Solidarity Statement supporting Atlanta organizers
Thursday, July 20, 2023
Graduate Employees Organization Local 6300
The Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) at UIUC, IFT/AFT Local 6300 stands in solidarity with the brave organizers pushing back against the Atlanta #CopCity Project.
Core to the principle of labor unions and worker organizing is the commitment to a fair and just society where people are empowered to live their fullest lives. Working people in Atlanta need the same things as working people across the country: good jobs, healthcare, education and the environment. Instead, the Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, the Atlanta Police Foundation, and other universities and corporate financial supporters have invested in a militarization project that has and will continue to debilitate working people.
On June 6th, 2023, The Atlanta City Council approved funding for the construction of a multimillion dollar police militarization facility for training police, including a mock city to practice “urban warfare,” explosives testing areas, dozens of shooting ranges, and a Black Hawk helicopter landing pad. They plan to build on 381 acres of forested land, destroying Muscogee Creek territory’s Weelaunee Forest. Cop City is in direct opposition to the needs and demands of Atlanta’s residents. Organizers have faced severe police aggression, including baseless arrests and charges of domestic terrorism against over 40 protesters and the police killing of environmental defender Manuel “Tortuguita” Esteban Paen Terán.
Cops from across the country and around the world are slated to train at the proposed facility, and to take the militarized tactics for repression of dissent back home with them. With the police killings of 15-year-old Kiwane Carrington in 2009 and 21-year-old Azaan Lee in February 2023, the working people of Champaign County–especially Black, Latinx, and other racialized communities–need safer and more sustainable communities, NOT cops training for urban warfare.
This is not just a fight about what happens in Atlanta, it is a fight for the future of working communities across the country. Along with other labor organizations, we take a stand for working people and communities that have clearly said–in no uncertain terms–they DO NOT WANT #CopCity to be funded or built! We demand the draconian charges of protestors be dropped and urge universities and other corporate funders to end their investment of this militarization project.
How to support Stop Cop City
Petition for individual signatures to support stop cop city organizing
Petition for labor against Cop City
Organize a local action targeting the investors and beneficiaries of Cop City. Reach out to Sol Comm at solcomm@uigeo.org if you are interested!
Donate to Atlanta organizers:
Picture of graduate workers standing in solidarity with Stop cop city organizers, holding a sign that reads "Labor against cop city".
#STOPCOPCITY!
Solidarity forever!
Graduate Employees’ Organization
809 S. 5th St., Geneva Room
Champaign, IL 61820
Email: geo@uigeo.org