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   Vol.65/No.49            December 24, 2001 
 
 
Fired garment worker wins support
from strikers, students in Northeast
 
BY JACK WILLEY AND ANGEL LARISCY  
MIDDLETOWN, Connecticut--Michael Italie spent December 5 in Connecticut, walking the picket line with strikers at Pratt & Whitney and joining a fund-raising dinner for 18 people arrested on false charges during an October 25 Hartford protest against Washington's war in Afghanistan. Italie is touring cities across the country to win support for the Committee to Defend Free Speech and the Bill of Rights, which is campaigning to reverse his political firing by Goodwill Industries.

"Every person I had a chance to talk to about my fight was angered that a worker could be fired for expressing his views," said Italie. "They may not have agreed with everything I said, but they said no employer should be able to get rid of somebody for expressing his beliefs." The nine strikers Italie spoke to about the campaign signed a petition addressed to the mayor of Miami and the Miami city commissioners urging them to throw their weight behind the demand that his unjust firing be reversed.

While in New York, Italie spoke with 10 students at Brooklyn College at the Center for Diversity. Italie explained that he was not fired for his job performance "but for explaining my opposition to the U.S. war in Afghanistan, in defense of the Cuban Revolution, and for union rights."

Mohammed Hussain spoke after Italie's presentation about the recent report in the Brooklyn College newspaper The Kingsman of FBI agents visiting the campus to investigate students. Hussain noted that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is supposed to protect student records from disclosure but is being circumvented by the government and school administration. In late September the U.S. Department of Education issued a statement to campuses saying they can release information without a subpoena or the consent of the student when there is a health or safety emergency.

During the course of the brief tour, dozens signed up to get involved in the newly formed New York Committee to Defend Free Speech and the Bill of Rights.
 
 
Related articles:
Garment worker fired for political views wins unemployment benefit in Florida
Meeting in Miami builds support for fired garment worker
 
 
 
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