By ALFREDO ALVARADO

Hundreds of DC 37 members marched Feb. 15 against American military intervention in Iraq. They carried union banners and anti-war signs as they added their voices to the millions who demonstrated in 600 cities worldwide to stop the Bush administration’s rush to war.

The city refused to issue a permit for a march past the United Nations, creating massive traffic tie-ups as protesters were forced onto streets and sidewalks from Madison to First Avenue and 42nd to 72nd streets. Crowd estimates ranged from 100,000 to 400,000. “Everyone was very enthusiastic, and the diversity was impressive,” said DC 37 Program Director Frances M. Curtis. “There were elderly folks and students, people in fur coats and people in parkas, all races and nationalities.”

The DC 37 marchers, led by a number of local presidents, were backing up a position the union took weeks earlier. On Jan. 28, the Delegates Council overwhelmingly adopted a resolution condemning a possible U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Roberts: Waste of resources
“This war will be costly in terms of money and lives,” said Lillian Roberts, DC 37’s executive director. “It will use up resources we desperately need for our city, our state and our country. It is counter-productive to use billions of dollars for killing, not for building.”

The cost of the war effort could reach as high as $200 billion. The DC 37 resolution calls for the money to be spent on unemployment benefits, health insurance for Americans who lack coverage and aid to cities, like New York, that face budget deficits and sharp cuts in social services.

DC 37’s parent union, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, has also passed an anti-war resolution, as have several other national unions and dozens of locals nationwide. DC 37 Locals 154, 384, 375, 1930, 1549, 371, 372, and 2627 have all passed resolutions against the war. “War is the last option, not the first, that should be used to resolve this conflict,” said John J. Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO.