Eastern strikers rally

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lurgical coal that fires the blast furnaces of steel mills, shipping 65 percent of its coal overseas.

Miners have worked without a contract since January 1988. This was intended to pressure Pittston into signing a joint industry negotiating agreement. Pittston's refusal, coupled with a tremendous accumulation of grievances filed by miners against the company, put the miners on the picketlines.

This is not a strike about wages. The walkout was precipitated by cuts in benefits and proposed changes in work schedules. Last year, Pittston cut off retirees' pensions and a number of healthcare benefits, leaving the costs to be picked up by a trust fund run by the union and other coal companies.

The work schedule issue strikes at the heart of the lifestyle of Appalachian miners. Pittston has demanded that it be allowed to operate the mines on Sundays. Michael Odom, the top official of The Pittston Coal Group, complained to the press that miners were "using church as an excuse" to not work on Sundays.

The coalfields have been the scene of strikerelated violence. Over 2000 arrests have occurred at the mine entrances and elsewhere, including 140 felony arrests. Scabs, in the blue uniforms of the company's so-called "Asset Protection Team," have joined state police at the mines. The Asset Protection Team has been videotaping strikers for use, according to Pittston, "in later litigation." Miners have taken to wearing camouflage fatigues to make them less recognizable.

The scabs are hauling out only a small fraction of Pittston's normal annual production of 13.6 million tons.

This strike, which has just entered into David Vita/Impact Visuals federal mediation, is being watched nervously by the rest of the coal industry. Low coal prices and unstable markets make the coal companies hungry for ways to lower labor costs. Pittston, claiming to be in "survival mode," threatens its workers with claims that speaker flatly opposing a leading role for BOSTON-Close to 1000 Eastern Airlines workers and supporters rallied at East Boston Stadium on the edge of Logan Airport here on May 21. Striking machinists, flight attendants, and pilots marched into the stands as unionists and their families from throughout the metropolitan area sang "Solidarity Forever."

The theme of the rally was "One Day Longer," demonstrating the resolve of the strikers to outlast Eastern boss Frank Lorenzo's latest union-busting drive.

Arthur Osborne, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, called on the crowd to support a boycott of Eastern and Continental Airlines, and petitions were passed out for distribution in neighborhoods and at workplaces.

George Kourpias, international president-elect of the Machinists Union, characterized the Eastern strike as "the most important struggle of working people in America in many years."

Judy Coughlin of the flight attendants union introduced Joe Jurczak of the United Mine Workers, whose union is waging a militant strike in the Appalachian coalfields against the Pittston Co. Coughlin told the audience that miners said they were inspired in their struggle by the Eastern strikers.—H.K.

sals, the idea that a labor considered came through.

By Sunday afternoon, even Victor Reuther (who, together with his late brother, Walter, helped to scuttle the labor-party movement in the 1930s and 1940s) came out in favor of a labor party. Hundreds of militant unionists left the conference with this new idea firmly planted in their minds.

Spending priorities of the school board and administration can be seen by comparing the $3 million spent for luxury automobiles for school officials to the $1 million spent on drop-out prevention programs.

The L.A. school board seems content to be ranked 33rd in spending among major urban centers, while poorer regions spend much more. The district is rated as one of the most management top-heavy in the nation.

Budget "shortfalls" exposed

California is testing new strategies in public-service cutbacks. Each year, revenue shortfalls are projected when the budgets are prepared. This precipitates cutbacks in many social programs. Later, the money is mysteriously "discovered" (this year, $2.5 billion). But the cuts wrung from services often stand, and the money is refunded mainly to the big corporations and the wealthy.

This year the strategy backfired. Because of the timing of the strike, the claim of "no money" was exposed, and the teachers won a victory.

The L.A. strike was carried out with great public support, winning the backing of students and parents in militant support actions. Teachers overwhelmingly backed the strike, staying out and maintaining strong picketlines at schools and district offices.

Large rallies kept spirits high and the membership informed. A strike newsletter appeared regularly. One retired teacher out supporting the strike remarked that the spirit matched the best period of labor militancy, which she had experienced in the 1930s and '40s.

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OUR PITTSTe OUR TO LIVES OUR UNION

KIDS UNFAIR WORKERS