'Unions yes, war no': US unionist to tour Australia

Sydney Stop the War Coalition has confirmed that it will be organising an Australian tour of US Labor Against the War (USLAW) leader Kathy Black. The tour will be in the lead-up to the March 16 Palm Sunday rallies that will mark the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

USLAW was formed in 2003 in response to an unprecedented level of opposition among US unions to the war in Iraq. The organisation mobilises and represents trade union opposition to the war.

The USLAW mission statement advocates for "a just foreign policy" as an alternative to US wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. It notes that big corporations benefit most from the war while working people face the costs of declining government funds for social programs as well as attacks on democratic rights.

Black is a Philadelphia-based Occupational Health and Safety director at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. She has spent the last three decades in various roles in the US union movement.

In addition, she has been active in a range of progressive campaigns including Labor Against Apartheid, the Living Wage Coalition and the Campaign for Contraceptive Coverage. Black is currently one of six national co-conveners of USLAW and is the Philadelphia president of the Coalition of Labor Union Women.

Black's speaking tour will be an important way of promoting the Palm Sunday rallies.

Please contact the Stop the War Coalition on 0413 976 638 if you want to help by promoting the tour within your union or help in any other way. For more information, see <http://www.stopwarcoalition.org>.

From GLW issue 736