BY SAM MANUEL AND JEFF JONES

The article below is reprinted without changes from the May 16, 1986, Militant. It appeared in that issue with the same headline and accompanying graphic. It is relevant to efforts by opponents of U.S. policy toward Cuba today to protest harassment by federal agents and defend democratic rights. Author Jeff Jones is now a member of the International Association of Machinists in Minneapolis. Sam Manuel is a member of the United Transportation Union in Washington, D.C. BY JEFF JONES AND SAM MANUEL

SAN JOSE - Last November Don Bechler was hauled in by plant security at Westinghouse to face interrogation by an FBI agent. The agent said he was being investigated for in-plant "sabotage." He was grilled for 40 minutes without a lawyer present, which is his legal right. He also did not have his shop steward with him.

Bechler is active in the anti-apartheid movement and the fight against U.S. intervention in Central America. He is also a union activist and a member of the Socialist Workers Party.

This questioning by the FBI was not only a violation of Bechler's democratic fights, but the rights of everyone who has a dissenting point of view, as well as an attack on the union. Charges of "sabotage" against workers in plants that make military hardware are part of the employers' and government's sustained offensive against democratic fights. This is why it is useful to look at what happened at Westinghouse and the lessons of that experience.

Westinghouse is a major producer of military hardware. The plant is in Sunnyvale, California. The production workers are represented by International Association of Machinists Local 565. Bechler is a bench grinder.

The FBI agent had Bechler's personal notebook, which Bechler thought he had lost. The agent said that plant security had given it to him.

After Bechler agreed to talk with the FBI, the agent asked a number of questions about the notebook. It had notes about work, shopping lists, and information on various political activities Bechler is involved in.

The FBI agent told Bechler that he thought potential saboteurs in the plant included unionists who opposed concessions to the company in the recent contract negotiations. Some workers may have been frustrated that there wasn't a strike, the agent said, and therefore decided to commit sabotage.

After the grilling, the FBI agent refused to return Bechler's notebook - implying that he remained under investigation. At a union meeting 11 days later, it was reported that another worker had been subjected to a similar interrogation by the FBI. Union leaders stressed that members should always demand a shop steward when meeting with the company.

Under pressure from the union, the FBI has since returned Bechler's notebook.

This harassment by the FBI represents a serious attack on the democratic rights of Bechler, the union, and all working people. The FBI has no legal right to walk into a plant, roam around, and begin interrogating workers. And workers, as well as others, are under no legal obligation to voluntarily submit to such questioning.

The FBI, like all other cop agencies in this country, serves and protects big business and its government. When they enter Westinghouse or other plants it is on the side of the company.

This attack on democratic rights occurs in the context of the employers' antilabor offensive and drive toward war in Central America. Such assaults go hand in hand.

As the government gears up for war abroad, it must erode democratic rights at home. The aim is to get workers to accept as normal such things as growing restrictions on security clearances, denying the rights of accused persons to be released on bail, having more cops in the plants questioning workers, and developing an atmosphere of suspicion against workers who buy socialist publications or travel to Nicaragua.

It is part of the government's concerted effort to change workers' perception of what's "normal." Each blow to democratic rights weakens the ability of the labor movement to defend itself against austerity and fight U.S. intervention abroad.

In the last period the government has concocted a series of highly publicized trials of accused "spies" - the greatest number of espionage cases at any one time in the history of the country.

These "spy" trials and charges of industrial sabotage are aimed at dividing and intimidating workers. While initial targets tend to be politically active workers, the ultimate victims are all workers and working farmers. The aim is to sharply limit democratic rights and limit political discussion and debate in order to dragoon workers into war.

One aspect of the employers' anti-democratic drive is seeking to establish the "right" of the FBI and other cop agencies to enter workplaces and interrogate workers. Among the ways in which the FBI and cops justify their intrusion is the alleged need to defend "national security" by stopping "saboteurs" and cracking down on "drug use."

By agreeing to talk to an agent, a worker falls into the trap that has been set: the act of talking itself is a form of collaboration with the agent. This is true regardless of whether a shop steward is present or not. Although Bechler denied the charges of sabotage, the fact that he talked to the agent had already caused damage to workers' rights. The content of what a worker says in such a situation is not the key problem. The agreement to cooperate - talk - when not legally compelled to, means the cops scored a victory.

The goal of the FBI in these circumstances is not to get a worker to say something "damaging" - that's just a bonus for them when that happens - but to get the worker to accept and help establish their "right" to engage in such interrogations. This reinforces the lie that cops stand above struggles between workers and bosses and in that sense are neutral. It helps reinforce one of the most elementary forms of class collaboration: actions based on the illusion that the cops are neutral, that they are simply enforcing the law without fear or favor.

Moreover, it breaks down trust between workers. A precedent is set that it is okay to talk to the FBI and their finks when instead workers should have nothing to do with them.

Bechler had no legal obligation to talk to the FBI. He in essence gave up his, rights by doing so. And, whatever he did say is now potential material to be used against him, the union, and others regardless of his intentions. There is no such thing as an off-the-record talk with cops.

Under the Constitution and Bill of Rights, no one is ever obligated to voluntarily speak to a cop - FBI, CIA, immigration, city, state, customs.

The accompanying reprint of a 1950s statement issued by the National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee explains one's rights in relation to the FBI: "The FBI, unlike courts and grand juries, does not have the power of subpoena of compulsory examination. You may decline an invitation to visit FBI agents or to receive them in your home or office.... The use of investigative power by governmental agencies to intimidate or threaten is expressly forbidden by law."

In other words, one is never legally obligated to voluntarily engage in conversation with the FBI and other cop bodies.

Looking back on what happened to him and the union, Bechler commented: "Once I started talking to them, they had me. I let them establish their `right' to even hold such conversations.

"The fact that the union stood up for me and forced the FBI to return my notebook was a victory. It showed that it is possible to resist FBI violations of democratic rights.

"The basic lesson to draw from this experience, however, is: never, under any circumstance voluntarily talk to the FBI or any other cop."

Jeff Jones is a member of International Association of Machinists Local 565. Sam Manuel is the organizer of the San Francisco branch of the Socialist Workers Party.  
 
 
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