September 29, 2019
The San Francisco Labor Council passed the resolution below on July 8, stating that it “is opposed to the Trump administration taking military action against Iran,” and urged the California Federation of Labor and the AFL-CIO to endorse the resolution. Recent events underline the importance of organized labor speaking out against a U.S. war against Iran – and demanding sanctions be lifted, not tightened.
Whereas, Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon; and
Whereas, Iran has a right, according to international law, to develop nuclear energy for civilian use; and
Whereas, the United States possesses thousands of nuclear warheads in its stockpile; and
Whereas, the U.S. military budget and weapons of war far surpass Iran’s; and
Whereas, the United States and Britain used severe economic sanctions and CIA covert operatives to overthrow the democratically elected government of Iran led by Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953. The Iranian government under Mosaddegh had nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), which became known as British Petroleum (BP), in a campaign to use oil profits to eradicate widespread poverty within Iran. The successful CIA and British Intelligence coup d’etat put the Shah of Iran (King) back in power. The Shah’s dictatorship denationalized Iranian oil and returned it to the ownership of British and U.S. oil companies. The Shah executed and tortured thousands of people during his 26-year bloody reign, which ended in the 1979 revolution that created the Islamic Republic of Iran; and
Whereas, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Iran and has pursued a policy of economic sanctions against the country since the overthrow of the U.S.- backed Shah; and
Whereas, Iran was invaded by the U.S. backed Iraq regime under Sadam Hussein suffering several hundred thousand casualties and immense damage to its economy and infrastructure; and
Whereas, Iran’s oil reserves are the fourth largest in the world second only to Saudi Arabia in the Middle East; and
Whereas, the economic sanctions against Iran include a ban on the import, sale and trade of Iranian oil, and forbid any company in the world that does any business with Iran or its Central Bank from having any trade or economic transaction with a U.S. bank or corporation; and
Whereas, people throughout the world view U.S. economic sanctions as unjustified intervention and economic terrorism and those sanctions are causing great suffering in Iran and depriving the Iranian people of the goods and services to sustain life. People throughout the world, including experts in international law, view these economic sanctions as a blockade or an act of war against Iran; and
Whereas, President Trump has recently issued grave threats of military action, including that “all options are on the table;” and
Whereas, a war with Iran would be devastating to both the Iranian people and the people of the world;
Therefore Be it Resolved that the SFLC is opposed to the Trump administration taking military action against Iran, and urges its affiliates, members and supporters to demand that Congress assert its Constitutional power by taking necessary measures to avert war and to promote and pursue diplomatic, not military, solutions to any disputes with Iran, and
Be it Finally Resolved that SFLC will submit this resolution to our Congressional representatives, to the California Federation of Labor for endorsement at its convention, and to the AFL-CIO.
Adopted by the San Francisco Labor Council on July 8, 2019.
