BY NAN BAILEY
SEATTLE - Fifty people attended a January 31 protest meeting here to back the Socialist Workers election campaign's fight for an exemption from disclosing the names of its financial contributors. The meeting was held at the Labor Temple in downtown Seattle, and included a panel of local unionists and political activists who spoke on the theme, "Defend Free Speech and Workers Rights - Support the Socialist Workers 1997 Campaign Disclosure Exemption."

At a hearing four days later, the Seattle Ethics and Election Commission (SEEC) decided to substantially lower the fine it had levied against the Socialist Workers 1997 Campaign Committee, but refused to reconsider its denial of a disclosure exemption.

Scott Breen, who was the Socialist Workers Party candidate for mayor of Seattle in 1997, was one of the featured speakers at the January 31 meeting.

"My employer, the Boeing Company, is the number one commercial airline producer in the world," Breen told the meeting. "It is also one of the giants in the war industry. Part of its preparation for the bombing of Iraq and the U.S. war moves now under way has been its attempts to close space for workers rights on the job. They banned the use of certain words. You can't say the word `scab.' There's a gag order that the company is publicizing, demanding that workers at Boeing cease and desist from making any statements to the press."

Boeing seeks to intimidate unionists
Breen was questioned by Boeing management about a radio interview he gave during the election campaign. "Our fight for an exemption from disclosing the names of our financial contributors is based on our experience with exactly this type of harassment," Breen said. "Boeing was not trying to intimidate just me, but all other union members who speak out against speedup, attacks on health and safety on the job, and against the war being prepared by the U.S. government. Should our contributors, some of whom work at Boeing, be made public, Boeing would have a ready-made list of unionists to target for harassment.

"This is why the whole working class in this area would benefit from a victory in the Socialist Workers campaign's fight to keep the names of our contributors private. This is why I urge all of you to join me at the hearing of our appeal on this issue that will take place before the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission February 4," Breen told the meeting.

The SEEC denied the exemption to the Socialist Workers 1997 Campaign Committee in September, despite favorable rulings won by the SWP on the federal and state levels and in every other jurisdiction where the exemption has been fought for, based on the First Amendment rights to privacy and freedom of association.

The federal election commission granted a six-year extension of the SWP's exemption in 1997, for example. The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission also granted such an exemption last year. The SEEC itself had exempted Socialist Workers campaigns from the disclosure rules in previous municipal elections. After denying the exemption and demanding the names of contributors last fall, the SEEC fined the Socialist Workers campaign committee $6,024. This fine was later lowered to $4,900. The campaign committee appealed both the decision and the fine, and the protest meeting was called to back this fight.

Speakers at the meeting included Mike Miller, a chief union steward of Teamsters Local 174. Miller was a local leader of the successful 1997 strike against UPS. Others who spoke were Hop Hopkins, a leader of Students Against Initiative 200 at Seattle Central Community College, one of the student groups involved in fighting to defend affirmative action in Washington state.

Autumn Knowlton, co-chair of the Seattle Committee to Defend Free Speech, chaired the event. Other speakers included Jason Welling, a student leader of Shorecrest high school's Students for Democracy, Sandy Lee, treasurer of the Committee to Defend Free Speech, and Lieff Gutthiudaschmitt, representing the Young Socialists. Richard Berley, the American Civil Liberties Union cooperating attorney who is representing the Socialist Workers campaign committee in this case, was introduced and also addressed the gathering.

Messages of support read to the meeting included a January 29 letter to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission from the Inlandboatman's Union of the Pacific, a national union comprised of more than 4,000 members. "This is a violation of basic rights to privacy, free speech and free association," the message said, referring to the SEEC's denial of a disclosure exemption to the Socialist Workers campaign. "In light of the long history, and recent evidence of harassment, illegal government surveillance, disruptive efforts by individuals and government agencies, and threats against individuals identified with the Socialist Workers Party, public disclosure would have a chilling effect on this party's ability to solicit and collect campaign funds. It would subject its contributors and vendors to potential harassment themselves. We urge you to drop the fines and restore the disclosure exemption that the campaign committees have had for the last twenty-five years." The message was signed by D.C. Freiboth, President, and Terri Mast, Secretary-Treasurer.

Framework of Washington's war drive
The keynote speaker at the event was Doug Jenness, director of the Socialist Workers National Campaign Committee. In his remarks to the meeting, Jenness called on participants to demand that the U.S. government keep its hands off Iraq. "The real target of the U.S. government is the Iraqi working people who they want to humiliate and intimidate," said Jenness. "The U.S. imperialists want to enforce a regime in Iraq that will bend its knees to Washington. They want to impose Wall Street's will around the world and squash any resistance to it. They're demanding that we get behind their interests. They're attempting to draw civilian life under military discipline, beginning with the war industries.

"But they're running up against an obstacle. Workers are human beings. We think, we read. This is the framework in which the Socialist Workers campaign's fight for a disclosure exemption is taking place," said Jenness. "This exemption, which we have exercised for over 20 years, was won in battle. Like other liberties, it was taken, not given. And in all those years we have never turned over the name of a single contributor." Jenness added that the SEEC has made it clear that they hope to set a precedent that can help get rid of exemptions to filing throughout the country. "The stakes are very high in this fight."

Jenness went on to describe the free speech victory that the Socialist Workers campaign in Twin Cities recently won, a victory that won attorneys' fees and upheld the socialist campaign's right to distribute flyers, set up literature tables, and campaign on the streets.

Participants in the meeting gave $1,025 in contributions and pledges to back the defense effort.

Fifteen supporters attended the hearing of the Socialist Workers campaign's appeal before the SEEC on February 4.

In his opening statement, Berley called the fine of $4,900 excessive and lacking a rational basis. The ACLU attorney challenged the ruling of the SEEC of September 10, 1997, which denied a disclosure exemption to the Socialist Workers 1997 Campaign Committee. He cited the precedents granting exemption on the federal and state level. He called the SEEC's ruling a "rogue" ruling and said the onus is on the SEEC to explain why its ruling is different than all the others that have been won by the Socialist Workers Campaign, which has documented a substantial history of harassment and intimidation at the hands of the government, the police and private agencies.

The Socialist Workers called as witnesses Scott Breen and Jeff Powers, treasurer for the campaign committee.

The city of Seattle called as witnesses sergeant Fred Ibuki of the Seattle police department, and two Boeing management employees: Vicki Jo Johnson, Employee Relations Manager at Boeing, and Clark Nebeker, a senior manager for employee relations at Boeing for the past six years. Both Boeing managers were subpoenaed by the Seattle city attorney and were represented by a Boeing attorney.

The hearing lasted two hours. At times some commission members complained that they were not there to rehear the case. After a short private executive session at the end of the hearing the SEEC announced its decision: It refused to reconsider its denial of an exemption from disclosing the names of campaign contributors and vendors. They lowered the fine on the Socialist Workers 1997 Campaign Committee from $4,900 to $330, and referred to the commission's executive director whether the socialist campaign has to turn over the names.

Commenting on the results of the hearing, Breen said, "I think this ruling reflected some of the pressure that has been brought to bear by our side. This fight is far from over. Although the SEEC has upheld its decision to deny the disclosure exemption, they have for the second time lowered the fine - this time significantly - and they ended the hearing with no clear decision on whether my campaign committee will be required to turn over the names of contributors and vendors to the 1997 Socialist Workers Campaign. We'll await that decision before deciding our next legal moves. Meanwhile, we will continue to press forward with the political fight. Our demand remains no less than what it was at the beginning of this case - for a exemption from disclosing the names of our contributors and vendors.

"I urge all supporters of free speech to join me and others at the next meeting of the Seattle Committee to Defend Free Speech on Wednesday, February 18 at 5:00 p.m. at the Pathfinder Bookstore located at 1405 E. Madison in Seattle."

Nan Bailey is a member of the International Association of Machinists.  
 
 
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