SAN FRANCISCO LABOR COUNCIL RESOLUTION:
No new war against Iraq--
Keep the government off the docks!
Whereas, the San Francisco Labor Council has for many years
opposed the US bombing and sanctions against Iraq, which have
resulted in dire shortages of food and medicine and contributed
to the deaths of over 1,000,000 Iraqis including over 500,000
children; and
Whereas, now the Bush administration is beating the drums
for a new war against Iraq, despite mounting opposition to this
war at home and abroad; and
Whereas, in early 1998 the U.S. government's drive to launch
a new war against Iraq was abruptly halted by a rising
opposition movement that included the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the San Francisco
Labor Council, the Alameda County Central Labor Council, and
the students who debated Defense Secretary Cohen and Secretary
of State Albright on national television at Ohio State
University, which showed that the labor movement and people's
movement do have the potential to force a reversal of unjust
government policies; and
Whereas, wasting billions of dollars on the Iraq war buildup
translates into cutbacks of essential and job-producing social
programs at home such as education, health care, social
security and housing, and threatening the rights of labor to
strike and organize; and
Whereas, the Bush Administration's war drive has a domestic
component - threatening to turn his "endless war" against the
International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) and as an
opening wedge against the entire labor movement, by threatening
government intervention on the West Coast docks under the guise
of "Homeland Security," on the side of the Pacific Maritime
Association bosses and a coalition of anti-union corporate
interests including Wal-Mart and The Gap; therefore be it
Resolved, that the San Francisco Labor Council, AFL-CIO,
reaffirm and join the growing movement in opposition to any
U.S. war against Iraq, and call on the unions and AFL-CIO at
all levels and Congressional representatives to publicly oppose
this war; and be it further
Resolved, that the San Francisco Labor Council strongly
condemn any attempt by the government, at any level, to
introduce troops or otherwise intervene in the contract dispute
between the ILWU and the employers, and call on Congressional
representatives to publicly oppose this interference; and be it
further
Resolved, that the San Francisco Labor Council endorse the
"Stop-the-War" marches and rallies taking place September
14-16, 2002 in Oakland, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and
other cities, as well as the International Day of Protest on
October 26, 2002, behind the banner: "No new war against
Iraq--Keep the government off the docks!"--Adopted Aug. 26
Reprinted from the Sept. 5, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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