Unions demand troops come home from Iraq

>Archive - PWW Print Edition Archive - 2004 Editions - Sept 11, 2004


 

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) passed resolutions in support of bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq just days before the death toll there rose above 1,000.

The CWA resolution, passed Aug. 31, stated that “CWA demands that the president abandon his failed policy (of preemptive war) which has made our nation less — not more — secure, and support our troops and their families by bringing our troops home safely now, by providing adequate veterans’ benefits and promoting domestic policies that prioritize the needs of working people who make up the bulk of the military.”

Just a week later on Sept. 7, what the Associated Press called “the grim milestone” of 1,000 deaths was surpassed after a spike in clashes that killed 14 American service members in two days. The tally was compiled by the AP based on Pentagon records, AP reporting from Iraq, and reports from soldiers’ families.

Before President Bush’s May 1, 2003, speech declaring the major phase of the war over, 139 troops were killed, according to CNN. Since then, 860 troops have been killed, including 145 after the return of “sovereignty” to Iraq at the end of June.

The APWU resolution adopted at their Aug. 23-27 convention calls for “an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the implementation of a plan to turn over sovereignty to the people of Iraq as soon as possible, and the return of U.S. troops to their homes and families.”

CWA and APWU join the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees and the California and Maryland/D.C. federations of labor, all of which have passed resolutions demanding that the troops be brought home.

Other AFL-CIO allied organizations taking similar stands include the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Coalition of Labor Union Women and Pride At Work. APALA called on the national AFL-CIO “to demand an immediate end to the U.S. military occupation of Iraq and speedy return of all U.S. military personnel to their homes and families, and to support the repeal of the Patriot Act and the reordering of national priorities toward the human needs.”

Several unions had already taken a position against the war, including the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, UNITE (since merged with HERE), the United Farm Workers and the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers.