Against the Militarization of Portland

SIGN ON: Fight Authoritarianism with the “Full Force” of the Working Class

Organizations and unions: Sign on to this letter and add organizational info here.

As Trump continues to sow terror on the working class, we, the undersigned organizations, are committed to protecting our rights to organize freely without fear of state repression. Engaging in peaceful protest and criticism of the government and the current social order is essential to democracy and freedom.

This weekend, Trump published a draconian directive to federal agencies to surveil and disrupt individuals and organizations who exhibit supposed “indicators of violence” including “anti-Americanism”, “anti-capitalism”, “extremism on migration, race, and gender”, and “hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality”. These are obvious signals to repress anyone who criticizes corporations, ICE, Israel, transphobia, patriarchy, Christian nationalism, and anti-abortion policies.

Trump then announced on social media that he would deploy military troops to Portland and use “full force, if necessary.” Oregon is not being targeted for federal intervention because of any actual threat to safety here, but because we have a proud history of demonstrating working-class power such as in street mobilizations, labor militancy, and our recently elected left-leaning Portland City Council. The business lobby alongside both liberal and conservative politicians tried to create the perception of Portland being a crime-ridden warzone in recent years – and now even they are opposed to troop deployment here. 

If Trump sends federal agents or the National Guard to Portland, it will do nothing to solve the daily crises – created by capitalism and made worse by Trump himself – that working Oregonians already face: housing insecurity, low wages, unstable employment, underfunded schools, cuts to public programs, escalating climate disasters, and corporate control of nearly every aspect of our lives.

We condemn the attempts to intimidate working class people, especially immigrants, and contrive an “emergency” to further repress our right to organize and protest.

We declare ourselves part of the century-old movement against fascism.

We pledge to protect members of our organizations, our families, our immigrant neighbors and our communities against Trump’s intimidation and violence. We pledge non-cooperation and resistance against illegal, unconstitutional violations of our human rights. We encourage all dissidents to organize at work, at school, in their neighborhoods, and in their faith communities.

We pledge to mobilize the power of our members in collective actions, as we know how:

• Withhold our labor or creatively deploy our labor
• Coordinate direct actions such as pickets, marches, rallies, vigils, and caravans
• Engage in civil disobedience such as sit-downs and sit-ins
• Display our union banners and wear our union gear at work and in public
• Display yard signs and window signs expressing our unity against fascism
• Encourage individual federal agents and National Guard troops to disobey unlawful orders
• Encourage our members and all resisters to participate in surveillance and rapid response to ICE, federal agent, and troop activity

People power is the only way to stop authoritarianism and create a better world that we all deserve.