We are disappointed to inform you that a Solidarity Day III event where the labor movement would mobilize and demand that the government institute a massive jobs-creation program is not going to take place — for now.

Unfortunately, the top officials of the AFL-CIO failed to move on this proposal at the AFL-CIO’s special meeting of state federations and central labor councils in Orlando, Florida, on April 23-25, 2010.

We did, however, manage to create a significant groundswell where numerous labor bodies across the nation passed resolutions in support of such a Solidarity Day III march and rally in Washington, DC. These resolutions and the many endorsements by leading trade unionists were a reflection of the widespread suffering of working people who are bearing the brunt of the current economic crisis through layoffs, furloughs, home foreclosures, loss of health insurance, and so on.

Deep discontent among working people has been spreading and intensifying. It erupted in California on March 4 when tens of thousands of working people and many unions joined students and teacher unionists in demonstrations to defend public education and social services. In Oregon, despite strong opposition from corporations, the unions succeeded in leading the struggle to pass progressive taxation, forcing higher taxes on the corporations and the wealthy. In both cases, working people demonstrated an eagerness to stand up and fight for their own interests. And they represent a huge reservoir of strength that can be tapped.

While the wealthy use their money to lobby politicians, ordinary working people have historically turned to organizing huge protests to press for their needs. Accordingly, such protests served as a vital tool in winning union recognition in the 1930s. They were key to the success of the Civil Rights movement, they contributed to ending the U.S. war in Vietnam. They have helped to defend immigrant rights, and they have brought down governments around the world. Their power emanates from their size: When they are huge, it becomes unambiguously clear that they represent the desires of the majority of society.

Nevertheless, most top officials of the labor movement have rejected — for now — the option of organizing a massive demonstration for jobs. They view themselves as acting pragmatically by navigating through what they perceive as a permanent configuration of political alignments. In particular, most union officials look to the Democratic Party with the hope of winning some benefits, and they do not want to jeopardize the prospect of modest gains. Horrified at the possibility of inflicting the slightest injury on the Democrats, labor officials are avoiding organizing large demonstrations that would pressure the Obama government into creating jobs. They fear that the Republicans will be quick to take advantage of fissures in the relationship between labor and the Democrats.

The problem with this strategy, however, lies in the duplicitous role of the Democratic Party. On the one hand, it claims to be a friend of labor and has been quick to accept hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions from unions each year. On the other hand, it receives far greater contributions from corporations, which have been adamant in insisting that labor occupy a far subordinate position in this unsavory triangle.

President Obama has received more money from financial institutions than any other sector of the economy. Consequently, administrations, whether headed by Democrats or Republicans, have allowed banks to engage in predatory loans and charge interest rates amounting to usury when people have overdrawn their bank accounts; they have allowed taxes on corporations and the wealthy to incessantly slide downwards, thereby squeezing public education and social services; they have given corporations a free hand to proceed recklessly so as to cause environmental catastrophes; they have permitted corporations to keep wages low in order to push profits higher; and they have enabled the wealthy to become wealthier than ever before.

Currently, the Obama administration has failed to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, even though it had a super-majority in Congress, it refused to consider single-payer health care, it dropped any form of a public health care option, despite strong labor support, it applauded the mass firing of teachers in Rhode Island, and it is supporting charter schools, which constitute a direct attack on unions.

In fact, never before in the history of this country have so few had so much at the expense of so many. And it raises the question: For how long will huge amounts of wealth belonging to a small minority of the population who enjoy untold luxuries be allowed to prevail over the basic needs of the working people of this country, who constitute the vast majority?

Worse still: The economic crisis for working people is far from over. Unemployment remains high, public education and social services continue to be gutted, and the enormous federal government budget deficit is looming in the background. President Obama has already established his deficit-reduction committee, headed by Republican Allan Simpson, and there has been incessant chatter about reducing Social Security benefits, which constitute the most modest lifeline for millions of Americans. The banks, the corporations, and the wealthy are pushing hard to compel the Obama government to protect their privileges at our expense. The labor movement will be forced to stand up and fight. Otherwise, what little we have will be taken from us.

We are confident that the Solidarity Day III campaign is not at an end but at the beginning. The organized labor movement will be compelled to mobilize working people to defend their standard of living. And the only effective means at its disposal will be to establish a broad united coalition, led by labor, to bring people into the streets to demand the creation of 11 million jobs while taxing Wall Street to pay for them, as AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has proposed.

By refusing to rely on the politicians and by establishing an independent movement of labor, working people will be in a position to reach out and unite the majority of the population so that in solidarity we can create a powerful movement to fight for our common interests.

Bill Leumer and Alan Benjamin
Co-coordinators
Workers Emergency Recovery Campaign

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

The Executive Council of the California Labor Federation, representing two million organized workers, over one-sixth of the membership of the AFL-CIO, passed a resolution on Feb. 23, 2010, calling on the AFL-CIO and Change to Win to organize a Solidarity Day III demonstration in Washington, D.C. for Jobs, Peace and Justice. Other unions and organizations that recently passed similar resolutions include the Labor for Single Payer Campaign — representing a broad array of local unions, labor councils and state federations — as well as the San Francisco Building Trades Council.

These resolutions are in response to a deteriorating situation for working people. Unemployment continues unabated, home foreclosures are still rising, and because of the recession, many states are suffering huge budget deficits, meaning that they are slashing social services and funding for education so that even more people are losing their jobs. Instead of mounting a massive jobs-creation program, the federal government is contemplating reducing the federal deficit by attacking entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has recently condemned these trends and offered a different approach: “The best way to fix the deficit is to create 10 million jobs now — the number of jobs needed to close our jobs deficit. This will require large amounts of public investment in the short term, which should be paid for in future years by taxing Wall Street.”

In response to the Massachusetts Senate elections where Republican Scott Brown won, President Trumka also stated: “It’s not time to leave it to any political party to take care of us once we put them in office. It’s time to organize and mobilize as never before to make every elected or aspiring leader PROVE he or she will create the jobs we need in an economy we need with the health care we need. … I know we are the people who can mobilize a massive army to force elected leaders to deliver.”

We agree with these statements by President Trumka. Now is the time to rely on ourselves, not on the politicians, and to mobilize a massive demonstration in Washington, D.C. for Jobs, Peace and Justice. Although small demonstrations are helpful, massive demonstrations, because they cannot be ignored by the media, place much more pressure on the politicians to do the right thing. Huge demonstrations give the participants the conviction that they are not alone, that they truly represent the interests of the majority of the people in this country, that our cause is just, and that we have the power to win. In this way these demonstrations enthuse and energize the participants who then want to continue the struggle.

The AFL-CIO has recently launched a two-week campaign across the country, calling for rallies and demonstrations at the Big Six Wall Street banks (Bank of America, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo/Wachovia) in order to broadcast the following message: “It’s time to create good jobs now, and the big Wall Street banks that destroyed jobs should pay to restore them.” There are three demands: “Stop refusing to pay your fair share to restore the jobs you destroyed, stop fighting financial reform, and start lending to your communities, small businesses and others starved for credit.”

We encourage you to attend one of these demonstrations and raise the idea of calling on the AFL-CIO and Change to Win to organize a massive demonstration of working people to demand that the government resolve the economic crisis in favor of working people by creating jobs and taxing Wall Street, rather than resolving the crisis at our expense so that the bankers can continue their outrageous bonuses.

We have included a Model Resolution for such a Solidarity Day III demonstration below, along with an endorsement coupon. You will also find below an updated list of endorsers of this important campaign.

We hope to hear back from you.

In solidarity,

Bill Leumer and Alan Benjamin
Co-Conveners,
Workers Emergency Recovery Campaign

MODEL RESOLUTION
in Support of a Labor-Sponsored March on Washington
For JOBS, PEACE & JUSTICE

WHEREAS in the aftermath of the Massachusetts special senatorial election, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka issued a statement declaring “It’s time to organize and mobilize as never before to make every elected or aspiring leader PROVE he or she will create the jobs we need in an economy we need with the health care we needs. I know we are the people who can mobilize a massive army to force elected leaders to deliver;” and

WHEREAS despite the so-called economic recovery, the economic crisis for working people has continued unabated with growing unemployment and underemployment, rising home foreclosures and evictions, and the underfunding of public education and vitally needed social services; and

WHEREAS the government has bestowed billions of bailout dollars on the financial institutions whose recklessness and greed created this economic crisis and who are rewarding those responsible with obscene gigantic bonuses; and

WHEREAS the labor movement’s legislative priorities — a massive program for jobs, true universal health care, and enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act — are all in great peril; and

WHEREAS while the government has no problem allocating a trillion dollars for two wars thousands of miles away, it has not committed funds critically needed to put America back to work, with health care and quality education for all; and

WHEREAS right wing, anti-labor forces, such as the Tea Party movement, have brought hundreds of thousand of people into the streets to advance their reactionary demands; and

WHEREAS there is a growing movement within the House of Labor to counter the right wing offensive against workers’ living standards with our own massive mobilization; and

WHEREAS various union bodies, including the California Labor Federation (AFL-CIO), the South Carolina Labor Federation (AFL-CIO), the Labor for Single-Payer Campaign, the San Francisco Building Trades Council, the South Bay Labor Council (CA), Plumbers and Fitters Local 393, Troy Area Labor Council (NY), San Mateo Labor Council (CA) and the San Francisco Labor Council, AFL-CIO, the Council of New Jersey State College Locals (CNJSCL, AFT-AFL-CIO), among others, have adopted resolutions calling upon the AFL-CIO and Change to Win to organize a Solidarity Day III March on Washington D.C.. in the spring or summer of 2010 to demand jobs, health care, housing, full funding for public education and social services, and peace; now therefore be it

RESOLVED that the ________ [NAME OF YOUR UNION/ORGANIZATION] joins with our brothers and sisters in calling for a labor-sponsored march on Washington for jobs, peace and justice, which would have the capability of mobilizing the kind of massive army Brother Trumka spoke of; and be it finally

RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the AFL-CIO and to Change to Win.

WERC ENDORSEMENT / FINANCIAL SUPPORT COUPON

[ ] I endorse the Model Resolution [see above] Urging Support for a Solidarity Day III March in DC for Jobs, Peace and Justice.

[ ] My union / organization endorses the Model Resolution Urging Support for a Solidarity Day III March in DC.

[ ] I pledge a contribution of $ _____ toward your WERC financial campaign. My check will be made payable to “WERC” and mailed to WERC, P.O. Box 40009, San Francisco, CA 94140.

NAME

UNION/ORG (for info purposes only)

CITY

STATE

ZIP

TEL

EMAIL

(please fill out and return to wercampaign@gmail.com)

Updated list of initial endorsers of Call for a Labor-Sponsored
Demonstration in Washington for Jobs, Peace and Justice

(as of March 19, 2010)

- California Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
- South Carolina State, AFL-CIO
- San Francisco Labor Council
- South Bay Labor Council (San Jose, Calif.)
- San Mateo Central Labor Council
- Hartford (CT) Central Labor Council
- Troy (NY) Central Labor Council
- Labor For Single Payer Campaign
- AFT Local 1021 (Los Angeles)
- Council of New Jersey State College Locals (CNJSCL), AFT-AFL-CIO
- Executive Council, AFT Missouri
- National Jobs for All Coalition
- California Peace and Freedom Party
- Harlem Tenants Council
- Harlem Antiwar Coalition
- Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice
- Ohio State Labor Party
- Railroad Workers United
- Painters and Dry Wall workers Local 93 (Bay Area)
- Prosperity Agenda

- Glen Ford (Black Agenda Report)
- Donna Smith, American SiCKO, American Patients United
- Harry Kelber (Labor Educator)
- Sharon Black (Organizer, Bail Out the People Movement)
- Monadel Herzallah (Arab American Union Members Council)
- Andy Griggs (UTLA member)
- Don Bechler (chair, Single Payer Now!)
- Larry Duncan* (Labor Beat-Chicago)
- Allan Fisher (AFT 2121)
- Fred Hirsch (South Bay Labor Council)
- Jerry Gordon (Ohio State Labor Party)
- Bill Balderston (Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice)
- Chris Silvera, Secretary-Treasurer, Teamsters Union Local 808
- Kevin Zeese, Executive Director, Prosperity Agenda
- Chris Driscoll,* Recording Secretary, Campaign for Fresh Air and Clean Politics
- Alan L. Maki,* Director of Organizing Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council
- Joe Tonan,* Claremont Faculty Association, a Chapter of the California Teachers Association
- Gregory W. Paquin,* Business Manager, Native American Indian Labor Union #12

WERC Interim National Committee Members:

- Kali Akuno, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Gulf Coast Reconstruction activist
- Alan Benjamin,* Executive Committee member, San Francisco Labor Council
- Mike Carano, Progressive Democrats of America
- Colia Clark, Veteran, Civil Rights Movement
- Donna Dewitt*, President, South Carolina AFL-CIO
- Pat Gowens, National organizer, Welfare Warriors
- Bill Leumer,* International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 853 (ret.)
- Luis Magaña, Coordinator, Organization of Farmworkers of California (OTAC)
- Cynthia McKinney, Former Member of Congress, 2009 Green Party presidential candidate
- Jack Rasmus, Economist, Professor at St. Mary’s College
- Al Rojas, Coordinator, Frente de Mexicanos en el Exterior
- Marc Rich, United Teachers of Los Angeles
- Cindy Sheehan, Gold Star mother, antiwar activist
- Clarence Thomas, Member, ILWU Local 10
- Mark Vorpahl*, SEIU Local 49, Portland, OR
- Nancy Wohlforth*, Co-Pres., Pride at Work/AFL-CIO, Vice Pres.,California Federation of Labor

(* titles & org. for id. only)

* * * * *

PDF Version Here

Whereas, US involvement in wars and the US military aid to other countries are making the
people of the US and the world less safe; and

Whereas, these wars and military aid are bankrupting the people of the US, who are already
suffering from staggering job losses, foreclosures and a broken healthcare system; and

Whereas, despite the so-called economic recovery, the economic crisis for working people has
continued unabated with growing unemployment and continuing home foreclosures and
evictions; and

Whereas, this economic crisis has resulted in the underfunding and degrading of public education
and social services; and

Whereas, there is a growing opposition to the wars and occupations in Afghanistan and Iraq by a
majority of the people here in the United States, not to mention the great and ever-growing
opposition by the citizens in Afghanistan and Iraq; and

Whereas, these wars are costing billions of dollars each month;

Therefore Be It Resolved that the California Labor Federation calls on the AFL-CIO and
Change to Win to organize a Solidarity Day III march on Washington, DC, in the spring of 2010
to demand jobs, housing, healthcare, full funding for public education and social services and
peace;

Be it Finally Resolved that we send this resolution for action and concurrence to the AFL-CIO
and Change to Win.

Dated: February 23, 2010

Librarians Guild  AFSCME Local 2626  514 Shatto Place, 3rd Floor  Los Angeles, CA  90020

WHEREAS in the aftermath of the Massachusetts special senatorial election, AFL-CIO President  Richard Trumka issued a statement declaring, “It’s time to organize and mobilize as never before to  make every elected or aspiring leader PROVE he or she will create the jobs we need in an economy we  need with the healthcare we need. I know we are the people who can mobilize a massive army to force  elected leaders to deliver;” and

WHEREAS despite the so-called economic recovery, the economic crisis for working people has  continued unabated, with growing unemployment and underemployment, rising home foreclosures and  evictions, and the underfunding of public education and vitally needed social services; and

WHEREAS the government has bestowed billions of bailout dollars on the financial institutions whose  recklessness and greed created this economic crisis and who are rewarding those responsible with  obscene gigantic bonuses; and

WHEREAS the labor movement’s legislative priorities — a massive program for jobs, true universal  healthcare, and enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act — are all in great peril; and

WHEREAS while the government has no problem allocating a trillion dollars for two wars thousands  of miles away, it has not committed funds critically needed to put America back to work, with  healthcare and quality education for all; and

WHEREAS right wing, anti-labor forces, such as the Tea Bag movement, have brought hundreds of  thousands of people into the streets to advance their reactionary demands; and WHEREAS there is a  growing movement within the House of Labor to counter the right-wing offensive against workers’  living standards with our own massive mobilization; and

WHEREAS various union bodies, including the South Carolina AFL-CIO, the South Bay Labor  Council (CA), acting on a resolution submitted by Plumbers and Fitters Local 393, Troy Area Labor  Council (NY), and the San Francisco Labor Council, AFL-CIO, have adopted resolutions calling upon  the AFL-CIO and Change to Win to organize a Solidarity Day III March on Washington D.C. in the  spring of 2010 to demand jobs, healthcare, housing, full funding for public education and social  services, and peace; now therefore be it

RESOLVED that the Librarians’ Guild, AFSCME Local 2626, joins with our brothers and sisters in  calling for a labor-sponsored march on Washington for jobs, peace and justice, which would have the  capability of mobilizing the kind of massive army Brother Trumka spoke of; and be it finally

RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the AFL-CIO and Change to Win.

(Adopted by  the Librarians’ Guild, AFSCME Local 2626 Executive Board  -  February 11, 2010)

I’m delighted to inform you that the The Council of New Jersey State College Locals (CNJSCL), AFT, AFL-CIO  http://www.cnjscl.org/ voted unanimously in our state-wide meeting of delegates on February 12, 2010 to endorse the resolution calling upon the AFL-CIO and Change to Win to organize a Solidarity Day III March on Washington D.C. in the spring of 2010 to demand jobs, healthcare, housing, full funding for public education and social services, and peace.

The CNJSCL is comprised of 11 Locals and represents over 8,000 faculty, adjunct faculty, librarians and professional staff at the following nine institutions of higher education:
1) The College of New Jersey,
2) Kean University,
3) Montclair State University,
4) New Jersey City University and the A. Harry Moore School,
5) Ramapo College of New Jersey,
6) Richard Stockton College,
7) Rowan University,
8) Thomas Edison State College and
9) William Paterson University.

I have attached both Word and pdf copies of our resolution to use as you see fit. Please feel free to contact me directly if you need more information.

Hope to see you in D.C. soon.

Solidarity

Terry Epperson
Member, Executive Board
AFT Local 2364
The College of New JerseyResolution in Support of a Labor-Sponsored March on Washington

WHEREAS in the aftermath of the Massachusetts special senatorial election, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued a statement declaring, “It’s time to organize and mobilize as never before to make every elected or aspiring leader PROVE he or she will create the jobs we need in an economy we need with the healthcare we need. I know we are the people who can mobilize a massive army to force elected leaders to deliver;” and

WHEREAS despite the so-called economic recovery, the economic crisis for working people has continued unabated, with growing unemployment and underemployment, rising home foreclosures and evictions, and the underfunding of public education and vitally needed social services; and

WHEREAS the government has bestowed billions of bailout dollars on the financial institutions whose recklessness and greed created this economic crisis and who are rewarding those responsible with obscene gigantic bonuses; and

WHEREAS the labor movement’s legislative priorities — a massive program for jobs, true universal healthcare, and enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act — are all in great peril; and

WHEREAS while the government has no problem allocating a trillion dollars for two wars thousands of miles away, it has not committed funds critically needed to put America back to work, with healthcare and quality education for all; and

WHEREAS right wing, anti-labor forces, such as the Tea Bag movement, have brought hundreds of thousands of people into the streets to advance their reactionary demands; and

WHEREAS there is a growing movement within the House of Labor to counter the right-wing offensive against workers’ living standards with our own massive mobilization; and

WHEREAS various union bodies, including the South Bay Labor Council (CA), acting on a resolution submitted by Plumbers and Fitters Local 393, Troy Area Labor Council (NY), and the San Francisco Labor Council, AFL-CIO, have adopted resolutions calling upon the AFL-CIO and Change to Win to organize a Solidarity Day III March on Washington D.C. in the spring of 2010 to demand jobs, healthcare, housing, full funding for public education and social services, and peace; now therefore be it

RESOLVED that the Council of New Jersey State College Locals, AFT, AFL-CIO (CNJSCL) joins with our brothers and sisters in calling for a labor-sponsored march on Washington for jobs, peace and justice, which would have the capability of mobilizing the kind of massive army Brother Trumka spoke of; and be it finally

RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the AFL-CIO, Change to Win and to all CNJSCL Locals for their consideration.

Respectfully submitted

Nagesh Rao, Member, AFT Local 2364, The College of New Jersey (TCNJ)

Terry Epperson, Member, Executive Board, AFT Local 2364, TCNJ

Adopted by The Council of New Jersey State College Locals, AFT, AFL-CIO, Feb. 12, 2010

SolidarityDayIIIresolution

Despite its control of the presidency and its super-majority in Congress, the Democrats have done little to alleviate the suffering of working people, while bestowing trillions of dollars on bankers.  Accordingly, those who caused this economic crisis through their recklessness and greed have been reimbursed for their losses and are back to business as usual, rewarding themselves with huge bonuses once again.  In contrast, working people, who had nothing to do with creating this crisis, are bearing the burden of suffering through the loss of our jobs and our homes and the erosion of public education and social services.

The recent Democratic Party loss of the Senate seat in Massachusetts reflects the growing disconnect between the policies of the Democratic Party and the needs of working people. There are already indications that the Democratic Party plans to move even more to the right in pursuit of a corporate agenda that further attacks the rights and working conditions of the rest of us.

As Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, recently announced in response to the Massachusetts elections: “It’s not time to leave it to any political party to take care of us once we put them in office. It’s time to organize and mobilize as never before to make every elected or aspiring leader PROVE he or she will create the jobs we need in an economy we need with the health care we need. I know we are the people who can mobilize a massive army to force elected leaders to deliver.”

Now is the time to organize a massive Solidarity Day III demonstration in Washington, D.C. and possibly on the West Coast to make our voices heard in favor of:

• a massive job creation program
• single-payer health care
• a stop to foreclosures and evictions
• passage of EFCA, with card check
• peace

The history of the labor movement is filled with massive mobilizations of working people that won the eight-hour day, the right to unionize, civil rights, unemployment insurance, welfare, and so on.  When the challenges were enormous, working people rose to the occasion.  We can turn things around today by employing the same successful tactics. And we should insist that since working people constitute the majority of the population, society should operate in the interests of the majority!

We have good news. We have learned that there is a growing recognition among leading labor officials in the AFL-CIO that a massive mobilization in the streets of trade unionists and our allies will be necessary in order to ensure that the needs of working people, which have been exacerbated as a result of this devastating economic crisis, are addressed.

After having been run over by an economy driven by the recklessness and greed of the bankers, the labor movement is beginning to rise to its feet in order to put up a fight. We will take back the streets from the right-wing fringe with their minuscule tea parties, which the news media have ludicrously depicted as mass movements, in order to conclusively demonstrate that we in the labor movement represent the needs of the majority of working people in this country when we demand JOBS, PEACE and JUSTICE. Discussion is now under way about organizing a labor-led mass spring mobilization in Washington, D.C. and possibly in San Francisco as well.

The momentum is building. The WERC is receiving communications from trade unionists across the country, including the North Carolina statewide AFL-CIO, indicating they will be raising in their unions our draft WERC resolution, or one similar to it, that calls on the labor movement to organize a Solidarity Day III-type event. We are including below an updated list of endorsers of this resolution.

We encourage you, if you have not already done so, to set up a WERC committee in your area to bring together unionists and working people in order to help promote the campaign for a Solidarity Day III. Such a committee could encourage the passage of a resolution in their local unions in support of the campaign as well as organize educational forums analyzing the impact of the economic crisis on working people.

Finally, we would like to make our WERC web site a focal point of communication around this campaign. As resolutions in support of Solidarity Day III are passed and as we attract more endorsers, we will post these announcements on the site. We encourage you to check it regularly and send us any updates so that they may be immediately posted.

Alan Benjamin and Bill Leumer
National Co-conveners
Workers Emergency Recovery Campaign

Here is a progress report on endorsements received thus far for the WERC-initiated call for a labor-led mobilizing next spring in DC:

1. San Francisco Labor Council
2. South Bay Labor Council (San Jose, Calif.)
3. AFT Local 1021 (Los Angeles)
4. Executive Council, AFT Missouri
5. California Peace and Freedom Party
6. Harlem Tenants Council
7. Harlem Antiwar Coalition
8. Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice
9. Ohio State Labor Party
10. Railroad Workers United
11. Painters and Dry Wall Workers Local  93 (Bay Area)
12. Glen Ford (Black Agenda Report)
13. Donna Smith, American SiCKO, American Patients United
14. Harry Kelber (Labor Educator)
15. Sharon Black (Bail Out the People Movement)
16. Monadel Herzallah (Arab American Union Members Council)
17. Andy Griggs (UTLA member)
18. Don Bechler (chair, Single Payer Now!)
19. Larry Duncan (Labor Beat-Chicago)
20. Allan Fisher (AFT 2121)
21. Fred Hirsch (South Bay Labor Council)
22. Jerry Gordon (Ohio State Labor Party)
23. Bill Balderston (Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice)

Model Resolution

National March on Washington for Jobs, Peace, Affordable Healthcare For All 

and Ending Foreclosures and Evictions

Whereas, despite the so-called economic recovery, the economic crisis for working people has continued unabated with growing unemployment and rising home foreclosures and evictions, and

Whereas this economic crisis has resulted in the underfunding and degrading of public education and social services, and

Whereas the government has bestowed billions of dollars of bailout money on the financial institutions whose recklessness and greed created this economic crisis, and

Whereas there is growing opposition to the wars and occupations in Afghanistan and Iraq by a majority of the people here in the United States, not to mention the great and ever-growing opposition by the citizens in Afghanistan and Iraq, and

Whereas these wars are costing billions of dollars each month, therefore be it

Resolved that the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council calls on the AFL-CIO and the Change to Win coalition to organize a Solidarity Day III march on Washington D.C. in the spring of 2010 to demand jobs, housing, healthcare, full funding for public education and social services, and peace, and be it

Further Resolved that we send this resolution for concurrence and action to the Santa Clara County Building and Construction Trades Council, the California State Building and Construction Trades Council, and the California Federation of Labor.

1) RESOLUTION:
For a Comprehensive Labor-Led Campaign for Economic Recovery, including a National March in the spring of 2010 in Washington, D.C. for Jobs, an End to the Wars and Occupations, Affordable Healthcare and Housing For All, a Sharp Increase in Corporate Taxation, and Full Funding for Public Education and Social Services

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.

Fraternally submitted,

Alan Benjamin, delegate  OPEIU Local 3
Tom Edminster, delegate, UESF
Allan Fisher, delegate AFT 2121
Conny Ford, Vice pres., SFLC; Sec-Treas., OPEIU Local 3
Denis Mosgofian, delegate, GCC Division-IBT Local 4
Dave Welsh, delegate, NALC Branch 214