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CWA Applauds Senate Action to Ban Operation TIPS
Operation TIPS, the controversial "citizen spy" program the Bush administration sought to include in its homeland security measure, has been stripped from the Homeland Security Act thanks to hard work by CWA and the strong support of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).
Leahy, then chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was key to ensuring that the final Homeland Security measure included language that prohibited TIPS, CWA chief lobbyist Lou Gerber said.
TIPS - the Terrorism Information and Prevention System - called for millions of telephone, utility and other workers who interact daily with the public to become government snitches, spying on and reporting the activities of ordinary citizens.
At every level, CWA said no. Local 9423 was among several locals to introduce resolutions rejecting TIPS at state and local labor bodies. The local called TIPS "an attack on our freedom" and urged the labor movement to encourage all elected officials "to oppose this draconian TIPS program."
In an executive board statement, CWA said the TIPS proposal "strikes at the heart of privacy" and was "reminiscent of the worst features of Nazi Germany," where workers and neighbors were encouraged to spy on each other.
Leahy, then chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was key to ensuring that the final Homeland Security measure included language that prohibited TIPS, CWA chief lobbyist Lou Gerber said.
TIPS - the Terrorism Information and Prevention System - called for millions of telephone, utility and other workers who interact daily with the public to become government snitches, spying on and reporting the activities of ordinary citizens.
At every level, CWA said no. Local 9423 was among several locals to introduce resolutions rejecting TIPS at state and local labor bodies. The local called TIPS "an attack on our freedom" and urged the labor movement to encourage all elected officials "to oppose this draconian TIPS program."
In an executive board statement, CWA said the TIPS proposal "strikes at the heart of privacy" and was "reminiscent of the worst features of Nazi Germany," where workers and neighbors were encouraged to spy on each other.