[A-List] Fw: WORLDWIDE LABOR ACTIONS AGAINST WAR

["Christopher Black" <bar@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher Black" <bar@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <comparty@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 11:23 PM
Subject: Fw: WORLDWIDE LABOR ACTIONS AGAINST WAR


>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "ICPJ" <icpj@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <icpj@xxxxxxx>
> Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 8:39 PM
> Subject: WORLDWIDE LABOR ACTIONS AGAINST WAR
>
>
> Below are only SOME of the recent actions by organized labor in the U.S.
and
> in other countries.  Help spread the word.
>
> Distributed by ICPJ
> FOR MORE ON WORLDWIDE LABOR ACTIONS VISIT OUR WEBSITE  http://icpj.org
> icpj@xxxxxxx
> -------
>
> Spain: 5M workers stage 15-minute stoppage to oppose war in an action
called
> by the European Confederation of Unions.
>
> AP. 14 March 2003. Millions of workers stage anti-war protests.
>
> MADRID -- Millions of workers staged anti-war protests Friday in Spain
> as Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar stood firmly by the United States'
> plans to attack Iraq.
>
> Spain's opposition parties, however, oppose a war, and opinion polls
> indicate that more than 80 percent of Spaniards feel the same way.
>
> Some five million people across the country, according to union
> estimates, staged a 15-minute work stoppage at noon to protest the war
> plans.
>
> Opposition politicians joined workers from government offices,
> businesses and factories in the protest called by the European
> Confederation of Unions.
>
> Political parties and labor unions have called for a massive turnout for
> anti-war demonstrations to be held in Spain on Saturday as part of
> protests called around the globe.
>
> -----
>
> AP. 12 March 2003.
> European Workers to Down Tools in Iraq Protest.
>
> BRUSSELS -- A European trade union organization has called on the 60
million
> workers it represents to stop work on Friday to protest against possible
war
> in Iraq.
>
> Wim Bergans, spokesman for the European Trade Union Confederation, said he
> expected union members across Europe to stop work for a symbolic 10 or 15
> minutes around 12:00 p.m. (6 a.m. EST).
>
> "We will walk in the streets, make some noise and explain why we are in
the
> streets," Bergans said of plans by staff at ETUC's headquarters in
Brussels.
>
> ETUC's executive committee passed a resolution last week calling for the
> peaceful disarmament of Iraq.
>
> Its Web site lists planned action in Germany, France, Italy, Spain,
Denmark
> and Belgium.
> -----------
>
> Unions warn of mass Labour revolt
>
> Patrick Wintour, chief political correspondent
> Wednesday March     12, 2003
> The Guardian <http://www.guardian.co.uk>
>
> Union leaders yesterday warned Tony Blair that he
> will be deserted by the labour movement if he goes
> ahead with a war in Iraq without a second security
> council resolution.
>
> A union delegation, led by the TUC general
> secretary-elect, Brendan Barber, distanced themselves
> - for the moment - from leftwing moves to hold a
> special party conference at which Mr Blair's
> leadership could be challenged.
>
> But a union source said that "all bets are off" if Mr
> Blair ignores the demand from the party for a second
> resolution: "There will be mayhem if he does this
> without the UN."
>
> The pressure for a special party conference is coming
> from the hard left, especially the Campaign Group of
> MPs. The unions are reluctant to be embroiled in any
> leadership manoeuvre so close to military action.
>
> The Campaign Group last night issued a statement
> saying: "It is time for the prime minister to consider
> his position. We are now placing at risk the entire
> fabric of the international community. Blair is not
> the issue, the future of the UN is."
>
> The group, claiming the backing of 40 MPs, accused Mr
> Blair of "signing up to the reckless ambitions of US
> militarism". Its uncompromising stance may help Mr
> Blair in the short term, but the mood within the
> labour movement is tense.
>
> Earlier, veteran MP Tam Dalyell, the father of the
> house, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "As soon as
> it becomes clear that the UN is disregarded, yes,
> certainly a letter will go out to our colleagues
> asking for a special conference of the Labour party.
>
> "I don't think it is possible to exaggerate the degree
> of concern about the illegality of what is proposed.
>
> "There are many constituency Labour parties who ...
> will put forward a resolution that if there is no UN
> mandate and if there is not a vote in the Commons
> before the commitment of British troops, then we ask
> the prime minister to consider his position as leader
> of the party."
>
> Following the TUC's talks at Downing Street, Mr Barber
> refused to speculate about whether there would be a
> leadership challenge to Mr Blair if he went ahead with
> an attack without UN backing.
>
> "I want to focus on the efforts that need to be made
> now to try to resolve this through the UN and with
> international agreement," he said. "That is what the
> prime minister is concentrating on, that's what we are
> concentrating on."
>
> Privately union leaders said they were not impressed
> by the Downing Street argument that a military strike
> would have legitimacy if Mr Blair secured a numerical
> majority on the security council, but the resolution
> was vetoed by the French or Russians.
>
> ------
>  March 10, 2003
>
>  ** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE **
>
>  Contact Persons:
>
>  Amy Newell: 831-728-4922 Alan Benjamin (bilingual):
>  415-626-1175
>
>  WATSONVILLE, Calif. -- Leaders of the nation's main
>  farm labor organizations, representing immigrant farm
>  workers from Mexico in the United States, sent a letter
>  today to President George Bush expressing their
>  "outrage over the heavy-handed tactics" employed by the
>  Bush administration against the government of Mexico in
>  an attempt to secure its agreement with the Bush plan
>  for waging war on Iraq.
>
>  In their letter, Dolores Huerta, co-founder -- along
>  with Cesar Chavez -- of the United Farm Workers of
>  America; Arturo Rodriguez, president of the UFW; and
>  Baldemar Velasquez, president of the Farm Labor
>  Organizing Committee also tell Bush they oppose this
>  war "because you have not made your case to the
>  citizens of the United States or of the world that it
>  is necessary."
>
>  The Bush administration has announced that it will seek
>  a second UN vote in the UN Security Council early this
>  week aimed at obtaining a mandate for waging a war
>  against Iraq in the event Iraq does not "fully disarm
>  its weapons of mass destruction" by a March 17
>  deadline. The governments of France, Russia and China
>  have expressed their strong opposition to this
>  U.S.-British March 17 deadline and have indicated they
>  would veto any resolution that would result in a
>  military attack, calling instead for more time to allow
>  the UN inspectors to do their job.
>
>  Mexico and four other countries in the UN Security
>  Council have not expressed any indication as to how
>  they will vote. In recent weeks, President Fox of
>  Mexico has stated his government's strong opposition to
>  any resolution that would legitimize a U.S.-led war in
>  Iraq. But under intense pressure from the Bush
>  administration, which has sent numerous high-level
>  delegations to Mexico, more recent statements by
>  Mexican government officials have been less categoric,
>  giving rise to heightened concerns across Mexico's
>  diverse political spectrum that a "no" vote by Mexico
>  on the U.S.-British proposal is by no means a
>  certainty. Popular sentiment across Mexico is strongly
>  opposed to war in Iraq, with up to 80% opposing a
>  U.S.-led military assault.
>
>  In their March 10 letter, the farm labor leaders
>  chastise the Bush administration for "acting like a
>  bully against another sovereign nation." Their letter
>  quotes a high-level Mexican diplomat who told the media
>  that, "U.S. State Department officials actually told us
>  that any country that doesn't go along with the United
>  States 'will be paying a very heavy price'."
>
>  The labor leaders proclaim: "Our government cannot
>  claim to be fighting for democracy in Iraq while at the
>  same time demanding that the government of Mexico
>  support a war without the consent and against the will
>  of its own citizens."
>
>  Expressing a view that is gaining ground within the
>  U.S. trade union movement -- including within the
>  national leadership of the AFL-CIO, which on February
>  27 adopted a statement opposing Bush's unilateral war
>  on Iraq -- the labor leaders conclude: "We oppose this
>  war because you have not made your case to the citizens
>  of the U.S. or of the world that it is necessary. We
>  oppose this war it in the name of democracy and we ask
>  you to respect democracy and national sovereignty not
>  only in our country but in all other countries,
>  including Mexico."
>
>  The three signatories of the letter are supporters of
>  US Labor Against War, a committee founded in Chicago in
>  January by labor organizations with more than two
>  million members. USLAW now reports that labor
>  organizations representing more than one-third of all
>  organized workers have gone on record against war in
>  Iraq. USLAW recently released a declaration demanding a
>  peaceful resolution in Iraq that was endorsed by trade
>  union federations and unions from 53 countries
>  representing 130 million organized workers.
>
>  To contact the signatories of this letter to Bush for
>  their comments, call:
>
>  Dolores Huerta at: 510-663-2165
>  Baldemar Velasquez at: 419-243-3456
>  Arturo Rodriguez at: 661-725-9730
> ***********
>
>  ATTACHED LETTER TO GEORGE BUSH
>
>  March 10, 2003
>
>  Dear President Bush:
>
>  As Latino leaders of farm labor organizations
>  representing immigrant workers from Mexico, their
>  families and retirees, we write to say that we are
>  outraged by the heavy-handed tactics that your
>  administration is employing against the government of
>  Mexico in an attempt to secure its agreement with your
>  plan for waging war on Iraq.
>
>  An Associated Press article by Dafna Linzer said that
>  Mexican diplomats described the visits from U.S. State
>  Dept. Officials as "hostile in tone" and complained
>  that Washington was demonstrating "little concern for
>  the constraints on the Mexican government, whose people
>  are overwhelmingly opposed to a war with Iraq." "They
>  actually told us," said one Mexican diplomat, "that any
>  country that doesn't go along with the U.S. 'will be
>  paying a very heavy price'."
>
>  Our members do not want their government to act like a
>  bully against another sovereign nation.
>
>  Our government cannot claim to be fighting for
>  democracy in Iraq while at the same time demanding that
>  the government of Mexico support a war without the
>  consent and against the will of its own citizens.
>
>  We oppose this war because you have not made your case
>  to the citizens of the U.S. or of the world that it is
>  necessary. We oppose it in the name of democracy and we
>  ask you to respect democracy and national sovereignty
>  not only in our country but in all other countries,
>  including Mexico.
>
>  Sincerely,
>
>  Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder (with Cesar Chavez), United
>  Farm Workers of America (AFL-CIO)
>  Arturo Rodriguez, President, United Farm Workers of
>  America (AFL-CIO)
>  Baldemar Velasquez, President, Farm Labor Organizing
>  Committee (FLOC) (AFL-CIO)
>
>  cc: Vicente Fox, President Republic of Mexico
> -------
>
> Report on National Labor Day for Peace Press Conference in SF
>
> Dear Sisters and Brothers:
>
> Earlier today (March 12), a press conference was held at the ILWU
> Local 10 hall in San Francisco as part of a National Labor Day for
> Peace, initiated by U.S. Labor Against War.
>
> Labor council and local union leaders from around the Bay Area
> informed the media of the antiwar activities taking place in the
> workplaces they represent, discussed the impact that the Bush
> administration's march to war is having on their members, and
> explained why their union/labor council opposes this war.
>
> This press conference also spotlighted labor support for House Joint
> Resolution 20, introduced by Rep. DeFazio and cosponsored by Reps.
> Barbara Lee and Pete Stark -- both of whom sent statements that were
> read at the press conference. HJR 20, if adopted, would repeal the
> authorization for use of military forces against Iraq.
>
> Eleven media outlets were present: NBC TV, KQED TV, World Journal TV,
> Univision National TV (Spanish-language national TV news), KGO Radio,
> KPFA Radio, Associated Press, Singtao Daily and three labor video or
> union publications. Univision also recorded a special segment, in
> Spanish, on the Letter to Bush by Latino farm labor leaders Dolores
> Huerta, Arturo Rodriguez and Baldemar Velasquez (in which they state
> their opposition to Bush's war against Iraq and slam Bush for
> strongarming Mexico into supporting its war drive).
>
> The speakers at the press conference were as follows:
>
> * Trent Willis, Business Agent ILWU 10 and No. Calif. Continuations
> Committee representative, USLAW (who chaired the press conference and
> read the statements from Reps. Pete Stark and Barbara Lee)
> * Walter Johnson, Secretary-Treasurer, San Francisco Labor Council
> * Sherry Kessler, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, San Mateo Labor Council
> * Cheryl Brown, Political Director, Contra Costa Co. Labor Council
> * Mike Casey, President, HERE Local 2
> * Jerry Fillingim, Political Director, SEIU Local 535
> * Pamela Martinez, Representative, SEIU Local 250
> * Dan Kaplan, Executive Secretary, AFT Local 1493
> * Howard Wallace, co-founder, Pride at Work (AFL-CIO)
> * Rodger Scott, Representative, AFT Local 2121
> * Denis Mosgofian, Past President, GCIU Web Press and Pre-Press
>   Workers Local 4-N.
>
> ------
>
> Statement by Dan Kaplan, Executive Secretary, AFT Local 1493, to
> March 12 Press Conference at ILWU Local 19
>
> My name is Dan Kaplan and I am the Executive Secretary of AFT Local
> 1493, the San Mateo Community College Federation of Teachers. My AFT
> Local represents both full-time and part-time faculty at Skyline
> College in San Bruno, Cañada College in Redwood City, and at the
> College of San Mateo. The Local was an early endorser of the founding
> resolution of U.S. Labor Against the War.
>
> To understand why my teachers' union has taken an explicitly anti-war
> position, I need to say something about what is now happening to the
> California community college system. Because of the estimated $35
> billion budget deficit in California, the Governor proposed on
> January 10 to cut the California community college system budget for
> 2003-04 by around 10.5%, that is, by around $530 million. At the same
> time, he proposed raising tuition from $11 to $25 a unit. This would
> mean that more than 206,000 mainly working class students in
> California would be denied access to a community college.
>
> But it is not just in California where the state faces a budget
> crisis. In fact, across the nation state budgets are facing the worst
> crisis since the Second World War. Massive budget deficits now
> threaten both public employees and the quality government services
> that they provide---like education and health care. This year alone
> state budget deficits are expected to reach a nationwide total of
> some $76 billion, according to a recent estimate made by the American
> Federation of Teachers. California's deficit alone is almost half of
> this nationwide total.
>
> Yet those in power in Washington, D.C. have decided in their most
> recent federal budget proposal not to propose any significant fiscal
> relief for the states. This same group of decision-makers has quite
> obviously also decided that they can find and spend well over $200
> billion for a senseless war in Iraq! Money can be found for war, but
> not for education and other vitally necessary social services. What
> kind of a message does this send to the students that we teach in our
> classrooms everyday? What does this say about the priorities of those
> who make public policy in this country?
>
> As U.S. Labor Against the War has made so eloquently clear, this war
> is absolutely unnecessary. Bush has failed to make a coherent case
> for war. This war will not make us safer. To the contrary, it will
> fuel more terrorism. This war will cost billions at the very time
> when the community college system in California is facing a frontal
> attack on its funding. This war will cost the lives of innocent
> people on both sides: the lives of young working class Americans will
> be put in jeopardy while fighting in this senseless war, and the
> lives of untold numbers of innocent Iraqi civilians. Let us not
> forget that the vast majority of the population of Iraq are young
> people under the age of 20. It is also clear to us that the threat of
> war in Iraq has been used to distract the American people from Bush's
> anti-labor, anti-worker agenda here at home.
>
> For all of these reasons, my Local will be observing today, the
> National Labor Day for Peace, with a mass distribution to faculty of
> the "Why Does The Labor Movement Oppose A War On Iraq?" flyer that
> U.S. Labor Against The War has produced. And we will be participating
> in the Rally and March Against War in Iraq that will take place this
> coming Saturday, March 15 in San Francisco's Civic Center. I also
> want to say that over 500 students and faculty from the San Mateo
> Community College District will be participating in the March and
> Rally against the proposed draconian budget cuts to the community
> college system that will be held at the State Capitol in Sacramento
> next Monday, March 17.
>
> I would like to conclude my remarks by speaking for a moment as a
> community college political science instructor. From 1945 to the end
> of the 20th century, the United States government attempted to
> overthrow more than 40 foreign governments, and to crush more than 30
> populist-nationalist movements struggling against intolerable
> regimes. In the process, the U.S. caused the end of life for several
> million people, and condemned many millions more to a life of agony
> and despair. This is not a foreign policy record to be proud of. The
> impending war against the people of Iraq, in other words, is more of
> the same. I think that the U.S. labor movement should play an
> important role in helping the American people craft a much better
> U.S. foreign policy for the future.
> ----
> For the other statements go to http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org
>
> Also see our web site http://icpj.org   for more information on worldwide
> labor actions against Bush's war.
>
>