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>X-eGroups-Approved-By: jschaffner2001 <jschaffner at igc.org> via web; 29 Jan
>2003 08:02:30 -0000
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>Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 02:48:19 -0500
>Subject: Labor Opposition to War Grows Coast to Coast
>Reply-To: portside at yahoogroups.com
>
>* Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Adopts Strong Anti-War
>Resolution
>
>* Seven International (U.S.) Labor Unions Come Out Against War
>
>* Dept. of Labor Censors Union Publication
>
>* Most of us see through Bush's fantasy that our grave national
>problems can be fixed by a war.(Robert Scheer in the Los Angeles
>Times)
>
>=============================
>
>* Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Adopts Strong Anti-War
>Resolution
>
>The following resolution passed this evening at the Los Angeles
>County Federation of Labor meeting without a dissenting vote:
>
>Resolution Opposing the Bush Administration's War on Iraq
>
>WHEREAS, union members and leaders have the responsibility to inform
>all working people about the issues that affect our lives, jobs, and
>families, and to be heard in the national debate on these issues; and
>
>WHEREAS, the billions of dollars spent to stage and execute this war
>are being taken away from our schools, hospitals, housing, and Social
>Security and services for the poor in the midst of the greatest
>economic crisis in recent memory, even as the Bush Administration
>simultaneously plans even more giveaways and welfare for their rich
>supporters; and
>
>WHEREAS, the Bush Administration has spearheaded a renewed assault on
>organized labor which includes use of Taft-Hartley against
>dockworkers, excluding over 50,000 federal airport screeners' right
>to organize, privatizing nearly 200,000 federal jobs covered by the
>American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and removing
>collective bargaining rights from these employees; and
>
>WHEREAS, the war is a pretext for attacks on labor, civil, immigrant
>and human rights; and
>
>WHEREAS, the Bush Administration's drive for war serves as a cover
>and distraction for the sinking economy, ongoing corporate corruption
>and layoffs; and
>
>WHEREAS, the Bush Administration and Congress's United States Patriot
>Act and Homeland Security Act serve to undermine labor's right to
>organize and fight anti-immigrant attacks by expanding the
>government's ability to detain non-citizens, to conduct telephone and
>Internet surveillance, and to carry out secret searches;
>
>THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Los Angeles County Federation of
>Labor, AFL-CIO stands firmly against the Bush Administration's drive
>to war and calls for a re-ordering of our national priorities which
>must include allocation of resources to provide jobs, education,
>health care, a clean environment, and social justice; and
>
>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Los Angeles County Federation of
>Labor, AFL-CIO will work so that organized labor, the national AFL-
>CIO, and the many allies of working men and women take a stand
>against the United States Patriot Act and the Homeland Security Act;
>and
>
>BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Los Angeles County Federation of
>Labor, AFL-CIO joins other labor organizations, and community allies
>to actively promote and participate in activities opposing the Bush
>Administration's drive to war.
>
>Approved by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO on
>January 27, 2003
>
>=============================
>
>* Seven Different U.S. National Labor Unions Have Come Out Against
>War
>
>portside has received information that seven different national
>United States Labor Unions, (referred to as international unions in
>the U.S. trade union movement) have taken stands in opposition to the
>Bush Administration rush to war and usurping of civil liberties at
>home.
>
>AFSCME - American Federation of State, County and Municipal
>Employees
>APWU - American Postal Workers Union
>CWA - Communication Workers of America
>ILWU _ International Longshore and Warehouse Union
>SEIU - Service Employees International Union
>UE - United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America
>UFW - United Farm Workers of America
>
>
>For information about "U.S. Labor Against the War" the e-mail
>addresses of its two principal organizers are:
>
>Bob Muehlenkamp (Kabob240 at aol.com) and
>Gene Bruskin (G8751 at erols.com).
>
>for up-to-date information on other unions, labor resolutions, labor
>committees see:
>
>http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=14965
>http://www.alternet.org/issues/index.html?IssueAreaID=45
>
>=============================
>
>* Dept. of Labor Censors Union Publication
>
>From: "Brian O. Sheppard" <bsheppard at bari.iww.org>
>Posted To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>
>
>(Texas AFL-CIO eNews)
>
>Jeff Darby of the American Federation of Government Employees reports
>that the National Council of Field Labor Locals (NCFLL), which
>represents 10,000 workers in the U.S. Department of Labor, is
>challenging an order by George W. Bush's Secretary of Labor censoring
>its publication.
>
>The union says that Bush political appointees objected to the union's
>characterization of the administration's policies affecting federal
>workers.
>
>"We are taking the matter to arbitration and we're confident that
>we'll win," Council President Ron Yarman said in a news release. "We
>believe that an impartial third party will agree with us that this is
>2003 and not 1984. However, we're outraged that even after an
>arbitrator rules in our favor, the DOL won't incur any meaningful
>penalties for muzzling free speech and fair comment by the union."
>
>NCFLL's December newsletter discusses White House orders to privatize
>125,000 federal jobs. A cartoon on the same page lampoons Bush for
>his decision to cut the 2003 federal pay increase.
>
>The labor department sought to ban distribution of the publication
>through inter-office mail. Under the collective bargaining agreement
>that applies to NCFLL, only "libelous or scurrilous" material may be
>banned from the in-house mail system.
>
>The material in question can be found at www.ncfll.org, in the latest
>newsletter posted. The standard of criticism in the article and
>satire in the cartoon is clearly mainstream and probably not as tough
>as what you can find on many editorial pages. (In fact, White House
>press corps dean Helen Thomas was quoted this weekend calling Bush
>"the worst president ever. He is the worst president in all of
>American history.")
>
>This censorship incident is a walking argument for the need for
>federal employees to maintain both union and civil service
>protection, so they won't be subjected to constant political loyalty
>tests in addition to the requirement that they do their jobs well.
>Instead, under cover of national security, the Bush administration
>has doggedly sought to weaken federal unions and, in some cases,
>eliminate them.
>
>=============================
>
>* U.S. Knows Its Condition -- Lousy --------
>
>Most of us see through Bush's fantasy that our grave national
>problems can be fixed by a war.
>
>Robert Scheer, Los Angeles Times - January 28 2003
>
>Let me tell you about the state of the union: It's lousy. The only
>real question is whether the president doesn't know it or just
>doesn't care.
>
>The complete article can be viewed at:
>http://www.latimes.com/la-oe-scheer28jan28,0,4749167.column
>
>=============================
>
>
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