The following resolutions were adopted by the 2008 Convention of the California Federation of Teachers, April 11-13.


Support U.S. Labor Against the War

Whereas, U.S. Labor Against the WAR (USLAW) is an organization that is the leading labor advocate opposing the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and
Whereas, USLAW has created a work plan for 2008, that includes the following strategic priorities:

1.         Compel Congress to defund the war and bring all troops home now, funding only their safe return, and reparations and reconstruction in Iraq. Redirect spending to serve human needs and to promote peace and justice at home and abroad.
2.         Strengthen activity in opposition to the war and occupation at every level of the labor movement.
3.         Further develop USLAW solidarity with Iraqi unions and allied organizations.
4.         Expand education in the labor movement to expose the consequences for working people of a foreign policy that serves the interests of corporations instead of the people.
5.         Oppose military action and subversion in Iran.
6.         Encourage labor movement solidarity with all the working people of the Middle East, in particular Palestinians and Israelis, and

Therefore, be it resolved, that the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) affirms and adopts the 2008 strategic priorities of USLAW, and

Be it further resolved, that the AFT participate in and encourage local affiliates and individual members to participate in activities that further those strategic priorities, including encouraging locals to affiliate with and individuals to become associate members of USLAW, and

Be it further resolved, that AFT establish relationships with organizations of veterans and military families and build a network of union members who are vets or in military families, and

Be it finally resolved, that AFT become an affiliate of U.S. Labor Against the War.


End Middle East Wars and occupation, war profiteering and erosion of human and civil rights

Whereas, since the attacks on multiple United States targets on 9/11/2001, the Bush administration and Congress have created policies, under the guise of a "war on terror," that led to lying and falsifying evidence in order to justify attacks on and illegal occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, and 

Whereas, these policies have led to the erosion of civil liberties and constitutional rights through increased surveillance of American citizens without probable cause or reasonable suspicion; and by detaining non-citizens and citizens (removing the right of habeas corpus) - without charges and access to counsel; and by justifying torture and what is call “enhanced interrogation, and

Whereas, this policy invests in war to the detriment of support of education, health care, environmental safety and other human needs, and allows private corporations massive war profits, and 

Whereas, since the United States invaded and occupied Iraq, the United States has had casualties of nearly 4,000 dead and 60,000 wounded, and Iraqi civilian deaths have greatly outstripped those numbers with estimates ranging from 81,500 (Iraqbodycount.org) to over 655,000 (Lancet, the journal of the British Medical Association), and 

Whereas, the war has created a refugee crisis which peaked in September 2007 when the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that in a nation with a population of just 27 million there were “4 million displaced Iraqis around the world, including 2.2 million inside Iraq and a similar number in surrounding countries, and

Whereas, the war in Iraq has cost the United States over $500 billion and will eventually cost over one trillion dollars (by calculating the immediate cost of the war plus the long term cost of health care for veterans, interest on debt and replacement of military hardware), and 

Whereas, the $720 million a day that the war costs could pay for 84 new elementary schools or 12, 478 elementary school teachers or 95,364 Head Start places for children or a year of free school lunches for 1,153,846 children or a year of healthcare for 423,529 children or homes for 6,482 families or 34,904 four-year scholarships for students at state universities (source:  www.afsc.org/cost), and 

Whereas, the Bush administration's pretexts for further expanding the war to Iran have also been shown to be false according to Department of Defense memos, and

Whereas, it appears that there is little resolve in Congress to end these policies of preemptive war, attacks on civil and human rights, and increasing private profiteering, at the expense of innocent civilians in the Middle East and the people of the United States, 

Therefore, be it resolved, that the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) restates its opposition to the wars in and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and 

Be it further resolved, that CFT call for full and immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as removal of the many permanent military bases there, and 

Be it further resolved, that CFT call for full restoration of those constitutional, civil and human rights curtailed since 2001 by working for (1) the elimination of the practices of rendition, torture and warrantless surveillance, (2) the closing of the prison at Guantanamo Bay and (3) the repeal of the Military Commissions and Patriot Acts, and

Be it further resolved, that CFT call for a reprioritizing of federal funding from war and occupation to human needs such as education, healthcare, housing, and the care of returning veterans, and 

Be it further resolved, that CFT calls for an end to private war profiteering, and that contractors be held responsible for their crimes while engaged in contracted activities, and 

Be it finally resolved, that CFT submit this resolution to the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and to the California Labor Federation to be considered at their respective 2008 conventions.



Endorse the national antiwar conference to stop the war in Iraq and bring the troops home now

Whereas, the war in Iraq wages on, though two-thirds of the American public has called for its end, and 

Whereas, an independent and united mobilization of the antiwar majority in massive peaceful demonstrations in the streets against the war in Iraq will be a critical element in forcing the U.S. government to immediately withdraw all U.S. military forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, close all military bases, and recognize the right of the Iraqi and Afghani people to determine their own destiny, and 

Whereas, the National Assembly to End the Iraq War and Occupation has issued a call for a national antiwar conference to be held in Cleveland, Ohio on June 28-29, 2008, and 

Whereas, over 300 individuals and organizations, including United Teachers Los Angeles, U.S. Labor Against the War, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, the Connecticut Federation of Labor, and several other local and regional labor and peace organizations have endorsed the conference, 

Therefore, be it resolved, that California Federation of Teachers (CFT) endorse the conference and financially support sending representatives to it, and

Be it finally resolved, that this resolution and information on the conference be communicated to CFT members.   

May 1st Resolution