Jim Fox
Standing Watch, Standing Rock
By Patrick Peterson, Region III PR Committee Member
Jim Fox, Chapter CA3, is an airway transportation systems specialist at the Sacramento navigation and communication (Nav/Com) System Support Center (SSC). After spending seven years on active duty in the Navy, six years in the Navy reserves and three deployments spanning two gulf wars, Fox joined the FAA where he now serves as an SSC contract representative.
“I joined PASS in 2013 just after being hired into the agency,” said Fox. “The reason I joined was because of the solidarity I saw between my fellow brothers and sisters in my unit. I felt it was important to be a part of their stand.” For Fox, this philosophy would soon be tested a different kind of battlefield.
As a veteran, Fox knows all too well the responsibility that comes with leadership. Serving as the SSC rep, Fox plays a major part in maintaining positive labor-management relations while balancing his union duties with his professional duties as a respected technician. “The union plays a key role in negotiations and dispute resolution with management,” said Fox. “It gives a voice to the bargaining unit employee who may not feel they have the right to express their points of view. By participating and letting your representative know how you feel, they are more able to bring your concerns to the table.” As it turned out, December 2016 would prove a defining time for Fox in his commitment to providing people with a voice and helping others to be heard.
In the spring of 2016, what started as a grassroots effort in a little-known part of North Dakota became national news. Fox once again heard the call of the people and took a stand. This time it was not for his country or because he was ordered to; it was for the people of the Sioux Nation in a place called Standing Rock.
The Energy Transfer Partners’ Dakota Access Pipeline made international headlines in 2016 after peaceful protests were met with law enforcement and military action on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in rural south central North Dakota. These protests were borne over the 1172-mile long underground pipeline carrying crude oil from northwest North Dakota to southern Illinois. In the process, the pipeline would traverse close to sacred tribal lands of the Sioux, under the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and across Iowa before terminating in Patoka, Ill. Most importantly, it could directly impact the only water source for the Sioux people of nearby Fort Yates.
The news images of U.S. citizens being, according to Fox, “mistreated” lit a fire in him. “I personally wrote to Rep. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to request that further study be done and that the violence against Americans stop until this matter could be sorted out properly,” Fox said. Fox received a response from Feinstein informing him that she and three other senators asked President Barack Obama to put the project on hold until it could be further reviewed.
When Fox decided to join the many veterans at the peaceful demonstration at Standing Rock, he first educated himself on the long history behind the issue, dating back to the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. “I traveled to North Dakota to participate in a demonstration with the local Native America tribe,” said Fox. “I saw a group of people who were attempting to express themselves and exercise their right to protest under the first amendment of the Constitution, and were being unfairly treated.” It was widely reported that by December 4, the estimated number of Standing Rock supporters had swollen to over 10,000 people.
On December 2, 2016, the White House responded by issuing a call to stop the violence on both sides. Fox returned from his mission on December 8, 2016, after a week engaging in solidarity with the Sioux people and friends alike. This was a fight not just for clean water and the millions of Americans who depend on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, but also a fight for the constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom to gather. Simply, Fox fought for the right of the people to be heard.
“As a veteran, I took an oath to defend this country against threats both foreign and domestic,” said Fox. “All I know is that my fellow Americans were being attacked, and I put my uniform back on to defend them.”
