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UE SAYS 'NO TO WAR'
The following statement was released
in December by UE’s three national officers:
 War on Iraq would be a disaster for the working
people of the United States and the world. War on Iraq would be a living nightmare for the people of Iraq, especially civilians who
have not harmed us in any way and yet would die by the tens of thousands.
War on Iraq would be the anti-solution to the
madness of arms proliferation. War on Iraq would make a wider Middle East war, and use of Iraqi weapons (that actually exist), more,
not less, likely. War would not bring us closer to the goal of genuine multilateral action to eliminate weapons of mass destruction.
Instead, unilateral, preemptive action by the U.S. would endanger world peace and further incite terrorism.
War would place at risk the lives of working-class
youth in uniform. War would be an excuse for an otherwise unthinkable, budget-busting increase in military spending that would leave
basic social needs strapped for decades. Researchers say an Iraq war would cost the U.S. from $99 billion to $1.9 trillion over a
decade. As working people we would pay those costs through higher taxes and diminished education, retirement income, health care and
jobs.
War would be an excuse for the Bush Administration
to aggressively expand its attacks on civil liberties and the rights of workers to organize, bargain and strike. War fever would
further inflame anti-Arab, anti-Muslim prejudice.
War would only enrich the top brass of military
corporations — and, if "successful," the owners of energy corporations. With the blessing of the Bush White House and in
hopes of a "regime change," Big Oil is already making plans to divvy up Iraq’s oil wealth.
The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of
America (UE) states unequivocally that no one, not a single American and not a single Iraqi, should die to boost the profits of oil
and military corporations. We continue to regard a genuinely multilateral, diplomatic approach, sanctioned and directed by the
United Nations, as the best way forward. We believe the billions of dollars President Bush is willing to waste in an unnecessary war
would be far better spent rebuilding our country and meeting its urgent needs for universal health care and quality education.
UE declares, "No to war!" May the U.S.
instead mobilize for peace, justice and equality."
John H. Hovis, General President
Bruce J. Klipple, General Secretary-Treasurer
Robert B. Kingsley, Director of Organization |
