Peace forum Jan. 13

Give Peace a Chance, a forum co-sponsored by Local 1930 and open to all DC 37 members, will be held on Monday evening, Jan. 13, at 6 p.m., 125 Barclay St., Rooms 3–4.

By JANE LaTOUR

The Executive Board of 22,000-member Clerical-Administrative Local 1549 voted unanimously Nov. 21 for a resolution against war in Iraq. The resolution was recommended by Local 1549’s 100-member Political Action Committee.

The resolution is in line with the stand taken by DC 37’s national union, AFSCME whose executive board passed a resolution condemning the war at its Dec. 12 meeting. It also mirrors the position of AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who stated that:“War is the last option, not the first, to resolve this conflict.”

Local 1549, DC 37’s second-largest, joins New York Public Library Guild Local 1930, City University of New York & Educational Opportunity Centers Local 384 and NYC Amalgamated Professional Employees Local 154 in opposing the war. DC 1707, AFSCME, Local 304 (Seattle, WA) and Local 444 (Alameda County, CA) have also passed resolutions against the war.

“I’m very proud that my local is taking the lead on this issue,” said Local 1549 president Eddie Rodriguez. The DC 37 Delegates Council has tabled discussion on an anti-war resolution.

Local 1549’s resolution has several key arguments:

• The lack of a direct link between the war against terrorism and Saddam Hussein.
• The possibility that a war with Iraq would create greater instability in the Mid-east region.
• The cost of a war with Iraq, which has been estimated at $200 billion by an advisor to President Bush.
• The effect of war spending on cities such as New York — already in fiscal crisis — which would suffer a further reduction of services, downsizing, and possible layoffs.
• The use of war threats against Iraq by the Bush administration to divert attention away from the failing economy and win support for the Homeland Security Act, which will curtail civil liberties and bust government unions.

The resolutions place AFSCME in the middle of a national debate about the war in Iraq. Labor opposition to the war seems to be developing from the grassroots.

On the growing list of unions against the war are the central labor councils of Albany, Rochester and Troy, N.Y., the California State Federation of Labor, the Washington State AFL-CIO, the United Electrical Workers Union, the New York State Nurses Association, and locals such as Painters Local 913 (Calif.), Teamsters Local 705 (Chicago) and CWA Local 1180 (NYC).