PHILADELPHIA — “New York peace rally drawing broad labor support” reads the headline of a story on the web site of the 700,000-member Communications Workers of America. According to the article, the CWA executive board voted at its March meeting to endorse the April 29 March for Peace, Justice and Democracy, and the union’s Local 1180 in New York City has been actively supporting the preparations.
CWA is not alone. Officers from other unions, including the UAW, AFSCME, SEIU and the Teamsters, have participated in the planning meetings for what promises to be labor’s largest turnout to date in support of peace. U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW), which is coordinating the effort, has a long list of supporters, including state and local central labor bodies as well as local unions.
John Braxton, co-president of AFT Local 2026 at Philadelphia Community College, is coordinating the buses sponsored by the city’s Central Labor Council and by local unions. Noting the breadth of labor support for the march, he told the World, “It’s pretty clear that what we’re seeing in polls reflects the sentiment in the labor movement, both among union officials and the rank and file. Workers are seeing that foreign policy is not separate from domestic policy and that the Bush administration is pursuing the same repressive policies abroad as it is at home — and using our tax dollars to do it.”
In a similar vein, Brooks Sunkett, CWA vice president for the union’s public, health care and education sectors, said on the union’s web site, “If you wonder why New Orleans is such a mess, or why things aren’t getting done in your community, consider that this unjust war has already drained $275 billion in U.S. tax dollars and is likely to cost between $1 trillion and $2 trillion.”
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