Subject: AFL-CIO
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 17:42:16 -0500
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12397-2003Feb27.html
AFL-CIO Opposes War With Iraq
By LEIGH STROPE
The Associated Press
Thursday, February 27, 2003; 4:43 PM
The nation's largest labor federation declared its
opposition Thursday to war against Iraq at this time,
saying President Bush has not made a case for an attack
without broad support from U.S. allies.
The executive council of the AFL-CIO, made up of 65
unions, ended its four-day meeting by unanimously
passing the carefully worded resolution, which also
says Saddam Hussein must be disarmed - with
"multilateral resolve, not unilateral action."
Organized labor had tough words for President Bush,
without naming him directly, saying the United States
has squandered the goodwill it enjoyed after the
terrorist attacks and insulted the nation's allies.
"The president has not fulfilled his responsibility to
make a compelling and coherent explanation to the
American people and the world," the resolution said.
Organized labor has typically backed military action in
the past, including strong support for the Vietnam War.
"By historical standards, this is unusual and this is
significant," Robert Bruno, labor professor at the
University of Illinois at Chicago, said of Thursday's
resolution.
Morton Bahr, president of the Communications Workers of
America, said the resolution was the result of a number
of briefings on Iraq with officials who worked in the
Clinton administration, including former national
security adviser Sandy Berger and former chief of staff
John Podesta.
"We had real broad input from these guys who had been
living with this for a long time," Bahr said, adding
that organized labor has historically taken positions
on wars that involve American workers and their
families.
The resolution urges the Bush administration to pursue
broad, global consensus to put pressure on Iraq,
"ensuring that war, if it comes, will truly be a last
resort."
Labor officials ended the meeting with a sense of unity
in a time of uncertainty, with mounting job losses, a
poor economy and a presidential administration that is
hostile to their cause, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney
said.
Perhaps the defining moment was Wednesday's address by
Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, which shocked and enraged
labor leaders, Sweeney said.
They were particularly angry about her response to a
question about the department's proposed new financial
reporting requirements. She read from a paper a list of
criminal charges involving one union.
Teamsters Union President James P. Hoffa, a White House
ally whom officials said was growing frustrated with
Bush for his administration's anti-union tactics and
policies, was particularly enraged over Chao's remarks.
He told colleagues in the closed meeting that unions
should support a presidential candidate friendly to
working Americans.
Teamsters spokesman Bret Caldwell said Thursday that
the union received calls from White House political
director Ken Mehlman and Labor Department lawyer Andrew
Siff.
Substantive conversations have not yet occurred,
Caldwell said, "but the White House certainly is
concerned about our dissatisfaction with their approach
to labor at this point."
An insider trading scandal at a union-owned life
insurance company had been expected to dominate the
meetings this week. But the executive council took no
action or stance regarding Ullico Inc., choosing to
wait until a special committee completes its review and
issues recommendations regarding the special stock sale
that some union leaders took advantage of, netting
millions of dollars. The Labor and Justice departments
also are investigating, as is a grand jury.
--
On the Net:
AFL-CIO: http://www.afl-cio.org
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