OWC CAMPAIGN NEWS - distributed by the Open World Conference in Defense of Trade Union Independence & Democratic Rights, c/o S.F. Labor Council, 1188 Franklin St., #203, San Francisco, CA 94109. to SUBSCRIBE, contact the OWC at <ilcinfo at earthlink.net>. To UNSUBSCRIBE, contact the OWC at <ilcinfo at earthlink.net>. Phone: (415) 641-8616 Fax: (415) 440-9297. Visit our website at www.owcinfo.org - Notify if any change in email address. (Please excuse duplicate postings, and please feel free to re-post.) -------------------
(reprinted from US Labor Against War website) *
Unions Representing 130 Million Workers Say NO to War!
GLOBAL LABOR PRESS CONFERENCE REPORTS ON INTERNATIONAL LABOR DECLARATION AGAINST WAR IN IRAQ
Over 200 unions and 550 union leaders from 53 countries representing 130 million workers have signed the International Labor Declaration circulated by USLAW, beginning just ten days ago.
Workers of the world have spoken with a single voice, demanding that the US abandon its militaristic threats of illegal aggression against Iraq. They have said in unison, "Give peace a chance!"
This is the first time in history that the world's labor movements have come together to speak with a single voice on an issue of urgent international concern.
On Wednesday, February 19, USLAW convened an unprecedented global telephone press conference to brief the media about the Declaration and its signatories.
Participating in that call were representatives of major labor federations and unions from the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Quebec, France, England, Tunisia, Pakistan, Brazil, Australia, and Italy. Each made a brief statement about their organization's antiwar activities and expressed their solidarity with one another in building a global labor front against War in Iraq.
They reported on the massive participation of workers and unions in the February 15-16 demonstrations and promised continued waves of actions in their countries. Among the steps being taken or planned are convening meetings with the leaders of those countries who are supporting the war, national teach-ins at every school level in France, a call for a world-wide meeting of teachers' unions to oppose the war, the refusal of unions to transport war goods, work stoppages and other forms of workplace protests, and massive demonstrations at U.S. embassies around the world if war breaks out.
Note was taken of the meeting of the AFL-CIO General Executive Board meeting next week in Florida. A number of major national affiliates such as CWA and AFSCME, have adopted resolutions which they intend to submit for discussion. As additional resolutions are adopted almost daily by union bodies around the country, pressure is building on the Federation to adopt a clear antiwar position.
The unions agreed to continue to communicate and coordinate strategies and activities, as this effort represented just the first of many steps that will be taken together to demonstrate broad popular opposition to war.
The press conference was broadcast in real time on the World Wide Web. A recording of it will be posted shortly on the USLAW Website at .
PARTICIPANTS ON CALL:
Australia: Sharan Burrows, President, Australian Council of Trade Unions
Australia: Leigh Hubbard, Victorian Hall Trades Council, ACTU
Brazil: Julio Turra, National Executive Director, CUT Federation
Canada: Judy Darcy, National President, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
Canada: Carol Phillips, Director of the International Dept., Canadian Auto Workers (CAW)
Canada: Debra Bourque, President, Canadian Union of Postal Workers
France: Paul Barbier, General Secretary of Education & Culture Dept., Force Ouvriere (FO)
Italy: Enzo Bernardo, Director of the International Dept., CGIL, Funzione Pubbblica
Mexico: Francisco Hernandez Juarez, Co-President, UNT
Middle East (Tunisia): Djeman Hacene, General Secretary, International Confederation of Arab Unions
Pakistan: Rubina Jamil, President, All-Pakistan Trade Union Federation
Quebec: Claire Lalande, International Dept., CSQ
UK: Mick Rix, General Secretary, Assc. Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen
USA: Larry Cohen, Executive Vice President, Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO
USA: Bob Muehlenkamp, National Co-Convenor of USLAW and former Organizing Director of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
USA: Gene Bruskin, National Co-Convenor of USLAW
USA: Amy Newell, Former Business Manager, Monterey Bay Labor Council, now national organizer for USLAW
Messages were also read from ZENROREN of Japan and KCTU of South Korea
For continuing news on these and other labor antiwar developments, check the USLAW website (www.uslaboragainstwar.org) frequently.
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(* An earlier version of this message was posted inadvertently. Please disregard that initial version. The message above is now posted on the US Labor Against War website.-- OWC Continuations Committee)
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International Labor Statement Opposing War Against Iraq February, 2003
On the eve of a threatened war against Iraq, we, trade unionists from around the world, join with U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW) and the U.S. unions, representing more than 4 million workers, who have opposed this war.
As trade unionists we have the responsibility to inform all working people about issues that affect their lives, jobs and families, and to be heard in the international debate on these issues.
We oppose a US led war against Iraq for many reasons.
There is no evident purpose for this war that we can support. There is no convincing link between Iraq and Al Qaeda or the attacks on Sept. 11, and neither the Bush administration nor the UN inspections have demonstrated that Iraq poses a real threat to Americans and other nations.
It is clear that military action in Iraq will actually increase the likelihood of retaliatory terrorist acts around the world against Western targets.
This action against Iraq by the U.S. military and others nations that may join them, threatens the peaceful resolution of disputes among states, jeopardizing the safety and security of the entire world.
We know that the principal victims of any military action in Iraq will be the sons and daughters of working class families who serve in the military forces and innocent Iraqi civilians who have already suffered so much.
We have no quarrel with the ordinary working class men, women and children of Iraq, or any other country.
We oppose the spending of billions of dollars to stage and execute this war when our nations need money for education, healthcare, housing, and other basic needs.
We oppose the use of this war, and the threat of war, as pretext for attacks on labor, civil, immigrant and human rights in the United States and in other nations.
We believe Bush's drive for war serves as a cover and distraction for the sinking U.S. economy, corporate corruption, and layoffs.
As representatives of the labor movement around the world, we have long had an historic role in fighting for justice. We urge our members to actively protest this war. At the onset of the 21st Century we join with the vast majority of the people of the world who seek a better life and who yearn for a peaceful resolution to this and other international disputes.
US Labor Against the War