I've recently been told that our fighting machinists have picked a fight against the owner of the iam933.net website. He has come under hypocritical legal assault. Headquarters IAM has complained about his website address to the World Intelectual Property Organization (WIPO). To see a link to the case click this link: http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/case.jsp?case_id=14155 which was filed on the 3rd of September. Why didn't they attempt a cease and desist notice earlier? The union never wrote the webmaster of iam933.net about this issue. The address is posted on the website for all to see. But no communication was ever attempted. They might have better results if they had gone about this differently.
It seems the union can't handle the heat of a few buckaneers telling the workers what's really going on around here. It's obvious to them that they are the minority at RMS, and they intend to railroad any attempt by courageous workers to put this petition to the people. We've asked them on many occasions to come to the web and debate with us. I've asked on this forum, and the owner of iam933.net has a debate page asking for a healthy exchange of ideas. Since last November, the union has been asked to debate on http://oust933.googlepages.com/unionreply . They chickened out! Their ideas don't hold water against the ideas of free minded workers. Instead of debate, they are trying to squelch us. They are using a Soviet Style lack of respect for freedom of speech. It's a total lack of respect for the voice of the workers. And another example of the unions coercive methods they use to keep control of the people they wish to influence.
We like the fact that they've resorted to the legal venues however. In other times, we could expect far more inappropriate methods of coercion. We will let the legal system sort this out. I think the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution trumps them on this case, and they're going to take the union's lawyer to the wood shed over it. Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing. Why, just recently the union posted a real nice video about it. http://www.goiam.org/iamglc2008/freedom_of_speech.htm . Isn't it nice how they pasted "Freedom of Speech" on the entire back wall of the stage in this short clip, but then try to censor free speech of the critic? Notice the date of the clip. This is a Grotesque Hypocrisy.
So here's the union's case. They think the workers here at RMS are idiots. They think YOU are too stupid to tell the difference between http://www.iam933.net/, and http://www.iam933.org/. They say the websites are SO Close in name, that you the union member, or represented worker, would go to the web site disguising itself as the Union in order to lure unsuspecting viewers. The union says that the owner of the ".net" web site has fully incorporated the union’s IAM933 unregistered trademark into the http://www.iam933.net/ domain name for the sole purpose of diverting Internet users from union’s web site to criticism site.
Excuse me? This means that the Grand Lodge thinks the web surfers at Raytheon can't tell the difference between the union's site and the critisism site. What kind of morons does the union think it represents?! This is a no brainer to me. If you are in the union, and you're fighting for respect, then you need to get respect from your union first! I interpret that they say workers here are too mentaly handicapped to find the web page desired.
Now the union thinks they have to right to take IAM933.NET because it's a protected trademark? Ehem, if you guys wanted to protect your UNREGISTERED trademark so much, why didn't you buy the web address
when it was for sale for under ten bucks a year last November? Why didn't you offer to buy it before the complaint blew up? Why didn't you buy http://www.iam933.com/ when it was offered to you for 257 dollars only a few short months ago? Presently that site is owned by Transure Enterprise Ltd. of the Virgin Islands. It's still for sale folks! If the union wants to protect it's interests so much, why leave the trademark out in the open?
In my opinion, they don't care about their unregistered trademark so much as they do about stifling the oposition. They want free speech so long as that speech is in their favor. God forbid anyone stand up and speak out against them. God forbid the represented workers hear anything other than the mantra coming from the drumbeat of Vladimir Putin and Hugo Chavez. It's time the workers rise up and say enough! Enough of the double talk! Enough of the psychobabble. Enough of the union! It's time to OUST 933!
