Delegates and guests give thumbs up to CP convention

by Les Bayless & Tim Wheeler

This article was reprinted from the March 9, 1996 issue of the People's Weekly World. For subscription information see below. All rights reserved - may be used with PWW credits.

CLEVELAND - Judy Botwin, president of Women Speak out for Peace and Justice, a Cleveland group, was a guest at the Communist Party USA's 26th National Convention. They set up a booth in the corridor outside the Sheraton City Centre Hotel Grand Ballroom.

"I'm struck by the sheer numbers of people," she told the World. "It's very impressive. The diversity, too - all ages, ethnic groups, women and men, lots of young people."

George Borlin, a retired union steamfitter, drove 50 miles from the Youngstown area to participate in the rally at the nearby Bridgestone-Firestone Service Center Saturday afternoon. "I'll always be there for a picketline," he said.

"I'm a union man all the way. It's so important to show solidarity with workers on strike. I came here because I wanted to thank Gus Hall," Borlin said. "He helped not only the steelworkers but all unions - even the steamfitters in Newark, New Jersey where I was living during the 1930s."

Alise Scales from New Haven, Conn. is a striking member of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees at Yale University. She is a new member, her first time as a convention delegate. She told the World she was on welfare for a year, supporting a young child. Now she is walking the picketline.

"The convention is a learning experience," she said. "It's good to see that people of all nationalities can work together as one. I have a lot of friends who are in bad situations but the Party is here fighting for their benefits."

Pablo from New Mexico is a national trade union leader who was attending his first convention. "It's like an awesome union meeting," he said. "It's convincing, invigorating and exhausting. I've never been in such a diverse cross section of the world."

Miguel Castro is a Lorain, Ohio, machinist and a union activist. He came as a guest. "As a labor organizer, I think this convention is tackling the issues. If we had this level of participation in my union ranks, we would be a force to be reckoned with," he said. "Somewhere along the line we all have to find common ground."

David Ellison, chair of the Northeast Ohio Green Party, co- chaired a workshop on the environment. "Thank goodness for the Communist Party, USA," he said. "I can't imagine where we would be if it had not been for the disciplined organizing that the CP has been doing," he said.

Carol and Rick O'Neal are striking workers from the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press. On strike for the past eight months, they set up booths at labor conventions across the country to sell T-shirts, posters and strike-support buttons. They distributed copies of their alternative newspaper, the Detroit Sunday Journal, and raised more than $1,000 at this convention.

"This was a learning experience for me," Rick said. "Communism was something like the plague in my house when I was growing up. I will say this: the people I've met here are very caring, giving, gracious, everyday kind of people. I wish more people could experience this [convention]. It's opened my eyes."

Carol chimed in, "These are fantastic people coming from all over the world because they're tired of the way average people are being pushed around," she said.

Juan from New York was a member of the Guatemalan Communist Party before moving to the United States 10 years ago. He and Philadelphia delegate Debby Bell electrified the convention by reading, in Spanish and English, Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's poem, "A Mi Partido," (To My Party).

Since a CIA-instigated coup in 1954, the Guatemalan government has engaged in mass murder against the Guatemalan people. "To be a member of the party in Guatemala is to be a member of a mass organization involved in struggle," Juan told the world. A textile worker and member of UNITE, he added, "Our convention spirit was impressive and amazing. It's the kind of event we need to move forward and unite the people."

Norm Tishler, a professional musician, came as a guest. He grew up in a left-wing family. "I came down to see these Party veterans who know what struggle is and what love is," he said. "You look into their faces and see so much warmth and humanity. They didn't need heat in the hotel because their hearts are so radiant."