1199/SEIU Madison (Wisconsin)

Resolution gegen den Irakkrieg

(Zusammenfassung)

In Erwägung folgender Gründe,

• dass ein geringer Teil des Militärbudgets von 334 Milliarden Dollar reichen würde, zahlreiche soziale Probleme zu lösen
• dass Sicherheit vor allem durch soziale Gerechtigkeit in den USa und weltweit erreicht werden kann
• die arbeitenden Menschen der ganzen Welt dieselben Probleme haben
• wir von Berufs wegen für die Gesundheit der Menschen arbeiten, ohne Ansehen ihrer Herkunft usw
• diese Stellungnahme zwar allgemein sein mag, sie aber dennoch auf Fakten beruht, die den Beschliessenden die moralische Autorität dazu geben
• die Ziele der SEIU ihr eintreten für "Gerechtigkeit und menschliche Würde in unserer Gesellschaft" postulieren,

verabschiedet die Versammlung die folgende Resolution:

1. Dass sie gegen einen militärischen Angriff auf den Irak ist und die Bushregierung auffordert mit dem Irak und allen anderen souveränen Staaten im Rahmen der UNO konstruktiv zusammenzuarbeiten

2. Alle Gewerkschaftsmitglieder aufruft, ihre Wachsamkeit und Aktivität auf die Vertetidgung bürgerlicher Freiheiten und von Arbeiterrrechten zu richten

3. Sie alle Gewerkschaftsmitglieder ermuntert, sich mit den geschichtlichen Hintergründen des Konflikts und des Terrorismus zu befassen.

Fakten über den Krieg (gekürzt)

Von der Erhöhung des Militärhaushalts 2003 (zusätzliche 45,3 Milliarden - und damit insgesamt 26mal so hoch, wie der Militärhaushalt aller "Schurkenstaaten" zusammen) muss der Bundesstaat Wisconsin 650 Millionen Dollar tragen, was für die Gesundheitsvorsorge für 250.000 Kinder reichen würde.

Die geschätzten Kosten eines Irakkriegs von ca 100 Milliarden Dollar sind drei mal so hoch wie der gesamte Bildungsetat und reichen für die Gesundheitsvorsorge aller unversicherten Kinder für fünf Jahre.

Opfer der Bomben auf den Irak wird nicht Saddam Hussein sein, sondern eine Bevölkerung, deren Durchschnittsverdienst bei 5 Dollar im Monat liegt und von denen laut UNICEF als Kriegsfolge seit 1991 täglich 200 Menschen sterben.

-SEIU District 1199W

RESOLUTION AGAINST WAR AGAINST IRAQ

WHEREAS we recognize that just a small portion of the $334 billions appropriated last year for the US military budget could help instead pay for scholarships to send our children to college, provide health insurance to the millions of people uninsured, secure our retirement funds, and train more nurse; and WHEREAS we envision that home land security is achieved best by building economic justice here in America and throughout the globe; 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; and WHEREAS in our profession we concern ourselves with the health and welfare of people no matter what their race, ethnicity, nationality or religion and WHEREAS we excuse that these statements are vague but we nevertheless acknowledge that they are facts and that they provide us with the moral authority needed for change; and WHEREAS SEIU mission statements specifies that "in the proud tradition of union workers, we must struggle for justice and human dignity in our society"

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 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 and the causes of terrorism.

FACTS ABOUT WAR

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

2. The State of Wisconsin share of the this increase is $650 million. That is equal to the cost of providing health care coverage for 250,000 children (info 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) (info 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?

• Three times what the federal government spends on education.
• Enough to provide health care to all uninsured children in the US for 5 years
• Wisconsin tax payers would pay for $1.4 billion of the total $100 billion the war would cost.
• This equals the amount of the current state budget deficit. (info from National Priorities Project -- www.natprior.org)

5. 1.4 million people have no health insurance, making it more than 41 million Americans with no coverage and tens of millions more are 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 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).