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CounterPunch
October
1, 2002
The Rising Tide
of Union Opposition to War
by
KRYSTAL KYER
In fluid dynamics, every added drop of water swells
the wave until it reaches a critical point where the wave breaks
and rushes down toward the shore. The same is true for social
movements, where beyond a critical point, all are pulled in
until the status quo is overwhelmed by the shear number of
protestors.
The growing anti-war movement is but
a ripple. Yet each drop added gives rise to a wave. Today American
labor unions are adding their voices to the wave of anti-war
sentiments and protests.
Across the United States, unions are
speaking out against another invasion of Iraq.
At its August 19-22 convention, the Washington
State Labor Council (WSLC), representing 600 local unions with
over 450,000 members across Washington State, adopted an "Antiwar,
Anti-PATRIOT Act" resolution. The resolution calls for
the repeal of the USA-PATRIOT Act and other state 'anti-terrorism'
measures; non-cooperation with FBI and INS officials who spy
on and harass politically involved citizens, minorities, and
immigrants; the immediate release of hundreds of unnamed 9/11
suspects who are US residents; and for the US government to
stop the 'war on terrorism.'
On August 26, the San Francisco Labor
Council, AFL-CIO, adopted a resolution calling for 'No New War
Against Iraq.' The resolution cites, among other reasons to
oppose war, the misuse of billions of dollars on the build-up
to war that would result in domestic cutbacks such as "...education,
healthcare, social security and housing, and threatening the
rights of labor to strike and organize..." The resolution
also accuses the government of using concerns of 'Homeland
Security' to further weaken unions.
On September 19, the delegates to the
67th United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers union (UE)
convention, representing 35,000 members, passed a resolution
to "Oppose US Invasion of Iraq." The resolution cites
that "an invasion of Iraq is not in the interest of workers,"
but rather designed to benefit the military-industrial complex,
the oil industry, and President Bush's 2004 presidential campaign.
It notes that workers pay for war through their taxes, while
budget cuts threaten working people and the poor. Rather than
invading Iraq, the UE convention urges a "genuinely multilateral
diplomatic approach to the Iraq situation, sanctioned and directed
by the United Nations."
Other factions within various unions
have issued statements against the war. For instance, the Detroit
Labor Committee for Peace & Justice issued a statement in
August opposing the war, corporate welfare, racism, and the
USA-PATRIOT Act.
All of these voices from America's organized
labor signal the impending birth of a broad coalition of anti-war
activists. These labor groups, along with others sure to follow,
will be joining liberals and radical political groups, religious
groups, and minority groups in opposition to the Bush administration's
'foreign policy' of pre-eminent strikes and an open-ended war.
Yet along with the rapidly growing union
opposition to war comes a disconcerting non-position to war.
The AFL-CIO Executive Council is refusing to take a stand on
the topic of Iraq. Their silence on the 'war on terrorism' leaves
a gaping whole that local unions are starting to fill. The
national labor leadership's silence represents a lack of opposition
to Bush's war plans. They might as well be shouting labor's
approval of the Bush Administration. Yet all is not lost. Perhaps
now that local unions are speaking out against a possible war
on Iraq, the national leaders will be brave enough to add their
voices to the anti-war movement by following their rank and
file members.
Union opposition to war is swelling,
and the ripples of an anti-war movement just got a little bigger.
Let's all add our drops of water to the wave, and soon the Bush
Administration won't have any choice but to listen to the people
of the United States, and the World, in calling for a peaceful
and diplomatic solution to the threat of terrorism worldwide.
Krystal Kyer
is an activist writer, a member of the Olympia Movement for
Justice and Peace, and has a Master of Environmental Studies
degree. She can be reached at klynn@nocharge.zzn.com
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