Labor leaders say politicians won't end war, urge workers to protest

[babylonsister]

Labor leaders say politicians won't end war, urge workers to protest

Susan Sward, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sunday, October 21, 2007


(10-20) 17:30 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Labor leaders from around the world gathered in San Francisco Saturday to call on workers to stand up and take organized action against war in Iraq, saying that politicians can't be counted on to halt the bloodshed.

Several speakers cited the civil rights movement of the 1950s and the anti-Vietnam War movement of the 1960s as models to follow, saying that both achieved change that would not have occurred if matters had been left in the hands of those running the country.

"Until people get off their asses and do something, there won't be a change," Clarence Thomas, past secretary-treasurer of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 and a third-generation ILWU member, told the audience at the local's hall near Fisherman's Wharf.

Jeremy Corbyn, a Labor Party member of Parliament in Britain, cited the staggering number of civilian deaths in the Iraq war and the thousands of returning soldiers who have needed psychiatric care to deal with what they faced during battles in that country.

Corbyn told the audience of about 150 labor officials - who came from countries including Japan, New Zealand, Canada and Australia - that the war in Iraq is "a disaster of the grandest scale possible for the people of Iraq and the rest of us."

more...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/21/BA0GSTIOK.DTL

[Ken Burch]

1. Glad to hear the ILWU, the parent union of MY union, is leading the fight on this!

Harry Bridges lives!

And Jeremy Corbyn is the leader the Labour Party should have someday.

[Cha]

2. That's right..they started it but

anybody who thinks the so-called "leaders" are going to end it are only living in a world of self-delulsion. We need power in numbers if we want to end the carnage the fascists have created with their never ending quest for blood, oil, and world domination.

[lateo]

3. Sad.

We have people from other countries coming here to tell us to organize against our government. 40 years ago this would never happen.

[Bluerthanblue]

4. I'm glad there are people willing to help wake up and shake up the

only avenue that seems to carry any real power anymore.

It's gonna take this and more, i'm afraid.