, Mackler said, "Labor's Closing date: Feb. 23, 1987 Editor: ALAN BENJAMIN Asst. Editor: MICHAEL SCHREIBER Staff: Paul Colvin, Suzanne Forsyth, May May Gong, David Kirschner, Hayden Perry, Joe Ryan, Carole Seligman, Kwame M.A. Somburu, Sylvia Weinstein.

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Signed articles by contributors do not necessarily represent the views of So -cialist Action. These are expressed in editorials. Mil TROOPS TO Clothing and Textile Workers Union; and Nancy Finkelstein, president, Massa -chusetts Teachers Association.

Also among the signers were John J. Flynn, director, Region 9A, United Auto Workers; William J. Foley, director, District 1, United Steelworkers of America; Rev. Charles A. Harper, president, Massachusetts Council of Churches; Mel King; and Joanie Parker, president, Greater

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the demands of "Jobs, not War, ." "End the Arms Race," and "No more Howard