8/19/01
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance:
'Justice for Mumia!'

The resolution below was adopted at the National Convention
of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance(APALA), on August 19, 2024.

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Support the Campaign for Justice
for Mumia Abu-Jamal

WHEREAS, Mumia Abu-Jamal is an outstanding African-American
journalist and member of the National Writers Union-UAW who campaigned
against police abuses and who, with no previous criminal record, has
been on Pennsylvania's death row since 1981, convicted of shooting a
police officer in a trial in which there was compelling evidence of his
innocence and of gross misconduct on the part of the police, prosecutor
and judge; and

WHEREAS, his execution was stopped only by massive international
protests, yet he still faces imminent execution if Federal District
Court Justice William Yohn refuses to hear evidence on 29 charges of
Constitutional violations, even while new evidence and witnesses have
come forth, including one who admitted to the shooting, and

WHEREAS: Court hearings show that the trial, the defense, and the
evidence against him were tainted, that he was denied the right to
act as his own attorney, and that acquitting evidence was not presented
to the jury, and

WHEREAS: In 1995 corruption in the Philadelphia police department was
exposed, including frame-ups based on false, planted evidence and
coerced witnesses, especially against African-Americans, and
hundreds of cases were thrown out, but not Mumia's, and

WHEREAS: The San Francisco Labor Council, calling for a new trial for
Mumia, cited "contradictory evidence from police, coercion,
intimidation, suppression of critical evidence, and the exclusion of
African-American jurors," and

WHEREAS: The AFL-CIO's Work in Progress cited Mumia's support for
NABET/CWA workers striking against ABC, even at the cost of allowing
ABC's 20/20 to air a one-sided version of the case against him, and

WHEREAS: The International Longshore and Warehouse Union shut down all
ports on the west coast on April 24, 1999, as part of a national effort
to prevent Mumia's execution, and

WHEREAS, Mumia Abu-Jamal's struggle for a new trial has been endorsed
by such AFL-CIO affiliates as the Service Employees International
Union, the American Postal Workers Union, the California State
Federation of Labor, and by city governments and by organizations such
as the NAACP, Amnesty International, American Friends Service Committee
and the European Parliament, therefore be it

RESOLVED: That this Sixth Biennial Convention of APALA
commend Mumia Abu-Jamal for his principled and courageous acts of union
solidarity and we continue to take our place alongside those labor
organizations who stand up against racism and injustice, demanding
justice and a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal; and be it further

RESOLVED: That we call upon Justice William Yohn to hear
Mumia Abu-Jamal's new evidence and witnesses, and be it further

RESOLVED: That we support the LABOR FOR MUMIA Campaign urging
the entire labor movement to educate our members using resources
such as websites (www.mumia.org, www.freemumia.com, www.freemumia.org)
and to bring organized labor's power to bear to assure Justice for
Mumia Abu-Jamal; and be it further

RESOLVED: That APALA forward this resolution and encourage
its adoption by the national Executive Council of the AFL-CIO.

Seattle Chapter of APALA

International Action Center
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