By Mark Friedman

SAN DIEGO, California — More than 700 delegates representing 2.3 million workers in nearly 2,000 union locals throughout California gathered here for the biennial state AFL-CIO convention on July 16. Delegates unanimously passed a resolution opposing Washington’s inclusion of Cuba in its notorious list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism” (SSOT) and urging Cuba’s removal from it.

“We strongly urge the international executive board of the national AFL-CIO to state their opposition to the inclusion of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism,” reads the resolution of the state’s labor federation (see below).

The team working on getting the resolution passed included Tom Brandon, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the California State Conference of the International Association of Machinists (IAM); Bill Camp of “Building Relations with Cuban Labor”; and representatives of IAM Local 1484 and of the Los Angeles U.S. Hands Off Cuba Committee.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), and the California Conference of Machinists, had passed similar resolutions recently. In addition, the ILWU donated $10,000 to the Global Health Partners campaign to send pacemakers to Cuba.

The AFL-CIO convention also reflected union organizing efforts in California and other states.

One of the keynote speakers at the meeting was Shawn Fain, President of the United Auto Workers (UAW). The UAW won a successful nationwide strike last year and launched a campaign to unionize unorganized plants in the wake of that victory.

“Our mission is to transform the UAW from a company union to a fighting union,” Fain said in his speech. “The way to do this is through democratic unions. Our strike was about the frustration of working people on wages, healthcare, retirement insecurity, and an effort to add dignity to our lives. We hit the corporate class and won, because we put union members in the driver’s seat.”

Sara Nelson, representing the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), reported on the AFA’s campaign to organize Delta Airlines. “When we use our power, we will take back our lives,” she told the convention. She then led a spirited march of more than 500 to the San Diego Airport to support the organizing efforts of flight attendants and ramp workers at Delta.

Mark Friedman is a member of the International Association of Machinists Local 1484 and the LA Hands Off Cuba Committee.

*

The following is the full text of the resolution on Cuba the California AFL-CIO convention approved on July 16, 2024. The original can be found here.

CALIFORNIA AFL-CIO

2024 CONVENTION

Resolution #1

A RESOLUTION URGING THAT CUBA BE REMOVED FROM U.S. LIST OF STATE SPONSORS OF TERRORISM

Presented by: AFT 2279 Los Rios College Federation of Teachers and OPEIU Local 29

WHEREAS, President Biden has the authority to remove Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list simply by his signature on an executive order; and

WHEREAS, the consequences of this claim that Cuba is a State Sponsor of Terrorism continues to inflict daily hardships and deprivations on the Cuban people creating shortages of basic necessities like food and medicine, and severely restricting international financial and trade opportunities. It prevents Cuba from obtaining vital medical equipment and supplies, and even impedes humanitarian aid responses to catastrophic events like Hurricane Ian which devastated both Florida and Cuba, thus harming the Cuban people who President Biden’s Administration claims to support; and

WHEREAS, Former President Trump arbitrarily reinstated Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism less than a week after the January 6th attempted coup, reversed the Obama-Biden Administration’s 2015 decision to remove this status after an exhaustive review by the U.S. State Department; and

WHEREAS, Cuba does not satisfy any criteria for inclusion on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism; and

WHEREAS, Trump’s arbitrary designation has subjected the people of Cuba to further sanctions and international financial restrictions that limit the nation’s ability to carry out critical financial transactions, including those needed to advance efforts to combat the COVID pandemic and improve its economy; and

WHEREAS, in 2021, 117 members of the U.S. Congress called for a new policy of engagement with Cuba.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO strongly urges the International Executive Board of the National AFL-CIO to state their opposition to the inclusion of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the executive board of the National AFL-CIO forward a copy of this resolution to President Joe Biden and inform President Biden of the AFL-CIO’s opposition to the inclusion of Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Referred to the Resolutions Committee       

SM: OPEIU 29 AFL CIO

If you appreciate this article, subscribe to World-Outlook (for free) by clicking on the link below.

Type your email in the box below and click on “SUBSCRIBE.” You will receive a notification in your in-box on which you will have to click to confirm your subscription.