I knew about it from the extensive media coverage at the time (I am old), plus my sister worked hard on marshaling the case against Marcos (she is older still).

I'm a little bit of both. I remember the murders, and knew they were related to cannery-worker activism, but I didn't know the Marcos connection that came out later. Doesn't surprise me a bit; Marcos was a nasty bit of business (as was his awful wife, Imelda, who is irritatingly still alive and serving in the Phillippine legislature).

The canneries were a lost cause, of course; the last one closed in 1980, even before the murders. The only canning left in the state is a handful of boutique ones catering to charter fishermen in places like Westport.

It looks like the video has been archived, what is the name of the documentary so we can request it to be re-released?

Ask David Della about it. I'm sure he can fill you in on quite a bit.

@5: Weird. In my browser, clicking the link brings the documentary right up. But the name is "One Generation's Time: The Legacy of Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes." I hope that helps!

Broken links above. Here's where you can see the documentary and a follow up discussion with family members.
http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/res…

Voted yes, because like TomJohnsonJr I followed the extensive media coverage at the time. I also had friends in the Filipino/union community. So technically, I knew about it.

But, honestly, I had completely forgotten about the case and if someone had asked me out of the blue who Domingo and Viernes were and what did I think about their murder I would have drawn a total blank. Good to see the story brought back.

@1

We call ourselves a republic, governed on democratic principles. And the protection against tyranny of the majority in having a population based House and two senators regardless of population is one of our saving graces.

Want to talk about the Electoral College? Right there with you. Executive orders superceding due legislative process? Yeah, that's a system needing tweaked. (Mandatory sunsetting of all executive orders in a month or 4 months would do nicely, pending congressional review for example.) But the system we have mostly works even if California and New York can't railroad other states at their whim.

Just as an example: Who knows how many people had been assassinated here during the cold war by the soviets. We will probably never know.

@1

Might also look up the concept of state autonomy within Constitutional restraint, kiddo.

See, the folks who wrote our founding documents understood what you clearly don't. Wyoming has problems and duties governmentally California doesn't, and vice versa.

So a system by which the citizens of Wyoming could work out their issues, and the whining lefty loonies of California could vote for nanny state stupidity, was worked out.

Don't like it? Move to an EU country. It's worked out really well unless your Greek or Italian!

The University of Washington Press distributed a book about this a couple years ago:
"Remembering Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes: The Legacy of Filipino American Labor Activism" by Ron Chew
http://www.washington.edu/uwpress/search…

@16: Thanks!

There's a building named after them in the International District.

If you are interested in the archival collections documenting this important history that were used heavily in the film, check out the Cannery Workers & Farm Laborers Union Local 7 Records (http://tinyurl.com/q3owvyl), the Cindy Domingo Papers (http://tinyurl.com/mwh7eht) and the Silme Domingo Papers (http://preview.tinyurl.com/l66qedk)--all are part of the Labor Archives of Washington at the University of Washington. (http://preview.tinyurl.com/o4jcgn8)
The available resources include a topical section to an archives of digital resources on the history of cannery workers in the Pacific Northwest (http://tinyurl.com/oex5kud):
Collections digitized include: the Cannery Workers & Farm Laborers Union Local 7 Records; the Cannery Workers and Farm Laborers Union, Local 7 Photographs; the Chris Mensalvas and Silme Domingo Family Photograph Collection; the Apolonio K. Buyagawan Interviews; the Potenciano Parin Columna Papers; Caballeros de Dimas-Alang Photographs; and the Tyree Scott Photograph Collection.

For the record, I have spent about two and a half years of my life in California and about two weeks of it in Wyoming. This makes the ratio between my time spent in each state approximately equal to the ratio between their populations. Weird, huh?

@1, 11: "disparity in voting power for senate"
AHAHAHAHAHA. Really? You do REALIZE that the Senate was never intended to be proportionally representational, correct? The whole point of the Senate is that every State gets an equal say to ensure that minority contingents have some influence. Now, Wyomingites do have more voting power per capita in the House of Representatives than do Californians, which is unintended (due to rounding error) and undesirable, but that's a whole different kettle of fish.

@12, 14: It's weird, but I agree with most of what you say. I could do without the random "hurr durr libruls" kind of talk, but otherwise you're pretty much right on the money. Hey, did you notice how I got through my response to that moron without taking random evidence-free shots at conservatives? There's so much in there that could be made of Red State Socialism as it relates to proportional vs. uniform representation in Congress, but I didn't go there because I, apparently unlike you, can make an argument without off-topic vilification of people I disagree with politically.
Also, if you think that California is full of hilariously-stereotypical liberals, you must never have been there. There are heavily liberal areas and starkly conservative ones, and there's a healthy mix of both in state governance. The current Governor, Jerry Brown, is a Democrat, while the former, Arnold Schwarzenegger a.k.a. The Governator, is a Republican. (Though it's been said of Mr. Schwarzenegger that because he's pro-choice, pro-environment, pro-civil unions, pro-medical marijuana, and pro-gun control, you'd never know that he's a Republican if his father hadn't been a Nazi.)

Info on HIstoryLink

http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?Dis…

http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?Dis…

walked past the crime scene every day on my way to work in pioneer square.

Only because I know one of the attorneys from the families' civil suit.
The *spying* by a foreign government seems like it would have been bigger news than it was, even if it hadn't ended in murder.
Here's an NYT opinion piece: http://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/21/opinio…

Maybe we need a Seattle History 101 course for all the newcomers to our city. Having lived through all this myself, it's a little shocking to see people admit to total ignorance of this sad event.

I am the attorney for the Estates of Domingo and Viernes who won the federal court lawsuit against the Marcos regime in 1989. The jury and judge awarded 23.8 million dollars in damages. I have spent two years to create a CD which contains summaries of the trial transcripts (three criminal trial conviction and one civil suit victory), copies of the committee for justice for domingo and viernes (CJDV) "Updates", the key exhibits in the trials, video coverage of the case and summaries of the key depositions in the case, including of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. It has been provided to the UW Archives for historical researchers to look at an incredible story of international spy intrigue, a legal thriller, murders and cover-ups---the works. Contact me if you would like a copy of the CD. mike@witheylaw.com

Jen Graves and SLOG thank you for posting the murders of my brother Silme Domingo and friend Gene Viernes. The Seattle Channel captures events and history. I am proud knowing the positive affects the digital era has keeping our communities aware of the violence, greed and surveillance. June 1, 1981 changed lives; turned anguish to anger; created a people movement around the world. This case was the first civil case to find a foreign government guilty and along with US government executive branch members working together to silence two American citizens.

Silme and Gene were ordinary with outstanding visions for justice and workers rights;; fought for the Declaration of Human Rights around the world.