The Militant - October 8, 2001 -- Oregon labor protests anti-terrorism force

Vol.65/No.38 October 8, 2001

Oregon labor protests anti-terrorism force

The Militant received the following letter September 26. In April, U.S. president George Bush appointed David Sazdy the National Counterintelligence Executive, also known as the counterintelligence czar. Sazdy was the head of the Portland, Oregon, Field Division of the FBI, who spearheaded the formation of the "Anti-Terrorist Task Force" discussed below. The task force is charged with identifying, targeting, and prosecuting groups responsible for "criminal terrorism within the traditional criteria of Right Wing or Left Wing movements." There are about 30 such task forces across the country and the Justice Department is now moving to establishing them nationwide.

*****
Salem, Oregon
September 12, 2001

Dear Friends,
The Oregon AFL-CIO convention in Seaside was held over the weekend and this week. One of the resolutions presented and debated was to get rid of the Portland based "Anti-Terrorist Task Force," which is a spy agency involving local cops, FBI, and CIA.

However, with Tuesday's events in New York and Washington, D.C., I do not know whether it passed due to the kind of patriotic/panic backlash. I do know that it was discussed on the floor on Tuesday.

If the local and federal spy agencies would butt out of interfering with labor and environmental groups' right to freedom of speech and legal actions, then maybe they would find time to protect us from real terrorism. Of course, the best way to insure our safety is to dissolve U.S. imperialism which is the root cause of misery, war, starvation, and terrorism throughout the world.

D.H.W., Retired, International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades

An enclosed article from the Northwest Labor Press read in part:

"A representative of the Portland Joint Terrorism Task Force and an aide to Mayor Vera Katz tried to assure the Executive Board of the Northwest Oregon Labor Council Aug. 27 that unions are not being unduly targeted for surveillance at labor rallies and protests..."

"Portland area union officials and organizers became concerned about the task force after seeing officers videotaping union rallies, especially during the organizing and contract campaign by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union at Powell's Books. But an incident that really got the labor community up in arms... was an incident this year involving a Carpenters Union organizing campaign in Beaverton.

"A rally to put pressure on a non-union contractor was in the works when one of the union organizers received a call from an officer who identified himself as with the Joint Terrorism Task Force. The police officer asked about the rally and wanted to know what was planned. When Carpenters showed up for the rally several days later, the workers had been pulled off the job."

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