Plainfield, NJ – Four members of People’s Organization for Progress (POP) were arrested here Nov. 17 during a peaceful rally. They were protesting against police brutality and the violence that is permitted to rage in low-income communities.

At about 11:00 a.m. the four – Steven Hatcher, Jeff Hitchcock, Zackariah Jackson and Stuart Rosenberg – were in a small downtown park. They were distributing a flyer and holding signs that said, “Stop police brutality,” and “Peace in the streets.” Hatcher is the chairman of the Plainfield branch of POP. They had been there for 15 to 20 minutes when a police car drove by. Two cops got out of the car and said, “You aren’t allowed to do this without a permit.” The four were told to put their signs away.

They remained in the park holding their signs, however. Two held their signs visibly and two held them at their sides. Five minutes later the cops returned. The same cop as before told them they could not have a demonstration, although the four were just standing there.

A police captain also approached. He looked at the flyer the group was distributing and demanded to know what the rally was about. Hatcher explained it was against police brutality like the recent killing of Coppin Kiel in New York and also against violence that recently took the life of a youth in Plainfield. The captain replied, “That doesn’t happen on my watch.”

POP member Rosenberg was asked, “What is your name? What is your address?” Rosenberg asked why the police needed his address. He was then grabbed and handcuffed. Hatcher told the police he was the chairman of POP and was himself handcuffed. The other two men were then handcuffed and arrested. By this time there were four police cars and a van at the scene.

The four were taken to the Plainfield police headquarters and mug shots were taken. They were charged with unlawful assembly and released.

“We demonstrated before in a vigil for Rosa Parks and nothing happened,” says Hatcher. “We have demonstrated before many times. It is absolutely clear to me that we were arrested because our flyer and our signs were against police brutality.”

The next day 40 people showed up at 3:00 p.m. at the Plainfield City Hall for a press conference to protest the arrests. Again the cops showed up and told the peacefully assembled group that they were ‘hostile,’ that they needed a permit, and that they were, “going about this the wrong way.” No one left, however, and this time the cops did not act on their threats.

People’s Organization for Progress chairman Lawrence Hamm spoke and denounced the erosion of constitutional rights under the Bush administration. He mentioned the Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act among other repressive measures passed by Congress. He stated three demands: All charges against the Plainfield Four must be dropped; the incident must be investigated from the time of the arrests until the release of the four; and any municipal ordinances in violation of constitutional rights must be repealed.

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Plainfield, NJ – The People’s Organization for Progress (POP) called a rally here, Dec. 15 to protest the Nov. 19 arrest of four of its members. The 4 were peacefully rallying against police brutality and violence in the community when they were arrested, photographed and charged with unlawful assembly.

About 60 people turned up at the arrest site on Dec. 15 to continue the struggle against this outrageous violation of civil and constitutional rights. Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson Briggs approached the group. To the cheers of the participants she read a statement that all charges would be dropped, the records expunged and the photos shredded. “Everyone has the right to fight for their civil rights,” she said.

POP had demanded that any city ordinances in conflict with rights of free speech be dropped. Bennet Zurofsky, attorney for the 4, said, “Police often treat people who demonstrate in the streets as people who are only marginally behaving in a legal manner, who should be grateful for whatever they’re given, when in fact, it’s the law of the nation.” He will meet with city officials to discuss changes in the ordnances to protect demonstrators.

The repressiveness of the G.W. Bush era is a sign of weakness and crisis in the U.S. social order, not of strength. The victory of POP and the Plainfield 4 is due to the power of the people. When the people stand together they are stronger than the Bush forces.

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Plainfield, NJ – A throng of 600 turned out here, March 15, to protest against the closing of Muhlenberg Hospital by its owner, Solaris Healthcare. A 250-person protest had already come out on March 1 at the call of the People's Organization for Progress.

The same mood of exuberant militancy prevailed. The crowd marched from the hospital down Park Avenue and back. Whole city blocks echoed to thunderous chants of, “Do not close,” “Muhlenberg yes, Solaris no,” and “We the people have spoken, keep it open!”

Again the big turnout was about evenly divided among Black and white people. Returning to the hospital parking lot to rally, the crowd chanted, “We are united!” A few began to sing the civil rights anthem We Shall Overcome and all took it up, inspired by the power of the people that comes with unity.

Ostensibly the plan to close the hospital is because of deficits from indigent care. A hospital worker told Fight Back! that there had also been years of corruption and abuses in the hospital's finances. The worker also said management had threatened to fire any employee seen on the picket line. The hospital's director of security was prominently on the scene from the start. Still there were many hospital workers present.

Signs against the closing produced by POP are seen all over town. Some Latinos attended but not many in comparison to the city's population. Further efforts are still needed, such as bilingual leaflets and signs.

Muhlenberg social worker Carrie Barone told the rally, “They're coming for us today but they're coming for others tomorrow. The government has a plan to let hospitals die on the vine. We have a beautiful rainbow community in Plainfield and we're not going to let it happen here.” She mentioned nearby Overlook Hospital and JFK Hospital among those immediately threatened with closing. JFK also belongs to Solaris and is the supposed destination of patients displaced from Muhlenberg.

Hospital nurse Andrea Hughie, a POP member, told the rally that university hospitals could not replace community hospitals. She detailed the problems of determining which secondary hospitals will even receive emergency patients from outside communities, the problem of which hospital a given ambulance can go to and delays due to travel time, among other problems. She concluded that community hospitals must be preserved.

Many spoke against the practice of putting profits ahead of health care needs. Repeated criticisms of the war in Iraq were heard. Its costs are huge while people's needs at home are unmet.

More than 100 people have met Monday evenings at DuCret Art School to plan for an ongoing campaign to save the hospital. A rally in Trenton, the state capital, to demand that Muhlenberg remain in full operation will take place on Saturday, April 5. Thousands are expected.

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Plainfield, NJ – A move to close Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield, New Jersey has triggered a storm of protest. Plainfield would hardly be a city without the 125-year old Muhlenberg Hospital.

A rally was called for March 1 by Stephen Hatcher, chair of the Plainfield Branch of the People's Organization for Progress. Over 200 people responded. Marchers chanted, “Don't close Muhlenburg!” and “What's the word? Muhlenberg!!” Passing drivers blew their horns and waved their fists in support.

Community care hospitals are in crisis nationwide. The Newark area has seen the recent closing of four hospitals. Twelve hospitals in New Jersey are in immediate danger of closing. All 78 community care hospitals in New Jersey, the richest state in the country, are in danger.

The root of the problem is the ruthless profit motive of capitalism. Almost 50 million people in the United States go without health care coverage while 30 cents of every health care dollar goes for financial overhead. Health care is the largest sector of the economy. Even as it continues to get bigger the crisis gets worse.

The cost of care for the uninsured is borne mostly by community care hospitals. Plainfield Councilman Jerry Greene told the rally that the city had approached New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine for relief from $17 million in uninsured costs for Muhlenberg. The state only came up with $6.4 million. It is the same story everywhere.

Local activist Mary Zink said attempts to blame undocumented immigrant workers for the crisis are wrong. Everyone benefits from the value their work creates. Health care is a human right. The problem is insurance companies and health care corporations put profits first.

A 39-year veteran worker at Muhlenberg said she came here from Italy. She said this country belongs to everyone who comes here. Still, deficits come from care for the uninsured and only part of them are immigrants.

Rabbi Samber of the hospital's ethics committee said individual cases are the usual concern. He said maybe it is time for the committee to consider whether closing a hospital for financial reasons is ethical or moral. Many, including state POP Chairman Lawrence Hamm, spoke of the care their families and loved ones had received at Muhlenberg.

Mayor Sharon Briggs Robinson spoke at the protest, as did doctors and other staff members. About half the participants were black and half were white. All saw the power of the people that comes from unity. A joyful spirit of struggle arose.

Over a hundred people came to the follow-up meeting two days after the rally. Contact information for relevant New Jersey elected and appointed officials was provided. The timetable of the threatened closing will be found and publicized so that people will know where to voice their opposition.

The main decision made at the follow-up meeting was to bring thousands of people to the state capitol in Trenton on April 5 to oppose the closing. Money was collected for signs and posters. People volunteered to work on outreach in the community. Monday night meetings at DuCret will continue. There will be another rally at the hospital on March 15.

On to Trenton for April 5!

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