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Celebrating 35 years of the Workers World Supporter Program

Published Jun 20, 2012 11:47 PM

Workers World interviewed Sue Davis about the vital role the Workers World Supporter Program plays in the life of the newspaper. Davis founded the WWSP in June 1977 and has coordinated it ever since.

WW: Why was the Workers World Supporter Program set up in 1977?

Sue Davis: That was 18 years after the paper was founded. Dorothy Ballan, Bob McCubbin and I felt there was a strong enough subscription base to ask subscribers to help contribute to the paper financially. Right from the start it attracted people who truly value the paper and were able to make voluntary contributions. Some of them are still members.

The WWSP has grown over the years, even attracting members from Europe and Mexico. Most people who sign up stick with the program. They’re extremely loyal. Sometimes they’re forced to leave if they lose jobs or retire, but often they find ways to come back and make monthly payments or installments. Or they make a large donation one year, and then I pro-rate that over several years until they’re able to make their next contribution.

Of course, the economic downturn since 2008 has affected the number of WWSP members. Fortunately, that hasn’t reduced the yearly income. The total for 2011 was the highest yet — more than $16,000.

That means some members are giving more. In the Sustainer category — $300 or more a year — some give a lump sum while others give a monthly contribution, anywhere from $100 to $25 a month. The majority, however, are in either the Supporter category of $75 a year ($6 a month) or the Sponsor category of $100 ($10 a month). We rely on people who don’t have much money themselves and value a newspaper that fights for them.

One way to gauge the program’s growth is that five years ago, during the 30th anniversary, I estimated that members had contributed about $12,000 a year for the last 15 years. So the program is growing and helping sustain the paper.

WW: How have Supporters helped the newspaper?

SD: By funding lots of really important things. Like sending writers to report firsthand on struggles around the world: Palestine, South Africa, Quebec, Russia, north and south Korea, Colombia, Haiti, the former Yugoslavia and Cuba, as well as countries in Europe, and South and Central America.

Supporters have helped the paper establish and maintain workers.org on the Web, so that people all over the globe can read our revolutionary analysis. And WWSP funding has allowed us to computerize weekly production of the paper, with frequent upgrades to keep pace with the latest technology. It’s also helped us maintain publication of Mundo Obrero, the Spanish section addressed to the Latino/a population. The money also comes in handy when the rent is due and postage and printing bills have to be paid.

WW: How does the program work?

SD: In exchange for monthly or yearly contributions, I mail out a letter every month that focuses on some important current issue. This month marks 420 mailings over the last 35 years! This month’s mailing is about the struggle to defend the U.S. Postal Service and stop all the closings and layoffs. That’s one of the top current social and economic issues that, if the Postmaster General is allowed to proceed, will affect every person’s quality of life in this country. Putting extra emphasis on that, beyond articles in the paper, helps promote the struggle and encourages Supporters to get involved.

When I started the program, there were a lot of buttons and printed petitions that I could mail out, but that’s changed with the growth in technology over the years. Now much communication is online. But political prisoners always need support — and they appreciate support — so I often mail out the latest info on those struggles.

For instance, in March I mailed Supporters a “Give Me Five” postcard addressed to President Obama asking him to issue an executive order to free the Cuban Five. In April, the mailing was a call to Occupy the Justice Department on April 24 to demand freedom for Mumia on his birthday.

WW: What more do readers need to know about the the program?

SD: The hard part of my job as coordinator is when devoted, longtime members die. That’s really sad for me personally because I often get to know Supporters and establish ongoing relationships with them. Handwriting thank-you notes when people join or renew their membership helps create a connection.

So members need to know they can continue to contribute to the paper by leaving bequests in their wills.

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to get to know so many wonderful people who are dedicated to WW’s politics and who really care about the newspaper and want to see it prosper. n