Northwest labor press., September 02, 2011, Page 25, Image 25

...Cost of 9/11 attacks on workers is incalculable
“There is no way to fund what we
mitment to bring them home rapidly.
tions and threaten independent politi- The invasion began in March 2003.
(From Page 1)
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan The AFL-CIO reaffirmed that resolu- must do as a nation without bringing
cal and social activism: “We cannot ac-
Pat Friend, who was president of
our troops home from Iraq and
cept excessive secrecy and unaccount- caused a boom for some union work- tion at its 2009 convention.
Association of Flight Attendants at the
About 47,000 U.S. troops continue Afghanistan,” the AFL-CIO Executive
able power that deny Americans the ers making supplies for the military,
time, says the airline industry never
ability to question the authority and like Western Star trucks, Danner Boots, to occupy Iraq today, and 100,000 are Council said in an Aug. 3, 2011 state-
truly recovered. Airline employment
ment. “The militarization of our for-
evaluate the conduct of their govern- and Gerber Knives in the Portland area. now in Afghanistan.
today is still below what it was prior to
Close to 10 years in, U.S. casualties eign policy has proven to be a costly
But they also took a toll on working
ment,” the labor federation’s Executive
the attacks. The biggest airlines entered
families with members overseas. At its are over 6,000 killed and 41,000 mistake. It is time to invest at home.”
Council said in a resolution.
bankruptcy, their employee pensions
For working people, the full cost of
On Nov. 19, 2001, Congress passed 2005 convention, the AFL-CIO passed wounded. Direct government expendi-
terminated and taken over by the Pen-
a law federalizing airport security, cre- a resolution voicing support for the tures for the wars top $1.3 trillion thus the 9/11 attacks is incalculable. The
sion Benefit Guaranty
ating the Transporta- troops but also declaring that the Amer- far — money that might otherwise have events of September 11, 2001, continue
Corporation. With the
tion Security Admin- ican people were misinformed before paid for things like health care, educa- to have an impact, in economics, poli-
Direct
government
industry in freefall,
tics, and war.
istration. But airport the war began, and calling for a com- tion, or infrastructure.
airline unions agreed expenditures for
screeners would have
to wage givebacks, but
to wait until President
wages never returned the wars top $1.3
George W. Bush left
to the earlier levels,
trillion
thus
far
—
office before they
even after air travel
win the right to
stabilized.
money that might could
unionize. Year after
Thousands of air-
year, Bush threatened
craft manufacturing otherwise have
to veto any homeland
workers also lost their paid for things
security legislation
jobs in the aftermath
that included union
like
health
care,
of 9/11, as airplane or-
rights for the screen-
ders collapsed. Within education, or
ers. And in November
a year of the attacks,
2002,
Congress
Boeing had laid off up infrastructure.
passed the Homeland
to 30,000 workers.
Security Act, combin-
Meanwhile, at the site of the col-
ing 22 federal agencies into one super-
lapsed towers, working people — par-
agency with expanded funding and a
ticularly building trades workers from
mission focused on terrorism. One of
New York and the vicinity — mobi-
the agencies, the Federal Emergency
lized a massive search and rescue and
Management Administration (FEMA),
cleanup effort. They and thousands of
was sufficiently distracted by its new
other workers in the area inhaled toxic
focus that it was unprepared when Hur-
dust from the pulverized towers, dust
ricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in
which contained over 2,500 contami-
2005.
nants, including asbestos, lead, and
No Iraqi nationals had taken part in
mercury. The exposure led to thou-
the 9/11 attacks, and Al Qaeda had no
sands of illnesses.
presence in Iraq. But in late 2002, the
War, too, came swiftly on the heels
Bush Administration began to build a
of the attack. On Oct. 7, 2001, the
case for war in Iraq, alleging that Iraqi
United States and several allied gov-
dictator Saddam Hussein was seeking
ernments invaded Afghanistan. None
to develop weapons of mass destruc-
of the 9/11 attackers were Afghan; 15
tion and could attack the United States.
were Saudi, two from United Arab
Congress voted to authorize the use of
Emirates and one each from Lebanon
U.S. Armed Forces against Iraq. Hun-
and Egypt. But the attackers were
dreds of local and international unions
trained and funded by the al-Qaeda ter-
took part in the global anti-war
rorist organization led by Osama Bin
protests; other unions remained neutral.
Laden, which used Afghanistan as a
base of operations. And the Taliban
government balked at handing Osama
bin Laden over to U.S. authorities. The
invasion toppled the Taliban govern-
ment; a military occupation continues
to this day.
On Oct. 26, 2001, Congress passed
the USA PATRIOT Act: It authorized
the indefinite detention of non-citizens;
expanded telephone and Internet sur-
veillance; expanded government au-
thority to conduct searches, including
Lodge 63 in Gladstone, Lodge 1005 in Gladstone, Lodge 1432 in Gladstone, W12 in Klamath Falls, W246 in Springfield,
“sneak and peek” searches in which
subjects aren’t told their property has
W261 in Central Point, W2 in Aberdeen, W38 in Shelton, W130 in Centralia, W157 in Tacoma,
been searched; and enabled the govern-
W536 in Longview, W98 in Arcata, California, W364 in Lewiston, Idaho, and Local 88 in Butte, Montana
ment to brand groups as terrorist or-
ganizations and deport their non-citizen
members. It also granted the FBI broad
access to individuals’ medical, financial
and educational records, even lists of
what library books they checked out;
and for the first time allowed the CIA
to gather information from other agen-
cies about American citizens and resi-
dents.
At the time, the AFL-CIO warned
that domestic spying could eventually
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, 25 Cornell Ave., Gladstone, OR/503-656-1475 or 503-238-5550
sweep in unions and citizens organiza-
Labor Day Is Our Day! Be Union! Be Proud!
From the Officers, Representatives and Office Staff of
Machinists District W24
SEPTEMBER 2, 2011
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
PAGE 25