In June, the AFL-CIO's two biggest unions, the Service Employees

International Union and the American Federation of State, County and

Municipal Employees met at their respective conventions. Both passed

resolutions clearly condemning the war in Iraq.

SEIU, which with 1.7 million members claims to be Americaís fastest growing

union, took up the platform passed in October 2003 by the multi-union group

US Labor Against the War.  This platform calls for "A Just Foreign Policy

based on International law and global justice... An end to the U.S.

Occupation of Iraq; The Redirecting of the Nation's Resources from inflated

military spending to meeting the needs of working families ...Supporting

Our Troops and their families by bringing our troops home

safely...Protecting Workers Rights, Civil Rights, Civil Liberties and the

Rights of Immigrants... andÝSolidarity with workers around the world...".

In addition, the SEIU resolved "That SEIU will work with all religious,

community, political, and foreign policy groups (such as USLAW) who support

the principles outlined in the [SEIUís] January 2004 letter to President

Bush." The resolution was submitted by the union's International Executive

Board and is reported to have been adopted unanimously.

AFSCME, which with a more devolved structure has 1.4 million members spread

over 40 regional councils and almost 3000 locals, saw a different process.

Three locals submtted resolutions, one attacking the principle and practice

of pre-emptive war as "conquest and neo-colonizing an oil rich Arab

nation.... using American troops to impose our own conception of government

onto the people of Iraq... with the long-term aim of dominating and

exploiting the petroleum industry" , while the other resolutions called for

US troops to be withdrawn from Iraq "now".  The three  were combined by the

International leadership, using the language of the first but adding

wording that called on President Bush to "bring our troops home as soon as

possible".  A number of anti-war delegates decided to conduct a floor fight

to relace "as soon as possible" with "now".

In moving the amendment to make this change, the author of this article

pointed out how the corporate media have concealed the deaths of workers in

uniform: "Since the war began, only one flag-draped coffin has been

officially sanctioned to appear on the front pages of commercial newspapers

or on network TV --- that of the late union-buster and trader of arms for

hostages and of crack cocaine to fund his illegal wars in central America,

the great deceiver, Ronald Reagan.

Where were the state funerals and the 21 gun salutes for the over 800 of

our working class brothers and sisters in uniform who have died so far in

Iraq - for the profits of the arms industry, the oil industry, and the

privateers who are feasting off the wreckage that US aggression has made of

Iraq? And what are we supposed to say to the families of the thousands upon

thousands of Iraqis killed in the last 15 months?... The situation is

getting worse, not better.  Abu Ghraib only serves to underline the fact

that no good can come of a continued US presence in Iraqî.

The amendment was carried and thus AFSCME, whose membership includes an

unusually large number of military veterans, ended up taking a position

which is both more up-to-date and more sharply anti-war than that of USLAW.

Coming a few days before the Supreme Court's decision negating the White

House policy towards the prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, and the Federal

Reserve Boardís moves towards higher interest rates, these moves on the

part of these two huge unions signal the further unravelling of the Bush

regime.

Steve Edwards, President, AFSCME Local 2858, and member of Chicago Labor

Against the War.