> John, have you attended USLAW meetings? (Or has anyone else
> here?) If so, what's your impression of the organization and people
> involved in it?
> [etc.]
These are good questions, ones that I'd have to put some thought into answering adequately. I was at the national conference in October 2003 and I could give my impressions of that, but that's a long time ago in "movement time" and I'm not sure how relevant that is, because meetings are one thing and the follow-through is another. The unions that are officially part of USLAW are mostly the ones that passed resolutions against the war before it started, so yes, it's mostly progressive-minded service unions (SEIU locals and AFT locals, not so much AFSCME apart from a few exceptions), plus the left-usual-suspects unions (UE, ILWU) and a few stray progressive labor councils (Bay Area, etc.). It was held at the hall of IBT Local 705 in Chicago -- before the progressive leadership of that local under Jerry Zero was defeated.
But it's the activities that matter, and I think things like the tour of Iraqi trade unionists next month have the potential of reaching a lot of workers, rank-and-file leaders of the unions (even unions you wouldn't normally expect) included, who would otherwise not get exposed to the perspectives of Iraqis. So it's in that sense that I like its potential, and I agree with what I think you're implying about the "appeal" to ANSWER and UFPJ: that that kind of thing is probably less important.
- - - - - - - - - - John Lacny http://www.johnlacny.com
Tell no lies, claim no easy victories