Chris Townsend

Chris Townsend

Open Letter from RWU to the President

In November 2022 Chris Townsend, signed the Open Letter from RWU to the President .

Didlake strikers

Virginia Diamond June 10, 2018 ·

The courageous Didlake strikers spoke at the Inside Organizer School Saturday night. They are standing up for their dignity and human rights, and we all pledged to support them! #Didlake #DidlakeDidWrong — with Michelle Styczynski, Ana Ramirez, Alexis Rivera, Maria Garcia, John Murphy, John Burak, Dave Heller, Talia Jean Weindling, Jaz Brisack, Dan Sundquist, Natalie Perez-Cruz, Xiomara Vasquez, Manny Sforza, Chris Townsend, Sammy Bubadias and Oscar Mauricio Vincius-Schneider.

Interim National Council

As at April 2005, the following served as chairs on the National Council of the Labor Party:

• Donna DeWitt, President, South Carolina AFL-CIO - Co-Chair
• Bill Kane, President, New Jersey Industrial Union Council - Co-Chair
• Baldemar Velasquez, President, Farm Labor Organizing Committee - Co-Chair
• Noel Beasley, International Vice President, UNITE HERE
• Ed Bruno, California Nurses Association
• Deborah Burger, President, CNA
• Dave Campbell, Secretary-Treasurer, PACE Local 8-675
• Marilyn Clement, Director, CNHP NOW
• Russ Davis, Vice President, AFGE Local 2782
• Rose Ann DeMoro, Executive Director, CNA
• Mark Dimondstein, NC Piedmont Triad chapter
• Jed Dodd, General Chairman, Penn. Federation, BMWE
• Lisa Frank, Metro Pittsburgh chapter
• Cheri Honkala, Founder, Kensington Welfare Rights Union
• Bruce Klipple, General Secretary-Treasurer, UE
• C. Robert McDevitt, President, UNITE HERE Local 54
• Bill Onasch, Kansas City chapter
• Cecilia Perry, Public Policy Analyst, AFSCME
• Linda Raisovich-Parsons, UMWA
• Adolph Reed, Jr., Professor, University of Pennsylvania
• David H. Richardson, PhD, Secretary, AFGE Local 12
• Dean Robinson, Professor, UMASS-Amherst
• Anthony Rochon, BMWE
• Preston Smith II, Professor, Mount Holyoke College
• Brenda Stokely, President, AFSCME DC 1707
• Chris Townsend, Political Action Director, UE
• Gerry Zero, IBT Local 705

Letter to Judge Thapar asking for leniency for the Oakridge 3

Chris Townsend signed a letter dated January 9 2014 asking for leniency for the "Oakridge 3":

January 9, 2014

The Honorable Amul R. Thapar United States District Judge 800 Market Street, Suite 130 Knoxville, TN 37902

Dear Judge Thapur: The Defending Dissent Foundation is a 53 year old civil liberties organization that recognizes the value of dissent in a vibrant democracy. As such, we regard the actions of Sister Megan Rice, Greg Boertje-Obed and Michael Walli on July 28, 2012 as nonviolent civil disobedience in the finest American tradition. Therefore, we respectfully request that you exercise your right to judicial discretion in sentencing these three individuals. The Defending Dissent Foundation takes no position on nuclear weapons facilities or the content of the protest, but it is clear that the three sought to call attention to an issue of national importance and, through symbolic action, voice their concern and opposition. Their goal never was to harm anyone, and no one was harmed. The fact that the three were able to find their way into the facility and reach the uranium storage unit reflects the abysmal security system of the facility. These activists should not be held liable for the closure of the plant for two weeks to address security lapses. It should not be a factor in their sentencing. Non-violent civil resistance and civil disobedience have long played an important role in our democracy, bringing important issues to the public sphere and advancing our society toward justice, freedom and peace. Like others who have undertaken such action, Sister Megan Rice, Greg Boertje-Obed and Michael Walli are willing to serve time in jail, which they have done without complaint. However, to sentence the three to terms of up to twelve years would be an injustice. In your October 1, 2013 Memorandum Opinion and Order you wrote, “Of course, the defendants’ non-violence will be relevant at sentencing, since the Court must account for both the “nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics” of the defendants… Given the obvious differences between the defendants and the paradigmatic saboteur, those factors surely will be worthy of discussion”. We applaud your wisdom and insight and strongly encourage you to sentence the three with downward departures from the sentencing guidelines.

National Committee Against Repressive Legislation

As of April 2006 Chris Townsend was listed on the Steering Committee of the National Committee Against Repressive Legislation.

Lui Cheng 2007 American tour

The American Center for International Labor Solidarity and the National Labor College recently hosted Professor Liu Cheng for Shanghai Normal University to discuss the evolution of the new draft contract labor law in China. Cheng’s visit to the NLC on March 27th was the culmination of a multi-state tour meeting with union leaders and members of Congress.

For the report by Global Labor Strategies analyzing the impact of transnational corporations on the first draft of the Contract Law go to: UNDUE INFLUENCE: Corporation Gain Ground in Battle Over Chinas New Labor Law

Liu Cheng's tour included nearly 45 events over 17 days, in the Bay Area, Boston, Amherst, New York and Washington DC. A partial list of the many sponsoring organizations, and their key contact, includes:

United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE), Washington DC - Chris Townsend & Bob Kingsley.

Defending Dissent

As of Oct 3 2009 Chris Townsend was listed as a Board Member of Defending Dissent.

Anti US-South Korea FTA briefing

On Wednesday, June 7, 2006, the Institute for Policy Studies allied Korea Policy Institute co-organized, with the Oakland Institute, a press briefing in Congress, sponsored by Congressman Dennis Kucinich. Speakers included Congressman Kucinich, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Assemblymember Kang Ki Kap of Korea's Democratic Labor Party, Kim Tae Il, the General Secretary of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Lee Heung Se of the Korean Advanced Farmers Federation, Lee Kang Sil of the Korean Hospital and Medical Workers Union, Chris Townsend of United Electrical Workers, and Kathy Ozer of the National Family Farm Coalition. All spoke of their deep misgivings over the proposed Korea-US FTA.

NSA leaks rally

Circa June 13, 2013 CODEPINK, the Bradley Manning Support Network, Defending Dissent Foundation, the Washington Peace Center, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Maryland, Demand Progress, Institute for Policy Studies, and local ACLU offices hold a news conference and rally to protest "the National Security Agency's abuses of law-abiding Americans."

Participants include Sue Udry of the Defending Dissent Foundation and the Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition; Dany Sigwalt of the Washington Peace Center; Ginger McCall of the Electronic Privacy Information Center; Seema Sadanandan of the ACLU-National Capital Region; Naji Mujahid of the NAACP-Washington, D.C. Branch; Zainab Chaudry of CAIR-MD; Shahid Buttar and George Friday of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee; state Rep. Lon Burnam (D-Texas); Sanho Tree of the Institute for Policy Studies; Joan Stallard of CODEPINK; Chris Townsend of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America; David Moon of Demand Progress; and Hendrick Voss of SOA Watch.

Location: Near Upper Senate Park, Delaware and Constitution Avenue NE, Washington, DC.

Metro DC DSA Public Facbook group

Members of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America, public Facebook group, as of March 12, 2017 included Chris Townsend.

References

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