Open
World Conference of Workers
In Defense of Trade Union Independence & Democratic Rights
USLAW Calls for End to Occupation, Return of Troops
(May 3, 2004)
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
Dear Unionists and labor activists:
Following is a press release announcing a new statement by USLAW calling
for an end to the occupation of Iraq and the return of U.S. troops. Please
distribute this statement widely to your members. The press release and
statement also can be downloaded from the USLAW website for mailing or
faxing to media and to circulate more widely to your membership.
Thanks. - OWC Co-coordinators
**********
http://uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?id=4540
U.S. LABOR AGAINST THE WAR
PMB 153, 1718 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
www.uslaboragaintwar.org
info@uslaboragainstwar.org
For Immediate Release: May 3, 2004
Contact: Gene Bruskin, Co-Convenor 202-297-0198
Amy Newell, National Organizer 831-728-4922
National Labor Antiwar Network Calls for End to Occupation, Return
of Troops
U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW), a national network of 69
national, regional and local unions and other labor organizations* has
issued a call for an end to the occupation of Iraq and return of all U.S.
troops to the U.S.
Citing 743 deaths and 3600 wounded among U.S. troops and the death of more
than 10,000 Iraqi civilians, the USLAW statement said, "We call for
an end now to the U.S. occupation and for all military, political and
economic authority to be transferred to the people of Iraq. . . . We call
upon all public officials and candidates for office to oppose this war and
the never-ending occupation and to support steps that can be taken
immediately to end it. . . . It is time to acknowledge this tragic mistake
and to hold to account Bush and those who prosecuted this disastrous
war."
The statement charged that "Every reason Bush gave for going to war
-- Irag having weapons of mass destruction, Iraq collaborating with al
Qaida and it being an imminent threat to the US -- has been proven false.
. . . Our Government's senseless war and occupation in Iraq have been met
by worldwide outrage and have provoked acts of terror in retaliation. In
short, our country and the world are not safer and the crisis in Iraq
continues to deepen. Rather than a solution to terrorism, the occupation
has become the cause of continuing hardship and violence, death and
suffering. It is time to end the occupation!"
Gene Bruskin, USLAW's national spokesperson, said, "The U.S.
occupation of Iraq is in crisis. As any sensible union member knows, the
first thing to do when you find you've dug yourself into a hole is to STOP
DIGGING. The U.S. needs to find a way out of the mess that our government
has gotten us into and stop digging this country deeper into Iraq."
Describing the war and occupation as "Bush's folly," USLAW
decried the waste of $150 billion to "pad the profit margins" of
Halliburton, Bechtel and other corporate backers of the president while
Iraqis continue to go without reliable electricity, clean water, food and
jobs and "social programs in the U.S. are being savaged, state and
local governments are being driven into fiscal crisis, and our own
democratic liberties are being eroded in the name of national
security."
Calling for a massive turnout at the polls in November, the organization
called upon the labor movement to "resoundingly reject four more
years of bravado, unilateralism, and squandering of precious lives and the
public treasury on corporate cronyism, militarism, and global
domination." It continued, "No matter who is elected U.S.
president in 2004, the anti-war movement, including its labor component,
must be prepared to challenge U.S. foreign and domestic policies that harm
our people and the peoples of the world and to hold all our elected
officials to a course of peace and social justice at home and
abroad."
USLAW condemned the continuing enforcement by the Occupation Authority of
a law imposed by Saddam Hussein outlawing unions in state enterprises,
where the vast majority of Iraqis with jobs are employed. The coalition of
labor groups called for support of Iraq's emerging democratic labor
movement and observance in Iraq of International Labor Organization
standards for labor rights to organize and bargain free of government or
outside interference. The organization called the Iraqi labor movement the
most progressive secular force for a new , democratic, peaceful and
prosperous Iraq"
USLAW has established the Iraqi Labor Solidarity Fund it to provide
financial support struggling Iraqi unions. It urged union members and
labor organizations to donate generously to the fund at its website at
https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=1822
- 30-
* A list of affiliates is available at http://uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?id=3606
*******************
Statement:
U.S. Labor Against the War
PMB 153, 1718 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
www.uslaboragaintwar.org
info@uslaboragainstwar.org
USLAW STATEMENT ON THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ
"We call for an end now to the U.S. occupation and for all
military, political and economic authority to be transferred to the people
of Iraq. . . . We call upon all public officials and candidates for office
to oppose this war and the never-ending occupation and to support steps
that can be taken immediately to end it. . . . It is time to acknowledge
this tragic mistake and to hold to account Bush and those who prosecuted
this disastrous war."
The U.S. occupation of Iraq is in crisis. As any sensible union member
knows, the first thing to do when you find you've dug yourself into a hole
is to STOP DIGGING. The U.S. needs to find a way out of the mess that
our government has gotten us into and stop digging this country deeper
into Iraq. Every reason Bush gave for going to war -- Irag having
weapons of mass destruction, Iraq collaborating with al Qaida and it being
an imminent threat to the US -- has been proven false.
Consider the following:
o As of the end of April, 738 U.S. troops have died (137 in April
alone; 532 since George Bush provocatively declared Bring them on!).
Through mid-April, more than 3,600 have been wounded in this unnecessary,
unprovoked and long-planned war by the Bush administration against Iraq.
[http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx]
o 10,000 or more civilian Iraqis have been killed in the past year
according to reliable international sources (the Occupation Authority
refuses to keep count) and many thousands more were wounded. [http://www.iraqbodycount.net/]
Estimates of Iraqi troop deaths range as high as 40,000.
o In the first three weeks of April, more than 1,100 Iraqis –
hundreds of women, children and the elderly – lost their lives in
Fallujah, in the Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad and in the Shiite cities
to the south. Fighting age young men have been barred from leaving
Fallujah, while the U.S. has begun bombing heavily populated areas where
tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians are forced to remain in their homes
without access to food, water or medicine.
o Amnesty International has documented the torture of prisoners,
demolition of homes and collective punishment of innocent civilians (all
violations of international law) by the Occupation Authority.
o Senior Pentagon officials say the Iraq war is costing $4.7
billion per month. The $150 billion already spent on Bush's folly (and
additional $50 billion or more he will reportedly seek after the election
if he wins) have padded the profit margins of Halliburton, Bechtel and his
other corporate cronies while electricity, clean water, food and jobs
remain in short supply for most Iraqis.
o Meanwhile, social programs in the U.S. are being savaged. State and
local governments are being driven into fiscal crisis. Our own democratic
liberties are being eroded in the name of national security. Economic
inequality is growing. Millions remain jobless or marginally employed
in low-wage non-union jobs. The Bush administration has painted a bulls
eye on the labor movement. Those who question or challenge the direction
the president is taking the nation are accused of being unpatriotic or,
worse, aiding the enemy.
o Iraqi army and police units trained by the U.S. refused to join the
U.S. troops in their assault on Fallujah and other towns, and the
U.S.-appointed Governing Council (never accepted as legitimate
representatives by the Iraqi people) has had serious defections,
infighting and a further decline in their already low standing. The
Coalition is falling apart as other governments respond to the demand of
their people to get out of Iraq.
o There is widespread cynicism about the U.S. plan for the alleged
transition to Iraqi "sovereignty" on June 30. Continued U.S.
military, economic and political domination make the notion of Iraqi
sovereignty laughable. The U.S. plans to maintain a military force of
as many as 130,000 troops on fourteen permanent military bases currently
under construction, and the U.S. military insists on command authority
over the newly created Iraqi military and police forces. The Coalition
Provisional Authority will be replaced by a massive U.S. embassy staff,
perhaps the largest in the world, with over 3000 employees. Bush's plan to
sell Iraq's economic resources to the highest bidder is still high on his
agenda. Rather than a path to democratic self-rule, this is a roadmap to
continued rebellion.
o Sunni and Shiite communities have united in their opposition to the
occupation. Recent events demonstrate that this opposition is gaining
support among ever wider sections of the population, transcending
religious and ethnic allegiances. U.S. credibility is at an all-time low,
both in Iraq and around the world.
o In line with Bushs assaults on organized labor here at home, the
Occupation Authority continues to enforce Saddam Husseins 1987 law banning
unions and bargaining in all state enterprises where the vast majority of
Iraqis with jobs are employed. Despite repression and harassment,
newly organized independent democratic Iraqi unions struggle for
recognition and to improve the desperate conditions that Iraqi working
people, with and without jobs, experience.
o The morale of U.S. forces is declining rapidly as the casualties
mount and active duty time is extended for the already exhausted and
emotionally shattered troops, thousands of whom are reservists and members
of the National Guard, not professional soldiers. The people our
troops are told they have come to liberate are now shouting and shooting
at them. Military families at home struggle to survive. More and more
families are speaking out against the occupation and the directionless
U.S. strategy in Iraq.
o Public support for the war has dipped to 47%, down from 58% in March
and 63% in December. Public approval of Bush's handling of the war has
dropped to 41%, down from 49% in March and 59% in December. Our
Government's senseless war and occupation in Iraq have been met by
worldwide outrage and have provoked acts of terror in retaliation. In
short, our country and the world are not safer and the crisis in Iraq
continues to deepen. Rather than a solution to terrorism, the
occupation has become the cause of continuing hardship and violence, death
and suffering. It is time to end the occupation!
We call for an end now to the U.S. occupation and for all military,
political and economic authority to be transferred to the people of Iraq
with the full assistance of neutral members of the international
community. The U.S. needs to leave and cede authority if the
process of democratization and reconstruction has any hope of success.
Ending the occupation does not end our obligation to pay for the
rebuilding of Iraq, but that reconstruction should be under the control of
Iraqis. We call upon all public officials and candidates for office
to oppose this war and the never-ending occupation and to support steps
that can be taken to immediately end it.
It is time to acknowledge this tragic mistake and to hold to account Bush
and those who prosecuted this disastrous war. At the polls in
November, let's resoundingly reject four more years of bravado,
unilateralism, and squandering of precious lives and the public treasury
on corporate cronyism, militarism, and global domination. In helping
to defeat George W. Bush, the labor movement can demonstrate that the
American people will turn out of office anyone who follows his policies of
war, occupation, and attacks on working people. But no matter who is
elected U.S. president in 2004, the anti-war movement, including its labor
component, must be prepared to challenge U.S. foreign and domestic
policies that harm our people and the peoples of the world and to hold all
our elected officials to a course of peace and social justice at home and
abroad.
U.S. Labor Against the War believes --
The Iraqi labor movement represents the main progressive, secular force
for a new, democratic, peaceful and prosperous Iraq.
We pledge our ongoing solidarity with all genuine Iraqi labor
organizations in their efforts to organize workers and win improved
standards and living conditions for employed and unemployed workers.
We call for the full right of Iraqi workers to organize and bargain
under internationally recognized ILO conventions. We pledge to work
with the international labor movement to support the struggle of Iraqi
unions to win these protections. We call upon all elected officials and
candidates for office to publicly commit their support for labor rights as
essential to a democratic, secular Iraq.
We support Iraqi unions and workers in their opposition to the
privatization of Iraqi industry and support the full right of the Iraqis
themselves, not U.S. or multinational corporations, to make all decisions
about the future of their economy. The independent democratic unions
of Iraq must be given a major role in the reconstruction of Iraq,
decisions about the future of its economy and civic culture, and the
creation of a stable, democratic secular state.
We call upon labor organizations and individual union members in the
U.S. to contribute generously to the Iraqi Labor Solidarity Fund
established by USLAW to offer concrete financial support to these
struggling unions as they strive to restore Iraq to peace, democracy and
prosperity. Donations to the fund can be made on the Internet at https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=1822.
All funds donated will go directly to the democratic labor federations of
Iraq.
http://uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?id=4434
Fund Appeal:
SOMETHING WE CAN DO NOW
TO HELP IRAQ'S NEW LABOR MOVEMENT
§ Without resources, computers or office equipment . . .
§ In defiance of Saddam Hussein's anti-union laws (still enforced by the
U.S.-run Occupation Authority) . . .
§ Operating under the harsh conditions of occupation and armed conflict .
. .
§ In defiance of harassment and arrests by the U.S. military –
The labor movement in Iraq is rising like a Phoenix from the ashes of
the old order.
These courageous trade unionists need and deserve our help!
US Labor Against the War has established the Iraqi Labor Solidarity Fund
to financially support these emerging unions so they can function
effectively to build a free, independent, democratic labor movement in
Iraq. Our initial objective is to raise $5000 for each of the two new
democratic labor federations organized since the fall of the Hussein
regime.
The Iraqi Workers Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) and the Federation of
Workers' Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI) and its affiliated Union of
the Unemployed have already organized thousands of workers in a wide range
of industries across Iraq in spite of all the obstacles, the risks and the
danger. They have both been recognized by the international labor movement
as legitimate representatives of Iraqi workers.
Ř We can provide the resources to help them succeed in their mission to
enable Iraqi workers to defend themselves against the invasion of U.S. and
other multinational corporations – like Bechtel, Halliburton, and
Stevedoring Services of America—the same anti-union companies we face at
home.
Ř We can help them win formal recognition and the right to organize and
bargain as promised by the Conventions of the International Labor
Organization of the U.N.
Ř We should support their demand that Iraqi's labor movement have a major
role in deciding how the country should be run, how its resources should
be owned and managed, and what conditions will prevail for Iraqi's workers
and unemployed.
Ř We can help them build a democratic, labor-friendly, secular Iraq –
one that provides peace, justice, dignity and prosperity for all its
population regardless of religious or ethnic affiliation.
Ř Our contributions will go a long way to help Iraqi unions put out
newspapers and educational materials, support organizers, buy office
equipment and pay the costs of conferences that bring workers together
from around Iraq.
* BUILD WORKER-TO-WORKER SOLIDARITY-PLEASE MAKE A GENEROUS
PERSONAL DONATION TO THE IRAQI LABOR SOLIDARITY FUND.
* ASK YOUR UNION, CHURCH, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
TO CONTRIBUTE.
MAKE A CONTRIBUTION ON THE INTERNET AT THE SECURE WEBSITE OF U.S.
LABOR AGAINST THE WAR AT https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=1822
or
USE THE FORM ON THE REVERSE SIDE.
___ I SUPPORT USLAW'S $10,000 IRAQI SOLIDARITY FUND
NAME ________________________________________________________________
UNION/ORG. __________________________________________________________
ADDRESS _____________________________________________________________
CITY____________________ STATE____ ZIP__________ TEL.________________
EMAIL ________________________________________________________________
Make your donation payable to the USLAW Iraq Labor Solidarity Fund.
Send it to USLAW, 1718 M Street NW #153, Washington, DC 20036.
This donation does not qualify for a tax deduction.
___ I pledge $ ______ toward the $10,000 Iraqi Solidarity Fund
launched by US Labor Against the War to assist the evolving democratic
trade union movement in Iraq represented by the Iraqi Federation of Trade
Unions (IFTU) and the Federation of Workers' Councils and Unions of Iraq (FWCUI).
__Send me more information about how I can join and support U.S. Labor
Against the War.
___ I SUPPORT USLAW'S $10,000 IRAQI SOLIDARITY FUND
NAME ________________________________________________________________
UNION/ORG. __________________________________________________________
ADDRESS _____________________________________________________________
CITY____________________ STATE____ ZIP__________ TEL.________________
EMAIL ________________________________________________________________
Make your donation payable to the USLAW Iraq Labor Solidarity Fund.
Send it to USLAW, 1718 M Street NW #153, Washington, DC 20036.
This donation does not qualify for a tax deduction.
___ I pledge $ ______ toward the $10,000 Iraqi Solidarity Fund
launched by US Labor Against the War to assist the evolving democratic
trade union movement in Iraq represented by the Iraqi Federation of Trade
Unions (IFTU) and the Federation of Workers' Councils and Unions of Iraq (FWCUI).
__Send me more information about how I can join and support U.S. Labor
Against the War.