Resolution in Support of Ending 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 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 called “enhanced
interrogation”; and
WHEREAS, this policy invests in war to the
detriment of support for 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; 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 Labor Federation opposes the wars in and
occupation of Iraq.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Federation calls for
full and immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, as well as removal of
the many permanent military bases there.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that
Federation calls 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.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Federation calls for a
reprioritizing of federal funding from war and occupation to human needs such
as education, healthcare, housing, and the care of returning veterans.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Federation calls for an end to private
war profiteering and calls for contractors to be held responsible for their
crimes while engaged in contracted activities.
Approved at the
California Labor Federation Convention on July 22,
2008
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Resolution
in Support of 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
WHEREAS, USLAW has created a work plan
for 2008 that includes the following strategic priorities:
- Compelling Congress to defund the war and bring all troops home now, funding
only their safe return, and reparations and reconstruction in Iraq
- Redirecting spending to serve human needs and to promote peace and justice
at home and abroad
- Strengthening activity in opposition to the war and occupation at every
level of the labor movement
- Further developing USLAW solidarity with Iraqi unions and allied
organizations
- Expanding 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
- Opposing military action and subversion in Iran
- Encouraging labor movement solidarity with all the working people of the
Middle East, in particular Palestinians and Israelis; and
WHEREAS,
the California Federation of Teachers has been an affiliate of USLAW since its
early days, and continues to support its aims and mission;
THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED, that the California Labor Federation affirms and adopts the 2008
strategic priorities of USLAW.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the
Federation will 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.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Federation
will establish relationships with organizations of veterans and military
families and build a network of union members who are vets or in military
families.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Federation will become an
affiliate of U.S. Labor Against the War.
Approved at the California
Labor Confederation Convention July 22,
2008
===================================================================
Resolution
to Stop Escalating the Confrontation with Iran and Reduce the Danger of Another
Military Conflict in the Persian Gulf
WHEREAS, the Bush
Administration appears intent on ratcheting up tensions with Iran over
development of its nuclear energy capabilities, and this escalation has raised
the danger of a miscalculation or provocation that could result in military
conflict between the U.S. and Iran, possibly involving Israel as well;
and
WHEREAS, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has found no
violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NNPT) and no evidence has been
presented to demonstrate that Iran is in violation of any international
treaties; and
WHEREAS, Iran, as a signatory to the NNPT, has a right to
pursue the pursue the development of nuclear energy for peaceful uses, including
uranium enhancement, and IAEA has found Iran to have met all the treaty
requirements to which it is subject; and
WHEREAS, Rep, Gary Ackerman
(D-NY) has introduced a resolution in the House, which is cosponsored by 231
other members of Congress, and a concurrent resolution has been introduced in
the Senate by Sen. Evan Bay (D-IN) cosponsored by 33 other senators that calls
upon the president to immediately impose additional sanctions on Iran, including
prohibiting the export to Iran of all refined petroleum products, and imposing
stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes,
trains, and cargo entering or departing Iran; and
WHEREAS, such an
embargo can be construed under international law as an act of war, and in an
atmosphere of rising tensions could trigger military confrontation and conflict;
and
WHEREAS, under circumstances of increasing danger of military
conflict with Iran the price of oil has been driven even higher on the
international market; and an embargo enforced against Iran by the U.S. Navy
could lead Iran to cut off oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, through
which one-fifth of the world supply of oil is transported, resulting in a huge
additional increase in the price of oil, while driving into the conflict all the
other nations affected by the cutoff; and such conflict could quickly spiral out
of control in a wider regional war; and
WHEREAS, the Congress has
already given the president unlimited authority to initiate military actions
anywhere in the world under the 2003 resolution adopted at the outset of the
invasion of Iraq, and thus the president will feel no obligation to bring a
decision about whether to launch an attack on Iran to the Senate for
ratification as required by the Constitution;
THEREFOR, BE IT RESOLVED
that the California Labor Federation calls upon members of the House and Senate
to reject H.R. 362 and S. 580, and to make clear to the president that he has no
unilateral authority to initiate unprovoked military action against Iran or an
embargo which could easily result in military conflict with Iran, or to support
in any way such actions initiated by Israel or any other country, and that the
United States should pursue instead conflict resolution through diplomatic
alternatives in conjunction with the IAEA and the United Nations.
BE IT
FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be communicated to the Speaker
of the House and Majority Leader of the Senate, and all House and Senate members
in the California Congressional delegation, and further, that copies also be
forwarded to the AFL-CIO and Change to Win to urge that they too take such
actions.
Approved at the California Labor Federation Convention July 23,
2008
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