I am a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Being in a union is necessary protection in the airline industry. I just found out that the Teamsters are supporting the Stop Online Piracy Act.
I sent a letter to my local voicing my disgust. As the people that work at my local are completely divorced from the hardships faced by those they represent, the automatic response I received said the person that is to respond is on vacation for a while. So it will likely be a while (if at all) before I get word back.
Letter:
SOPA is a horrible proposal. From a technical perspective, it will weaken the infrastructure of the internet and will make it more difficult for websites to keep hackers out as private information is transmitted between site users and the servers.
From a political perspective, the internet should always remain above governments. As we saw in the Arab Uprising, it was the internet that allowed a repressed people to organize and rise against a tyrannical government. For this reason, open and free governments should never seek to limit the freedom of the internet.
I agree that piracy is a bad thing. However, the integrity of the internet is more important. SOPA is but a short skip from the restrictions that China imposes on its people for political control.
If IBT has contributed any money to this cause, I request that any amount paid from me (likely very very small) be returned to me. Additionally, I am seriously considering becoming a dues paying member and will now also consider helping any drive for another union.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
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