NATIONAL NEWS

Fighting Ole Massa in Mississippi

By Barbara Winslow

'We're fired up! We won't, take it no more!" That's what 2,000 demonstrators chanted as they marched through Laurel, Mississippi on May 17. The march was called by the International Chemical Workers Union whose members have been on strike for almost two years against Sanderson Farms.

It was the first time I had been in Mississippi since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. In those days, most of us thought of Mississippi as another country. McComb County was considered the most dangerous county in America, the home of Meridian, where three civil rights workers, Chaney, Goodwin and Schwerner, were murdered in 1965.

Laurel, just 50 miles south of Meridian, is the county seat of Jones County. Unlike McComb, Jones County has a radical and anti-racist history. In 1863, the Jones "family" organized a pro-union and anti-slavery rebellion. For those of us who were marching, we couldn't help but feel a part of the history of struggle that this section of Mississippi represented. Even more, I felt a part of the future, as union contingents, church and civil rights groups, women's groups, socialist groups, and black groups maintained a cooperative and energetic spirit throughout the 6-mile march to the Sanderson plant. Bystanders waved, clapped, shouted "Right on!" and joined in.

Sanderson owns a multi-million dollar sweatshop. Last year, his "Miss Goldy" and "Southern Beauty" chicken business turned over $58 million in sales. The 208 workers, mainly black women, are paid $3 an hour.

Working at Sanderson Farms is like slave days, claimed Gloria Jordan, Vice President of the ICWU local. "The boss, ole massa, has us chained like slaves through low money and long hours....We don't even have the freedom to use the bathroom. We're only allowed to go three times a week in working hours."

Sanderson employes Klansmen as foremen. One of the supervisors, Charles Noble, is an admitted

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March for Dignity, May 17, 1980

Klansman who brags about his role in the murder of the three civil rights workers.

The Sanderson workers won their first contract in 1972. It was very inadequate, and now the workers are fighting for above minimum wage, more breaks, and time to wash up. "Ole massa" refuses. He uses the terror of the Klansmen in the area to bring in scabs. The scabs are treated somewhat better, starting at $3.35 an hour and recently receiving a 20 per-

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cent increase. They also can have longer breaks, leave the plant at lunch, and use the bathroom more often. The strikers in Laurel need all the help they can get. The May 17 March for Justice was a rewarding experience in bringing together diverse groups in a spirited march. But there is more than can be done. The strikers are in desperate need of money. If you want to help, take a collection at your union or your women's rights organization; you can invite one of the strikers to speak to your organization. Call the

International Chemical Workers Union, (216) 867-2444, for details.

The fight of the Laurel women is a fight that affects all of us. It is a fight against racism; it is a fight for women's equality; it is a fight against intimidation and union busting; and it is a fight for workers' control of everyday working conditions.

"Sanderson Farms is union busting by plantation owners," said Gloria Jordan. "We're fighting the massa'. We're fighting for our dignity."

Clara Fraser: Victory for Free Speech

Thousands of people have rallied around my case, because they know that if you don't have free speech on the job, you don't have free speech at all. -Clara Fraser

(New York/LNS) Testimony in the Clara Fraser v. Seattle City Light case came to an end on May 27 in the first formal hearing under that section of Seattle's Fair Employment Practices Ordinance that pro-

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vides for freedom from job discrimination on the basis of political ideology.

During his testimony before the panel in late April, former City Light superintendent Gordon Vickery testified that Fraser's firing from City Light was "a case of lack of ability". He called her a radical, defining the term as someone "who expresses ideas that are unacceptable to management".

Fraser explained, "I expected the right to be able to express my opinions on what happens there. I and all the other workers did just that. But I was the only one singled out for special treatment and terminated-because I'm a socialist, a radical and a feminist, not because I expressed any more criticism than anyone else. As a socialist, I believe in the cheapest electricity possible. Why, socialists organized City Light! A public utility in which the people own the power and control its generation and

Women Scientists Sought

(HerSay)-The National Science Foundation has awarded over a million dollars to colleges and universities in 16 states to set up science career workshops aimed at raising the numbers of women going into the scientific and technical fields. Currently, although women comprise 51 percent of the U.S. population, only about 10 percent are involved in the scientific and engineering workforce. The Foundation says that about 3,000 undergraduate and graduate women are expected to participate in the workshops. The $1,021,011 grant also goes toward the setting up of "science career facilitation projects" designed to train women in scientific fields offering good employment and advancement futures.

distribution is a socialist concept. Socialists were key movers in the drive for public ownership of utilities; they did it with Tacoma City Light, and then put tremendous pressure on the Seattle City Council to establish Seattle City Light."

Within the last two months 70 new endorsers have joined the ranks of Fraser's supporters. A measure of the breadth of support and publicity generated for Fraser came when she was asked to endorse exRepublican John Anderson's presidential campaign. Fraser graciously declined, saying, "I'm a socialist, you know, and I don't support Democrats and Republicans. But thanks for asking me!"

Asked how she felt about the long and bitter fight since she was fired by Seattle City Light in July of 1975, Fraser answered, "I feel lucky. I don't know of any bigger luxury on the face of this earth than the freedom to speak your mind. I wish I could convince people of that. There's no greater thrill than to be able to say what you think without being afraid of the consequences. Most people don't know how to do that anymore. Most people change their thinking, because they're always looking over their shoulders; the boss might hear, or the neighbors, or the FBI, or whatever. But if you're a convinced radical, and a working radical, you stop worrying about this."

East Meets West

(HerSay)-A conference of 200 women from 48 national women's organizations in Japan has released a report charging that the Japanese Government has fallen way behind on targets initiated five years ago for promoting women's rights. Women at the Tokyo conference presented their report for comparison with the Japanese Government's official report at the International Women's Conference in Copenhagen in July.

The Japanese women say in the five years since the United Nations declared the "International Decade of Women," many of the demands the women made in 1975 have been ignored. They charge, for example, that home economics is still a compulsory subject for girls in high school; that the government's Women's Issues Planning and Promotions Headquarters is staffed entirely by men; and that most Japanese women still work in unstable, temporary or part-time jobs.

Johnson Spurns Playboy

(HerSay)-Mormon ERA supporter Sonia Johnson has turned down a "Freedom of Expression" award offered her by Playboy Magazine publisher Hugh Hefner. Johnson, who was excommunicated from her church for her stand on the ERA, refused a $3,000 check from the Hefner organization, stating she did not care to “profit from Playboy's exploitation of women."