Chicago, IL – In the fall of 2010, 23 anti-war and international solidarity activists across the Midwest were subpoenaed by the FBI to appear before a federal grand jury in Chicago. Ten of us are trade unionists, and most of us had our homes raided by the FBI. Almost all of us had been leaders in the anti-war protest at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in September, 2008 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The raids were investigating an alleged conspiracy to provide “material support” to foreign terrorist organizations in Palestine and Colombia.

Immediately, our unions and unions across the country began to speak out in protest of the FBI attacks on civil liberties. Resolutions adopted by unions, including the Minnesota state council of AFSCME, the San Francisco Labor Council, the United Electrical workers and the Illinois State Council of SEIU, recognized that the trade union movement must be at the forefront of defending the right to dissent.

It has been clear from the start that we are being targeted because we oppose U.S. wars, from Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as our government’s involvement in the counter insurgency war in Colombia and U.S. support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine. One after another, unions across the country recognized the pattern: from the persecution of the Industrial Workers of the World during World War I, to the McCarthyite witch hunts of the 1950s, the bosses have gone after some of the best labor organizers, using the excuses of sedition or communism. Now the excuse is “material support” for terrorism.

On Jan. 4, the president of the California Teachers Association (CTA) wrote a solidarity letter for another victim of the FBI – Carlos Montes. Montes, a veteran Chicano movement activist, leader in the immigrant rights movement, and former organizer for SEIU, was the 24th activist targeted by the FBI in this fishing expedition. Montes faces 18 years in prison on trumped up charges of firearm violations. In truth, his home was raided in May 2011 as a continuation of the political repression of the anti-war and international solidarity work of those of us in the Midwest. Montes was a speaker and leader of the same march on the RNC in Saint Paul and when the FBI raided the office of the Anti-War Committee in Minneapolis on Sept. 24, 2010, they left a warrant with some of the names of who they were investigating. Carlos Montes’ name was prominent among them.

CTA has 325,000 members. With this letter by their president, unions representing over 1.1 million workers have taken a stand opposed to FBI repression. Class struggle and civil liberties are not isolated from each other. There is a growing section of organized labor that understands this, and it’s a source of strength for those of us living through this modern day McCarthyism.

Joe Iosbaker is a clerical worker at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he is chief steward for SEIU Local 73, and a member of Local 73’s executive board. He and his wife, Stephanie Weiner, a member of AFSCME Local 3506, had their home raided by 25 FBI agents on Sept. 24, 2010.

#ChicagoIL #Labor #CarlosMontes #CaliforniaTeachersAssociation #PoliticalRepression

Letter from California Teachers Association (CTA):

On behalf of the 325,000 members of the California Teachers Association, I write in support of educational justice activist Carlos Montes and denounce the arbitrary FBI raid that led to his arrest as an assault on the first amendment rights of every activist and union member.

Mr. Montes has been a longstanding advocate for public school students and teachers. He was a co-founding member of the Brown Beret's, a Chicano working class youth organization of the late 1960s and 1970s. He was also one of the leaders of the Chicano Blowouts and participating organizer of the East Los Angeles school walkouts protesting racism and inequality in Los Angeles public education. Mr. Montes was instrumental in successfully demonstrating for and getting Chicano and Black studies programs at California colleges. More recently he has focused his attention on immigrant rights as a member of the Southern California Immigration Coalition, which works to protect immigrant families from arbitrary federal raids.

We believe that recent raids by the FBI in Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis were unwarranted and targeted several union members and activists. Carlos Montes is a nationally respected leader in the Chicano, immigrant rights and antiwar movements and he should not be targeted for political attacks based upon his views. He has tirelessly fought for adequate public schools and adequate health care for all children, as well as minority rights issues. CTA calls for the end of the grand jury proceedings against trade union activists and urges the Los Angeles District Attorney to drop all charges against Carlos Montes.

Yours truly, Dean E. Vogel President

#California #CA #InJusticeSystem #CarlosMontes #CaliforniaTeachersAssociation #PoliticalRepression