Sept. 21, 2004

Whereas: our ancestors fought tirelessly in this country for the right to organize unions and ensure that our government recognized this right because it is a cornerstone of democracy; and

Whereas: the current administration, with the complicity of Congress, has cooperated with big business in attacking our rights, using legislation such as the Patriot Acts I and II, denying the right of hundreds of thousands of Federal employees to belong to unions and bargain and forcing various workers to work under Taft-Hartley injunctions; and

Whereas: the Bush administration, with the complicity of Congress, has negotiated trade agreements costing the jobs of hundreds of thousands of US workers, calling this a move towards a healthy economy, while promoting other economic policies, such as privatization and deregulation which has resulted in the loss of over 3 million jobs since January, 2001; and

Whereas: the Bush administration, with the complicity of Congress has given corporations and the wealthy huge tax breaks, while cutting billions of dollars in spending for social services, education, and other government programs won by working people through decades of effort; and

Whereas: the Bush administration, with the complicity of Congress, has excused all these policies by using the terrible events of September 11 to label any opposition unpatriotic and a threat to national security, has taken our country into an unjust war under the false assertion that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, costing the lives of hundreds of U.S. service members and innocent Iraqi civilians, and is whipping up fear and even further to try to stampede the public into giving it another term in office; and

Be it therefore resolved: that GEO, a local amalgamated unit of United Auto Workers Local 2322, endorses and will publicize the Million Worker March, set for October 17, 2004 in Washington, D.C.; and

Be it further resolved: GEO will encourage other union locals and members and working people generally to attend and/or participate in any way possible to support the reprioritization of federal spending to affirmative action programs, education, health care, housing and other social programs and to demand that politicians and the administration listen to the people who pay their salaries, rather than the voices of big business and the rich; and

Be it further resolved: that this resolution be forwarded to unions, labor councils and labor organizations, as well as other organizations to which workers belong, whether organized or not, so that they can take similar action to organize for the Million Worker March as soon as possible; and