1199 votes to end 'silent war' against Iraq
On April 15, the Delegates' Council of 1199
National Health and Human Services Employees Union, SEIU,
AFL-CIO passed a resolution calling for medical aid to Iraq and
an end to the U.S.-led sanctions that are strangling that
country. The resolution was submitted by 1199 delegates from
Einstein College in the Bronx, N.Y.
A leaflet widely distributed to delegates in support of the
resolution explained, "One and a half million people in Iraq
(half of them children) have died from U.S./UN economic
sanctions enforced by the Pentagon since 1990. Most have died
from preventable diseases, due to a lack of clean water,
malnutrition and a lack of medicines. The sanctions are a
'quiet' way to continue the war."
The Council recommended the union endorse the Iraq Sanctions
Challenge. Einstein Delegate Hillel Cohen was part of the ISC
that brought tons of medical aid to Iraq in May. The union
newspaper ran an eyewitness account of his trip.
The Delegates' Council also recommended that 1199 contribute
money towards medical aid, sponsor an 1199 representative to go
on the delegation delivering the aid, and provide information
to 1199 members about the delegation, the union's support and
how international solidarity is linked to the struggle for
racial and economic justice and health care for all.
The Executive Council is taking up this measure and the
union is considering other support actions.
-Leslie Feinberg
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