On Thursday, October 14, delegates to the 17,000-member Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body unanimously adopted a resolution of support for Midwest anti-war activists facing FBI and Department of Justice harassment. The resolution calls for a congressional inquiry into government spying and grand jury investigations of US social movements, and will be hand-delivered to US Senators Klobuchar and Franken by DCLB president Dan O'Neill today.Duluth Central Labor Body resolutionWhereas on September 24, 2010, the FBI carried out coordinated raids on the homes and offices of anti-war and trade union activists in Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan, during which agents confiscated computers, mailing lists, cell phones, passports, political literature, correspondence and children’s drawings; and served subpoenas to 14 people to testify before a federal grand jury about alleged material support for foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs); and
in support of Midwest anti-war activists
Whereas from the Palmer Raids to J Edgar Hoover's COINTELPRO, the FBI and Department of Justice have long histories of exploiting public fears in order to disrupt trade union, civil rights and anti-war organizing; and
Whereas four days prior to the September 24 raids, the Office of the Inspector General of the United States revealed that the FBI has systematically and illegally spied on political activists; that FBI director Robert Mueller lied to Congress about details of the surveillance; and that agents frequently confuse civil disobedience with “domestic terrorism”; and
Whereas on June 20, 2010, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Holder v Humanitarian Law Project to uphold a provision of the USA Patriot Act that defines material support for FTOs so broadly as to include legitimate humanitarian work, journalism and international solidarity;
Therefore be it resolved that the Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body denounce the September 24 FBI raids and grand jury investigation of Midwest anti-war and trade union activists as a dangerous assault on free speech and association; and
Be it further resolved that the DCLB call on Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken to request a full and transparent Senate investigation of post-9/11 FBI surveillance of social movements and the use of expansive anti-terror laws to criminalize dissent; and
Be it finally resolved that the DCLB forward this resolution to Midwest-area labor councils and the AFL-CIO and urge these organizations to similarly condemn FBI and DOJ attempts to intimidate and disrupt grassroots social movements.
by Twin Ports SOA WatchIt would be difficult for us, with our training, to have a relationship with a leftist government. That’s impossible.SOA grad and Honduran Army Attorney Col. Herberth Inestroza,
justifying the military coup to the Miami Herald
Boycott the Pickwick Restaurant!
Following months of unsuccessful negotiations and numerous unfair labor practices, Workers United Local 99 is asking that the public boycott the Pickwick restaurant.
The Pickwick has been a union restaurant for 85 years, and for four generations has been owned and run by the Wisocki family. Many of the workers have been there for 20-30 years. But the current owner, Chris Wisocki, seems to determined on tearing up all of that history and busting the union.
Among the unjust acts Chris Wisocki has committed is the firing of two long serving workers (CJ Cannon and Sandy Reinholt) for carrying out their legal right to picket; demanded that the workers give up their health benefits, longevity pay and 401(k) plans; and started a union decertification plan. All of this while the restaurant claims its business is doing great. Even the former owners of the Pickwick, Tony and Steve Wisocki, are outraged by this, and have publicly come out in support of the workers!
If the Pickwick succeeds in busing the union, it will set a dangerous precedent for employers throughout the region to do the same. It’s crucial that we rally in support of these workers in their time of need! Local 99 has a plan of action, but they need our help to win. Currently the union is holding pickets in front of the Pickwick from 11:30am - 1pm Monday through Saturday, 5pm - 7pm Monday through Thursday, and 6pm to 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Please come by and join the pickets; we can use all of the bodies that we can get!
Local 99 is also asking for folks to call the Pickwick at (218) 727-8901 or send them an email at cwisocki@charter.net and tell them that you won’t be eating at the restaurant until they settle with the union.
Together, with a little solidarity, we can save these union jobs! Never forget - an injury to one is an injury to all!
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The article above was written by Adam Ritscher, borrowing heavily from information in the July 22, 2009 issue of Labor World newspaper. For more information about this important struggle, check out the front page article in the Labor World:
http://www.laborworld.org/documents/Jul-22-2009v5.pdf
On May 16, Duluth Democratic-Farmer-Labor party delegates passed two resolutions related to law enforcement actions during the 2008 Republican National Convention in St Paul. The first echoes Amnesty International's call for an independent investigation into charges of police violence and civil liberties violations - a demand that has been widely ignored by the DFL establishment in St Paul and Minneapolis. The second resolution asks DFL gubernatorial hopeful and current Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner to drop charges against the RNC 8, a group of anarchist organizers who were swept up in pre-protest police raids and charged with conspiracy to riot and "furthering terrorism."
Whereas tens of thousands of Minnesotans were inspired by the war in Iraq and other disastrous policies of the Bush Administration to take part in protests against the Republican National Convention (RNC) when it was held in St Paul on September 1-4, 2008; and
Whereas the RNC was designated a “National Security Event” by the Department of Homeland Security, leading to the heavy influence of Bush-era federal agencies in RNC-related law-enforcement operations; and
Whereas human rights, civil liberties and press freedom organizations have raised serious accusations, supported by video evidence, of excessive police force and civil rights violations against participants in RNC-related protests, including but not limited to: raids on activist homes and confiscation of political literature; surveillance and infiltration of activist groups; the offensive use of chemical irritants, impact rounds, batons, tasers and rubber bullets; mass arrests of activists and passersby; and the detention and harassment of journalists covering the protests; and
Whereas in September of 2008, Amnesty International called for “city and county authorities to ensure that all allegations of ill-treatment and other abuses are impartially investigated, with a review of police tactics and weapons in the policing of demonstrations”; and
Whereas investigations into RNC-related police actions to date have been limited to internal police department reviews and an RNC Commission Report headed by two former prosecutors who interviewed a total of forty law enforcement agents and one activist;
Therefore, be it resolved that the Duluth DFL strongly reaffirms the first amendment rights of all Americans to freely assemble, speak and petition their government for redress; and
Be it further resolved that the Duluth DFL demands a thorough and impartial investigation into accusations of police violence and civil rights abuses against activists during the Republican National Convention in St Paul; for the findings of this investigation to be made public; for responsible parties to be disciplined; and for measures to be put in place to ensure that future police operations in Minnesota respect our constitutionally-guaranteed rights to assembly, speech, and a free press.
Passed by the City of Duluth DFL, in Convention, May 16, 2009, voice vote, one and only one dissenting vote.
Whereas, in the days leading up to the Republican National Convention (RNC) in St Paul, local and federal law enforcement agencies carried out a series of raids on activist centers and the private homes of RNC protest organizers, seizing political literature, mobile phones and computers and detaining over one hundred people; and
Whereas, the raids resulted in the arrest of several protest organizers; and
Whereas, on September 3, 2008, Ramsey County prosecutors formally charged Luce Guillen-Givins, Max Specktor, Nathanael Secor, Eryn Trimmer, Monica Bicking, Erik Oseland, Robert Czernik and Garrett Fitzgerald with CONPIRACY TO COMMIT RIOT IN FURTHERANCE OF TERRORISM, without evidence that the eight young activists committed any act of violence; and
Whereas, changes to the Minnesota criminal code under the so-called Anti-Terrorism Act of 2002 threaten free speech and the right to organize by defining acts that “further terrorism” so broadly as to include actions that “disrupt or interfere with the lawful exercise, operation, or conduct of government, lawful commerce, or the right of lawful assembly”; and
Whereas, in December of 2008, Ramsey County prosecutors amended the complaint against the eight activists with three additional felony counts of CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT RIOT, CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT CRIMINAL DAMAGE TO PROPERTY, and CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT CRIMINAL DAMAGE TO PROPERTY IN FURTHERANCE OF TERRORISM; and
Whereas, Ramsey County prosecutors and the Ramsey County Sheriff’s office have consistently and publicly linked civil disobedience with terrorism and violence; and
Whereas, conspiracy charges and the conflation of dissent to violence have historically been used to undermine social movements, and particular the labor movement; and
Whereas, delegates to the Duluth Central Labor Body, recognizing the threat posed by these prosecutions to the right to organize, unanimously approved a resolution on March 12, 2009 condemning the Minnesota Anti-Terrorism Act and the prosecution of the RNC 8; and
Whereas, on April 9 of this year Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner responded to pressure from the DCLB and others by dropping terrorism-related charges against the RNC 8, but is moving forward with prosecution under the two remaining felony conspiracy counts;
Therefore, be it resolved that the Duluth DFL affirms the right to organize collectively and calls on Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner to dismiss all charges against Luce Guillen-Givins, Max Specktor, Nathanael Secor, Eryn Trimmer, Monica Bicking, Erik Oseland, Robert Czernik and Garrett Fitzgerald; and
Be it further resolved that the Duluth DFL goes on record as opposing 609.714 of the Minnesota criminal code (“CRIMES COMMITTED IN FURTHERANCE OF TERRORISM”) as a threat to free speech and the right to organize, and calls on Minnesota state legislators to repeal this law with haste.
Passed by the City of Duluth DFL, in Convention, May 16, 2009, voice vote, one and only one dissenting vote.
On March 12, delegates to the Duluth Central Labor Body, representing nearly 17,000 workers in the Duluth area, unanimously approved a resolution in solidarity with the RNC 8 (above) and calling for a repeal of the Minnesota Anti-Terrorism Act.Whereas, a free society is one in which people can organize collectively to improve their lives without fear of persecution by their government; and
Whereas, the labor movement has historically suffered state intimidation and repression in our efforts to organize working people, including the unconstitutional arrest of labor organizers and publishers of union papers under “criminal syndicalism” laws of the first half of the 20th century; and
Whereas, changes to the Minnesota criminal code under the so-called Anti-Terrorism Act of 2002 threaten political speech by defining acts that “further terrorism” so broadly as to encompass civil disobedience designed to “disrupt or interfere with the lawful exercise, operation, or conduct of government, lawful commerce, or the right of lawful assembly,” including strikes, blockades and other union actions to defend workers’ rights; and
Whereas, the first criminal charges under this law were filed by Ramsey County prosecutors in September of 2008 against organizers of Republican National Convention protests in St Paul (known as the "RNC 8"), with no evidence that the defendants committed any act of violence;
Therefore, be it resolved that the Duluth Central Labor Body stands in solidarity with the RNC 8 and goes on record as opposing the politically-motivated terrorism charges filed against them; and
Be it further resolved that the Duluth Central Labor Body goes on record as opposing 609.714 of the Minnesota criminal code (“CRIMES COMMITTED IN FURTHERANCE OF TERRORISM”) and calls on Minnesota state legislators to work for the repeal of this law;
Be it further resolved that the Duluth Central Labor Body urges that labor unions across Minnesota consider the implications of the RNC 8 case and the Minnesota Anti-Terrorism Act on their own organizing and to support the cause of repeal.
