[act-ma] WED 3/18, UNION ACTIVIST ON TRIAL! PACK THE COURT / DONATE!

[Geoff Carens]

Dear All,

This Wednesday 3/18/15, IWW Delegate Jason goes on trial for phony charges
including assaulting a police officer. Jason was attacked by the cops and
slammed with a frame-up because he attended a peaceful, legal picket on
11/14/13. There are two ways you can help:

*Pack the court!* Come to Jason's trial at Cambridge District Court, 4040
Mystic Valley Parkway, Medford, MA 02155 (a short walk
<https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Wellington+Station,+Revere+Beach+Parkway,+Medford,+MA/4040+Mystic+Valley+Pkwy,+Medford,+MA+02155/@42.4034397,-71.0867914,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x89e37123220970dd:0x3113a0baed94b702!2m2!1d-71.077122!2d42.401816!1m5!1m1!1s0x89e3713020b21171:0x21fbbb265ce52e34!2m2!1d-71.087248!2d42.4048185!3e2>
from the Orange Line's Wellington T). The trial starts Wednesday at 9 a.m.
(Jason's lawyer advises court-appropriate attire for supporters).

*Donate!* Please click here <http://igg.me/at/DefendJason> to help with
Jason's legal and living expenses. You can also send checks to: Boston IWW, PO
Box 391724, Cambridge, MA 02139 (please indicate your check is intended to
assist Jason).

*Background*: On 11/14/13, I was picketing with other union members in
front of Cambridge's Insomnia Cookies. Insomnia workers had joined the IWW
and gone on strike in August due to long shifts ending after 2 a.m. with no
breaks, for pay below minimum wage. They demanded health benefits, $15/hr
and a union, and were all promptly fired.* The cops had been trying to shut
down our pickets for months, becoming ever more aggressive in their
attempts to help crush the fledgling Insomnia Workers' Union
<https://www.facebook.com/insomniaunion/timeline>.

That night in November, scores of Cambridge and Harvard cops swarmed our
picket and demanded we shut down our portable PA. We promptly turned it
off. The cops surrounded me (I'd been holding the PA) and began to push me
backwards into the street. Concerned for my safety, my friend and fellow IWW
delegate Jason cried out to the cops that they should let me be.
Immediately four of them piled on Jason, one of them seizing him by the
throat and covering his mouth and nose
<https://libcom.org/blog/police-attack-iww-pickets-insomnia-cookies-16112013>.
They punched him, bloodying his face, threw him down on the ground, and
pinned him partially under a car. Finally they dragged Jason away, and he
was hit with false charges that could bring jail time.

Bravely refusing to accept a disadvantageous "deal" that would limit his
employment opportunities, Jason has held out for a trial. The fact that he
has open charges means he cannot find regular work, and is relying on odd
jobs for income.

Jason goes on trial Wednesday, after months and months of appearing in
court due to the frame-up. Please come to the trial to show support, or make
a donation <http://igg.me/at/DefendJason> to assist Jason, and please
forward this email as widely as possible.

An Injury to One is an Injury to All!

--Geoff for the Boston Industrial Workers of the World

*The union's campaign ultimately won back pay and offers of reemployment
for the strikers.