For the first time in history, organized labor has taken a stance against a military conflict. At its recent convention, the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) voted to support an immediate end to the Iraq War.
"I think this indicates a change in the way labor conducts its business," said Andy Zipser, editor of the Guild Reporter, official publication of the Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America.
What caused such a dramatic change?
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"Historically, the labor movement has been very patriotic on this and generally hasn't taken up foreign policy issues," said Gene Bruskin, spokesman for U.S. Labor Against the War, a group that has been instrumental in building an anti-war coalition within the labor community. Many union members have strong military ties, he added, noting that many are veterans, National Guard members, or have family serving in the armed forces.
Outspoken opposition to the Iraq War from veterans groups and military families has also helped dispel the notion that supporting peace is unpatriotic.
Backgrounds of key labor leaders also played a role.
"You're looking at a leadership of people my age, who remember those years when hard-hatted constructed workers were beating up on anti-war protesters," reflected Zipser, 57.
"Larry Cohen, president of CWA (Communications Workers of America) is in his 50s," he added. "He grew up protesting the Vietnam War. He cut his teeth on that. So did Andy Stern over at SEIU (Service Employees International Union)." CWA and SEIU emerged as leaders in the drive to bring organized labor into the peace movement. Both unions adopted versions of anti-war resolutions prior to the AFL-CIO convention.
A combination of other factors also led union members around the country to begin questioning the wisdom of the Iraq War - as well as its impact on labor unions and union members.
"One factor is that the war was initiated by a President who has a strong anti-labor policy," Bruskin noted. "His attacks on the labor union movement began literally one day one after his inauguration." For example, President George W. Bush rolled back OSHA protections implemented by Bill Clinton for workers with carpal tunnel syndrome.
After 9/11, the labor movement lined up to support Bush. But by 2002, Bruskin recalled, "The Patriot Act got people really nervous, because in a lot of places people saw it as something that could be used against unions. There was continued anti-labor stuff. Then we started seeing how the President was tying his attacks on unions to homeland security."
For example, the Bush administration determined that airport screeners, who had been in the process of unionizing prior to 9/11, would become federal employees.
"Two," Bruskin added, "they passed a regulation saying airport screeners would not have the same rights as others. So then 175,000 employees who would be connected to the Department of Homeland Security would for the most part have no union rights."
In addition, amid a labor dispute on the west coast, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge declared that the federal government would intervene on national security reasons if the International Longshoreman Workers Union (ILWU) went on strike.
"So there was a whole series of these things, plus budget cuts happening all over the country were devastating social services," Bruskin said.
Workers hurt by budget cuts began realizing that the high cost of funding a war in Iraq was having economic consequences back home. In addition, many union members found themselves or family members deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq.
"You see somebody from your shop getting called up, it's a very direct impact," Bruskin said. "This all set in motion a disaffection in labor. Local unions and central labor councils started passing these anti-war resolutions."
Locals in diverse geographic locations passed resolutions independently calling for an end to the war. "They weren't talking to each other," Bruskin recalled. "It was truly grassroots."
Bruskin, a member of the Fast Food and Allied Service Trade, joined with another activist to compile a list of anti-war resolutions passed, then called a meeting at a Teamster's union hall in Chicago.
"It was a total pot shot," he recalled. "We had 100 people representing 60 or 70 unions. We passed an anti-war resolution and organized U.S. Labor Against the War in January 2003."
The organization has grown dramatically. "Now we have 120 organizations who are formally affiliated, and even using the most understated estimate, we are representing a couple of million people."
Major unions including Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Communications Workers of America (CWA), and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) voted to adopt anti-war resolutions at the national level. Many state labor federations, including the California Federation of Labor, did the same.
In August 2004, CWA passed a resolution opposing preemptive war unless it is sanctioned by the United Nations and supported by a broad multinational coalition. Speaking on behalf of the resolution, delegate Frank Matthews noted that money spent on the Iraq War might have been better spent funding domestic security programs, such as safeguarding ports, securing railways and protecting airliners from shoulder-fired rockets.
Delegate William Henning proposed an amendment urging withdrawal of U.S. troops.
"The economy of Iraq is being taken over by U.S. corporations, with the long-term aim of dominating and exploiting the petroleum industry," Henning said. "Meanwhile, Iraqi workers' rights are thwarted and unions continue to be banned in many sectors under a 1987 Saddam Hussein regime law." He further noted that the Iraq Federation of Trade Unions and the Federation of Workers' Councils and Unions in Iraq have blamed U.S. military presence as the principal destabilizing factor and view withdrawal of U.S. tropos as essential to establishing stability and a chance of democracy.
Delegate Velma Patton gave an impassioned plea. "My son, Brandon Taylor, is going to Iraq on Saturday. My father is a career Marine. I understand the military life, but bring our troops home," she urged, noting that no weapons of mass destruction have been found.
No one spoke against the resolution, which passed amid applause.
Similarly, SEIU passed an anti-war resolution amid broad support. "The convention was in San Francisco. The resolution passed overwhelmingly," recalled T.J. Michaels, an SEIU spokesperson.
Nearly three years after the first anti-war resolutions were adopted by grassroots activists within the labor movement, the AFL-CIO held its 2005 convention. Eighteen different labor groups submitted anti-war resolutions, which had strong support among delegates.
"When it got to the floor, there was no doubt that support was very strong," said Bruskin. "The voice vote was overwhelming."
A rift within the labor movement has since split the AFL-CIO, causing several major unions, including SEIU, to leave and form a new coalition, the Change to Win Federation. Disgruntled unions faulted the AFL-CIO for spending too much on political causes, including support for John Kerry's failed presidential bid, while not adequately funding organizing efforts. Supporters of the AFL-CIO maintain that both politics and organizing are important, but that the current political climate has made organizing difficult.
Meanwhile, peace activists within the labor movement continue to build support for their efforts.
On Sept. 24, organized labor sent an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 people to Washington, D.C. aboard 60 buses paid for by unions. "We had a rally inside the AFL-CIO national headquarters," Bruskin said, adding that union members marched from the AFL-CIO building to join an estimated 300,000 or more anti-war protesters in the largest peace demonstration since the Vietnam War.
"We're continuing to build," Bruskin added. "We're preparing a series of meetings all of the country."
Representatives from U.S. Labor Against the War, Iraqi Veterans Against the War, and Military Families Speak Out will address labor union members at union events to fuel a stronger anti-war coalition nationwide.
"Our action plan out of those meetings," Bruskin concluded, "would be to continue to escalate pressure on elected leaders to come out against this war."
Editor's note: This is the second in a series of articles about the American anti-war movement.
For the first time in history, organized labor has taken a stance against a military conflict. At its recent convention, the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) voted to support an immediate end to the Iraq War.