WOW – Together Occupy Atlanta, Georgia Tea Party & Unions DEFEAT SB469!

The police were waiting – with hand cuffs and zip ties.  So many protesters were ready and willing to be arrested to perform civil disobedience to defeat SB 469 that 30 volunteers were chosen.  Of course, there were plenty of Georgians standing tall for civil liberties in Atlanta.

Occupy Atlanta was there, the Georgia Tea Party was there too – and so were the unions.  Of course, SB 469 would have made all union picketing illegal.  It also would have madeit an “…aggravated misdeameanor to protest on or near private property,” and the punishment could be a year in prison and fines of $1000.00 per protest per day.

Together, the demonstrators declared that they would remember and come out against any legislator who voted for SB 469 as a coalition, without regard for party.  The vote is a powerful weapon when citizens use it.

Martin Luther King III put out a petition against SB 469 that gathered 10,000 signatures.

“In this bill, Republicans are attempting to cripple the voice of workers.  The payroll deduction portion of this bill is class warfare in its most brutal form and is being perpetrated by the Champer of Commerce.” Jim Daws, President of the Firefighters unnion in Atlanta said, referring to another provision in the bill that would have required union workers to re-authorize their deduction of dues every year.  “The Chamber of commerce is seeking to kick workers while they are down by taking away their last voice that advocates for their interests….We will remember at election time, if you continue to attack workers for the benefit of the moneyed interests in this state.”

“…when you confront the right of the voice of the church to be heard, you are confronting the very foundations of this nation.  It is an affront to what is right and decent.”  Said Dr. Johnny B. Hill, Dean of the Baptist School of Theology.

This was ALEC written legislation, and the Atlanta coalition pounded that fact home.  The question of who legislators ARE really working for was asked by Occupy Atlanta, asked by the unions, and asked by the Tea Party and churchs, too.

Where here in Massachusetts ALEC written legislation paid for by the National Rifle Association and introduced by their lobbyists that legitimates deadly force outside the home like that in Florida has been introduced, maybe it is time for the citizens of Massachusetts to ask that question.  Remember this post?

Occupy Atlanta reportedly had planned non-violent civil disobedience if it looked like SB 469 would pass.  Occupiers trained in non-violent civil disobedience stood their ground in support of the unions.  Police began to enter the house gallery area where the Occupiers were waiting.  In fact, reportedly, the police completely surrounded the gallery walls (see photo above) with guns on their hips and plenty of plastic zip tie handcuffs in view.

A deal was made to table the bill – as Georgia’s legislative session ended at midnight 3/29/12 SB 469 is dead.  Here is the link to complete coverage, almost minute by minute.

As the author wrote “Instead of going to jail, this APN Senior Staff Writer – who had committed to CD (civil disobedience) went home to sleep to write another day.