History in the Making
Rob Sewell reports from the founding convention of the American LaborParty in Cleveland, Ohio..."This is war. We have dug in our heels and we will not surrender." With these words of defiance, Margaret Trimmer-Hartley speaking on behalf of the 2,000 striking newspaper workers in Detroit, brought the founding Labor Party Convention in Cleveland to its feet. An older trade unionist from Chicago approached the microphone and began playing on his harmonica the old union anthem, "SolidarityForever". The whole Convention spontaneously erupted to the sound. Every delegate linked arms in a show of strength and unity. It served to sum up the whole mood of jubilation and determination that everyone present was carving out a new heroic chapter in the history of the American working class.