Dec. 17—At a standing-room only public hearing in Miami early yesterday evening, union members, retirees, students and community members described how mismanagement by police officials in Miami led to numerous instances of obstruction, intimidation, harassment and repressive tactics against peaceful protestors during last month’s Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) meetings.
More than 20,000 activists organized and participated in a legal and peaceful march in downtown Miami Nov. 20 to protest closed-door meetings of trade ministers discussing the next steps in creating the FTAA, which would spread to the entire hemisphere the massive job loss and environmental damage spawned by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Speakers at the hearing said police management intimidated participants by denying many access to buses and to the amphitheater where a crowd gathered to rally prior to the march. Top police officials turned away or diverted at least 13 of 25 buses packed with retirees headed for the Bayfront Park Amphitheater before the march began. AFL-CIO staff in Miami say when they inquired about police actions, police subjected them to verbal abuse, including profanities and sexual language, in some cases while pointing guns at them.
After the march ended, top police leadership, without provocation, authorized an advance on groups of peaceful protestors, firing rubber bullets and pepper spray, the hearing witnesses said. Retirees, union members and other peaceful protestors were then arrested on false or trumped-up charges
Top Police Officials Are Responsible
Saying he did not fault rank-and-file Miami police for the abuses, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka told hearing participants, “I blame top police officials for failing to develop a clear plan for guaranteeing public safety while respecting our rights. I blame police management for putting more effort into fomenting needless fear and hysteria than they did into providing training, ensuring coordination and building morale for their hard-working officers.”
James Taylor, a 39-year-old master carpenter and member of the Theatrical Stage Employees Locals 477 and 500 in Miami, says he was tear gassed and hit by a rubber bullet while working on his job taking down the stage after the Nov. 20 rally.
Speaking at the hearing, Taylor described how police tear gassed and shot rubber bullets at him and other workers while they were dismantling the stage within a fenced area. A rubber bullet struck him in the foot and he inhaled a large amount of the gas, he says.
Although he had difficulty seeing and breathing, he was not allowed to leave the area. Several days later, Taylor says he sought medical attention because he still felt ill. “My white blood count had doubled and my lungs were shutting down.” It has taken nearly three weeks for his throat to sufficiently heal so he can voice back.
A former Chicago fire fighter, Taylor says he has never been a political activist, but the events of Nov. 20 showed him the importance of standing up for constitutional rights. “How can the city of Miami do this? They shut down our free speech. As far as I know, America is not a fascist country. I want to see Miami take responsibility for what they did.”
Union Movement Calls for Independent Investigation
On Dec. 3, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney sent letters to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) calling for independent investigations of mismanagement by top Miami police officials that led to abuse and intimidation during the FTAA demonstrations. Sweeney urged Ashcroft and Bush to drop unlawful charges against peaceful protestors and determine how Miami police department officials used federal funds appropriated for the FTAA ministerial to carry out these tactics. He also demanded the resignation of Miami Police Chief John Timoney.
Several unions, including SEIU, the Steelworkers and UNITE, have called for a congressional investigation into the police mismanagement.
“There can be no doubt that using massive armed force to deny us the right to publicly and peacefully confront [FTAA negotiators] put the full powers of the state in the service of the multinational corporations and financiers who singularly benefit from the expansion of so-called free trade,” USWA President Leo Gerard said in a Nov. 24 letter to congressional leaders.
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