o lie
VOL. IX NO. 38
o t 's concealedwar against African America s
, Pig. �
Serving the State's African American Community
ports sto e· boycott
AUGUST 16 - 22, 1987
eve es 60's coa itio
Blacks, women� labor bo;rcott
erman's
Grant Green
FLINr - In a scene that was
reminiscent of the 1960's, the
UAW and Civil Rights groups
joined hands and sang out in
protest against 10 wages, ra­
cial discrimination, and sexual
harassment outside of the Her­
man's World of Sporting
Goods store in the Genesse
Valley shopping center on
August 9.
About 100 representatives
BOYCOTI HERMAN'S SPOR G STORES - -Jee Ma . on, right, of e • chig
com; ee and UDidenti d ·de join pi the Flint Herman's World of Sports
Organizers charge Hennan's h alledgedly sed females, discriminated against B
oited uth. boycott «rganized by t .chigan Leadership Co fere
UAW.
from the UAW, the AACP,
the Flint Area Women's Coali­
tion, and Detroit-based
Michigan Leadership Con­
ference (MLC) gathered out­
side the Herman's store for a
kick-off boycott r y to ask
consumers to boycott Her­
man's.
District 65 of the UA W,
which represents approximate­
ly 3000 Herman's employees
nation�de, began wallcing the
pic et line in Michigan in July
after negotiations with the na­
tional sporting goods store
chain failed to produce a ne
contract
The union is asking for a
$5.15 an hour starting base
pay (now $3.50) for all
employees, an educational
fund for Herman's emp oyees
who want to pursue higher
education, an end to racial dis­
crimination and sexual harass­
ment.
The union has charged the
company with racial dis­
crimination, claiming that Her­
man's discriminates against
generate interest in an un-
popular strike.
John Enten local labor
relations counsel for Her­
Continued on P • 16
u.s. labor supper s African mine wo kers
Washington - The United
Mine Wor ers of America has
called for u.s. labor support
for the estimated 4,500 strik­
ing amibian mine workers
who are demanding that the
cooper mining industry im­
prove working conditions, in­
crease wages and state and
their position on the South
African occupation of that
wartorn country.
A U.S. firm, the ewmont
Mining Corporation,is one of
the major targets of the strike
along with Goldfields Corpora­
tion of South Africa and
British Pretroleum Minerals.
They are shareholders in the
Tsumeb Corporation Limited
(TeL) which controls three
mines in the northern portio
of Namibia.
The strike is d by the
Mineworkers Union of
amibia (MUN) which
reports that 4,600 rkers, 95
percent of the ck force, laid
down their tools 0 July 7:1 •
the UDprec.edented k top-
page.
The union listed nine
demands including an end to
apartheid policies and the con­
tract labor system which for­
ces Black men to leave their
famjlies to live in single-sex
hostils in the mining region for
months at a time.
TeL has dismissed all the
workers and refuses to recog­
nize the union. The copper
conglomerate has filed a court
order to evict the workers
from the host:i1s.
Ken Zen of the United
Mine Wor ers of America
said his union is urging the
ew York-based ewmont
Corporation to recognize
MUN and to begin negotia­
tio "They have an oppor­
tunity and responsibility to
respond and intercede at this
point in the workers struggl ,"
said Zen of ewmont
He added the UMW is
mobilizing other unions to
provide upport to the striking
Namibian workers. 'We plan
to establish direct communica­
tions with the union," noted
an, labor coordinator of the
Shell Oil boycott against
South Africa.
amibia, occupied by South
Africa in defiance of interna­
tional law, has been the
launching ground for South
Blac
Family
DETROIT - The National
Black Family Reunion celebra­
tion comes to Michigan
August 21-13, with festivities
in Detroit
A Sunday_morning Sunrise
Service at the Belle Isle band
shell will close the celebra . on,
according to Alberta Black­
burn, assistant to the mayor.
Dr. Benjamin Hoo will be
the featured speaker at the 6
am. service.
Dr. Mary O. Ross is the
Continued on P • 16
Africa military aggression in
the region. An estimated
100,000 apartheid troops are
based there. The South West
Africa Peoples Organization
(SWAPO), composed of
Namibians in the country and
in exile, is waging armed strug­
gle for independence.
