Unions Receive Increasingly Scary Threats Of Violence For Town Hall Participation

[IndianaGreen]

Unions Receive Increasingly Scary Threats Of Violence For Town Hall Participation

Union officials continued to receive a barrage of threats on Friday evening and into Saturday punctuated by warnings that if organizers were sent to counter-demonstrate at health care town halls they would be met with violence.

An official with the AFL-CIO, a federation of labor organizations, passed on what he described as a "pretty direct threat" to those union hands who were showing up to balance out anti-Obama demonstrations being waged at local Democratic forums.

"I will be going to a local town hall this weekend, all you union members BEWARE!" an emailer wrote at 9:40 Saturday morning. "We will be waiting for you. better make sure you have arrangements with your local ER. today is the day when the goon meets the gun. see you there."

The email was first sent to the media-watching organization Newshounds before being passed to Eddie Vale, a spokesman for the AFL-CIO. The IP address used to post the email was traced back to Georgia.

The AFL-CIO isn't the only labor organization to be on the receiving end of threats of violence. During a day in which a woman called up its national office threatening to use her Second Amendment rights should her First Amendment rights be repressed, officials at the Service Employees International Union continued to be deluged with emails and phone calls with ominous undertones.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/08/unions-receive-increasing_n_254704.html

[DrDan]

1. sure hope they are able to identify whoever sent that threat

no reason for it . . . a puppet of right-wing radio/TV

[Iris]

2. This shit is out of control. Cooler weather can not come soon enough.

[IndianaGreen]

3. The history of the labour movement is one in which the capitalists employed violence against unions

What we are seeing here is a bunch of ignorant and frightened people being manipulated by the capitalists to kill health reform, at whatever cost.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. If placing union participation into the quintiles didn't do it, why should this?

[Gman]

5. I can't wait to attend one of these meetings with

a few building trades apprentices who will go for the political "education".

Frankly, I'm as itching as they are to get it on.

[DailyGrind51]

6. If only Jimmy Hoffa was alive!

[bigdarryl]

7. I said this before the solution to this shit is to call the FOI this shit would stop

because they ain't messing with them brothers

[ensho]

8. if Union people were afraid of threats we'd never have Unions

threats won't stop Union people, thank goodness.

more power to the Union people

[Cha]

14. And, of course, those sending the threats

are missing valuble brain cells so they wouldn't know.

[senseandsensibility]

9. Has anyone seen this covered in the corporate media?

KandR for our brothers and sisiters.

[Doctor_J]

10. Don't worry. We'll do nothing except back off

Unfortunately Rove was right when he said that Dems cave in to terrorists.

[Cha]

15. Glad you don't know

everything.

[Cali_Democrat]

11. It only makes sense

Corporate interests organizing astroturf faux outrgage at town halls against US workers.

[stevietheman]

12. ...as if union members and their allies also don't have guns.

The right loves to imagine that nobody but them has weaponry. It's part of what makes them very sad people.

[Cha]

13. If I were a Union Member getting

those "threats" ..it would make me more determined to go to counter the bullies and make sure I had the law there as a direct result of the threat of violence against my person and my amigos.