Interim National Council  Council Analyzes  LP Recruiting

September, '98 Labor Party Press

The Labor Party’s Interim National Council met on June 19-20 in Pittsburgh.

The Council discussed recent recruitment and organizing successes. LP Organizer Ed Bruno presented his analysis of what steps endorsing unions need to take to dramatically increase Labor Party support among their locals – such as assigning a staff person to call up or meet with locals and districts. Once locals are affiliated, they need to form Labor Party clubs to increase Labor Party membership among local union members.

INC members discussed, amended, and adopted a proposal to encourage existing chapters with very modest membership to become organizing committees.

LP co-chair Kit Costello reported on a new organizing campaign for "Just Healthcare." Costello and other Labor Party leaders have met with Physicians for a National Health Program, healthcare activist Dr. Sid Wolfe and others to formulate a plan for the campaign. Labor Party activists in Massachusetts have volunteered to pilot the campaign in their state. Costello pointed out that there is a political vacuum in organizing for substantive healthcare reform, and that the Labor Party will move to fill this void.

The INC also discussed early efforts to build a Labor Party campaign for workers’ rights. Labor Party leaders are meeting with members who are experts in this area to craft a detailed, thorough-going campaign .

INC member Cheri Honkala of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union gave a presentation about KWRU’s national bus tour for economic human rights. The campaign has garnered support from a wide range of organizations and unions and gotten significant media coverage. Two people on the bus were designated as Labor Party organizers.

The INC members discussed some of the logistics of the upcoming convention and pledged union staff support at the three-day event. When Council members each gave an estimate of how many people their organization would bring to the convention, the total came to over one thousand people.

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