The Labor Movement was well-represented at the Anti-War March and Rally in San Francisco October 27.

Several hundred union members marched in San Francisco October 27 to call for an end to the war in Iraq. The demonstration was one of many held around the country on the five-year anniversary of the vote by the U.S. Congress to authorize an invasion. Since the U.S. invaded Iraq March 19, 2003, over 3,800 U.S. Service Members have been killed,and more than 25,681 wounded (including over 2,672 from California), according to the Department of Defense. As many as one million Iraqis may have been killed as a result of the illegal, pre-emptive war. Another 4 million Iraqis have either fled the country or are displaced within Iraq, which has been turned into a wild west war zone with a puppet government and private mercenary firms running rampant.

While as many as 35,000 people protested in San Francisco, and several thousand more in Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C., media coverage was scant, despite polls showing that over two-thirds of Americans want the war to end now, if not yesterday.

The Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Monterey Bay, San Francisco, San Mateo County, and South Bay Labor Councils and the San Francisco and Alameda County Building Trades Councils were endorsers of the rally, along with the labor groups Pride at Work, Arab American Union Members Council, Labor Committee for Latin American Advancement, and U.S. Labor Against the War.

Among the many unions represented were the California Nurses Association, carrying signs calling for “Health Care not Warfare” and the International Longshore and Warehouse workers union, which was an early and militant opponent of the illegal, pre-emptive war. They were joined by members of the Painters and Tapers Local 913; Sign and Display Local 510; United Educators of San Francisco; Service Employees Locals 87, 521, and United Health Care Workers West; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; Communication Workers if America, Local 9415; American Federation of Teachers Local 2121 from San Francisco City College; and Industrial Workers of the World, among others.

At a small rally at the Federal Building before the main march and rally, union members gathered to hear from Rep. Barbara Lee—the only member of Congress to vote against giving George W. Bush blanket authority to wage an endless war on terror in October, 2001, in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks—and other elected officials who have spoken out against the war and the Bush cabal.

San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano and State Assemblymember Mark Leno also addressed the labor crowd. State Senator Carole Migden, who is being challenged by Leno in the Democratic Party primary for State Senate next year, showed up to help carry labor’s banner. She, Leno, and Ammiano also spoke at the pre-march rally at City Hall.

San Francisco Labor Council Executive Director Tim Paulson told the crowd that San Francisco’s was the first Labor Council to officially oppose the war, before it started. Almost three years later, the AFL-CIO passed a resolution at its 2005 convention calling for a “rapid withdrawal” of U.S. troops from Iraq—the first time the AFL-CIO has opposed a sitting administration in the midst of a war, Paulson said.

Assemblymember Leno called Bush a war criminal and said he should be impeached. But none of the elected officials criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for taking impeachment off the table and failing to hold the Bush regime accountable for the death and destruction, and desecration of the U.S. Constitution.

At City Hall, San Francisco Building Trades Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer Mike Theriault said that many of the young people who had enlisted to serve in the military and in Iraq and Afghanistan believed in the job they signed up to do. While many are now disillusioned and aware that they were lied to, Theriault said, “There are jobs here you can believe in—building houses and hospitals and fixing our aging infrastructure.” He called on Bush to bring the troops home now.

According to the National Priorities Project, the cost to California taxpayers of funding the war and occupation in Iraq is $57.8 billion, with $15.7 billion coming out of Bay Area taxpayers’ wallets—so far. The Democratic majority Congress voted for an additional $100 billion in war spending in June, and may allocate another $50 billion before the end of 2007. The total costs for the nation could exceed $1.5 trillion.

The National Priorities Project points out that the $15.7 billion cost to the Bay Area could have been used to fund health care coverage for one year for 539,000 people, could have been spent on building 22,900 affordable housing units, paid the salaries of 13,400 teachers, AND paid the tuition of 150,700 students for four years at a State University.

The Bush Administration, Congress, and all the presidential candidates—with the exception of Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich—seem unable or unwilling to stop the waste of taxpayers’ money in the endless war. San Mateo County Congressman Tom Lantos, who initially supported the war, recently called it, “Clearly the most devastating policy and performance in American history.”

The March and Rally was organized by the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) coalition and United for Peace and Justice. A broad range of speakers addressed the rallies, including members of the clergy, representatives of student groups, organizations advocating for the rights of the Palestinian people, immigrants, and political prisoners, and leaders of the American Indian Movement.

- By Paul Burton