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Re: Why Workers Should Uphold Right Not To Talk To FBI
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From: [email protected] (Brian Hauk)
Newsgroups: nyc.general,ny.general,ny.politics
Subject: Why Workers Should Uphold Right Not To Talk To FBI
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Date: 11 Oct 1996 00:35:41 GMT
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Why Workers Should Uphold Right Not To Talk To FBI
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from the Militant, vol.60/no.36 October 14, 1996
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.
To get an introductory 12-week subscription to the Militant
in the U.S., send $10 US to: The Militant, 410 West Street,
New York, NY 10014.
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[email protected] or write to the above address.