SOUTH CAROLINA LABOR PARTY WINS BALLOT LINE Activists Meet to Adopt Party Structure, Organizing Plan!
On September 14 the State Election Commission certified the South Carolina Labor Party as an official political party with a ballot line. Creation of the SCLP highlights a new stage in South Carolina politics. The SCLP is the first independent political party expressly and exclusively committed to pursuing the most widely shared concerns of the state's working people.
Delegates will meet in Columbia on September 23 to adopt a governing structure and organizing plan for the new state party, with an eye toward building a broad base for participating in state and local elections in 2007 and 2008. Afterward, from 4 to 6 pm, there will be a public celebration of the South Carolina Labor Party's formation at Communications Workers of America Local 3706 Hall, 566 Chris Drive, West Columbia.
This moment is the product of a campaign that began in January, as Labor Party activists from unions and communities in every section of the state set out to gather the signatures necessary for ballot certification. They targeted flea markets, festivals, neighborhoods and college campuses in Anderson, Charleston, Greenville, Orangeburg, Florence, Columbia and elsewhere. The enthusiastic response they received from all sorts of people all over the state affirmed their conviction that working South Carolinians are ready for a new voice in the Palmetto State's politics. The State Election Commission has now made that official. And it is a moment of potentially historic significance that can reach even beyond South Carolina. State AFL-CIO President Donna Dewitt, a co- chair of the SCLP Organizing Committee, observed, "We are now well on our way to being the first state in the nation where workers can vote for a real party of our own.
In July, Dewitt, along with Prof. Willie Legette of South Carolina State University, the other SCLP co-chair and Columbia Central Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer Linda Houck, another key leader of the South Carolina Labor Party Organizing Committee, submitted more than 16,500 signatures to the election commission. "This was a major hurdle, but we cleared it with a healthy cushion to spare because of the commitment and dedication of the South Carolinians who see the need for a clear working class politics in the state," said Legette, "Now we can turn our attention to broadening and deepening our statewide base and building a strong, fighting organization that can enter the electoral arena on our own terms."
For further information contact: Willie Legette 803.347.2488 or Donna Dewitt 803.798.8300
PRESS CONFERENCE 12 NOON SEPTEMBER 22 AT STATE CAPITOL
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Partial List of Organizational Endorsers of the South Carolina Labor Party
South Carolina AFL-CIO Columbia
Charleston Central Labor Council Charleston
Columbia Central Labor Council Columbia
International Longhoremen’s Association Local 1422 Charleston
International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1422-A Charleston
International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1751 Georgetown
Amalgamated Transit Workers Union Local 610 Charleston
United Steel Workers of America Local 216 Harleyville
United Steel Workers of America Local 1435 Charleston
United Steel Workers of America Local 663 Charleston
United Steel Workers of America Local 1879 Florence
Communications Workers of America Local 3706 Columbia
American Federation of Government Employees Local 3509 Statewide
American Federation of Government Employees Local 1869 Charleston
American Postal Workers Union Local 807 Columbia
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1902 Rock Hill area