Present: John Repp, Karen Moore, Gunnel Clark, Linda York, Diana Forman, Steve Ludwig - Ellen Finkelstein chaired the meeting
Linda opened the meeting by reading a moving poem entitled "Making Peace" by Denise Levertov.
Iraqi trade unionists tour - John and Ellen have been attending meetings organized by Washington State Jobs with Justice and the King County Labor Council, who among other organizations, are bringing a small contingent of oil workers from Basra to Oakland, Portland, Seattle, and other cities in the U.S. The visitors will hold a press conference and attend a luncheon in each city in order to talk against privatization of the Iraqi oil industry and express their opposition to the American occupation. The main question they will be asking is "How can we work together and oppose the occupation?" In Seattle there will also be a rally, with more information to come. SNOW is a co-sponsor of the visit and has provided $25 toward the effort.
SNOW budget - The organization continues to spend more than it takes in year-to-date, according to the financial statement Brenda Collier provided before leaving on her vacation. Gunnel suggested that we purchase a number of items that can be sold to benefit SNOW, and she will research buttons, bumper stickers, and a tank top version of her Peace shirts. She will order about 100 "generic" bumper stickers to sell, John will follow-up on Wage Peace yard signs, Linda and Gunnel will check the shirt design, and John will investigate peace cards made by a friend.
It was decided and that one $5.00 Wage Peace dove magnet would be ordered to see if the group likes the sample and that a relationship with Black Dog t-shirts - a company whose owner approached Diana at Arlington NW - would not be pursued.
Bring the Troops Home campaign and Out Now campaign - The CC decided to ignore both campaigns given overwhelming but different reservations about each.
Military counter-recruiting - Steve reported that his wife Amy Hagopian has appeared recently on KPXP and KOMO and that he and Ellen attended the meeting at AFSC last Thursday, where the group designed ambitious approaches to counter-recruiting. Volunteers will leaflet high school graduations this month and send a community delegation to the recruiting office on Jackson in collaboration with a Black pastors group and the King County Labor Council. The counter-recruiting group will also plan MEPS actions throughout the summer, Sally Soriano will introduce the Garfield statement to the Seattle School Board on July 6, and the counter-recruiting committee wants to position itself for fall by creating a roving panel that will include students and be able to make appearances around the area. In some cases the students do not want to meet with adults, so they're doing their "own thing" while requesting adult support if not collaboration.
United for Peace and Justice contribution - The group is asking local member organizations without paid staff to contribute $50. Ellen will ask Brenda when we last sent a contribution to UFPJ; if a contribution has not been made recently, we should send another, particularly since the organization does have working groups that could be of help to us.
UFPJ is also involved in the September 24 National Day of Protest Against the War being planned for Washington D.C. There will be a big march and rally on the 24th, trainings on the 25th, and an action on the 26th. We won't participate directly but could join in by focusing on counter-recruiting here in Seattle at the same time.
Non-Profit advocacy workshop - Because of SNOW's cashflow problems, we will not need to pay taxes again this year, most likely, and may not need to send someone to a workshop on becoming a 501(c) (3) non-profit corporation. To apply for that status, which would allow contributors to take a tax deduction as well as protect our group from corporate taxation, we would need to hire an accountant, which could be costly. Given our current financial situation, it was decided that we can make application at some time in the future if necessary but that we needn't send anyone to the workshop at this point.
Iraq leaflets - Mike Yarrow and John will be writing new Iraq leaflets. Karen suggested that they include visuals because they're so much more powerful than pure text, but the leaflets' small size already make them attractive to people. Two themes will be "stay the course or get out" and "the connection between the Iraq war and oil."
Los Alamos Study Group - John reported receiving a request for sponsorship of the Los Alamos Study Group, part of the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Hiroshima nuclear explosion. There will be a conference on August 6, and, after some discussion, it was decided that John will write to tell the group that we endorse their work but will not become a sponsor.
Mail - Someone needs to look at the mail addressed to SNOW that arrives in the FOR office. Karen and Diana will check at both the general meetings and CC meetings for mail that has arrived. Linda and Gunnel will also help get it to the right people or respond to senders as necessary.
After Downing Street Coalition - Code Pink, Veterans for Peace, and Global Exchange are part of the After Downing Street Coalition recommending that SNOW sign onto activities aimed at impeachment of the President. The point was made that we are not the most effective people to support impeachment proceedings, but that we could consider finding out which of our Congresspeople haven't signed onto the letter at this point and encourage them to do so.
After a long and spirited discussion about whether to add signing the impeachment letter to signing John Conyers' letter to the President as a single Action of the Week, the CC decided to use only the Conyers letter without including the opportunity to sign the impeachment letter.
Patriot Act - Diana explained that she is collecting signatures on letters she will present to Representative McDermott to provide "cover" for him as he participates in debates on the floor of the House after 4th of July break. The letter urges him to push for the actual expiration of the clauses due to "sunset" this year, for transparency in the deliberations surrounding the legislation, and against expansion of the Patriot Act. She handed out paper copies of the materials the ACLU has provided and will also send electronic copies to everyone on the CC by e-mail in the hope that neighborhood groups will collect signed letters while tabling, to be presented to McDermott while he is back in Seattle in early July. Karen Moore volunteered to present this information to the General Meeting next week in Diana's absence.
June 13 General Meeting plans - Items for the agenda include the following:
Next CC meeting - It was felt that the next CC meeting should focus on reinvigorating the organization.
Fund raising - Gunnel reported that the North Seattle neighborhood group raised $300 through a letter explaining what their group has accomplished and suggesting that members of their listserv pay a $10 annual membership fee to assist the group with its work. Of the $300, North Seattle donated $100 to SNOW, and Gunnel suggested that such a fundraising communication might be a helpful way for other groups to reconnect with "members" who have been minimally involved with the group.
Peacemobile - Gunnel described her husband Abe's remarkable fund-raising efforts to purchase a large Chevy cargo van that will contain what peace groups need for a rally, to produce leaflets, to put on a concert, to show a film, and to communicate via computer with their members. It will be nicely decorated on the outside, can travel 50 miles outside of Gunnel and Abe's home according to the insurance provisions, and is already a non-profit corporation accepting tax-deductible contributions. The van will be operational for at least a year at the current rate of funding, and there will be some cost to replace supplies that are used. An important stipulation is that any user must be non-violent.
Upcoming SNOW meetings - The next CC meeting will be June 27, and Linda will facilitate. The next general meeting is scheduled for July 11, but plans are underway to replace the meeting with a peace picnic on Sunday, July 10. If the North Seattle group agrees, all SNOW members interested in attending will be folded into North Seattle's own picnic already planned as a potluck and BBQ.
As a way of building community, we may hold a second picnic the following month in West Seattle, possibly at Colman Pool in Lincoln Park, to replace the August general meeting.
A series of announcements about up-coming events closed the meeting at 9:20PM.
Minutes submitted by Diana Forman