Italie was actively campaigning for mayor of Miami on the Socialist Workers Party ticket when he was fired from his job October 22. "I was fired for straight up political reasons," Italie told the audience. "I used the campaign for mayor to explain why workers and farmers need to replace the capitalist government with one of their own, as part of a working-class campaign against imperialism's war on the people of Afghanistan and on workers' rights at home, and against police brutality and racial profiling. I spoke in defense of immigrant rights, the Cuban Revolution, and working people in this country. That is what my employers didn't like and that is why they fired me," he continued.

Referring to President George Bush's State of the Union address, Italie explained that the president's comments about a war abroad and a war at home really meant a war against the economic and political rights of working people.

Elaborating on the economic war, Italie told the audience that Miami is the city in the United States with the largest percentage of poor people--at least 32 percent of workers in Miami live below the poverty level. "And Goodwill is right in the center of this," he said. "They are what the government calls a 'sheltered workshop.' All this means is that the bosses are legally able to pay disabled workers much less than minimum wage. At Goodwill they receive sometimes between $75 to $125 for 80 hours of work a week," he said. As a sewing machine operator, Italie said, he made minimum wage.

One component of the government's assault on democratic rights is the frame-up of Muslim-based humanitarian aid organizations. Claiming that these organizations are "supporting terrorism," the Justice Department has raided offices of the Holyland Fund and Global Relief foundations, seizing their records and freezing their bank accounts, forcing them to suspend operations.

Andy Thayer of the Chicago Coalition against War and Racism and the Chicago Anti-bashing Network spoke on the December 14 arrest of Rabih Haddad, cofounder of Global Relief. The government has kept Haddad imprisoned without charges and in solitary confinement, creating a firestorm of protests from prominent individuals, students, and others.

Thayer said the government has put severe restrictions on Haddad's ability to communicate with his family. He and his attorney have been denied access to the government's "evidence" and his court hearings have been closed to the public, including his family and the press.  
 
Muslims victimized
Also speaking were Abdel Noureldin, a volunteer doctor for Global Relief, and medical student Nahal Hafez Ghith, who described the stepped-up harassment of Muslim women in the United States. "Muslims are considered guilty until proven innocent," she said. Greta Holmes, an activist from the Hyde Park chapter of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, and José Landaverde, director of the Latino Union, also spoke.

Gisela Lopez, a member of the Chicago Cuba Coalition, condemned the frame-up and long prison sentences meted out to five Cuban revolutionaries in Miami. In reality, Lopez said, "these Cuban patriots were monitoring groups of Cubans who for 40 years have carried out violent attacks against the Cuban people. Operating from U.S. territory in violation of U.S. law, but with the full knowledge and protection of the U.S. government, the counterrevolutionary terrorists have caused the death of 3,498 Cubans," Lopez said. She denounced the hypocrisy of the U.S. government for claiming to be fighting terrorism while promoting the activity of the Cuban counterrevolutionaries.

From Wisconsin, a message was received from Randy Jasper, a dairy farmer and leader of the Family Farm Defenders. He wrote, "I believe many people in the U.S. are fired when they speak out or are afraid to speak. It takes great courage for a man like Mike Italie to take his case to the people. I, along with Family Farm Defenders and the American Raw Milk Producers Pricing Association, support Mike and applaud his courage.

"Many workers and farmers know what terrorism was before 9/11: working people made to work longer for less, farmers not able to work enough and losing their farms to the bank or big business. If free speech in this country is taken away, it will be the end for the U.S. as we know it."

In Muncie, Indiana, the Young Socialists at Ball State University organized a meeting to defend free speech, with Italie as the guest speaker. Over the past few months they passed out literature explaining the political firing of Italie and why it is important to fight this attack on workers' rights.

More than 30 students came to the meeting, including the Ball State University television and newspaper (see accompanying article). Sarah Voyles, organizer of the Ball State Young Socialists, chaired the meeting. At the end of the event a donation basket was passed around. More than $40 was donated and another $40 had been raised with a bake sale the students held earlier to raise money to bring Italie to speak on the campus.

Throughout the day before the meeting students set up a campus literature table, passed out flyers for the event, collected signatures demanding Italie be reinstated to his job, and discussed politics with those who stopped by.

At the Chicago event a number of those present, including many of the speakers, endorsed Italie's defense campaign and offered their continuing support. Nearly $600 was collected to help finance the fight to defend workers' rights.
 
 
Related articles:
Help deepen support among workers for socialist fired for political views
Italie interviewed by Ball State college paper
'We find this firing to be unjust,' say Black Telephone Workers for Justice  
 
 
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