Solidarity Statement from AFSCME Local 3506

Whereas on September 24, 2010, the FBI raided the home of Stepanie Weiner, a founding member of our AFSCME Local 3506, as well as one-time executive board member, teaching with the City Colleges of Chicago for twenty five years and Adult Educator of the Year, along with the homes and offices of other anti-war and union activists in Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota, confiscating computer files, mailing lists, cell phones, passports, political literature, correspondence, and children’s drawings; and served subpoenas to 14 people to testify before a federal grand jury about terrorism; and

Whereas only four days prior, the Office of the Inspector General of the United States revealed that the FBI has illegally spied on political activists; that FBI director Robert Mueller lied to Congress about the surveillance; and that agents frequently confuse civil disobedience with “domestic terrorism”; and

Whereas none of the 14 has even been charged with a crime yet, though their property has still not been returned;

Therefore the Executive Board of AFSCME 3506 joins countless other organizations across the country in denouncing the arbitrary and capricious raids; in demanding the return of all material siezed; and in calling for an immediate investigation into the circumstances, motivation, and propriety of the judicial and police intimidation of our member and others.