Anyone ever file a Freedom of Information Act request?

[Union Thug]

Any tips for first timers? I am working on a documentary film about a radical labor leader whose history dates back to Wobblies in the 1920s, an organizer in the 1934 Minnesota truckers strike, and later, ILWU leadership. I'm pretty damned certain there MUST be FBI files on him, and I am wondering if FOIA can get me the info I am interested in.

The webpage says to be as specific as possible, so I was thinking of bulleting each of the labor organizations he was active in and a rough set of corresponding dates. I wonder if this will be specific enough?

Any thoughts for this newbie?

Thx!

[THUNDER HANDS]

1. i did it all the time in journalism class

you can write one on the back of a paper bag if you want. It can be really informal.

[Union Thug]

2. I had no idea. Thx!

[two gun sid]

3. Did it several times when I was a Union Steward...

not much to it really but, do be specific. Government agencies look for any excuse to reject your request.

Which Wob from the '20's are you researching? Did he get swept up in the Palmer Raids? You can bet the FBI has a file on him.

[SheilaT]

4. When I worked as a very low level

clerk for the Army Archives in 1980, a supervisor in my office told others to do anything and everything possible to delay FOIA requests.

I've long wanted to see what, if anything, they have on me, but am not sure how to go about it.

[Union Thug]

7. Shaun (Jack) Maloney...

I can't find much about his activity in the Wob years, but it's when he started organizing truckers/teamsters that he appeared on the radar screen - was gunned down by cops, spent time in prison..etc...

[acmejack]

5. FirstAmendmentCenter.Org > Freedom of Information > How to file an FOIA request

Freedom of Information > How to file an FOIA request

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/Press/information/topic.aspx?topic=how_to_FOIA

[Union Thug]

8. Thx! n/t

[fed-up]

6. here's an interesting tactic to use-FOIA the FOIA's-

http://foi.missouri.edu/foialogs/gulffoialog.html

FOIAing the FOIAs:
An Example from the
Persian Gulf War
FOIA Log Entries

In the years following the Gulf War, several organizations and individuals filed FOIA requests to find answers about chronic health problems facing Gulf War veterans. The evidence they found eventually forced the government to admit that servicemen had been exposed to chemical weapons while serving in the Gulf.
1995
FOIA LOG - Secretary of the Army
(Selected Pages)
Documents on Gulf War Obtained under the FOIA
can be found at "Gulflink," the official webpage for Office of Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses, U.S. Department of Defense

The requesters left evidence on the FOIA logs generated by the agencies they contacted. The following log pages and and entries are from the 1995 FOIA log of the Secretary of the Army. (The full log, about 150 pages in length, was obtained by Michael J. Ravnitzky, an attorney and FOIA researcher, on May 8, 1996. He later donated the log to the FoI Center.)



here is their homepage with lots of helpful links on using FOIA

http://foi.missouri.edu/

[Union Thug]

9. Thanks for the info and link. n/t