Views in brief
A memorial for Sandy Boyer
SANDY BOYER, a dedicated human rights activist and supporter of many Irish struggles, passed away recently. A memorial gathering of his friends and colleagues is set for Sunday, April 17, 2016, from 4-6 p.m., in Theatre 80 St Marks, at 80 St. Marks Place, just off First Avenue in the East Village in Manhattan.
All are welcome to celebrate Sandy's important contribution in supporting struggles for justice in the U.S., South Africa and Ireland.
Joan McKiernan, New York City
An anti-apartheid fighter
IN RESPONSE to "Determination in the cause of justice": Below is a description of Sandy Boyer's central work in the labor wing of the movement against apartheid in South Africa, written by his colleague Michael Fleshman:
Sandy made major contributions to the anti-apartheid movement via his work with the American Committee On Africa (ACOA) in New York. Hired primarily for his skill as a writer and fundraiser, he was instrumental in helping to design and launch ACOA's labor solidarity campaign in the 1980s, as a new generation of South African trade unionists emerged to challenge the racist regime on the shop floor.
The Labor Desk sought to promote U.S. labor solidarity with their South African counterparts by promoting and supporting direct union-to-union links, touring Black South African labor leaders throughout the United states, engaging rank-and-file and pan-union organizations like the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and Black Workers for Justice, and establishing municipal and statewide labor committees against apartheid in Illinois, New York and many other cities.
His wide range of contacts and keen grasp of union politics was key in helping to expand labor's role in the wider U.S. anti-apartheid movement and neutralizing the corrosive effect of the anti-communist AFL-CIO international department's efforts to weaken the revolutionary South African labor movement and deflect worker support for anti-apartheid sanctions, disinvestment and corporate campaigns in the United States.
Andrew Pollack, Brooklyn, New York
The Trib's true colors
IN RESPONSE to "The Tribune blows its top": Known by long-time unionists in Chicago as the "Scabune," the Chicago Tribune has never seen a union it didn't hate. In 1985, the Tribune's printers, pressmen and mailers went on strike. Eventually, the strike was broken.
I worked on a railroad job that brought cars of paper to the Tribune's ironically named "Freedom Center." During the strike, we would stop the engine at the gate, and management would take over and spot the cars. We did this long after there were any picketers on the site--just a picket sign was enough for us not to cross.
Unfortunately, the picket line was not honored by members of the Newspaper Guild, most of whom waltzed right by the picket line.
Guy Miller, Chicago
