Union joint statement: The US Labor movement stands with Palestine!

Co-sign at:  docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdTGeQDq4dvq3d_0EPaIcRMuDY0dt2kMfu44ZeoTVzC6MjJBQ/viewform

U.S. Labor movement stands with Palestine! 

Working people around the world are looking on in horror at the genocidal massacre being perpetrated by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. As labor organizers, we condemn these murderous actions of the Israeli government. Over the last three weeks, Israel has repeatedly bombed hospitals, schools, and residential buildings in Gaza and has prevented crucial humanitarian aid from entering the occupied territory. Electricity and internet access have been completely cut off, preventing communications for emergency responders and journalists. At the time this letter is being written, 9,000 Palestinians have been murdered by US-funded airstrikes —  at least 3,000 of whom are children. 

The U.S. government has enabled these war crimes by providing Israel with over 3 billion dollars of funding every year. Now, Joe Biden is calling for an additional 10 billion of funding for Israel to support this genocidal campaign. While the U.S. government always has money for war, the working-class in the US suffers from rising cost of living, suffocating debt crises and stagnant wages. Our taxpayer dollars should instead be allocated to fund healthcare, public education, and other social services that meet the needs of workers.

In its proudest moments, the labor movement has stood firmly on the side of the oppressed, and therefore on the side of justice. We raise our voices today in the spirit of that proud tradition of the same movement that stood against South African apartheid and in solidarity with trade union resistance to Latin America dictatorships.

We raise our voices to demand that the U.S. government end its funding of Israel and to demand that the siege of Gaza end immediately. 

We raise our voices to express our solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Trade unionists across the country are mobilizing on November 4th to march on Washington D.C. to show the White House that its unconditional support for Israeli war crimes is not done with our consent. Join us and thousands of others on November 4th and beyond in building a labor movement in condemnation of war and for a free Palestine.

Signed,

Cassondra Curiel, President, United Educators of San Francisco

Neal Sweeney, President, UAW Local 5810

Mike Kramer, Executive Vice President, UNITE HERE Local 26

Ramona Malczynski, Vice President, UGW-UE 1466, United Graduate Workers of UNM

Eleanor Chavez, ED District SEIU 1199NM

Rafael Jaime, President, UAW 2865

Yunyi Li, Southern Vice President, UAW 2865

Kooper Caraway, former executive director SEIU CT Council, former President South Dakota AFL-CIO

Brandon Mancilla, Director, UAW Region 9A

Emily Weintraut, Northern Vice President, UAW 2865

Alexander Hu, President, A Better NYLAG, ALAA UAW Local 2325

Cora Bergantinos-Crespo, President UAW 4100