The Honorable Jeb Bush

Governor of Florida

Executive Office of the Governor

400 S. Monroe Street

The Capitol

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

Dear Governor Bush:

I am writing to request that the State of Florida conduct an independent investigation of the massive and unwarranted repression of constitutional rights and civil liberties that took place in Miami, Florida on November 20–21, 2003.

The AFL-CIO, together with its allies in the environmental, faith, and global justice communities, organized a peaceful and permitted demonstration in downtown Miami on November 20^th to protest the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Our members have a constitutional right to peacefully protest government polices we disagree with – in this case, failed trade policies that have cost us good jobs, driven down wages, and undermined our basic rights as workers. United with our allies across the U.S. and Latin America, we were in Miami to call for an end to anti-worker trade policies like the FTAA and to demand trade that creates good jobs, protects workers’ right and the environment, and promotes sustainable and equitable development.

Our right to deliver this message in a safe environment was systematically thwarted by police in Miami. As governor of Florida, I urge you to use your authority to investigate and prosecute those responsible for violating our rights, and to ensure that such repression is never again tolerated in your state.

The AFL-CIO took the lead in negotiating with local police to ensure that our members’ constitutional rights to peaceful protest would be respected in Miami in a safe and secure environment. The AFL-CIO trained hundreds of union volunteers to serve as peacekeepers for our rally and march on November 20, and provided the resources to meet all of the security needs of the venues for our events. Despite these good faith efforts, union members and other peaceful protestors were met with obstruction, intimidation, harassment, and violence at the hands of police in Miami. Instead of protecting protestors’ constitutional rights while ensuring public safety, the Miami police consistently and systematically denied union members, retirees, and others their basic rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. In the process, they employed excessive force, conducted illegal searches and seizures, and made unlawful arrests.

The police intimidated participants in Thursday’s peaceful rally and march by denying access to buses, blocking access to the amphitheater where the rally was occurring, and deploying armored personnel carriers, water cannons and scores of police in riot gear with clubs in front of the amphitheater entrance. Some union retirees had their buses turned away from Miami altogether by the police, and were sent back home. Other retirees and union members were forced to walk many blocks to reach the amphitheater, or to stay on their buses and miss the rally and march. Allies seeking to participate in the rally were denied permission to enter the amphitheater without justification. These actions were in direct violation of earlier agreements reached between the police and the AFL-CIO. When AFL-CIO staff and others asked questions or sought guidance from police officers, some were answered with verbal abuse, including profanities and sexual language, and others were met with a gun pointed to the head or body.

At the conclusion of our peaceful coalition march against the FTAA – which was cut off from access to its full permitted route – police advanced on groups of peaceful protestors without provocation. The police failed to provide those in the crowd with a safe route to disperse, and then deployed pepper spray and rubber bullets against protestors as they tried to leave the scene. Along with the other peaceful protestors, AFL-CIO staff, union peacekeepers, and retirees were trapped in the police advance. One retiree sitting on a chair as crowds tried to disperse was sprayed directly in the face with pepper spray. An AFL-CIO staff member was hit by a rubber bullet while trying to leave the scene. When the wife of a retired Steelworker verbally protested police tactics, she was thrown to the ground on her face and a gun was pointed to her head.

As the unprovoked sweep continued, police arrested retirees, union members, and other peaceful protestors on false or trumped-up charges and with unnecessary violence. A retired pilot from Florida was arrested while attempting to follow police instructions, forced face down on the ground, handcuffed, and held overnight without access to his medications. There are widespread reports of police mistreatment, including unjustifiably long hours in handcuffs, denial of medical treatment, and disposal or destruction of personal property. Many of those arrested were held overnight without cause, only to be released the next morning when charges were dropped. More severe reports of physical and sexual abuse of protestors in the Miami jails are being verified by a local legal team.

This abuse at the hands of Miami police is an insult to the American labor movement, and to all Americans who believe in the basic rights guaranteed by our Constitution. It disgraces our country’s proud tradition of respect for civil liberties and peaceful political protest. Not since the days of the civil rights movement have I witnessed such outrageous and inexcusable behavior by the police who are sworn to protect us. I urge you to do everything in your power to right these terrible wrongs, by:

• Conducting an independent investigation of the police behavior in Miami;


• Prosecuting those individuals responsible for the abuse of civil liberties in Miami;


• Demanding that all unlawful charges against peaceful protestors to be dropped;


• Calling for the resignation of Miami Police Chief John Timoney; and


• Ensuring that the right to engage in peaceful political protest is never again trampled in Florida the way it was during the FTAA Ministerial in Miami.

I look forward to working with you to hold those who have violated our basic rights accountable, and to ensure that such intimidation and abuse of peaceful protestors is never repeated.

Very truly yours,

John J. Sweeney

President