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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Nancy Wohlforth, Office and Professional Employees International Union, U.S. Labor Against the War, 1660 L Street, N.W., Suite 801, Washington, DC 20036, 202/675-3210, nwohlforth@opeiu.org

U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW) comprises more than 125 national, regional, state and local unions and other labor organizations representing millions of working people committed to: an end to U.S. occupation of Iraq; support for our troops and their families by bringing all U.S. troops safely home now; redirection of U.S. resources to meet human needs at home and abroad; advocating, educating and mobilizing the U.S. labor movement for a just foreign policy; protection of workers' rights, civil rights, civil liberties, the rights of immigrants; and solidarity with workers and their organizations around the world. Spearheading the antiwar movement within labor, USLAW got the AFL-CIO to adopt a resolution calling for rapid return of all U.S. troops, marking the first time the federation has any major U.S. military action.

USLAW has sent delegations of union activists to Iraq to investigate the condition of workers and their unions and report back to the labor movement here; it has launched a campaign in support of labor rights in Iraq and sponsored a 25-city U.S. tour for Iraqi labor leaders that reached thousands of working people directly and hundreds of thousands through media reports and a video documenting the tour; organized opportunities for Iraq War and other veterans, members of military families and Gold Star parents to speak at union meetings and events; and developed a Website that has one of the largest archives of material on the Iraqi labor movement, the war, and the movement to end it on the Internet.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this session, attendees will be able to

(
• Describe the formation, mission, growth and tactics of the antiwar movement within organized labor and understand its significance; and (
• Describe the impact of the war on workers' rights in the U.S. and in Iraq.

Keywords: War, Labor

Related Web page: www.uslaboragainstwar.org/

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No