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August 13, 2008
The party-builder will not add to your “to do” list – rather, it aims
to keep you up to date on our political focus -- the elections – and
provide food for thought with articles on the experience, what works
and what doesn’t, of the Party organization, especially the clubs.
In this
Issue:
- Organizing in Oregon
- Watch the speech
- YCL summer youth voter training camp
- PWW Fund Drive
 Organizing in Oregon
The Civil and Human Rights Committee of SEIU Local 503, Oregon Public
Employees Union sponsored and hosted a talk by Communist Party Vice
Chair Jarvis Tyner, Local 503 retiree activist Ann Montague and union
organizer Bob Novick on Friday, August 8 in Portland, Oregon.
Sixty-three people attended the event, which was held at the Portland
503 union hall. The overwhelmingly workingclass crowd included
participants from SEIU, AFT, CWA, Teamsters and other unions. People
came from as far away as Eugene and Corvallis to attend
The forum was held to reflect on past civil rights struggles and to tie
these to the present political moment. The panel featured three
slightly different perspectives on the past and on the Obama candidacy.
Communist literature was briskly distributed. One woman who attended
took a number of items with her for her non-union paper mill.
 The
Friday meeting was one of four events held in Oregon featuring Jarvis
Tyner and discussions about the Party and the elections. A Thursday
night dinner brought together CWA, SEIU and AFT members. A Saturday
educational discussion involved the Oregon club and several friends,
and was followed by a reception which brought together a mix of union
and gay activists and some people from a West Salem neighborhood.
Plans are in the works to follow up on the weekend with mailings,
personal contact and e-mails. Three people have expressed an interest
in joining the Party and several more heard about socialism for the
first time at these events.
Obama acceptance speech gatherings
A great opportunity to build local organizing around the 2008 elections
will be Aug. 28, when Obama accepts the Democratic nomination for
President.
The Obama campaign is suggesting that people organize house parties or
events at public venues with big screen tvs. Anyone can do this by
going to the Obama website and clicking on “create event.” Moveon is
also calling on its members to host events, as are a number of unions.
These events can be the kick off for making fall plans for voter
registration, canvassing and phone banking, as well as celebrating a
historic occasion.
 Summer Youth Elections Camps a Huge Success!
Working with the Youth Voter Collective, the YCL was able to mobilize
28 youth and students from around the country to participate, including
12 young people from St Louis. Other participants came from
Milwaukee, Chicago, New York and California. They ranged in age
from 13 to 27 years old, and the majority were youth of color. During
the morning hours, students were trained on nearly all the components
of running an electoral campaign—starting as early in the process as
voter registration, building and working a voter universe/list, GOTV
and even how to run an election protection operation on election
day. In the afternoons, many volunteered in the field for
hands on experience with a state senate campaign which was later won by
111 votes!
Stay tuned to www.yclusa.org for more trainings co-sponsored by the YCL.
PWW Fund Drive -- Go!
By Dan Margolis, PWW Business and Circulation Manager
Fund Drive Committee Chair
As you know, the 2008 People's Weekly World Fund Drive is just around
the corner, and we are, of course, already making preparations in the
national office--we're moving full speed ahead to raise $200,000 by
December. The fund drive letter is being prepared in Chicago, and it
should be at the printers later in the week--to make sure that it
arrives right after Labor Day. We'll be discussing with the Internet
Department the best way to go about fundraising online, and planning
coverage and fundraising in the PWW itself.
District leaders will soon be receiving a call from one of us in the Org Dept to discuss plans going forward.
To make a contribution online, go to www.pww.org/support
Elena Mora
Director of Organizing
Communist Party USA
cpusa *at* cpusa d0t org
212-989-4994
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