In July, delegates to the AFT convention passed a resolution which, while expressing continued support for American troops, resolves that the AFT “oppose the war in Iraq and call upon our country’s leaders to withdraw all troops, bases and military operations in a rapid and timely manner.”

In 2003, on the eve of U.S. military action in Iraq, the AFT executive council passed a resolution noting “the dangers posed by the regime of Saddam Hussein to world peace and security.” It expressed support for the United Nations resolution requiring Saddam to abandon the country’s weapons of mass destruction program. “AFT supports the U.N. resolution with the hope that war can be avoided, but with the sober recognition that military conflict may become unavoidable as a last resort.”

Delegates to the 2004 AFT convention adopted a resolution pointing out that the political missteps and strategic mistakes by the Bush administration have “left Iraqis in a state of insecurity, further isolated the U.S., and squandered much of the good will felt by Iraqis and Americans at the fall of Saddam.”

The 2006 resolution calls on the AFT to support an AFL-CIO resolution on the war in Iraq and “actively encourage its state and local affiliates to join the AFT in working with the AFL-CIO to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home rapidly.”

The AFL-CIO resolution says the “American people were misinformed before the war began and have not been informed about the reality on the ground and the very difficult challenges that lie ahead.”

Citing the legal obstacles to Iraqi workers’ efforts to form independent labor unions, the AFL-CIO resolution calls on the Iraqi government to recognize International Labor Organization standards that call for protecting the right of workers to organize free from all government and employer interference.