Project Censored Alert: Under-reported news stories from http://www.projectcensored.org
Book Buyers Win Right to Privacy In a victory for book buyers, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that bookstores are not obligated to reveal customer records to government agencies if it is determined that there is no compelling need for the information. Two years ago, Denver Police raided a trailer park and found signs of illegal drug production as well as books on the topic. The books were traced to a Denver bookstore, The Tattered Cover. Joyce Meskis, owner of the bookstore, was served with a search warrant for the store's sales records in order to determine the identity of the customers who bought the books in question. Faced with this situation, Meskis went to court in order to protect the right of privacy of her customers. After initially losing a lower court ruling, she pursued the case to the state high court that, citing the First Amendment right of an individual to purchase whatever books he or she wishes to, without fear of government intrusion, overruled the lower court's decision. The American Booksellers foundation has reported an increase in government subpoenas from bookstores since special prosecutor Kenneth Starr requested records of Monica Lewinsky's book purchases. The Colorado decision, while not binding outside of the state, remains relevant in the debate over more recent legislation such as the Patriot Act that allows the FBI to obtain information about book purchases and library loans. Synopsis: Michael Kaufmann Source: Censorship News, Spring 2002, "Tattered Cover Wins," By Elizabeth Dole's Anti-Labor Stance at Red Cross With primary winner Elizabeth Dole defeating Democratic nominee Erskine Bowles in the race to fill the senate seat vacated by Jesse Helms, North Carolina has elected an administrator with a long track record of hostility toward workers. During the 1990's Dole headed the worst hostility to employee organizing in American Red Cross history. From the years spanning 1994 to 1996, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) found 77 unfair labor practice charges against the organization. These included the firing of pro-union employees to bad-faith bargaining. In the mid-'90s, the Red Cross even tried to train it's clerical staff and truck drivers to handle the drawing and processing of blood, a job for highly skilled lab technicians. In 1997, the AFL-CIO Executive Council said, "The Red Cross is acting more like a ruthless Wall Street firm than a time-honored national charity." With sub-contracting work to outside help, threatening to pay more to employees who are not part of the union, and forcing nurses to drive and unload the blood mobiles themselves, with Dole winning in November, the nation can now look forward to six years of a senator from North Carolina that favors big business over its workers. Synopsis: Sarah Anderson Source: In These Times, 10/14/02, "Dole Drums: Liddy's no Lover of Labor," By Charles Pekow AFL-CIO Backs Lawsuits against Enron and WorldCom Earlier this year, the AFL-CIO supported a victorious lawsuit against Enron on behalf of terminated employees. Former Enron workers won $34 million in severance pay during the company's bankruptcy proceedings. In the wake of this success AFL-CIO President John Sweeney vowed a similar suit against WorldCom. In September, WorldCom decided to have its bankruptcy court "make full severance payments to its workers. These lawsuits are indicative of growing public support for the labor movement. The AFL-CIO has spearheaded a campaign to educate the public on labor issues and enact pro labor legislation. A July poll by the Gallup organization found that "38% of Americans consider big business to be the 'biggest threat to the future of the country.'" This is the highest number in the poll's 48 years. In an AFL-CIO survey Peter Hart found that 39% of Americans have a negative view of corporations, up from last years total of 25%. Hart also found that 50% of non-union workers would vote in favor of union representation in their workplace, up from 42% last year. Ron Blackwell, Corporate Affairs Director of the AFL-CIO, spoke out against the rising trend of corporations having no accountability for their actions. He said that executives should be held to the regulations regarding stock trading as employees and should keep their stock as long as they are with the company. He also called for restoring the Glass-Steagall Act of the FDR's New Deal, which separates the different sectors of the financial services industry. Synopsis: Josh Sisco Source: In These Times, "Time and Tide," 10/14/02, by David Moberg Project Censored Sonoma State University 1801 East Cotati Ave. Rohnert Park, CA 94928 Tax deductable donations accepted http://www.projectcensored.org/contacts/donor.htm
