Whereas, despite media claims of some economic recovery, the economic crisis for working people is continuing unabated with growing unemployment and spreading home foreclosures and evictions, and

Whereas, the economic crisis is producing severe public budget deficits, underfunding public education and state and municipal services, and pressuring public officials to privatize the public’s resources and well-being, and

Whereas, the government and the Federal Reserve have funneled trillions of public dollars to the financial institutions whose recklessness and greed created this economic crisis, while continuing to fund two major wars that are draining our economy, dismantling our public institutions, and preventing any meaningful economic recovery, and

Whereas, the government should bail out working people, not the banks, and

Whereas, there exists a standing demand by a majority of the American people to end the continued war and occupation of Iraq, with growing mainstream opposition to the war and occupation in Afghanistan.

Therefore be it resolved, that the San Francisco Labor Council calls upon the AFL-CIO and Change to Win leadership and affiliates to mobilize all possible union members and their allies and friends in a massive SOLIDARITY DAY III MARCH on Washington D.C. in the spring of 2010 to demand redirecting the economy toward peacetime jobs for the American people and Green investment, an end to the wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, affordable housing and healthcare for all, a sharp increase in taxation on the wealthy and corporations, and full funding for public education and social services, as part of a strategic campaign for an economic recovery plan for working people, and

Be it further resolved that the San Francisco Labor Council hereby establishes a committee to mobilize our affiliates and their members to participate in the above strategic campaign and Solidarity Day III, and

Be it finally resolved that this resolution be forwarded immediately to the Bay Area Central Labor Councils, the California Federation of Labor, the USLAW National Assembly in Chicago and our community allies.

The California Federation of Teachers held its statewide convention in Sacramento on March 20-22, 2009. The United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) submitted a resolution to the convention in support of the 10-point platform of the Workers Emergency Recovery Campaign. The resolution was supported by the CFT’s socio-political committee, but when it came to the floor for a vote, two amendments to the platform were proposed and approved. The first amendment called for withdrawing the demand, in platform point no. 2, to nationalize the home mortgage industry. The second amendment called for withdrawing the demand, in platform point no. 5, to nationalize the auto industry.

Despite the amendments — which will be discussed more widely in the union in the coming weeks and months — the adoption of the platform below by the CFT represents a giant step forward and the basis for the formation of a powerful labor-community coalition in defense of the interests of working people.

Following is the 10-point platform adopted by the CFT Convention on March 22, 2009:

Workers Emergency Recovery Campaign Platform:

1. Put a halt to the Wall Street bailout plan. Not one more penny should be earmarked to bail out the bankers and speculators. It’s time to bail out working people.

2.  Enact a moratorium on all home foreclosures, utility shut-offs, evictions and rent hikes.

3. Enact H.R. 676 — the universal, single-payer healthcare plan. Take the private insurance companies out of the healthcare equation. Guarantee fully funded pensions for retirees, along with healthcare and other benefits.

4.  Enact the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) so that every worker can have union representation.

5. Stop the layoffs in auto and other industries across the country. Re-tool the auto industry to build rapid mass transit, solar, and wind systems.

6) Stop the scape-goating of immigrant workers. Stop the ICE raids and deportations.

7.  End all funding for the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and bring our troops home now. The war expenditures in these countries alone are estimated at $3 trillion. Redirect all war funding to meet human needs.

8. Enact a massive national reconstruction public works program (minimum expenditure needed of $1 trillion) to rebuild the nation’s schools, hospitals and crumbling infrastructure and to put millions of people back to work at a union-scale wage. Provide all necessary funding for a genuine Reconstruction program in the Gulf Coast; enact the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act (H.R. 4048).

9. Defend and expand the rights and economic security of those who are unable to work. Grant living-wage benefits to single parents, disabled, seniors, and the unemployed. End the arbitrary, punitive time limits, sanctions, denial of education, and forced unwaged workfare in the TANF welfare program.

10.  Tax the corporations and the rich — not working people — to finance a workers’ recovery plan. The rich currently enjoy historically high levels of wealth while being taxed at bargain-basement rates. Implement a retroactive tax on windfall revenue on the oil-energy industry, return capital income taxation to 1981 levels, and repatriate the $2 trillion from the offshore tax havens.