From jdav@noc.orgSat Sep 9 18:34:53 1995 Date: Sat, 9 Sep 95 19:03 GMT From: Jim Davis To: pt.dist@noc.org Subject: People's Tribune 9-18-95 Online Edition ****************************************************************** People's Tribune (Online Edition) Vol. 22 No. 29 / September 18, 1995 P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654 Email: pt@noc.org ****************************************************************** +----------------------------------------------------------------+ The League of Revolutionaries for a New America has a home page on the World-Wide Web. From this page, you see the current issue of the PT, access back issues of the PT and Rally, Comrades!, and download the major documents of the League, including the program, political report and bylaws. The page is under construction, so if you have any ideas, send them to league@noc.org. The page also includes links to resources on the Internet for revolutionaries -- if you would like the League to link to your page, let us know. The web page is located at: http://www.mcs.com/~jdav/league.html +----------------------------------------------------------------+ INDEX to the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE (Online Edition) Vol. 22 No. 29 / September 18, 1995 Page One 1. POLICE HAVE A LICENSE TO KILL; WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO STOP THEM Spirit of the Revolution 2. REACH OUT TO THE RELIGIOUS -- ESPECIALLY TO THE YOUTH! News and Features 3. GET DEACON ALEXANDER BACK ON THE STREETS 4. WHAT'S BEHIND THE ALEXANDER CASE: INTERVIEW WITH A SUPPORTER 5. CHICAGO HEAT VICTIMS: SYSTEM THAT KILLED THEM WON'T EVEN MARK THEIR GRAVES 6. 'STAND WITH THE ZAPATISTAS' IN PROTESTS IN WASHINGTON DURING ZEDILLO'S VISIT 7. MEXICO: THE VOLCANO IS RUMBLING AND ABOUT TO EXPLODE 8. NATIONAL WELFARE RIGHTS UNION CONVENTION DRAWS UP PLANS TO FIGHT ANTI-POOR BUDGET CUTS 9. EL MONTE, CALIFORNIA: CAPITALISTS BRING BACK SLAVERY 10. DETROIT NEWSPAPER STRIKE TEACHES PAINFUL LESSONS 11. SUPPORT MOTHER'S FRIEND, HELP US CHANGE LAWS ON JUVENILES Focus on Battle for Housing: From a North Dakota reservation to the Pacific coast of California, America's impoverished fight for affordable housing. 12. MODERN GENOCIDE: U.S. CUTS SUPPORT FOR ILL-HOUSED NATIVE AMERICANS 13. LAKOTA WOMAN BURNED FOOD, CLOTHES TO STAY WARM 14. LONG BEACH HOMELESS PEOPLE WIN A SMALL VICTORY American Lockdown 15. ALABAMA INMATE HITS CHAIN GANGS: THE SOUTH IS THE HEART OF OPPRESSION AND RACISM Deadly Force 16. NATIONAL COALITION ON POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY TO HOLD FIFTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN CHICAGO Culture Under Fire 17. RAPPER BUSHWICK BILL OF THE GETO BOYS: WHO PUSHES VIOLENCE? IT'S DOLE, NOT OUR MUSIC Announcements, Events, etc. 18. POLICE TERROR: WHY IT'S GROWING, HOW WE CAN STOP IT 19. ABOUT THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE [For information about the PEOPLE's TRIBUNE, see the "Purpose of this Conference", topic 1 in the peoplestrib conference. For free electronic subscription, email: pt.dist-request@noc.org] ****************************************************************** 1. PAGE 1: POLICE HAVE A LICENSE TO KILL; WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO STOP THEM Gregory Becker opens the trunk of his car, gets out his pistol, fires point-blank into Joseph Gould's head. Gould dies. And Becker? He has a license to kill. So says the bloody system we live and die under. Becker is a Chicago policeman. Gould was homeless and sold the StreetWise newspaper. He died July 30 holding only the bucket and rag he used to wash car windows for money. The Cook County state's attorney and a Circuit Court judge both dropped charges of murder and manslaughter against Becker on September 6. Becker will never be asked in a court of law why he had to go into his trunk and get the gun. Becker and the system of police terror are above accountability now. They also are beneath contempt. As for the rest of us, Gould's murder is the loudest wakeup call yet. This is a murder we must not ignore. By letting Becker go, the entire system is declaring it can ruthlessly kill any of America's 80 million poor and answer to no one. That is outright terror. No one is safe. This terror comes as a police bullet. It also comes as a job layoff, an eviction, a denial of health care, a deportation, a welfare cutback. Who wants to live in this kind of America? Who besides Becker, the police and the millionaires and billionaires they all serve? We who understand the need to change this society have a responsibility to build a mass movement to stop this drive to a bloody police state. That is what the murder of Joseph Gould and the dropping of murder and manslaughter charges against Gregory Becker means. In response, one step to take would be to join the League of Revolutionaries for a New America and help distribute the People's Tribune. ****************************************************************** 2. SPIRIT OF THE REVOLUTION: REACH OUT TO THE RELIGIOUS -- ESPECIALLY TO THE YOUTH! [Editor's note: Below we print the latest contribution to our regular column about spirituality and revolution. We encourage readers to submit articles to this column. We would also appreciate any comments readers may have on the articles which appear here. The statement below is a letter which the People's Tribune received responding to an article which appeared in the Spirit of the Revolution column in our August 7 edition. The article was written by Brenda Matthews, a member of the League of Revolutionaries for a New America who is active in a church on Chicago's West Side.] Ms. Matthews: I hope that this missive finds you in the best of health and spirits. As for myself -- staying black and proud. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Steven Matthews and I am formally incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections (Pontiac Correctional Center), which really has no bearing on this letter. I truly believe if I were a "free" citizen and as "aware" as I am, I would still be writing you! I came across your wonderful article entitled "An appeal to the religious community: Join the war on an economic system that is hurting millions!" [in the Spirit of the Revolution column] in the August 7, 1995 edition of the People's Tribune. I must say that I was touched and even moved by the scope of your article. Your sending out of a call to the religious community is a very major step towards a revolution upon the economic system that has continued to abuse many, many of our brothers and sisters. And I must applaud your strong faith in God. If only we all could be so strong! I myself come from a rich Baptist background, and I know what it is to feel the "spirit." With that said, let me suggest that if you are truly seeking the religious community, then you must include the youth, the choir, Bible study, etc. Touch a spot in our youth and you can be sure you'll touch a spot in the adults! With that, I'll end this rather long missive. But I really wanted to express what an overwhelming thrill it was to read your article. It was all that and I hope to read something again from you soon. I know you will continue with the struggle; so will I! Emphatically yours, Steven Matthews N50832 Box 99 Pontiac, Illinois 61764 [We welcome ideas like those in the letter above on how to enlist greater numbers from the spiritual community in the war against this economic system. We are looking for your proposals, thoughts and feelings on this important mission. Please write to Brenda Matthews at the People's Tribune.] ****************************************************************** 3. GET DEACON ALEXANDER BACK ON THE STREETS >From the Deacon Alexander Defense Committee LOS ANGELES -- During the last three years, Deacon Alexander's efforts through the L.A. Unemployed Council have found over 3,500 jobs for folks in the African American Community. That's right-- 3,500 jobs! More jobs than the city, county, state or federal governments have provided for our community. How can Deacon get us jobs when the government can't or won't? After all, after the unrest of 1992, were there not opportunities in South Central Los Angeles to employ our people at a decent wage? Yes, there were opportunities, but the opportunists (including firms headed by blacks and women) did not hire African Americans. They hired whites at prevailing wage and Latinos at minimum (or below minimum) wage. Deacon was arrested trying to get Brenda Curry, the black woman who owns Curton Construction, to hire African Americans. The construction site is the legendary Dunbar Hotel, but there were no blacks working to renovate the building. Because Deacon was on 42nd and Central on June 15 demanding jobs in the community for members of the community, he was arrested for terrorist threats, extortion, and battery, and slapped with a $185,000 bail. Can you imagine that? Fascism is alive and well in Los Angeles. Will you help? Folks like you know the oppression the community lives under. We know why the police carry out the dictates of the establishment--there are no jobs for people in the community because fat cats, like Brenda Curry, fatten their pockets at our expense. She is the establishment. How can you help? Individuals and groups can: 1. Send money to the Deacon Alexander Defense Fund. Tax deductible contributions may be sent to the address listed at the top of this letter. 2. Volunteer your time, get on a committee and pack the court. You can find out the next court date by calling Ruth Mitchem at 213- 232-8316. You can get on a committee by coming to the next defense committee meeting. We meet every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the New African-American Vanguard Movement (NAAVM) International Panther Headquarters, 1468 Martin Luther King Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90037. 3. Express your outrage. In Deacon's behalf, send letters to the judge, the mayor, your congressperson, and the President. 4. Volunteer your professional expertise--we need attorneys, law clerks, legal research assistants. Get Deacon Alexander back on the streets so he can continue to get our people jobs in our community. If you have any questions, please call Attorney Jim DeMaegt at 310-67304302; fax 310-673-9672 or Ruth Mitchem at 213-232-8316. You can write the Deacon Alexander Defense Committee at 1468 Martin Luther King Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90037. ****************************************************************** 4. WHAT'S BEHIND THE ALEXANDER CASE: INTERVIEW WITH A SUPPORTER By Anthony D. Prince LOS ANGELES -- The arrest and mistreatment of Deacon Alexander, a Los Angeles carpenter and long-time community leader, is an outrageous example of injustice against those who are trying to do honest work in this country. To find out more about this case, we spoke with Donna Warren, a member of the Deacon Alexander Defense Committee. PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE: How did Deacon's fight for jobs lead to his arrest? DONNA WARREN: Right after the uprising in '92 Deacon saw the need for some jobs to be in the community. He knew that the community had been burned and a lot of damage had been done and a lot of people had come in with promises to provide jobs. Deacon knew they would send in outsiders and he felt that the people in the community should take the lead. He's a carpenter by trade, and three years ago he began going out to construction sites and confronting the contractors because usually they would not [hire] African American men. They had whites at union wages and Latinos at below wage. He's been pretty successful, getting 3,500 people hired, more than any government agency has provided. About two years ago, the Organized Crime Investigation Division [of the LAPD] began monitoring Deacon. Even though his tactics are a little rough and people are not too happy to see him coming, the contractors have worked with him. Even when OCID approached them they refused to participate in any police scheme to set him up. [But] the last time he was talking with Brenda Curry, a representative Curtom Construction Company [which] got a contract from the Community Redevelopment Agency to refurbish the Dunbar Hotel, the only hotel in L.A. during the '40s and '50s that black entertainers could stay in because of the segregation in L.A. OCID convinced Curry to file charges against Deacon. [She had] invited him to a meeting and when he left, OCID arrested him, June 15, 1995 and charged him with extortion, terrorist activity (under the recently passed terrorist bill) and battery. His bail was set at $185,000. Currently he is incarcerated at the Peter Pitchess Honor Ranch at Wayside, California. A couple of weeks later he was released on own recognizance due to a medical problem. A doctor called in order to demand his release, but he was only released for two weeks and upon the condition that there would be no more demonstrations. Upon his return the DA "heard" that "Deacon's people" were out demonstrating so he was re-incarcerated: no medical facilities, no bed, sleeping on the floor, and finally put into administrative segregation. PT: What is the message that the ruling class is sending here? WARREN: One thing it definitely says is that poor people cannot have not community leaders who are fighting for [their] rights to live as human beings in this country. Also [the system is saying] that the jobs that are in the community will be at our dispensation and we are not hiring "you people" and if we hire Latinos it will be at below prevailing wage. So far the white men have been paid at prevailing wage, but that's soon to go too. Black man: you will work in prison and 80 percent of your earnings will go to the government. We are living in times when the rich want to keep their money and exploit the poor, that's what it says, and the police are enforcing these dire, stupid economic demands. A defense committee has been formed, every grassroots organization has come out in support of Deacon because they support what he stands for: getting jobs in the community. But since [his initial release] people are scared of the system, the committee cooled down. By trying to play the game they thought they could keep Deacon out of jail, but they found out that wasn't true. With Deacon back in jail the defense committee's gotten back together. We've been planning on raising funds and confronting the politicians. ****************************************************************** 5. CHICAGO HEAT VICTIMS: SYSTEM THAT KILLED THEM WON'T EVEN MARK THEIR GRAVES >From the Editors CHICAGO -- It was a shocking sight: 41 plain pine coffins laid side by side in a long narrow trench at suburban Homewood Memorial Gardens. They died poor and alone, so authorities put their unclaimed bodies to rest in a mass grave. They were among the nearly 600 who have died so far in this summer's heat wave, the victims of a system that wouldn't provide them with air conditioning (or much else) when they were alive, but that held their bodies in refrigerated trucks awaiting autopsies after they died. Now comes another insult: the Federal Emergency Management Agency says it won't reimburse almost $3 million in local costs for the heat wave. Why? FEMA's focus is on property damage, and there was only "minor physical damage" caused by the heat wave, say federal officials. If property had been damaged, the money would have flowed; but not one cent will the feds spend to save lives or even mark the paupers' grave where the poorest victims were laid to rest. Decent people across the country are rightly stunned by this. A Tennessee man, Austin Castillo, was so moved by press accounts of the unmarked grave that he established a trust fund to collect donations for a marker or memorial for the 41 unclaimed victims. "I feel it's an atrocity in itself that...we are burying people in mass graves and that these people do not have a marker," he told the Chicago Sun-Times. There was no reason for any of these people to die in a heat wave. Every one of them could have had air conditioning, decent housing, wholesome food, good health care. There is plenty of these things to go around. But we live under a system that won't give you what you need if you can't pay for it, and at the same time denies you the means to pay for it. And all this in the name of maintaining the power and privilege of a handful of wealthy people. There should be a marker for the 41 victims in that mass grave, but the best memorial we could possibly offer them is our determined struggle to bury the capitalist system that killed them and which is a deadly threat to the vast majority of us. ****************************************************************** 6. 'STAND WITH THE ZAPATISTAS' IN PROTESTS IN WASHINGTON DURING ZEDILLO'S VISIT [Editor's note: The National Commission for Democracy in Mexico, USA, is an independent network of groups and individuals committed to promoting solidarity efforts with the people of Mexico in the struggle for democracy. The commission has called for an Act of Resistance in Washington, D.C. on October 9-12 to express support for democracy in Mexico during Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo's visit to Washington. Below we reprint excerpts from the text of a statement issued by the commission, and we encourage our readers to join in the Act of Resistance.] It has been said that there is no possibility of organizing a world order based on democracy, liberty and justice, where all peoples have the right to make decisions about the economic forces that shape their lives. In the midst of this global cynicism and despair, the Zapatistas of Southern Mexico have dared to propose an alternative vision. Sentenced to disappear off the face of the earth, because their means of production, culture and ethnicity have been classified as "irrelevant," the Zapatistas have chosen to resist. However they are faced with an intransigent Mexican government, supported by the United States, which has refused to eliminate human rights abuses and has resorted to assassination to maintain its power and to impose an authoritarian economic policy that benefits an elite at the expense of millions. Despite the government's continued militarization of Chiapas and other southern states, the Zapatistas have managed to sustain a truce for the past 18 months in an effort to work with peaceful democratic forces to create a genuine democracy. They have asked civic society to take up the banner of a peaceful transition to democracy in order to avoid a bloody conflict. The Zapatistas' struggle seeks a new model of democracy for Mexico, one that rejects the global economic model promoted by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and present U.S. policy. Like the Zapatistas, many in North America have also struggled, although in different ways and places. In our resistance we share with the Zapatistas the following ideals: * That all human beings have the right to decent employment, land, housing, nutrition, health, education, democracy, liberty, justice, independence, culture, information, peace, security, the fight against corruption and the defense of the environment. * That an economy is political and that when it promotes the exploitation of people and the earth, human beings are obligated to find alternatives for reasons of their future survival. * That all human beings are capable of organizing themselves to make a world where hope lives and the dignity of community, independence, and freedom belong to everyone. * That democracy means that governments must represent the will of the people, and not the will of a handful of wealthy people. Democracy is more than the right to vote; it also means the right to decide what happens to the economy. The indigenous communities of southern Mexico have had the courage to stand up for democracy, liberty and justice against a corrupt government and a brutal global economic system. ... In order to keep this hope alive, we must show that the Zapatistas are not alone in this struggle. To do this we ask that you make every effort to join us October 9-12 in Washington to express a united voice of resistance during the state visit by Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo and the meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, where we will be joining the protests of the "50 Years Is Enough" Campaign. We extend a special invitation to our brothers and sisters in Canada, to all those involved in agriculture, labor, immigration, women's issues, the environment, indigenous rights, human rights and civil rights, because we believe that all of us together represent the true picture of the global economy, and its specific impact in North America. Join us in this historic opportunity to stand with the Zapatistas, and to let those in power know that reason and a peaceful transition to democracy must remain a viable alternative in Mexico. For more information on the Act of Resistance, please contact: National Commission For Democracy In Mexico, USA 601 N Cotton Street, #A103 El Paso, Texas 79902 (915) 532-8382 phone/fax E-mail: moonlight@igc.apc.org ****************************************************************** 7. MEXICO: THE VOLCANO IS RUMBLING AND ABOUT TO EXPLODE By Nacho Gonzalez Mexico City sits at the base of two volcanoes--Popocatepetl and Ixtacihuatl. When volcanoes are active they explode and pour their red-hot lava over everything within reach. Mexico today is like a volcano. It is active and its lava is boiling. The lava of Mexico is its tremendous economic, social and political contradictions. Through a quirk of history, Mexico is the focal point of all the contradictions of the capitalist system. The international financiers looked to Mexico as the place to invest their capital. Why not? Labor is cheap, it shares a common border with the United States, the Mexican government is accommodating. But at the same time, Mexico is a product of its history. The ruling party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party, is the government. Their hold over the people is complete. It starts at the neighborhood level and rises all the way to the federal apparatus. Licenses and permits cannot be obtained without the sanction of the PRI bosses. The oil that allows the machinery to run effectively is the bribe. It is a total dictatorship, often called the "perfect dictatorship." NAFTA: With the passage of NAFTA, Mexico has become part of the world economy and everything that goes along with it. Free trade and market reforms, lifting of tariffs, privatization of industry, a ceiling on wages, privatization of the ejidos (lands held in common) and a reliance on exporting for the needs of the world market (mainly the U.S.). Which means that production of corn and beans (the staples of the Mexican people) give way to the export of tomatoes, onions, grapes, etc. No one has felt the effects of these changes, "modernization," more than the Mexican peasants. For the last 25 to 30 years they have been forced off of the land and into the money economy. In most cases this has been very violent for the people. Large landowners and agribusiness have moved in and taken the best land, controlling the water and underselling the ejidos (ancestral villages) on the market. The peasants organize to improve their position and are repressed, jailed and massacred by the landholders' armed thugs, local and state police and the army. RESISTANCE: The struggle in Chiapas is the culmination of the resistance of the peasants to the repression and genocide of modern capital! In the cities the workers have had to work for minimal wages. Every time that any kind of cost of living increase is finally conceded to the workers a peso devaluation takes place that reduces their purchasing power by 40 percent, sales taxes are increased and interest rates rise astronomically (interest rates on credit cards are 60-80 percent interest). They too are repressed if they organize. Of late, the headlines on Mexico have been dominated by the numerous assassinations of top government officials. Among those assassinated were a presidential candidate, a Catholic cardinal, a police chief of a major city, the country's top police chief (attorney general), judges and others to numerous to mention. Arrests, extraditions and political asylum are the order of the day. It is clear that the drug trafficking reaches to the top levels of government. The government is losing its social base, the middle class which was severely hit with the peso devaluation and increases in interest rates. What is going to happen? No one can predict with certainty. CONTRADICTIONS: International capital needs to expand. It cannot do so with an unstable Mexico. But the contradictions are intense. Take for example those among peasants and landlords, landlords and banks, capitalists and labor, national capitalists and supranational capitalists, the narcopoliticians and stability. We can go on and on. The question is: Can these contradictions be resolved within the capitalist system? Are they too embedded in the economic, social and political fabric of Mexican society? Whatever happens in Mexico, it is going to have an effect on the United States, the rest of the hemisphere and the world. One thing is certain. The needs of the Mexican people can only be met with a system based on an equitable method of distributing the wealth that the people create. Yes, Mexico is reaching a boiling point, the peasants are up in arms, labor is mobilized, the "middle class" is marching in the streets, the politicans are being assassinated, Mexico is in turmoil. Its only a matter of time before the volcano blows its top, then anything can happen, and will. ****************************************************************** 8. NATIONAL WELFARE RIGHTS UNION CONVENTION DRAWS UP PLANS TO FIGHT ANTI-POOR BUDGET CUTS BY ALLEN HARRIS The need to resist "the continuous stream of budget cuts and attacks on children" by federal and state governments brought together 400 delegates to the 1995 National Welfare Rights Convention at the Hotel Sofitel in Houston last August 18-20. The convention was "very exciting, very provocative and extremely successful," said Maureen Taylor, state chairperson of the Michigan chapter of the NWRU. Participants came from 27 states as well as from Canada and included a broad range of people of all colors and nationalities -- from students to homeless people, from AFDC recipients and the handicapped to elected officials and clergy. They heard a welcoming address by Houston mayor Kathy Whitmire and speeches from civil rights lawyer Barbara Arnwine, from National Organization for Women president Patricia Ireland and from NWRU chair Marian Kramer. Arnwine, Ireland and Kramer were among the U.S. participants in the United Nations women's conference in Beijing. The convention re-elected Kramer as its chair and elected veteran fighter Cheri Honkala of Philadelphia as NWRU co-chair. "We were able to pull together a unified point of view on the cuts taking place across the country and come up with a plan and strategy on how to react over the next three months, six months and year," said Taylor. The participants described how the attacks took different forms in each region, such as attacks on immigrants in California or the all-out attacks in the South, where food programs such as breakfast and lunch programs for children and Meals on Wheels for the elderly face total elimination, she said. "One of the things we decided to do was to alert the federal government, through Hillary Clinton and her husband, that the president has to veto any family cap legislation," said Taylor. Family caps are genocidal measures being pushed by the ruling class. They cut off additional aid to families which exceed a certain number of children. The convention decided to launch a drive to send thousands of postcards from around the country to deliver that message to the White House, Taylor said. Another strategy included asking local legal service organizations to mount a campaign of lawsuits "to declare the illegality of starving children," she said. A third strategy was to ask members to return home and prepare for a winter offensive of street activities -- picketing and sit-ins -- targeting House and Senate members. The offensive will demand that these legislators not vote for these cuts. "The elected officials need to understand that poor people number 75 million in this country," said Taylor. On a related note, Taylor said that a march from Detroit -- home to 350,000 people in poverty -- to Michigan's capital, Lansing, will begin on Friday, September 15. It will wind up with a rally at noon, Thursday, September 21 on the steps of the capitol building. The purpose of the march, said Taylor, will be to draw attention "to these horrendous budget cuts, to draw attention to a governor [John Engler] who hates Detroiters and people who are unemployed." The march will begin at 3 p.m. September 21 in front of St. Leo's Church, at Grand River and 15th Street in Detroit. Persons interested in joining the march and in supporting the fight against the budget cuts can contact the NWRU at 13220 Woodward Avenue, Highland Park, Michigan 48203. Telephone 313-868-3660. The National Welfare Rights Union was founded in 1966. The next NWRU convention is tentatively planned for 1996 or 1997 in New Orleans, Taylor said. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ LEAGUE OF REVOLUTIONARIES FOR A NEW AMERICA SENDS GREETINGS TO WELFARE RIGHTS CONVENTION [Editor's note: General Baker Jr., chairperson of the League of Revolutionaries for a New America, sent the letter below to the National Welfare Right Union on the occasion of the NWRU's recent national convention, held in Houston, Texas.] Dear Comrades In the Struggle: The League of Revolutionaries for a New America would like to send you heartfelt greetings on the eve of your upcoming convention. Your convention is an extremely important event, first, because of the section of society that you represent. The theme of NWRU's Convention, "The Right to Thrive and Not Barely Survive" is on target, because of the way welfare is being played out in the current national debate. Secondly, your convention takes place at a time in which your members and the thousands outside your ranks who fill the welfare rolls have become the most ideologically beat on section of the working class. It takes place at the right moment, when the 1996 presidential campaign seems to hedge on who can beat on the welfare family the hardest. The rapid introduction of electronics into the production process is continuing to place great sections of society into a new class of impoverished workers. Forms of organization emerge every day-- the National Welfare Rights Union is one of the few organizations of the "unorganized" which has stood the test of time and refused to go away. Therefore, NWRU stands as the solid flank in the new arising class. We of the League of Revolutionaries for a New America know well that your upcoming convention will serve the purpose of blasting through the ideological clap trap which rests on blaming the victims of poverty for the ills of this capitalist system, on the one hand, and provide the spark for a resurgence of organization among the new arising class on the other. Thus, we send you our blessings and greetings for a successful convention. Fight on to final victory for a new America. Victory will be ours! Unity and struggle, General Baker Jr. League of Revolutionaries for a New America +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** 9. EL MONTE, CALIFORNIA: CAPITALISTS BRING BACK SLAVERY They worked day and night and were treated like animals. If they tried to escape, they were beaten. Their children were taken from them. Their masters grew rich from their toil. These inhuman crimes were a fact of life in America before the Civil War -- and today. Slavery was a fact of life in an apartment complex near Los Angeles -- until California officials raided it in early August. There, some 64 immigrants from Thailand were forced to sew ready- to-wear garments for as little as 50 cents an hour for as long as 21 hours a day. This modern plantation was not a secret. The Immigration and Naturalization Service knew about it at least three years ago, but INS officials claim that they weren't able to stop it. It was only after one of the prisoners escaped that officials were forced to act. Eight operators of the slave-labor camp have been charged with immigration and wage violations. Calls for legislative hearings have been issued. Yet the real question goes begging: How could such a thing go on in a land which supposedly abolished slavery? The answer involves the new technology which is emerging, the technology symbolized by the robot and the computer. Under capitalism, the introduction of this technology into production actually tends to bring back slavery. The robot does not need a living wage. Any capitalist employing human labor who competes against capitalists using robots has to slash wages to almost nothing. But the same technology which enslaves us when it is in the hands of the capitalists could actually emancipate us -- if the millions of us who make up a new class of poor people take control of that technology by taking control of society. As long as one worker is locked behind razor wire or one inmate breaks rocks on a chain gang, slavery has not been abolished. With the uncompromising spirit of Frederick Douglass, the courage of Sojourner Truth and the zeal of John Brown, we must take up the struggle they began and organize to seize our freedom once and for all. ****************************************************************** 10. DETROIT NEWSPAPER STRIKE TEACHES PAINFUL LESSONS By Margaret Trimer-Hartley Striking Detroit newspaper reporter Detroit Journal/Newspapers Guild DETROIT -- The Detroit newspaper strike is nearly two months old. Many of the striking truck drivers, printers and journalists are for the first time feeling what it is like to be unable to pay the bills. Some are even at the point of contemplating whether to sell their homes and keep fighting or abandon their principles, cross their picket line and collect a paycheck. And like predators, Gannett and Knight-Ridder, Inc., the owners of the two Detroit newspapers, are preying on the weak and vulnerable. Managers who once trumpeted the virtues of teamwork and diversity in the workplace are telephoning aging and handicapped employees, telling them that if they don't cross their unions' picket lines and return to work nobody else would ever hire them. "I felt as though I had a gun to my head," said one 63-year-old reporter at the Detroit Free Press. And every day, jackbooted paramilitary guards and local police officers help the companies escort replacement workers -- many of whom are poor and struggling workers themselves -- into their buildings to do our jobs. It's a classic example of how corporations divide and conquer the work force by pitting working- class people against one another. Indeed, the companies claim they've hired 1,100 replacement workers already and are interviewing more each day, disregarding two National Labor Relations Board charges that permanent replacements are illegal because the strike is over unfair labor practices. The many victories and stinging defeats of the fourth newspaper strike in Detroit in 30 years have taught many strikers profound and painful lessons. Workers have realized that college degrees, seniority and prestigious awards aren't enough to protect them from the greed and ruthlessness of mammoth corporations like Gannett and Knight-Ridder, Inc. These corporations, which made a combined $640 million last year, seem undaunted by the estimated $20 million in losses they've suffered so far in their vicious attempt to bust six striking unions. They have so much money to spend that they've even donated more than $300,000 to the suburban Sterling Heights Police Department to help defray the overtime costs the department has incurred while protecting the companies' main printing plant. They say they must fight the unions so they can maintain efficiency and remain competitive. They say they must do away with featherbedding and antiquated work rules that hamper flexibility. But perhaps what they really want is complete and unchecked control of an industry that is being swept up in the technological revolution. From computer-assisted reporting to increasingly automated printing plants, newspapering is becoming more reliant on electronics and robotics than on human beings. Those developments are exciting and have the potential to expand and improve the information industry for workers and consumers. But information, journalism and their place in a healthy democracy don't seem to matter to these companies. If they did, the issues in this strike would have been resolved weeks ago. Gannett and Knight-Ridder, Inc. know they will need far fewer workers as technology takes over the industry. Busting the unions would enable the companies to easily get rid of all the workers they no longer need. No more buyouts. No more severance packages. No more strings attached. Additionally, the millionaires and billionaires who head these corporations could exert even more control over the editorial content of the press without the unions. For example, reporters who cannot negotiate cost-of-living raises through their unions will likely do -- or write -- whatever they think their bosses want them to just to get a raise. If they can bust the unions in Detroit, they can bust them anywhere. And without protections and free speech in the workplace, what role would the mega-media monopolies serve in this so-called democracy? Dan Colaluca, president of UAW Local 600's steelworkers' unit in Dearborn, Michigan, summed up what to expect if the striking Detroit newspaper workers lose this battle. "There will definitely be no freedom of the press," Colaluca said. "If you think the unions are getting bad press now, just imagine what it will be like if the union-busters take over the local papers." [Margaret Trimer-Hartley is a striking Detroit newspaper reporter. She is married to Daymon J. Hartley, a striking photographer, whose photographs appear on this page. Both worked at the Detroit Free Press. He has 12 years seniority; she has 10. Margaret Trimer-Hartley is pregnant and due any day.] ****************************************************************** 11. SUPPORT MOTHER'S FRIEND, HELP US CHANGE LAWS ON JUVENILES By Gloria Guerra BERKELEY, California -- Changing the laws on juveniles will keep innocent parents from being prosecuted for crimes they did not commit. We need open courtrooms to hear the verdict and open records to the public. We need lawyers to assist the true facts on a case, when a social worker writes allegations on their petition. We need our private criminal records sealed and not let social workers disclose past information in the petition. We do not need the disabled discriminated against because of their disability. The law on reunification should be changed. At present, when a parent agrees to such a plan, he or she has to plead guilty to the allegations against the parent when giving up the right to a trial. Therefore, the allegations become "true." The judge should be more understanding of our side. Parents should not to be forced to take psychiatric medication by psychiatrists by juvenile courts in order to follow the reunification plan. This is a request for the law to be changed on double jeopardy. The present law violates parents' rights. Parents are being prosecuted by bringing the case up again. The juvenile courts are making the parent repeat the prosecution and increasing the possibility that an innocent person may be found guilty and lose all rights to their children. If we get cut off of welfare and the poor families cannot provide for their children, then the police and the children's protective social service will be working hand in hand to remove children out of parents' homes and possibly throwing the children in an orphanage. This will save the taxpayers money, but will also keep the children in the system. Please support our request. [Contact Mother's Friend through Humane Services, 3l24 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, California 94707. Telephone 510-649-8746. Or through the Women's Economic Agenda Project, 518 17th Street, Suite 200, Oakland, California 94612. Telephone 510-451-7379 or fax 510-451-7386.] ****************************************************************** 12. MODERN GENOCIDE: U.S. CUTS SUPPORT FOR ILL-HOUSED NATIVE AMERICANS By Rudy Corral Across the continent, indigenous people live in the poorest conditions of poverty. Thousands of families each year face harsh weather in inadequate shelter and housing. The shortages have placed thousands on waiting lists and have put families of eight to 15 members in two- or three-bedroom homes. Studies show American Indian people live in the worst conditions of poverty in the Americas. They endure high unemployment, inadequate health care and education. Nearly one in three Native Americans live below the poverty line, three times the national average. Children under the age of 6 who live on the reservation face even more catastrophic conditions with one-half living under the poverty line. Recently, $30 million was cut from the Education Department's Indian office. Sports, music and other activities will be cut from school programs and colleges. The most honorable people of the land are being weakened and exposed to the ill effects of society at large. In the public housing assistance budget, Native Americans represent only 1 percent of funds spent and are often the last to be notified of impending changes. The fiscal year 1995 spending bill coming this September could cut $90 million from the federal agency administering most of the Indian programs. These cuts are being administered at a time when the Native American population has more than doubled since the onslaught of genocide in the 18th and 19th centuries. >From the concentration camp atmosphere of urban projects to the "rez" housing, the bottom is ready to fall out on Native American families. Is this the tale to come to the rest of America and its working class? Over 600 families are on waiting lists for housing on the Standing Rock reservation of North and South Dakota, where an estimated 1,500 homes are immediately needed. Like days of old, when Native American families were huddled together under army tents, the overdue shelter and housing are of the bare minimum quality. Some housing is 40 years old and in drastic need of remodeling and repairs. Twenty-seven percent of American Indian households are lacking in adequate kitchen and/or plumbing facilities. Thirty-nine percent are overcrowded and are in serious physical deterioration. These cuts are across the board to all U.S. federal registered nations. In closing, let us prepare ourselves through prayer and medicine. The battle is long and the enemy is strong in our own circles. Let us develop what it is we need to win it. It will take all aspects of a revolutionary movement to ensure peace, justice, and freedom for all. ****************************************************************** 13. LAKOTA WOMAN BURNED FOOD, CLOTHES TO STAY WARM By Anthony D. Prince STANDING ROCK, North Dakota -- It was 20 degrees below zero on the Standing Rock reservation when 73-year-old Agatha Holybull asked for a propane tank in order to stay alive. "He [the distributor] told me that I had already received my propane allotment for the month," relates this proud descendent of Lakota chiefs. "He refused my request." It was the winter of 1992-93 and it was one of the coldest winters in the history of the Dakotas. Leaving the depot, its shelves bulging with propane tanks, Agatha Holybull walked back to Wankpala through 3-foot-deep snow thinking of a way to survive. She began by rationing her meager supply of government surplus commodities, not to be eaten but to be burned in her wood stove for heat. "I began with the potatoes, one at a time," she recalls. "Then the cereal, the powdered milk and the oatmeal." When the food was burned up she began bundling up her clothes and adding them to the fire a little bit at a time. It was a two-week nightmare that no human being on earth, let alone in the wealthiest country in the world, should have had to endure. Agatha Holybull's ancestors had given up a lot in one of the first "contracts with America," that is, the surrender of valuable Indian land, resources and livestock in exchange for the necessities of life. Now, as he had done for hundreds of years, Uncle Sam was breaking his word and if not for incredible fortitude and pure survival skill, yet another Indian would have gone to a sure death. "It wasn't just me alone," says Holybull, referring to the widespread suffering among the Lakota elders. Agatha Holybull was one of many here in Standing Rock who came together with other militant, traditional Indian leaders as members of the Lakota Provisional Government. Faced with massive cuts in federal programs, the gathering at Standing Rock Junior College vowed to fight the genocidal policies of the government. ****************************************************************** 14. LONG BEACH HOMELESS PEOPLE WIN A SMALL VICTORY By M. Blesofsky LONG BEACH, California -- More than two years ago, the city began sweeps against the homeless. The idea was to drive them out of town, or at least make life harder for them. The most outrageous action was perpetrated by the Marine Patrol, a group of bullies, against a small encampment of homeless people near the RV park off Shoreline Drive. The Marine Patrol directed city of Long Beach Public Works employees to "clean up" the belongings of the homeless people. The Homeless Organizing Committee (HOC) immediately challenged the legality of these sweeps. Progressive councilman Alan Lowenthal's aide Rick Rosen even climbed into a dumpster to retrieve homeless people's discarded belongings. Even though all their worldly possessions had been taken and destroyed by the city, the claims by the group of HOC members for their property amounted to only about $4,500. A number of people joined in the struggle for some justice, including Dennis Rockway of the Legal Aid Foundation and Ryan Hirota, a Long Beach attorney, who took up the HOC's case for free. After months of legal motions, including the taking of depositions in which the city's own employees told the truth about the unjust sweeps, the city of Long Beach told Hirota in June 1995 that it was ready for trial. But the city tried to pull a fast one. The city attorney sent Hirota documents called interrogatories, which claimants must answer before a case can proceed to trial. The city obviously believed that the transient lives of the homeless would prevent all the interrogatories from being answered. But they were, every single one. With this last barrier to receiving a little justice removed, the city attorney moved to settle the case. The HOC members received almost 90 percent of what they claimed -- $4,000. Johnny Lowe, who now shares an apartment in the downtown area, was delighted with the settlement. "When this happened, I was volunteering on a beach cleanup sponsored by the city of Long Beach. That was the thanks we got. After all this time, it sure feels good to at least get something. I feel like David defeating Goliath." Today, the city of Long Beach has a written procedure which they must follow before they remove homeless people's belongings. These include a 72-hour notice and holding belongings in the city yard for a specified period of time. Because of complaints of police brutality against the Marine Patrol, which occurred at about the same time as the actions against homeless people, the patrol is now under the direction of the Long Beach Police Department. The city attorney's office has not changed its attitude toward anyone who is injured by the city. Even if the injured party has an open-and-shut case, the city attorney's office uses tax money to force needless and costly litigation. This causes ill will between the injured resident and the city. This penalizes poor people who do not have the money to hire private attorneys. Certainly the budget of the city attorney should not be used as a weapon against poor people who have been hurt by city departments. ****************************************************************** 15. ALABAMA INMATE HITS CHAIN GANGS: THE SOUTH IS THE HEART OF OPPRESSION AND RACISM Excerpted from a letter by Carlos X, #174205 ELMORE, Alabama -- I was recently blessed by the grace of God to acquire a copy of your special "Prison Edition" of the People's Tribune. I found it very interesting that other inmates across the country are experiencing harrowing circumstances similar to the difficulties that the state of Alabama's inmates are subjected to every day. I do not, however, feel that your paper was complete without correspondence from inmates in the "Deep South." This is the heart of the body of racism and oppression. Attack and destroy the heart and the body will eventually perish. I am a 25-year-old black man with a new purpose in life that's in harmony with the will of God. My purpose is to expose and attack oppression with truth. This will ultimately dispel oppression by promoting truthful consciousness. ["And you shall how the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32] The state of Alabama has recently implemented plans to revert back into slavery with the reinstitution of chain gangs. The actual process of chaining five people together at the ankle may not be that hard for those individuals to endure physically. But how will the inevitable emotional scars affect those individuals? The chain gangs actually come on the heels of an even more adolescent-type of thinking of the State of Alabama's SLAVEMASTER (Governor Fob James) and his FARM BOSS EXECUTIONER (Ron Jones: Commissioner). They have installed a new phone system that is laden with malfunctions. Phone calls are allegedly recorded. They have taken away our so-called "free mail" and cable television. They have removed certain popular items from our cafeteria. Except for the phones, these were paid for by the Inmate Welfare Committee. This money is generated 100 percent by the families of inmates (store draws, visitation yard vending, recycled cans, etc.). Although this money is still being generated, despite cutbacks, inmates are negated from its use. The state government is using these funds to replace missing (MILLIONS!) from their account books. WRONGFULLY DENIED PAROLE Also, in the face of ever-increasing overcrowded prisons and county jails, an alarming number of inmates (mostly Black) are steadily being denied parole and access to lower level camps. There are many inmates who have successfully completed their required programs, but they are still being denied these much needed opportunities. Take for instance [one brother] who has been incarcerated for 22 years straight! He has not received any disciplinary action in the last 15 years. He is constantly being denied parole. Not only has he successfully completed his required reform program, but he is currently an assistant SAP (Substance Abuse Program) counselor. His chosen teaching skills are unique and successful. He has also traveled to some churches and colleges to sing in the choir and/or to perform drama. He has even obtained his bachelor's degree while being incarcerated. There are many more imprisoned here who possess some or all of these much-needed qualities in the Black neighborhoods. This is one reason why it becomes extremely hard for a sincerely changed and positive person to gain parole. It becomes even more distressful when more negative-thinking inmates are granted parole than positive inmates. I sincerely pray that my letter will be published in a future issue of your prestigious paper. We are facing obstacles in our path toward true freedom. We wish to make it known that racism and oppression have never been dead in the South. It simply became smarter. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ LOS ANGELES COMES THROUGH FOR AMERICAN LOCKDOWN: PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE FUNDRAISER IS BIG SUCCESS You could hear a pin drop when award-winning author and keynote speaker Luis J. Rodriguez recalled a young inmate who listened as Rodriguez read a poem through a narrow slit in a concrete prison wall. You could sense the urgency of the moment as Jitu Sadiki, community leader and former prisoner, appealed to scores of People's Tribune supporters to break the blackout on what's happening behind bars. And the laughter, cheers and camaraderie came easy as fund raiser Steve Teixeira garnered over $3,000 in cash and pledges at an enthusiastic August 19 fund-raiser in Los Angeles. Bringing together some of the most influential grassroots organizations and leaders in Southern California, the League of Revolutionaries for a New America sponsored the evening of speeches, poetry, music and food. Among supporters who generously gave to support the American Lockdown Inmate Subscriber Fund were the Inner City Focus of Dolores Mission, the Deacon Alexander Defense Committee, M.E.Ch.A. at Chaffey College, the Black Awareness Community Development Organization, the Inland Empire Networking Society, Mothers ROC and the Clarence Street Locos, as well as almost 100 individuals gathered for this important effort. The People's Tribune Editorial Board congratulates those whose hard work made the August 19 fundraiser a success. Thanks, Los Angeles, and keep up the good work! +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** +----------------------------------------------------------------+ "Deadly Force" is a weekly column dedicated to exposing the scope of police terror in the United States. We open our pages to you, the front line fighters against brutality and deadly force. Send us eyewitness accounts, clippings, press releases, appeals for support, letters, photos, opinions and all other information relating to this life and death fight. Send them to People's Tribune, P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, Ill. 60654, or call (312) 486- 3551. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ 16. DEADLY FORCE: NATIONAL COALITION ON POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY TO HOLD FIFTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN CHICAGO Daylong Tribunal on Police Misconduct will precede gathering Formed in 1991, N-COPA is a broad-based network of organizations combining efforts against police brutality. It will hold its annual national conference from Oct. 27-29, 1995 at the International Conference Center. This year's meeting, coming in the midst of growing national outrage against police terror promises to be one of the most significant gatherings in recent history. N-COPA includes within its ranks representatives of the Mothers Against Police Harassment (Seattle), Victims' Voice (Gulfport, Mississippi), the National Interreligious Task Force on Criminal Justice, Vecinos United (New Mexico), COPWATCH (California), the Greater Dallas Community of Churches (Texas), Citizens Alert (Chicago) and dozens of other organizations and grassroots leaders from throughout the United States. This year's conference will be immediately preceded on Thursday, October 26 by a national Tribunal on Police Misconduct sponsored by the National Black Police Association and co-sponsored by N- COPA. The Tribunal will elicit wide-ranging testimony regarding police abuse which will be submitted to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice. To learn more about the N-COPA conference, please call 312-663- 5392 (Fax: 312-663-5396). To participate in the Tribunal on Police Misconduct, call 202-986-2070 or fax 202-986-0410. ****************************************************************** +----------------------------------------------------------------+ CULTURE UNDER FIRE Culture jumps barriers of geography and color. Millions of Americans create with music, writing, film and video, graffiti, painting, theatre and much more. We need it all, because culture can link together and expand the growing battles for food, housing, and jobs. In turn, these battles provide new audiences and inspiration for artists. Use the "Culture Under Fire'' column to plug in, to express yourself. Write: Culture Under Fire, c/o People's Tribune, P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, Illinois 60654. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ 17. RAPPER BUSHWICK BILL OF THE GETO BOYS: WHO PUSHES VIOLENCE? IT'S DOLE, NOT OUR MUSIC [The following is excerpted from a 3-page statement issued by Bushwick Bill, a member of the rap group The Geto Boys. It was issued after the attack on rap artists and rap music by Sen. Robert Dole, the 72-year-old Kansas Republican who is making his third run for the presidency. These excerpts originally appeared in the July 1995 edition of Rock & Rap Confidential.] Why is it that for someone to run for president, they have to bash rap instead of, for instance, domestic terrorists? Dole, who supports semi-automatic handguns, will come out and bash imaginary violence that is found in music and movies, but he won't do anything about the real violence that actually exists in real life. ... It is not rap music or movies that enable violence to occur in the streets, but instead it is people like Dole himself who are perpetuating violence and are the very people who are putting these semi-automatic handguns on the streets. Such action on his part is far more dangerous and far-reaching than my record sales are. The music of the Geto Boys has addressed more serious issues than Dole's recent campaign speech did. ... The music of the Geto Boys has talked about many issues -- including not enough textbooks in schools, poverty, racism, police brutality and other issues. Dole in an effort to get votes, claims my music is "senseless violence." That is totally untrue. When the Geto Boys talk about violence in our music, it's not senseless because there's a story line and a topic and often we have an anti-violence theme, which is, for instance, the topic of our song. "Six Feet Deep," which, has been played on radio stations throughout the country. Even in our song, "Damn, It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta," it says, "Real gangstas don't pull a gun." That's what the whole song was about. Dole, who opposes affirmative action, has now bashed rap, which is the No. 1 form of jobs to be had for a lot of inner-city youths, as even if you don't rap, engineer, or produce, you can get paid to put up posters, pass out fliers, distribute promotional tapes, work on music video sets, do security, promote a club, just all kinds of things you can get paid to do. Not only is Dole's attack another attempt to censor us because this is our creative art form talking about what's going on, but also rap has been a way to get out of the ghetto without violence or selling drugs. Dole, claiming he wants to be our president, has much more of a burden as a politician than I do as a rapper, and I would rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not. ****************************************************************** 18. POLICE TERROR: WHY IT'S GROWING, HOW WE CAN STOP IT Outrage over the Fuhrman tapes has once again focused national attention on the epidemic of police terror in America. In response, the next edition of the People's Tribune will be devoted to this burning question. A Special Edition of the People's Tribune Including: * An exclusive interview with Mark Furhman's victims * Grassroots leaders demand police accountability, set meeting in Chicago * Pepper gas on the picket lines: an eyewitness account and analysis from leaders of the Detroit newspaper strike * Prison guards call the shots in California politics * Arizona's Rudy Buchanan: Cops murdered his son, now Phoenix father has a mission And much, much more! Be sure to order additional copies of this Special Edition on Police Terror today! Call 312-486-3551 +----------------------------------------------------------------+ Dear Readers: The disgust and revulsion that has greeted the latest revelation of police brutality in Los Angeles and other cities includes a growing recognition that our country could well become a police state unless we act. As you know, the People's Tribune has been in this fight from the beginning. Now, as millions of Americans are drawn into the struggle, we must guarantee a widespread awareness of how our country got to this point and what it will take to defeat those who would openly establish a violent police dictatorship. We urge you to do your part in deepening your commitment to the People's Tribune to help us get the upcoming Special Edition into the hands of millions. Please call today to learn how you can help. Sincerely, People's Tribune Editorial Board +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** 19. ABOUT THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, published every two weeks in Chicago, is devoted to the proposition that an economic system which can't or won't feed, clothe and house its people ought to be and will be changed. To that end, this paper is a tribune of the people. It is the voice of the millions struggling for survival. It strives to educate politically those millions on the basis of their own experience. It is a tribune to bring them together, to create a vision of a better world, and a strategy to achieve it. Join us! Editor: Laura Garcia Publisher: League of Revolutionaries for a New America, P.O. Box 477113, Chicago, IL 60647 (312) 486-0028 ISSN# 1081-4787 For free electronic subscription, email: pt.dist-request@noc.org To help support the production and distribution of the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, please send donations, letters, articles, photos, graphics and requests for information, subscriptions and requests for bundles of papers to: PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE P.O. Box 3524 Chicago, IL 60654 pt@noc.org Reach us by phone: Chicago: (312) 486-3551 Atlanta: (404) 242-2380 Baltimore: (410) 467-4769 Detroit: (313) 839-7600 Los Angeles: (310) 428-2618 Washington, D.C.: (202) 529-6250 Oakland, CA: (510) 464-4554 GETTING THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE IN PRINT The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE is available at many locations nationwide. One year subscriptions $25 ($50 institutions), bulk orders of 10 or more 15 cents each, single copies 25 cents. Contact PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, P. O. Box 3524, Chicago, Illinois 60654, tel. (312) 486- 3551. WRITING FOR THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE We want your story in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE. Send it in! Articles should be shorter than 300 words, written to be easily understood, and signed. (Use a pen name if you prefer.) Include a phone number for questions. Contact PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, P. O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654, tel. (312) 486-3551. ****************************************************************** We encourage reproduction and use of all articles except those copyrighted. Please credit the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE. The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE depends on donations from its readers -- your generosity is appreciated. For free electronic subscription, email: pt.dist- request@noc.org ******************************************************************