"Intimidation, fear, rotten living conditions for generations--these are the reasons worker organization at J.P. Stevens has failed and the boycott is necessary," Mike Schippani, an organizer for the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union, said last night at a gathering of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee.

A Symbol

Schippani also said, "J.P. Stevens has become a symbol of many of the worst labor abuses: the 'run-away shop,' blacklisting, right-to-work laws, uneven regional development and unemployment."