We Have a Union!

Abstract

The September 1974 meeting of the North Carolina Prisoners’ Labor Union (NCPLU) was an important one. Brooks met with eight members of the NCPLU in his cell to discuss the preparation of a lawsuit to be filed against the Inmate Grievance Committee (IGC). In attendance were Daniel Ross, Thurman Boykin, Jimmy Hardy, James Matthews, Willie Taylor, Ralph Nettles, William Griffin, and Ezekiel Roberson. The meeting was filled with excitement and angst. They discussed filing an injunction against the constitutionality of the IGC procedures as an infringement on their First Amendment rights. They intended to sue Governor James Holshouser, Director Frank Morrison, and the IGC in a court of law. But, that decision was neither easy, nor could it be rushed. There was considerable risk personally, and to the organization, in filing a lawsuit against prison administrators. In addition, while they had a “feeling” that the IGC was illegitimate and constitutionally impermissible, they had no real evidence of a violation. So, they decided to take a different approach. Before filing the lawsuit, the NCPLU made two major strategic decisions. First, they would give the IGC’s grievance process a chance to work so that they would have standing to sue when the lawsuit was ripe, and second, they would file a lawsuit in the name of the inmates as opposed to using the name of the NCPLU. They didn’t want to blemish the name of the organization or draw more attention to their efforts than necessary.