AFL-CIO Convention To Act On Anti-War Resolutions [Archive]

17th September 2009, 23:25

Sisters and Brothers:

These resolutions were adopted today in the final session of the AFL-CIO Convention in Pittsburgh. Numerous USLAW affiliates contributed to this success. Special thanks go to David Newby, President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, and Jos William, President of the Metropolitan Washington DC Labor Council, both of whom served on that committee, to Co-convenors Fred Mason and Nancy Wohlforth, who led the antiwar effort at the convention, to Traven Leshon of the Washington-Orange-Lamoille Labor Council and Gerry Colby, Champlain Valley Central Labor Council, both of whom spoke from the floor on the resolutions, and USLAW National Organizer Tom Gogan, who helped coordinate that effort. Many delegates were also involved in building support for the resolutions and circulating USLAW's petition to Hillary Clinton in support of labor rights in Iraq. Leaders of five of Iraq's labor federations attended the convention to witness this effort. They were also honored with a luncheon hosted by the United Steel Workers Union.

Michael Eisenscher
National Coordinator
U.S. Labor Against the War

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RESOLUTION 16
End the Silence on Labor Rights in Iraq
Submitted by Alameda Labor Council (Calif.), San Mateo County Central Labor Council (Calif.),
Washington-Orange-Lamoille Labor Council (Vt.) and Wisconsin State AFL-CIO

WHEREAS, after more than six years of military
occupation, more than 4,300 U.S. and as many
as a million or more Iraqi lives have been lost and
our government has spent nearly $650 billion of
taxpayer funds on the military occupation of Iraq,
and yet real democracy in Iraq still remains more
of an aspiration than reality; and

WHEREAS, one of the fundamental building
blocks of a democratic society is the right of
workers to join unions of their choice free of
government interference, domination,
harassment or repression; and

WHEREAS, after the invasion of Iraq in 2003,
the U.S. nullified most of the repressive Saddam
era legal code, but kept on the books and
continued to enforce a 1987 law that Saddam
Hussein imposed making it illegal for public-sector
and public enterprise employees to join unions or
negotiate the terms of their employment; and

WHEREAS, the subsequent Iraqi Interim
Governing Authority continued to enforce this
undemocratic denial of worker rights, and
the newly elected Iraqi government imposed
additional restrictions on worker and union rights,
including seizure and freezing of union bank
accounts and assets; and

WHEREAS, U.S. and Iraqi forces raided and
ransacked union offices and assaulted and
detained union leaders, and management of
public enterprises, including the oil industry,
was directed not to recognize or bargain with
unions; and

WHEREAS, a vibrant pluralistic independent labor
movement continues to grow in Iraq despite
harassment, beatings, kidnappings, detention,
torture and even murder of trade union activists;
and

WHEREAS, Article 22, Section 3 of the new
Iraqi Constitution promises respect for worker
rights, foremost freedom of association and calls
upon the Iraqi government to enact a law that
guarantees the right to form unions; and

WHEREAS, Iraq is also a 1962 signatory to ILO
Convention 98 on the right to organize and
collectively bargain (which, ironically, the United
States has yet to ratify), thereby also imposing
a treaty obligation under international law to
respect worker rights; and

WHEREAS, the ILO assisted the Iraqi government
to draft a basic labor law that conforms to
the requirements of the Iraqi constitution and
international norms for respect of labor rights and
yet the Iraqi government has refused to present
that law to the Parliament for adoption; and

WHEREAS, these transgressions of fundamental
labor and human rights have taken place for more
than six years without a word of criticism from the
U.S. government to Iraqi authorities and it is long
past time for the U.S. government to speak up for
the rights of Iraqi workers and unions; and

WHEREAS, respect for and enforcement of labor
rights anywhere encourages respect for and
enforcement of labor rights everywhere, including
in the United States;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the
AFL-CIO adopt this resolution and urge the
U.S. government to strongly call upon the Iraqi
government to live up to the terms of its own
constitution and international treaty obligations
by:

• Respecting the right of free association and
other worker rights defined by ILO Conventions
for all Iraqi workers;

• Ceasing all repression of Iraqi unions, union
leaders and activists;

• Releasing union funds and assets that have
been frozen or impounded and permitting
unions to operate normally;

• Directing management of public enterprises
and government jurisdictions to recognize
and bargain with unions freely chosen by their
employees; and

• Promptly adopting a basic labor law that
enshrines these rights and obligations in the
legal code of Iraq; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the AFL-CIO
shall send a copy of this resolution to the U.S.
government through Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, with an additional copy to the Iraqi
government through its embassy in Washington,
D.C.; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the AFL-CIO urge
its state and area labor federations and central
labor councils to concur with this resolution
and communicate that concurrence to the U.S.
government by notice to Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton and the Iraqi government through its
embassy in Washington, D.C.; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the AFL-CIO shall
participate in the campaign for labor rights in
Iraq by circulating the petition in support of those
rights initiated by U.S. Labor Against the War.

RESOLUTION 52
Bring All the Troops and Contractors Home!
Submitted by Alameda Labor Council (Calif.)
Amended by the International Labor Committee

WHEREAS, the 2005 AFL-CIO convention
resolved that “Our soldiers...deserve a
commitment from our country’s leaders to
bring them home rapidly. An unending military
presence will waste lives and resources,
undermine our nation’s security and weaken our
military;” and

WHEREAS, at the time of that convention, 1,700
U.S. troops had already lost their lives in Iraq, and
today there are more than 4,300 U.S. dead and
more than 30,000 seriously wounded; and

WHEREAS, the nation confronts the most serious
economic crisis since the Great Depression and
as a consequence millions of workers have lost
their jobs or suffered cuts in working hours and
wages, social programs and government services
are being cut or eliminated across the country
for lack of resources while our country has spent
$650 billion in Iraq already and nearly $900
billion since 2001, including Afghanistan; and

WHEREAS, under terms of the Status of Forces
Agreement signed by the Bush administration,
U.S. forces will remain in Iraq until the end of
2011, and will continue to engage in combat and
suffer casualties as long as they remain in that
country; and

WHEREAS, in March 2008, Barack Obama
said, “It is past time to end this war that should
never have been waged by bringing our troops
home, and finally pushing Iraq’s leaders to take
responsibility for their future. As we do, we must
serve the memory of all who have died as well
as they who served our country, by providing
support for their families, caring for our troops
and veterans and upholding the American values
which our fallen heroes exemplified through their
service”; and

WHEREAS, at its 2005 convention, the AFL-CIO
called for “rapid” withdrawal from Iraq—and
four years later, 130,000 troops and 190,000
contractors are still in Iraq;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Alameda
County Labor Council reaffirms its opposition to
the continuing military occupation of Iraq and
calls for the speedy* withdrawal of all military
forces and armed contractors from Iraq; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Alameda
County Labor Council calls upon the Congress
and president to redirect the resources now
squandered in Iraq to meeting the urgent needs
of the American people, restoring and fully
funding vital social programs and public services,
developing sustainable technologies to address
global warming, creating quality long-term jobs
that provide a decent living, rebuilding the Gulf
Coast and our nation’s infrastructure and a host of
other needs that will provide our country with real
security; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Alameda
County Labor Council will submit this resolution
with a request for concurrence by the California
Labor Federation and by the AFL-CIO at its 2009
convention.

* "Speedy" was substituted for "complete and immediate" by the International Resolutions Committee.

This resolution was also adopted and may be of special interest to many USLAW affiliates:

RESOLUTION 40
Resolution on Military Coup in Honduras
Submitted by California Labor Federation
Amended by the International Labor Committee

WHEREAS, the AFL-CIO has “expressed
solidarity with the three union federations of
Honduras—the Unitary Central of Honduran
Workers (CUTH), the Confederation of Honduran
Workers (CTH) and the General Workers Central
(CGT)—and with the Trade Union Confederation
of the Americas (TUCA), representing more
than 45 million workers of this hemisphere, in
condemning the military coup that resulted in the
illegal ouster of democratically elected President
Manuel Zelaya”; and

WHEREAS, the AFL-CIO has “denounced the coup
as an unconscionable attack on the fundamental
rights and liberties of the Honduran people in
flagrant violation of the most basic democratic
principles and of the rule of law, and has called
upon the U.S. government and the international
community, particularly the Organization of
American States and the United Nations, not only
to condemn the coup and withhold recognition of
the current government, but to make every effort
to help achieve restitution of constitutional order
and reinstatement of the democratically elected
president”; and

WHEREAS, in the wake of the coup, trade
unionists, human rights activists, journalists,
community leaders and ordinary citizens have
suffered grave violations of their human and
civil rights, with at least eight people killed
and hundreds injured or detained during mass
protests against the coup and against the
dissolution of democracy in Honduras; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. government has suspended
military and direct government aid to the current
government in Honduras in an effort to shore up
its demands that President Zelaya be returned to
office, but has refrained from issuing additional
economic sanctions; and

WHEREAS, the militarily backed de facto
government, led by anti-union political and
economic elites with Roberto Micheletti at
the head, so far has resisted international calls
for the restitution of constitutional order, has
refused to honor the San Jose accord on national
reconciliation and has continued to repress those
who speak out against the coup; and

WHEREAS, the California Labor Federation
stands in solidarity with the independence, selfdetermination
and human rights of the country
of Honduras, whose citizens have democratically
elected President Manuel Zelaya, who was
deposed by an illegal military coup d’etat; and
WHEREAS, California and other parts of the
United States have Honduran and Latin American
communities that include hard-working and taxpaying
citizens, residents and undocumented
workers who contribute to our economy and
nation; and

WHEREAS, the California Labor Federation
recognizes that political unrest that destabilizes
nations and countries neighboring the United
States creates conditions that harm said nations
and countries and has historically created and
continues to create mass immigration to alleviate
human needs;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the California
Labor Federation urges the AFL-CIO to encourage
the Obama administration to continue to withhold
state-to-state military aid to the Micheletti
government. Moreover, the U.S government
should remove its current ambassador to Honduras,
revoke the U.S. visas for all of those responsible
for the coup, seek to legally freeze all accounts
and assets of those individuals and organizations
responsible for the coup and seriously consider
suspending trade with Honduras until President
Manuel Zelaya is restored to his democratically
elected office and human and trade union rights
have been restored; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the California
Labor Federation urges the AFL-CIO to support
an Obama administration policy that discourages
predatory interests from politically and
economically destabilizing developing countries
and prevents adverse harm to our sisters and
brothers in Latin America; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, the California Labor
Federation shall make this resolution public and
forward it to the national AFL-CIO Convention for
adoption.

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