At Sept. 11 memorial
Airline workes oppose racism
A newly formed Airline Workers Unity Coalition brought an
important message to a Sept. 11, 2002, union tribute to fallen
crew members: embrace all ethnicities and don't be divided by
racism. The event, held in New York City's Washington Square
Park, was attended by close to 1,000 United and American
Airlines workers.
Many Sept. 11 anniversary events were used to drum up
patriotism and a renewed drive toward war. In this environment,
the airline coalition members--a rank-and-file, multi-ethnic
group of women, men, lesbian, gay and straight workers--took a
courageous position by appealing to co-workers to overcome
racism and disunity.
Coalition members carried a banner urging flight attendants,
pilots and other airline workers to "Embrace All Ethnicities."
They also distributed a palm card paying tribute to "those who
lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as those who lost
their livelihoods," referring to the layoffs and airline
bankruptcies that followed. The federal government bailed out
the airlines with millions of dollars in subsidies, but refused
to provide anything for airline workers.
Most importantly, the coalition's handout said, "We respect
ALL airline workers, including our Arab and Muslim co-workers."
This is a vital message at a time when the Bush administration
and the Pentagon are trying to demonize Arab and Muslim people
in the interests of an imperialist war that will claim workers'
lives on both sides.
--Mary Owen
Reprinted from the Sept. 26, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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