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WW12-29-15 UAW 2865 & Palestine Labor and SF Unionists Calls For Action For Mario Woods

by WorkWeek Radio KPFA Pacifica
WorkWeek radio looks at the recent action of the UAW International Executive Board to nullify a resolution passed by UAW 2865 UC Graduate students to support BDS against Israel. It also hears from trade unionists who spoke at a protest rally at San Francisco City Hall on December 24, 2015 to protest the murder of Mario Woods in Bayview Hunters Point.
zim_ship_shanghai_picket_sep_27.jpg
WorkWeek looks at the recent decision of the UAW Executive Board to nullify a democratic vote of the UAW 2865 to support BDS or boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. There is growing support around the world for the BDS movement. Unions in Europe including in Ireland and the UK to support actions against Israeli apartheid policies.
In the US most national unions support the Israeli government and also the Histadrut which represents the majority of unionized Israeli workers.
Last year after a long discussion and debate within the 20,000 member UC graduate students who are members of UAW 2865, the union voted to support BDS. This was appealed by a supporter of Israel who is a PhD student at UCLA.
The appeal to the international union executive board voted that it had indeed been a democratic vote but the action was an economic threat to companies that UAW members worked for and did business with Israel. These included Caterpillar, Boeing, General Dynamics, General Electric, ITT, Lockheed-Martin and Northrup-Gruman.
Workers at these companies are represented by the UAW and supporters of Israel’s position.
The appeal was also supported by other union leaderships including AFGE, the Jewish Labor Committee and the Teamsters California Council. The Teamsters also represent IBT Local 2010 at the UC campuses and in the bay area the Teamster Joint Council President Rome Aloise not only protested the BDS resolution by UAW 2865 but vehemently opposed the protests that stopped the Zim shipping line at the Port of Oakland and other ports on the West Coast arguing that it would cost jobs.
The BDS resolution did have broad support in the vote including many Jewish members of the union who submitted statements of support.
The International also charged that the support of the BDS would subvert the no strike clause of the UAW Constitution and subvert the collective bargaining of the union.
They then nullified the vote.
WorkWeek interviews Kurt Horner who is a steward of the UAW 2865 at UC Irvine and a supporter of the BDS caucus and Alborz Ghandehari who is the recording secretary of the Local and is a graduate student at UCSD. Also interviewed is Jeff Blankfort a journalist, radio host and former editor of the Labor Bulletin on the Middle East. Blankfort has written extensively on the role of the AFL-CIO on Israel and Palestinians.
Last WorkWeek hears from some trade unionists who spoke at a rally at San Francisco city hall on December 24, 2015 to protest the execution of Mario Woods on December 2 in Bayview Hunters Point. We hear from ILWU Local 10 member Clarence Thomas about what labor should do to stop the continued police murders in the Black community and Sueson Soloman of UESF on their actions.

WorkWeek Radio on KPFA Pacifica
kpfa [at] workweek.org
https://soundcloud.com/workweek-radio

In March 1982, UAW International Vice President Marc Stepp representing Chrysler workers ordered a stop of investment of pension funds in five companies that do business with South Africa.

"Pension funds run into billions of dollars and along with banks and insurance companies represent the financial structure of this country. Workers must learn to use those pension funds whare are their monies to put pressure on the South African Government."

However, the UAW International Executive Board has called for a ban on any further investments to either the public or private sectors of the South African economy.
http://kora.matrix.msu.edu/files/50/304/32-130-1C8B-84-UAW%20Ammo%2023%2012%20opt.pdf
UAW Ammo January 1985


UA WBOARD URGES SANCTIONS

Calling apartheid a system of racial oppression that remains today as one of the darkest disgraces in any nation purporting to be a democracy," the UAW executive board in December called for six specific economic sanctions against the South African minor- ity government. "External pressure in the form of economic sanctions would signal to Pretoria and the rest of the world that we do not tolerate the perpetu- ation of apartheid," the UAW stated.

The six sanctions are:

1. Imposing a ban on any further investments or loans to either public or private sectors of the South African economy.

2. Withdrawing all landing rights of South African aircraft in the United States and Canada.

3. Enforcing the 1977 UN. arms embargo against South Africa.

4. Imposing a ban on the sale or transfer of all nuclear technology to South Africa from the United States.

5. Imposing a ban on the importation of South African "Krugerrands" (gold coins) which currently are being sold here.

6. Reimposing the Carter administration export controls on sales to the police and military which have been relaxed against South Africa by the Reagan administration.
§Picket Line Against Zim Ship In Oakland
by WorkWeek Radio KPFA Pacifica
zim_picket_ricardo9-27-14.jpg
Labor and community protesters picketed a Israeli Zim ship in Oakland.
§Trade unionists and Community Members Picket Zim Ship
by WorkWeek Radio KPFA Pacifica
zim__mary_labor_boycott.jpg
As a result of direct solidarity action by the community, labor and ILWU rank and file members, the Zim shipping line was unable to unload their ships in Oakland and have had to stop their ships coming into West Coast ports
§UAW Top Officials Block BDS Resolution By UAW 2865
by WorkWeek Radio KPFA Pacifica
uaw_gm_center_officials.jpeg
The UAW International Executive Board has "nullified" a resolution passed by the rank and file of UAW 2865 UC Graduate students local to support BDS. This contradicts a resolution passed in the 1980s' in opposition to the apartheid South African regime.
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