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Dear editor, At their 20th annual convention, retired members of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union adopted a resolution condemning the Republican and Democratic parties as not representing the needs of American labor and calling for the formation of an independent labor party.

The vote was almost unanimous. No one argued against it. I must say that I, the author of the resolution, was agreeably surprised.

This resolution will go to the next ILWU International convention.

At the 1986 pensioners' convention, the labor party ideas got nowhere. Things have changed. Thinking has changed. The temper of the convention was much more radical than last year.

Resolutions against aid for the contras and for the withdrawal of the U.S. Navy from the Persian Gulf denounced U.S. foreign policy. These were also adopted unanimously.

This year's convention of the ILWU Pacific Coast Pensioners Association, which represents 9300 pensioners, was held in Anderson, Calif., on Sept. 21-23. It was attended by about 200 pensioners and their wives, plus pensioned widows.

The PCPA contains in its ranks the militant veterans of the historic 1934 strike and of the 1937, 1946, and 1970-71 strikes who embody a wealth of experience in fighting the bosses and their government.

Asher Harer, ILWU pensioner, Good work' Dear editor, I have enjoyed the recent Socialist Action articles on the glasnost moves in the Soviet Union, the Contragate hearings, and the strike of the South African mineworkers.

That strike had seemed depressing, ending so soon, until I read the article and understood the historical significance of its length. Keep up the good work.

P.W., Phoenix, Ariz.

FSP case

Dear editor, Thank you for your coverage of the Freedom Socialist Party's court battle over the constitutional right to privacy (August 1987 Socialist Action.)

It is a matter of extreme importance that the left press cover and support the issues in the case, as the ultimate court decision will affect all left organizations for years to come.

At present, the case has reached a critical point. On Sept. 8, a serious setback to Americans' right to privacy was administered by the Washington State Court of Appeals. The court refused to hear an appeal by the leaders of the FSP who have been ordered to make public the minutes of an internal party meeting.

Despite urging by 5000 petition signers and the presentation of a friend-of-the-court brief submitted by the National Lawyers Guild, the Washington court has refused to rule on the constitutional issues in this case.

It is doubly ironic that this refusal comes in the midst of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the constitution, which is supposed to protect every citizen's civil liberties.