Palestine

During UE’s 78th convention, rank-and-file delegates passed the resolution “For Jobs, Peace, and a Pro-Worker Foreign Policy.” It calls on the union at all levels to inform and engage members about the need to change U.S. foreign policy to promote diplomacy, democracy, and workers’ rights. It further directs members to promote involvement in labor-based efforts to effectively create that change. Over the past year, Local 667 and Local 1186 have both put that resolution into action.

The recent announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza is an initial, but tenuous, step towards a just and lasting peace in Palestine. Far more is needed, and it is imperative to keep pressure on the U.S. government to ensure that the ceasefire is made permanent, that reconstruction of Gaza is adequately funded, and that the Israeli government end its occupation of the West Bank and its threats and military aggression against other countries in the region.

The National Labor Network for Ceasefire, made up of unions representing over half of all U.S. union members, is calling on local unions and individuals to join UE, UAW, and other national unions in demanding that the President and Congress end lethal military aid to the Israeli government, in order to secure an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate considered three “joint resolutions of disapproval,” proposed by long-time UE ally Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), which would have blocked U.S. sales of offensive weaponry to the Israeli military. The resolutions, in Sanders’ words, “are aimed at offensive weapons that have been used to devastating effect against civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. They would not affect any of the systems Israel uses to defend itself from incoming attacks.”

UE is one of seven national unions which announced the formation of the National Labor Network for Ceasefire (NLNC) today, along with over two hundred local unions. The aim of the network is to “end the death and devastation” in the Middle East, and to expand support for the ceasefire among unions nationally.

“This is the biggest expression for peace by the labor movement in a full generation,” UE General President Carl Rosen told a press conference in February, as Chicago-area labor leaders successfully pressed their city council to pass a resolution in support of a ceasefire.

“In no other country is it more true that we, the workers, have a direct say in the plight of Palestinians,” declared Janvi Madhani of UE Local 197-Teachers and Researchers United at a press conference yesterday in the nation’s capital. “Our hard-earned tax dollars go directly towards the bombs being dropped in Gaza but not towards healthcare, housing, or education at home.”

Madhani was representing UE at a press conference, Unions for Ceasefire Now, organized by Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO).

In the month since UE and UFCW Local 3000 initiated a labor call for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine, it has been signed by unions across the country, including the Chicago Teachers Union, UAW Regions 6 and 9A, SEIU-United Service Workers West (USWW), IBEW Local 520, and more. In calling for a ceasefire, U.S. unions are joining unions around the world, many of whom have also issued statements and taken action demanding an end to the violence.

“We, members of the American labor movement, mourn the loss of life in Israel and Palestine. We express our solidarity with all workers and our common desire for peace in Palestine and Israel, and we call on President Joe Biden and Congress to push for an immediate ceasefire and end to the siege of Gaza. We cannot bomb our way to peace. We also condemn any hate crimes against Muslims, Jews, or anyone else.”