On Saturday President Trump, who ran for office pledging to keep the U.S. out of military entanglements overseas, ordered extensive military strikes on Iran. These strikes are unconstitutional and reckless, and will make the world a more dangerous place on many levels. They come at great cost in both human lives and treasure.
In a poll conducted in November by the MedicareForAll PAC, over 50 percent of voters expressed support for the single-payer “Medicare for All” healthcare system that UE has long demanded. After listening to a robust and balanced description of a government-provided system that noted that taxes would increase for some Americans if implemented, 54 percent of voters supported such a system. The support is especially pronounced among Black Americans (77 percent support), women under age 50 (71 percent support), and those under 30 (74 percent support).
The UE General Executive Board has issued a statement condemning the murders of Alex Jeffrey Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, demanding that their killers be held legally accountable, calling for a no vote on the Homeland Security Appropriations bill that is up for Senate approval, and demanding that Congress abolish ICE entirely.
In a move reminiscent of Cold War-era attacks on UE, the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee, fueled by misinformation from far-right political groups, has demanded five years’ worth of financial audits from the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). This is a clear attempt to discredit one of the most militant and effective unions in the U.S., and a close UE ally.
This past weekend, the administration escalated its attacks on Venezuela, kidnapping the sitting President and First Lady. UE encourages all UE members and allies to take action by joining local protests against war and by demanding that their elected officials at all levels publicly condemn this attack. U.S. Senators and Members of Congress can be contacted by calling the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Contact information for state governors and representatives can be found at usa.gov/elected-officials.
In a rare display of bipartisan support for workers, 20 Republicans joined Congressional Democrats last week to buck the Republican House leadership and force a vote on the “Protect America’s Workforce Act,” which passed by a vote of 231-195.
This legislation would restore collective bargaining rights to the more than one million federal workers who lost their union contracts earlier this year. The executive orders canceling the workers’ contracts and collective bargaining rights have been called the largest single act of unionbusting in American history.
Our government’s escalating attacks on Venezuela are unconstitutional, immoral, and a massive waste of resources. The idea that Venezuela represents a military threat to the U.S. is patently absurd; the use of the U.S. military to carry out lethal attacks on fishing boats and seize oil tankers amounts to simple murder and piracy. We demand that our government immediately cease these attacks, and that Congress exercise its power to reign in this overreach by the executive branch.
On October 23 the UE officers released a statement condemning the ongoing ICE raids against immigrant workers and families, and the use of the National Guard to suppress protests. “The robber barons of our own age, the billionaires who run the Trump administration, are increasingly embracing violence and repression as they seek to drive more money and power into their own hands and silence any criticism of their exploitation,” they declared.
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) — also known as “NAFTA 2.0” — has failed to deliver any of its promised benefits to workers. Since the trade agreement was negotiated by President Trump during his first term, the U.S. trade deficit has skyrocketed. One major reason: the USMCA failed to add the provisions needed to prevent corporations from shipping good-paying jobs to Mexico to take advantage of ongoing labor rights violations, lax pollution controls, and abysmally low wages.
On Saturday, October 18, UE will join with Labor for Democracy and other allies to fight for freedom of speech, union rights, and the right to protest. At over 2,100 events in all 50 states, in DC and internationally, working people will gather together to demand #NoKings and #NoBillionaires making decisions for our workplaces, families and communities.