Members for Democracy Archive

An open letter to Roy Graham, President, Brewery, Winery and Distillery Workers union, Local 300

Brother Graham,

We need to talk. You're throwing your weight around with us and we're not going to have that.

Your agents-for-hire have been around making demands: That we purge Brother Nick Hughes' writing from our forum and that we purge Brother Hughes from our discussion forum - indefinitely - until some legal proceedings (that could take years to run their course) are done.

You want us to muzzle the Brother because you don't like "the general tenor" of his words and you want to keep him from saying things in the future that you might find defamatory. If we don't "acede" (sic) to your demands, you're going to bitch SLAPP us.

Well Brother, we're not going to have it like that. We're not some kind of rabble. We are Members for Democracy.

Want to f---ight with us? It's not going to be on your terms (in secret, with your members' money). We know all about that game and we're not playing.

Want to fight with us? Then come out here to our turf and fight with us out in the open where you members can hear you - and where you can fight with us using with your brain and your mouth instead of their money.

We're cutting out the middlemen Brother. Your lawyers can write to us all you want. We'll respond to you, right here on the Internet. So step up to the plate. You're here already.

Your hired guns have demanded that we "acede" (sic) to your demands by the end of the biz day today (Monday, January 24, 2005). We can't meet your arbitrary deadlines Brother. That's not right.

Your demands are heavy. We need to give them some serious thought. To do that we need some further information from you - so we can understand you better and to give you a chance to think through whether you really want to go down the SLAPP-happy path with us.

On January 12, 2005 you asked that we remove certain words and phrases from Brother Hughes' two works called Molson's Suckerpunch: The Dick Findlay Story and A Plea for Justice. You were pretty specific about just what you wanted removed.

We didn't see it your way but decided to give you a little test to see if your intentions were honourable: If we rolled over for you on the "words and phrases" would you stop there or would you come back with an even bigger muzzle for Brother Hughes?

We told your hired guns that we'd roll over ("without prejudice and solely in the interests of resolving your client's concerns" of course). We said the e-revolution prayer - Forgive us our censorship as we fight those who censor against us. eh men - yah you! Then, MfD Contributor "Chilling Effects" got out the censor_shiv and did the deed.

The next day you came back looking for more. Shame on you Brother. That really iced our faith in you. But even so, we're still prepared to mull on your demands - just to make sure we're treating you fairly.

So help us understand where you're coming from by answering a few straightforward questions:

1. What's up with these extra slices that you're looking for Brother Graham? What do we call it in collective bargaining when you ask for something, get it and then come back to turn the screw? Bad faith? Are you doing the bad faith thing on us Brother?
   
   Our country is a democracy Brother Graham. In a democracy there's this thing called "freedom of expression". It means a Brother can say what's on his mind even if it pisses some people off, even if it makes them squirm and writhe. That means opinions, perceptions, experiences - whatever interests a Brother - he can talk about. Really. Check it out. It's right here in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (current as of today's date):
   
   
   • Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms
   • RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS IN CANADA.
     
     
     1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
     2. FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS.
     3. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
        
        
        1. freedom of conscience and religion;
        2. freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
        3. freedom of peaceful assembly;
        4. freedom of association.
   
   Seems the freedom of expression thing is really da bomb. Here's the Supreme Court expressing itself on the subject:
   

   "Freedom of expression is fundamental to freedom. It is the foundation of any democratic society. It is the cornerstone of our democratic institutions and is essential to their functioning.

   It is difficult to imagine a guaranteed right more important to a democratic society than freedom of expression. Indeed a democracy cannot exist without that freedom to express new ideas and to put forward opinions about the functioning of public institutions. The concept of free and uninhibited speech permeates all truly democratic societies and institutions. The vital importance of the concept cannot be overemphasized. No doubt that was the reason why the framers of the Charter set forth s. 2(b) in absolute terms which distinguishes it, for example, from s. 8 of the Charter which guarantees the qualified right to be secure from unreasonable search. It seems that the rights enshrined in s. 2(b) should therefore only be restricted in the clearest of circumstances.

   (From U.F.C.W., Local 1518 v. KMart Canada Ltd., February 15, 16; 1999: September 9.p. 1356 - one of the few useful things the UFCW ever gave us - in our opinion).

2. So, how do you reconcile your demands for an indefinite gag on Brother Hughes considering his right to freedom of expression under the Charter and its importance in our society?
   
   We don't see anything in the Charter at all about you having a right to freedom from squirming and writhing.
   
   
3. The way we understand the defamation thing (and we understand it pretty well) is that - a minimum - there has to be a a remark clearly aimed at the person making the allegation that a reasonable person would understand as defamatory. So, how does your not liking the "tenor" of something make it defamatory? How can stuff that hasn't been said yet be defamatory? If it's not defamatory, quit making demands.
   
   From where we sit, Brother Graham, you've got no beef with MfD. Likewise you have no basis for your demand that we ice Brother Hughes. If you think we're wrong, persuade us (with something other than threats of lawsuits). So far, we're not sold.
   
   
4. What's so defamatory about saying you think your union is corrupt, ineffective or unprincipled if that's what you really think?
   
   What's a Brother who really believes his union is corrupt, ineffective or unprincipled supposed to say (considering that he's got a right to say it)? A lot of union members are saying these things about their unions Brother Graham. Take a look around our web site. You'll see members of the UFCW, the SEIU, the IWA, the USWA, CUPE, OPSEU, the BCGEU, the CAW, the UAW, the UA, the UBC, the SIU - in fact, truck loads of unions and their leaders have been criticized at one time or another by members for democracy on Members for Democracy. None of them are suing. Why do you think that is?
   
   
5. Just what is "the union" Brother Graham? Is it you? Is it your business agents? Is it the members?
6. If the union is the members, why not ask them if they want you to spend their money suing Brother Hughes and threatening our online community?

We really hope you take us up on our offer to discuss your issues with our web site openly in a non-secretive way here in our forum. We've even set up a special thread (see below) where you can get the discussion going by responding to our questions and raising any of your own. Don't be shy. Other union leaders have stepped up to the plate after being criticized in our forum. Here's Jackie Miller, of the BC Ferry Marine Workers Union. It will be a better use of your resources - IOHO.

On a practical level, you might as well join us. Every letter, email or other communication we get from your hired guns will be posted here along with our response to you.

Don't go giving us the "It's before the courts so let's everyone shut up" routine. Keeping people muzzled for years while the wheels of justice grind slowly onward just doesn't sit right with us. Think about it: You could muzzle everyone who says anything you don't like for a long, long time just by suing them. We're not playing that game. It's not what we're about. You could say it's against our culture.

We're not just a web site, we're a community of contributors. Threaten our community, we'll fight back. Dialogue with us and maybe we can co-exist in peace. If you want to get along with us, you'll need to respect us. The following articles will help you to understand our culture.

• About MfD
• Rebellion: It's About Ideas Not ID's
• Sidelined by Secrecy - No More
• We Know Your Secrets
• Inevitable End of an Era
• Spoof Unions
• Losing the Illusion
• Change or Get Out of the Way

We've prepared as nice thread in our forum in anticipation of our discussion with you. Looking forward.

Contributor RV.