GDC Local 6
[Mission Statement and Goals of the General Defense Committee]
Background
The General Defense Committee Local 6 was founded in October 2002 by members of the IWW Ottawa-Outaouais branch. Its members are now from across Canada and membership is open to the public and to all IWW members.
GDC Local 6’s first campaign was to raise funds to support the legal defense of the Seven Year Squatters who were arrested during a police raid on a house squatted on 243 Gilmour Street during the counter-G8 Take the Capital protests. The GDC also rallied community support, organizing a defense concert that featured local bands and provided an opportunity for the squatters to describe their situation.
GDC Local 6 has since run two campaigns. Our local mobilized IWW members and community supporters to write letters and sign a petition demanding the reinstatement of Denis Rancourt, fired by the University of Ottawa (updates). Local 6 also raised $1,000 to help pay the legal defense of Ottawa Panhandler Union organizer Andrew Nellis. The City of Ottawa has since dropped all charges.
Campaigns
Currently, the General Defense Committee (GDC) Local 6 is supporting campaigns to raise legal defense funds:
- Donate to the Panhandlers Union Defense Fund, a standing fund to support our union’s members deal with police and bylaw officer harassment on Ottawa’s streets
- Help Alex Svoboda, IWW Rhode Island organizer brutalized by police, facing retrial
- Write to imprisoned GDC steering committee member, Marie Mason #04672-061, FMC Carswell, Federal Medical Center, P.O. Box 27137, Fort Worth, TX 76127, United States. For more information, see http://freemarie.org/.
- Buy a t-shirt to fund GDC defense work. Contact Local 6 directly through gdc6@ottawaiww.org or GDC Central in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, gdc@iww.org.
Join the Defense!
Join the General Defense Committee! Contact gdc6@ottawaiww.org for an application form and more information. Dues are $20 with a one-time $5 initiation fee for new members. Members must agree with the Preamble of the IWW’s Constitution. Membership in the IWW is not required.
