Close the SOA:
November 18-20, 2005
Union Brothers & Sisters:

You Are Needed at the Gates
of Fort Benning, Georgia!
Here is a partial list of what will be happening, for more information, see www.soaw.org.

Friday, November 18

There will be a Colombia teach-in, nonviolence and peacemaker trainings, meetings of groups like Veterans for Peace, Witness for Peace, Pax Christi, and more.

Saturday, November 19

We will have our labor caucus in the morning (9-11am) at the Convention Center. The Labor Caucus is an opportunity to find out what different unions are doing to close the SOA/WHINSEC, to build new alliances and to learn about opportunities for solidarity work with our brothers and sisters in Latin America. There will also be a rally at the gates during the day. Other activities include: the Ignatian Family teach-in, legislative training and a benefit concert, plus a whole lot more.

Sunday, November 20

There will be a memorial service, solemn funeral procession at the gates of Fort Benning, and non-violent direct action followed by puppets, street theater and festival of resistance. 8:30 am – 4 pm.

Travel
Columbus, Georgia (home of Fort Benning) is approximately 100 miles southwest of Atlanta. There are flights directly to Columbus. A shuttle bus operates between Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport and Columbus. In order to defray costs, we will try to coordinate arrival times so people can share rides. We will also have a van available for pickup at Columbus Airport. Please let Rebecca Kanner know early if you need to arrange pick up (313-926-5357; rkanner@uaw.net).

Hotel
Like last year, we have a limited number of rooms reserved at the Wingate Inn of Columbus at the cost of $79 a night. There are singles and doubles, non-smoking and some smoking. If you are interested in one of these rooms, please call, e-mail or fax Rebecca Kanner (313-926-5357; rkanner@uaw.net; fax: 313-926-4405) and indicate what type of room you want and for which days. She will provide you with instructions on securing the room. Please do not call the Wingate Inn directly until you have gotten instructions on securing the room. The cut off date for rooms is November 4.

What else can you do?
In March 2005, Rep. Jim McGovern reintroduced legislation to suspend operations of the SOA/WHINSEC. HR 1217 has 121 co-sponsors to date. Check the website (www.soaw.org) to see if your representative has signed on. If not, please take a few minutes to contact him or her. There are talking points and additional information on the website. There will be a vote in 2006. It is very important that our elected officials realize that the coalition to close the school is a diverse one and that they know labor is an active member of the movement. When you make your call or write your letter, be sure to identify yourself as a union member. We have an important message to share: a great number of the victims of the SOA/WHINSEC are the labor activists in Latin America. Call your Representative today!