Open
World Conference of Workers
In Defense of Trade Union Independence & Democratic Rights
Resolution Against the War, Attacks on Civil Liberties and Cuts in Public Services
Resolution #6
Adopted by the Washington State Labor Council at its August 19-22, 2002
Convention in Spokane, Washington.
WHEREAS, President Bush's ever-expanding "war on terrorism"
has been cynically used to justify a $48 billion hike in next year's
military budget, bringing it to $383 billion, in addition to the $15
billion bailout of the airline industry and $25 billion in tax refunds for
corporate America; and
WHEREAS, Congress is forcing union members and other working and poor
people to pay for this war drive and subsidize corporate profits by
raiding the Social Security Trust Fund and cutting funding for
economically distressed states and vital government programs such as
subsidies for low income housing and services to the homeless; and
WHEREAS, the billions spent on armaments, domestic repression and bailouts
could be better used to provide re-training programs and jobs to the
800,000 workers across the nation who lost their jobs after September
11th, and to plug the $50 billion deficit in state and local budgets that
has resulted in a major loss of union jobs and cuts in essential socials
services such as fully staffed libraries, education, quality public
transportation with reliable access services to the disabled, providing
clean water and air, healthcare and treatment for the mentally ill; and
WHEREAS, in the aftermath of September 11th over 1,000 immigrants were
imprisoned in detention centers, thousands of airport workers (many of
them immigrants of color) were fired simply because they were not
citizens, and Muslims, people of Middle Eastern descent and other
immigrants suffered increased violence sparked by racial profiling by the
INS and FBI; and
WHEREAS, the federal "USA PATRIOT" anti-terrorism act and
similar state measures undermine labor's right to organize and fight
anti-immigrant attacks and other union-busting tactics by expanding the
government's ability to detain non-citizens based on mere suspicion, to
conduct telephone and internet surveillance and secret searches, and to
define people engaged in political protest as "domestic
terrorists;" and
WHEREAS, the national AFL-CIO's uncritical support for this profit-driven
war has derailed labor opposition to increased military expenditures,
corporate subsidies and government spying and provided political cover for
Democrats to jump on the anti-terrorism bandwagon;
WHEREAS, the AFL-CIO's support for the war has led to the callous
withholding of solidarity from labor's working class and poor allies in
other countries who are suffering and dying as a result of this conflict;
therefore, be it
RESOLVED that the Washington State Labor Council expand its efforts to
defend civil liberties by taking the following actions and urging the
AFL-CIO to do the same:
---Campaign for the repeal of the USA PATRIOT Act and defeat of similar
"anti-terrorism" measures in state legislatures;
---Pressure local and state law enforcement to refuse to cooperate with
FBI spying on political, union, and anti-globalism activists or comply
with INS harassment of Arabs and other immigrants and people of color in
the U.S.;
---Demand the immediate release of the hundreds of Middle Eastern, Arab
and other immigrants who are still being detained without due process
and/or legal justification; and be it finally
RESOLVED that the Washington State Labor Council urge the AFL-CIO and its
affiliates to oppose the U.S. government's open-ended "war on
terrorism" and participate in rallies, marches and other activities
to pressure President Bush and Congress to stop the war and redirect money
from corporate handouts and the military budget to assist laid-off
workers, restore and expand public services, and promote global justice by
providing humanitarian and economic aid--administered by unions--to our
brothers and sisters in other countries.