Black mineworkers settle historic strike in S. Africa

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"Everything in this country is built on gold," a representative of South Africa's mine owners said recently. "Without it, this country would be nothing."

Indeed, half of South Africa's export earnings come from gold mining. When the country's Black mineworkers went on strike last month, they threatened to send the economy reeling.

For 21 days, the mineworkers held fast against South Africa's largest corporations. Despite the lack of strike benefits, some 335,000 workers stayed out, according to the independent Labour Monitoring Group. They shut down about half of the country's gold mines and one-fifth of its coal mines. The companies reported losses of as much as $225 million in revenues.

But the costs were high for the workers, too. At least 46,000 strikers were fired, hundreds were arrested, over 350 were injured, and nine were killed by security guards and police.

"A dress rehearsal"

On Aug. 30, the strikers voted to return to work. For the moment, their fight-the largest strike in South Africa's history-was suspended.

"The strike showed that the union had the support of the workers," said Cyril Ramaphosa, president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), as he announced the settlement. "It was an important organizational victory for the workers. "' The mineworkers' achievement can be gauged by the fact that, in the past, no strike in the industry had ever lasted longer than two days. Now, the union has emerged from the struggle even stronger. In some regions, for example, union officials who were arrested were replaced by rank-and-file workers.

Nevertheless, after the companies began firing tens of thousands of workers, the union leadership believed it was necessary to accept their terms. The focus was placed on next year's negotiations. "If everyone were fired and sent home," one union official explained, "we might have needed (continued 11)

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I'm sure most of you view President Reagan as a complete fake. A phoney and a top-notch liar. You may well ask how this man who finances the murder of women and children in Nicaragua could possibly care about Now the truth is out. The president's biggest concern is that there are "thousands of childless families still waiting for children to adopt." (It is probably true that they want only white, Christian children-but that is another problem.) So now we know why Reagan is opposed to abortion!

In a speech from Santa Barbara on Aug. 24, Reagan announced a federal task force to encourage adoption as an "alternative for pregnant women."

"We must expand and broaden our efforts to make sure that family-less children are adopted," Reagan said. "We must do all we can to remove obstacles that prevent qualified adoptive parents from accepting these children into their home."

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater acknowledged that the pro-adoption initiative is also part of Reagan's anti-abortion campaign.

Time to deliver!

All women with working ovaries and wombs had better get those factories in working order. Mr. Reagan expects you to deliver. You know how he always urges his business friends to make the American worker increase production.

And if you don't produce more babies, just remember what Reagan did to PATCO. He shut the air-controllers' union down-just as he is attempting to shut down all family-planning clinics that mention the word Reagan is not alone in his mania for women to give birth. Besides having roving fundamentalist Christians bombing abortion clinics while carrying "old ragged crosses," he has the support of the Democratic and Republican politicians who are working overtime to ensure that the female stays in her proper position-barefoot in the winter and big in the summer.

California's consent bill In California, Democrats and Republicans are working to force minors to go to court in order to obtain an abortion if they cannot get the consent of their parents or guardian.

Phil Isenberg, a "liberal" Democratic state legislator from Sacramento, introduced a bill which would allow welfare workers instead of parents to give their consent. But his bill also included a provision that parents would be financially responsible for the support of their children's babies.

The "pro-life" forces opposed this part of the bill because it would encourage parents to allow their daughters to get an abortion. However, the "parental-consent" bill which passed the California Assembly in June with a 46-28 vote is now headed toward the state senate-where both political parties are expected to adopt it.

If the bill is passed, it will mean that a minor who gets an illegal abortion could go to jail, that a doctor who performs an abortion on a minor could be jailed, or—if papers are not filled out properly—parents, guardians, doctors, and pregnant children could all be jailed.

The young mother could be declared unfit and forced to give her child up for adoption. Reagan's hopes for a child for every "qualified" childless family would thereby be fulfilled. It all works so well together!

"Plenty" for whom?

California, land of plenty, is also trying to cut out Medical funding for abortion for poor women. The state budget has a surplus of $1.1 billion. All the politicians were recently given a 10-percent raise. But we don't, according to the politicians, have enough money for poor women to have "legal" abortions.

Medical funding for abortion should reach the California Supreme Court in January.

The attitude of our elected representatives was put so well by Rep. Beau Boulter, speaking to a group in Wichita Falls, Tex. "The least among us is not entitled to the same medical treatment as the richest person in America," he said. "I do not want to get socialized medicine because then nobody will get excellent medical treatment."

All of Rep. Boulter's medical expenses are free at taxpayers' expense. If he needs a hair transplant—we have to pay for it. He has socialized medicine. It's poor women and working people—who don't have it—who need socialized medicine.

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aine paperworkers strike See page 4.

no funding for abortion counseling, no abortions!