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Washington-Orange-Lamoille
Labor Council AFL-CIO

 OPPOSITION TO WAR ON IRAQ
The Washington-Orange Central Labor Council voted (on Feb. 1, 2003) to go on record as opposing the war on Iraq, and to affiliate with U.S. Labor Against the War. Our resolution follows:


Washington-Orange Central Labor Council Opposes Both Saddam Hussein and a United States War on Iraq

Resolution passed at Vermont State Labor Council, AFL-CIO's September 2004 Convention:

Cost to Vermont

Cost of War Rises for Vermont

Labor Anti-War links
End the occupation of Iraq-Bring our troops home!

AFL-CIO President Sweeney raps war - hear the audio

Engaging Our Members in Anti-war Activity

(resolution adopted by September 2007 Vermont State Labor Council convention)

Whereas, the Vermont State Labor Council, AFL-CIO has expressed its opposition to the ongoing occupation in Iraq; and

Whereas, these conflicts continue unabated, and over 3700 US troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have lost their lives, and countless others have been wounded, and

Whereas, the costs of the war, both in its operation and expected costs in healthcare and benefits for returning troops is projected to be over $1 trillion, while other pressing human needs at home such as healthcare, education, housing, and disaster recovery (such as Katrina) are neglected and under funded. The cost to Vermont taxpayers already totals $663 million, and

Whereas, From Walter Reed Army Medical Center to Veterans Administration hospitals across the country, inadequate funding has denied medical health professionals in the VA system the tools they need to provide world-class care to wounded vets. The American Federation of Government Employees has been warning for years that veterans are not getting the health care they need, that Bush and Congress are ignoring the true cost of war, and

Whereas, the AFL-CIO has condemned the actions of the Iraqi Oil Minister in declaring oil worker unions illegal, adding to the attacks on workers in that country, and supported the Iraqi unions’ opposition to the multinational oil corporations’ attempt to control Iraq’s oil resources – effectively hijacking the economic rights of the Iraqi people, and

Whereas, President Bush and the Congress continue to fund the war despite the fact that over 60% of the American public feels we should bring our troops home from Iraq, and

Whereas, U.S. Labor Against the War, a national coalition of affiliated unions, including  the Vermont AFL-CIO, the Champlain Valley and Washington-Orange-Lamoille Labor Councils, and the Vermont Workers Center, is organizing educational programs and mobilization efforts designed to pressure the administration and Congress to end this conflict,

Therefore, let it be resolved that the Vermont State Labor Council, AFL-CIO renew its call for bringing our troops home now from Iraq, and

Resolved, that the State Labor Council call on Congress and the Bush Administration to provide genuine support, not just lip-service, to our armed forces, making good on promises to take care of these workers-in-arms when they return home; fully fund annually the Department of Veterans Affairs; remove any restrictions, including time limits, means testing and salary caps, that interfere with veterans receiving medical care; expand benefits for veterans, including a G.I. Bill for returning Iraq veterans and a Veterans Administration housing program; and

Resolved, that the State Labor Council encourage our affiliates through our communication networks to mobilize our members to participate in labor based actions to end the war, to break their daily routine by taking some action to end the war, such as organizing programs in their workplaces or union halls, the wearing of armbands, and other forms of participation in the Iraq Moratorium on the third Friday of every month, and

Finally Resolved, that the State Labor Council promote and endorse the October 27th regional and local mobilizations.