SEIU Local 1199WI

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Resolution Against War on Iraq - October 16, 2002

WHEREAS we recognize that just a small portion of the $100 billion the war against Iraq will cost could instead provide health insurance to millions of uninsured people, secure our retirement funds, and train more nurses (facts #1, #2, #4, #5); and

WHEREAS the current war on terrorism is already threatening civil liberties and the rights of working people in this country (facts #6, #7); and

WHEREAS we envision that homeland security is achieved best by building economic justice here in America and throughout the globe (facts #3, #4, #5, #8); and

WHEREAS we identify ourselves with common working folks everywhere in the world who strive daily to provide for their families and need to build a future for their children (fact #8); and

WHEREAS in our profession we concern ourselves with the health and welfare of people no matter what their race, ethnicity, nationality or religion (fact #9); and

WHEREAS we join with other unions all across the country to oppose policies that are not in the welfare and interest of working people (fact #10); and

WHEREAS the SEIU mission statements specifies that "in the proud tradition of union workers, we must struggle for justice and human dignity in our society" (fact #11, #12);

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THIS ASSEMBLY:

1. Opposes a U.S. military attack on Iraq, and calls on the Bush administration to cooperate fully in a multilateral, long -term approach of constructive engagement with Iraq and all other sovereign nations of the world, under the auspices of the UN.

2. Urge all of our member to increase vigilance and action against all attacks on civil liberties and workers' rights.

3. Encourage all our members to educate themselves on the history and issues behind this conflict, the causes of terrorism, and the policies of all wars.

Facts About the War

1. The Bush administration has proposed a $379.3 billion military budget for the year 2003. This is a $45.3 billion increase from last year (information from International Network of Engineer and Science against proliferation).

2. The State of Wisconsin's share of this increase is $650 million. That is equal to the cost of providing health care coverage for 250,000 children (information from The National Priorities Project - www.natprior.org)

3. The proposed military budget is also twenty-six times larger than the combined military spending of the seven "most dangerous" countries according to the Bush Administration (Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Syria) (information from Center for Defense Information: www.cdi.org).

4. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT A WAR WITH IRAQ WILL COST 100 BILLION DOLLARS. How much is $100 billion?

Ø Three times what the federal government spends on education.
Ø Enough to provide health care to all uninsured children in the US for 5 years.
Ø Wisconsin taxpayers would pay for $1.4 billion of the total $100 billion the war would cost.
Ø This equals the amount of the current state budget deficit.

(information from National Priorities Project -- www.natprior.org)

5. 1.4 million people lost their health insurance last year, making it more than 41 million Americans with no coverage and tens of millions more who underinsured. Since President Bush took office, unemployment has risen by 35%. Two million jobs have been eliminated since Bush took office. From a Federal Surplus of $281 billion when Bush was inaugurated, we now have a deficit of $157 billion. The stock market is down 34% since January 2002, putting at risk the pension funds of tens of millions of working Americans (info from Resolution Against War Against Iraq--Executive Council Local 1199/SEIU New York).

6. Invoking the Homeland Security Act, the Bush Administration threatened the Longshoremen Union with military takeover of the ports in case of strike. The Longshoremen are bargaining for job security on the West Coast.

7. Citing the "war on terrorism", the government is also demanding the ability to end collective bargaining rights for employees of the new Department of Homeland Security.

8. The average wage in Iraq is 5 dollars a month. These are the people the bombs will fall on. Civilians will be the ones to continue to suffer under an attack on Iraq, not Saddam Hussein. Unfortunately, the war against the Iraqi people did not end with the cessation of military attacks in 1991, but continues to this day with a suffocating blockade that has already claimed over one million civilian lives, the vast majority of whom are children and the elderly. More than 500,000 toddlers and infants have died due to the consequences of the sanctions. Including the 50,000 adult deaths caused by sanctions every year, Iraq now has a war-related mortality rate of over 200 people every day (UNICEF August 1999; UNICEF, April 1998).

9.SEIU District 1199W/UP Bylaws, Article II, Section 3.

10.Executive Council of Local 1199/SEIU, New York. New York Central Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, Albany, NY. Washington State Labor Council. San Francisco Labor Council, AFL-CIO. 67th United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers Union. Detroit Labor Committee for Peace and Justice.

11.SEIU District 1199W Bylaws, Article II, Section 1.

12."SEIU was one of the very first to oppose the war in Vietnam, being at first a lonely voice that became a majority viewpoint as the carnage mounted up, and now we have the opportunity to prevent a catastrophe from beginning." (Executive Council of 1199/SEIU, New York, passed October 4, 2002).