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Der virtuelle Treffpunkt der Gewerkschafts- und Betriebslinken
The virtual meeting place of the left in the unions and in the workplace
The Barking Dog is an independent, pro-union, pro-worker newsletter put out by Caroline Lund, a rank-and-file member of UAW Local 2244 at the NUMMI (New United Motor Manuf., Inc.) plant in Fremont, CA
On May 15 the Passenger line will be speeded up by 2 seconds. Group meetings are taking place to inform everyone. This is part of NUMMI management's plan to "increase efficiency" by 20%, i.e., cutting jobs and making the rest of us work harder.
They are really doing a job on us. First, they said orders were down so they had to slow the line down by 6 seconds. Of course, they added a little more than 6 seconds of work to our jobs, and cut jobs. And they said they had to shut down for the 4th of July week and force us to use 3 vacation days.
But then, they worked us 8.5 hours, month after month. And now they are speeding up the line by 2 seconds and the rumor is another 2 seconds faster in the summer some time. But, no jobs added, just work harder.
At our Group meeting in Final 3 night shift, one person asked, "When do we get our ball and chain?"
They are combining Final 3 and Final 4 into the space that Final 3 used to have, packing us in like sardines. They say this is also to increase "efficiency." But now if one person gets in the hole, they put the next person in the hole, like dominoes.
If I were shop Chairman, I would put out a leaflet advising our members to
WORK AT A NORMAL PACE when May 15 comes. Don't rush - it's bad for quality.
Pull the cord and stop the line if you need to to do a good job. We need to
stick together! Our health and safety, and the quality of our product is at
stake.
--Caroline Lund
President Tito Sanchez and Chairman Art Torres are threatening me with a libel lawsuit because of The Barking Dog. Their lawyer's letter is on the last page of this flyer.
Following is my lawyer's response. The only change I have made is to summarize the section on "applicable law," which is a little hard to understand in the "legalese" language.
One more question I would ask is: Who is paying for this threatened lawsuit? The L.A. law firm representing Tito and Art are UAW lawyers. --Caroline Lund
My Lawyer's Letter:
April 29, 2000
Margo A. Feinberg
Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers 6300 Wilshire Boulevard,
Suite 2000
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5202
RE: Caroline Lund and The Barking Dog
Dear Ms. Feinberg:
This office represents Caroline Lund with respect to her publication of The Barking Dog. Please direct all future correspondence regarding Ms. Lund to me.
This letter is in response to yours of April 10, 2000. For the sake of clarity, I have divided it into three sections: background, applicable law, and a proposed resolution.
During the course of a union meeting on February 27, 2000, several union members publicly aired their disagreement with Art Torres' decision to appoint Tamba Moiwa to fill a vacant position on the Bargaining Committee.
Issue 22 of The Barking Dog, published the next day, reiterated these criticisms. In particular, The Barking Dog opined that the union should have held an election to fill the vacant post.
Subsequently, an anonymous flyer was circulated at the plant attacking the opinions set forth in Issue 22 of The Barking Dog. Among other things, the flyer accused Ms. Lund of being a "puppet," distorting the facts, whining, and having no class. The flyer also rudely addressed Ms. Lund as "Dog."
In the March 6, 2000, edition of The Barking Dog, Ms. Lund responded to the flyer. Although she was not certain who had authored it, she explained why she thought it was written by Mr. Torres:
"Last week a flyer was passed around the plant in answer to #22 of The Barking Dog. Unfortunately, here [sic] was no signature on the flyer.
"I assume that the author was Art Torres. The flyer contained the exact same type face that Art used in his 'Chairman's Report' that was passed out a few days earlier."
Ms. Lund also requested that future flyers be open, signed, and engage in constructive dialogue instead of rude personal attacks:
"I would also like to urge Art and his friends to be careful with the tone of their flyers. Open, signed opinions exchanged between union brothers and sisters can help bring our union together by dealing with our real problems.
"Unsigned, vicious, insulting attacks will turn members away from wanting to participate in the union.
"We see enough hateful mud-slinging in the national election campaigns; we don't need that in our union."
On April 10, 2000, you wrote to Ms. Lund accusing her of defaming Mr. Torres and Mr. Sanchez. You threatened to sue Ms. Lund if she did not immediately sign an agreement retracting her statements and promising to cease printing similar opinions in the future.
(This part is my summary - Caroline Lund) Federal labor laws are higher than state libel laws. The Supreme Court has ruled that in labor union settings, free debate must be encouraged, even if this means "bitter and extreme charges, counter charges, unfounded rumors," etc.
Supreme Court rulings have said that in a labor union setting, it is not enough to prove a statement is false to prove libel; you must prove "actual malice," i.e., you have to prove that the person "realized that his statement was false or that he subjectively entertained serious doubts as to the truth of his statement."
My statements in The Barking Dog did not demonstrate "actual malice." I only said "I assume" Art Torres was the author of the unsigned flyer attacking The Barking Dog. I said my reason for assuming that was that the unsigned leaflet looked so similar to the Chairman's Report put out by Art Torres several days earlier.
Another reason I had for thinking Art was involved was the fact that his appointee, Tamba Moiwa, distributed the flyer around the plant.
Also, my lawyer says, "the portion of Issue 23 in which Ms. Lund urges that the author or authors of the anonymous flyer refrain from personal attacks does not specifically attribute 'unsigned, vicious insulting attacks' and 'hateful mudslinging' to either Mr. Torres or Mr. Sanchez. Instead, it merely urges that all union brothers and sisters treat one another in a respectful, constructive manner."
Finally, the Sanchez/Torres lawyer says that I may have made other false statements in the past about Art and Tito, without saying what they were. This is just a vague threat that cannot be taken seriously.
(Now we go back to quoting my lawyer's letter.)
Given the nature of this dispute, it is extremely unfortunate that your clients have decided to threaten Ms. Lund with legal action instead of addressing the positions taken in The Barking Dog on their merits.
Furthermore, it is clear from the tone of your letter that you, on their behalf, are attempting to intimidate Ms. Lund from voicing her opinions regarding the current union administration. Ultimately, this type of bullying only weakens the union and drains the resources of its members.
However, notwithstanding the weakness of your position, Ms. Lund is interested in negotiating a mutually agreeable resolution to the issues discussed above. In particular, she is interested in ensuring that The Barking Dog is as accurate as possible.
Accordingly, if Mr. Torres states in writing that he had no involvement in the anonymous flyer, Ms. Lund will issue an apology for erroneously attributing authorship to him. (Your letter is mysteriously silent as to whether Mr. Torres actually authored the anonymous flyer.)
If, however, this proposed resolution is unacceptable to your clients, and you proceed with formal litigation against Ms. Lund, please be advised that we will respond with a motion to dismiss under California's Anti-SLAPP law, Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16. As you are aware, if we are successful in that motion, your clients will be required by law to pay Ms. Lund's attorneys' fees.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Very truly yours,
SIEGEL & YEE
Hunter Pyle
HP:pr
Cc: Caroline Lund
End of letter.
Explanation: California's Anti-SLAPP law says that if someone sues you for libel without having any real basis for doing so, just in order to intimidate you, you can file a motion to dismiss it under the Anti-SLAPP law. This shifts the burden onto them to prove they have a real case, and if they can't prove it, they have to pay your attorney costs.
The Barking Dog has a new web site (not the old one, which didn't work).
Check it out. You can send articles or letters to me via the web site. Here's
the address:
www.geocities.com/abarkingdog/
Also, check out The Line Workers, The Online Magazine for UAW Members: http://theshop.to/thelineworkers
thelineworkers@yahoo.com
[Following is Tito
Sanchez's and Art Torres's lawyer's letter to me.]
Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers LLP Lawyers
Suite 2000
6300 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90048-5202
(323)655-4700
FAX (323) 655-4488
INTERNET: MAIL@SSDSLAW.COM
April 10, 2000
Ms. Caroline Lund
(address deleted)
Hayward, California 94541
Dear Ms.Lund:
We are writing to you on behalf of Art Torres and Tito Sanchez to put you on notice that you are currently violating the law, and that you must take remedial measures immediately to avoid a legal action being taken against you.
On March 6, 2000, you issued a publication in The Barking Dog that contained unlawful statements. Under California law, it is illegal to defame an individual by libel or slander or casting one in a false light. Specifically, California law prohibits the publication of false statements which expose a person to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or which cause a person to be shunned or avoided, or which have a tendency to injur him in his occupation. The statements in The Barking Dog clearly meet this standard. You claim that Mr.Torres issued an anonymous flyer, which you describe as containing "unsigned, vicious insulting attacks" and "hateful mudslinging." You also have published false accounts as to Mr. Torres's and Mr. Sanchez's conduct as Union Representatives. It is our understanding that this may not be the first time you have engaged in such prohibited conduct.
Moreover, we are informed that you have made false statements of the same nature regarding Mr. Torres and Mr. Sanchez, with the aim of injuring these gentlemen's reputations as to their qualification to hold office. These slanderous statements are also unlawful.
We, therefore, demand that you immediately issue a retraction of the statements you have made, and publish that retraction in the next issue of The Barking Dog.
We also request that you sign below, indicating your commitment to refrain from any further such conduct, and return a signed copy to this office.
Your failure to issue a retraction and return and signed commitment will leave Mr. Torres and Mr. Sanchez no alternative but to pursue this matter in the Courts.
If you have any questions in this regard, please feel free to contact the undersigned in my Bay Area office, at 510-528-4426.
Sincerely,
Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers LLP Margo A. Feinberg
MAF/mlk
Enclosure
AGREEMENT
I agree to ummediately cease and desist from printing, publishing, and/or distrubuting
any publications, e-mails or any other documents whatsoever which include false
statements about Art Torres or Tito Sanchez, and to issue a retraction of all
false statements made to date, including those set forth in the March 6, 2000
issue of The Barking Dog Dated: April ___, 2000 ___________________Caroline
Lund
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