Unions Against the War

By David Moberg, In These Times. Posted December 16, 2002.

When members of a 21,000-member Teamsters local in Chicago proposed taking a stand against war in Iraq in mid-October, Local 705 Secretary-Treasurer Jerry Zero thought "it sounded like a good resolution we could have some debate over."

But the results surprised even Zero, as Teamsters took the floor, many identifying themselves as veterans of wars from Vietnam to Desert Storm. "We had 400 members [at the meeting] and all of the debate was one-sided against the war," Zero says. "There was only one vote against the resolution. I was amazed. I expected an even split."

Zero himself argued that there's no need for war. "We're looking at the oil there," he says. "Maybe Bush is using it as an excuse to cover up other shortcomings of the administration. We're looking at an Iraq that has no ties I can see with bin Laden or other terrorist groups and letting other countries like Saudi Arabia, that do have ties, slide on by."

All unions should take a stand, Zero says, since the prospect of war "affects your members, their families, their kids. They talk about this costing $200 billion, and who knows how long we'll have to stay there and how many more billions. Where will they get that money? They just gave it away with tax cuts to wealthy people."

Zero's outspoken public stance is still rare in the labor movement. But privately many union leaders express deep reservations or personal opposition to a war in Iraq. Although there was initially strong labor support after the 9/11 attacks for the war on terrorism and bombing of Afghanistan, union distrust of Bush has grown dramatically with the administration's relentless attacks on the labor movement and civil liberties under the guise of national security, as well as its use of the president's wartime popularity to push an extremely pro-business legislative agenda.

However, many union leaders fear that opposing the war will divert scarce resources to an effort that may ultimately divide their members. Although some limited polling suggests that union members roughly mirror general public opinion on war against Iraq, there are also anecdotal indications -- like Zero's experience -- that union members may be receptive to educational efforts against a unilateral U.S. war. But so far few labor unions have even taken the simple step of providing alternative views -- the labor equivalent of campus teach-ins -- that would help members better understand what's at stake.

On October 7, as Congress was nearing a vote on Bush's power to act militarily against Iraq, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney sent a letter to Congress that expressed concerns about Bush's Iraq policy but did not urge a vote against the legislation. Sweeney argued that U.S. policies on Iraq should not distract from pursuit of al-Qaeda terrorists, and that they should reinforce international law, the United Nations and broader, multilateral alliances against terrorism. Sweeney also said that the fight against terrorism was not simply military, but required more global attention to basic human rights.

He criticized the politicization of the prospective war -- such as Republican claims that Democrats were unpatriotic for trying to protect the rights of workers in the new Homeland Security department -- and suggested that the timing of the campaign against Iraq was itself politically motivated. Urging a full debate about the possible costs and casualties, he concluded, "We must assure [the sons and daughters of working families] that war is the last option, not the first, used to resolve this conflict before we ask them to put themselves in harm's way to protect the rest of us."

Sweeney's letter reflected support from the AFL-CIO Executive Council's international affairs committee, which had invited former Clinton administration officials Sandy Berger and John Podesta to discuss national security and political issues related to Iraq. It circulated among the whole executive council, without dissent, before being sent to Congress. The AFL-CIO insists that it is not an "anti-war" position, even though it is a much more skeptical view of presidential war-making than the AFL-CIO has historically taken.

There has been almost no explicit labor support for war in Iraq, although Teamsters President James Hoffa did join the White House-orchestrated Committee for the Liberation of Iraq. "You cannot have a conversation with anyone inside the labor movement who thinks we should have a war," says veteran union organizer Bob Muehlenkamp, who is trying to mobilize labor opposition. "Two things that come out particularly strong are the focus on economic consequences and whose kids fight this war."

Despite their opposition to terrorism, he said, "people feel that Bush has not made a case" for invading Iraq. Muehlenkamp hopes that unions will feel comfortable joining with a newly formed Keep America Safe/Win Without War campaign, which includes the National Council of Churches, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, the Rainbow/Push Coalition and other groups.

Since last summer there has been steady growth in labor opposition to a war from local unions, central labor councils, state federations and other groups, and a few high-ranking labor leaders have also spoken out individually. "Personally, I'm extremely disturbed about it," says Hotel and Restaurant Employees (HERE) President John Wilhelm. "I thought that post-9/11, the focus was on terrorism and al-Qaeda. I don't know where this Iraq venture came from. I'm also very concerned about what I think will be a real disaster for our members, just in terms of their jobs."

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from AlterNet! Sign up now »