Ending the War and Protecting our Troops and Veterans
WHEREAS, Our nation's workers and their families face growing domestic challenges - unemployment, declining wages and benefits, deunionization of the workforce, reduced public services, crumbling health care and educational systems, cuts in veterans benefits, threatened cuts in Social Security, escalating public debt, as well as sharp declines in funding for the arts and arts education, and
WHEREAS, there is general agreement in the United States and throughout the world that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction that posed an imminent threat to this country or to Iraq's neighbors, and that the government of Iraq had few, if any, discernible ties to those who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks, and
WHEREAS the administration has embraced a new and dangerous path of preemptive war without an imminent threat to the United States - a policy that makes us less secure, increases the threat of terrorism, and has put Iraq on a path toward civil war, rather than toward a democratic society, and
WHEREAS the Bush administration, through its wholly-controlled Coalition Provisional Authority, has left in place the anti-labor laws of the Hussein regime, thereby inflicting great harm on our brother and sister trade unionists in Iraq
WHEREAS the war and military occupation of Iraq have cost the lives of over 1500 U.S. troops, the wounding and disabling of thousands more, and deaths by some estimates of over 150,000 Iraqi civilians, casualties among soldiers of other nations, and the devastation of much of that country, and
WHEREAS we recognize the courage of U.S. military personnel, many of whom are members or the relatives of members of various unions including the AFM, and
WHEREAS the war and occupation have cost over two hundred billion dollars, leading directly to cuts in social and human services, education, music and arts programs and even benefits for the very veterans of this and other conflicts.
WHEREAS musicians and other artists have historically been among the strongest defenders of peace, justice and equality,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 96th International Convention of the American Federation of Musicians calls on President Bush and Congress to bring our troops home from Iraq as expeditiously as possible, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the 96th International Convention of the American Federation of Musicians calls on President Bush to provide adequate protection for field personnel and adequate veterans' benefits and otherwise meet the needs of returning veterans, and our people in general to jobs, education and healthcare by reordering national priorities toward peace and the human needs of our people, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the American Federation of Musicians and its locals will assist union members and their families who are called upon to serve in Iraq and returning veterans by providing information about resources and services available to meet their needs, by advocating for their interests, and by protecting their jobs, seniority and benefits, and calls upon other unions, labor councils and state labor federations to organize this kind of support at the local level, and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED THAT the American Federation of Musicians shall make this resolution available to its members and locals, and communicate it the National AFL-CIO, and asks all AFM locals to communicate it to labor councils and state federations with which they are affiliated.
Some background:
Although this resolution is a watered-down version of the original resolution presented to the AFM convention, we recognize that its passage represents a fairly dramatic statement by a union that has been historically uninterested in getting involved in such issues. When we decided to propose it initially, none of the six proponents, representing three AFM locals, could get any of our locals to endorse it, and we had little expectation that we would get anywhere at our international convention.
However, when we testified at the AFM Good and Welfare Committee hearing, we were interested to find no one testifying against it. We were more interested to learn that the Committee had voted to recommend its adoption to the Convention, although they had removed all references to setting a timetable for troop withdrawal. Although we were disappointed at this weakening of our intent, we recognized that the fact that it was endorsed at all was an important step forward, and decided to take a low-key but supportive position once it reached the entire convention.
On the floor of the Convention, there was some spirited debate. A handful of delegates spoke against the resolution as un-patriotic or against the troops. Others opposed the AFM's tackling an issue which did not directly impact the professional lives of musicians. However, several delegates, who had attended parts of the Iraqi Labor Tour, spoke of the need to support workers in Iraq by ending the occupation and restoring true sovereignty. We also read part of the joint statement by the Iraqi union leaders and USLAW to the convention. Other supportive delegates brought up concerns about the siphoning off of billions of dollars of taxpayer money away from social programs - and support for the arts - to line the pockets of multinational corporations. Another delegate successfully added an amendment to the "whereas" section regarding the CPA's support of anti-union laws of Saddam's regime after the invasion. Finally, and perhaps most effectively, one delegate - a veteran of the Korean War - spoke movingly of his experience as a young soldier and of the ongoing effects of the horrors he witnessed. "I only wish," he said, "that people back home had tried to get me out of there then, too."
It became clear that the resolution's lack of specifics would allow more ambivalent delegates to support it and ensure its passage while leaving in enough of our original intent to speak to the overarching principle. Given the AFM's historic reluctance to get involved in issues outside a narrow definition of servicing its members, we feel positive about the delegates' support of this resolution. We have already been approached by a few delegates about creating an anti-war caucus within the AFM.
We'd like to thank Michael Eisenscher and USLAW for providing materials, information, and other support. The fact that so many other unions had also taken action on this weighed strongly in our favor.
Submitted by Steve Dinion, Local 677 American Federation of Musicians (Hawai'i)
The other proponents of the resolution were: Jay Schaffner and Bill Dennison, AFM Local 802 (New York City); Dave Winters and David Borough, AFM Local 153 (San Jose); and Marsha Schweitzer, AFM Local 677 (Hawai'i).
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