Most of you know about the U.S. Social Forum this year.  Many people from San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and other Texas cities are going.  Some are presenting workshops. USSF’s website is http://www.ussf2010.org/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1828946493&v=app_2344061033#!/event.php?eid=111695722194402&index=1

U.S. Labor Against the War is sponsoring 2 workshops:  “Building solidarity with working people and unions in Iraq and other U.S. war zones” (Thurs., 6/24, 1 – 3 pm) and “Talking to workers and unions about war, military spending and U.S. foreign policy” (Friday, 6/25, 10 am – 12 noon).

Here’s a small excerpt from the USSF’s statement of beliefs:

Sunday evening, March 28, 7 pm, at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. UT professor Robert Jensen will interview Fletcher onstage, questioning him about the social justice movements that have been the focus of his life and work. What lessons about today’s crises can we draw from Fletcher’s experience in the struggle for racial and economic justice, at home and abroad?  Sponsored by: Third Coast Activist Resource Center, MonkeyWrench Books, and Workers Defense Project.  Free (suggested donation of $10 for Austin People’s Community Center).  St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church is at 14311 Wells Port Drive (1 block west of IH-35 on Wells Branch Parkway).

Monday evening, March 29, 7 pm, National Association of Letter Carriers Br. 181 union hall, 601 Williams St. (off N. Lamar near Airport). Bill directs his remarks at union members and friends.  What are the challenges we face?  How can we help lead a resurgence of the labor movement as part of the broader social justice movement?  Be ready with your questions and plenty of opportunity for discussion.  Sponsored by the Austin Central Labor Council, NALC Branch 181, and Pro-Care Spine & Medical Center.  (Free; door prize; light refreshments start at 6:45 pm.)

Bill Fletcher, Jr., is Director of Field Services & Education for the American Federation of Government Employees and has been a fighter for workers rights, racial justice, and international causes for decades.  He has worked for the AFL-CIO, SEIU, UAW, and National Postal Mail Handlers Union.  He is Executive Editor of The Black Commentator, past president of the Trans-Africa Forum, founder of the Center for Labor Renewal and of the Black Radical Congress, and is a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies.  Bill co-authored Solidarity Divided with Fernando Gapasin, and co-authored a provocative article, “Reimagining Socialism” with Barbara Ehrenreich.

Thanks to Professor Bob Jensen for bringing Mr. Fletcher to Austin.  

Thanks to our friend Ali Issa (formerly in Austin, now in New York) for the link to his blog, Iraq Left: On Iraqi Organizing and Movement Building Now, http://iraqleft.wordpress.com/

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:

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

Tell Hillary Clinton to speak out for labor rights in Iraq.

SIGN THE PETITION

Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the U.S. and Iraqi governments have continued to enforce Saddam Hussein’s 1987 law that bars unions and collective bargaining in all public sector and enterprise workplaces.

Iraqi unions have organized (at great risk and with great sacrifices) but without the protection of a basic labor law, even though the Iraqi constitution requires one and Iraq is signatory to the International Labor Organization Convention on the right to organize and bargain.

Union leaders and activists have suffered harassment, beatings, detention, torture and even assassination.  Union offices have been raided and vandalized by US and Iraqi troops.  Union bank accounts and assets have been frozen.

Through all this, the U.S. government has remained silent.

U.S. Labor Against the War has posted a petition that calls upon Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as the principal foreign policy representative of the government, to speak out for labor rights in Iraq and press the Iraqi government to respect and protect the rights of workers and unions.

Please take a moment to add your voice to the international movement in solidarity with the courageous unions and workers of Iraq.

When we strengthen labor rights in Iraq, we also strengthen our fight for labor rights right here in the U.S.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE

US Labor Against the War www.uslaboragainstwar.org

Monday, May 5, at about 6:30 pm, Texas State Employees Union, 1700 S. First St., Austin (across from Freddie’s and Jovita’s)
This 27-min documentary will screen at the May 5 meeting of TSEU’s Committee on Political Education. After a business meeting that begins at 6 pm, we will show this film about the labor movement in Iraq. Iraqi unions, despite violent repression by both the Iraqi government and the Bush administration, have managed to survive, to oppose the occupation, and to lead a successful fight against oil privatization in that country.

Thomas Bacon, coordinator of both the 2005 and 2007 tours, will be there for discussion. Free and open to the public.

About the film:

In June 2005 six senior Iraqi trade union leaders toured the United States hosted by U.S. Labor Against the War, visiting 25 cities and speaking to several thousand unionists, peace activists, and others. This documentary captures the energy and emotions of the tour while expressing the important substantive message Iraqi workers want to convey to all Americans: end the occupation; oppose the privatization of Iraqi national resources; and support the right of all Iraqi workers to organize free and independent trade unions.
Directed by – Jonathan Levin
Executive Producer – Michael Zweig

To play the trailer, go to http://www.meetingfacetoface.org/