INDEPENDENCE DAY THOUGHTS [THE UNCENSORED VIEWS OF IRAQ WAR VETS] IVAW - PHILADELPHIA
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Categories: Action Alerts, Civil Liberties/Privacy, Corporate Accountability / Workers' Rights, Election Reform, Foreign Policy, Media Accountability, Peace and Armed Conflict, Religion, Faith and Religion, Workers' Rights, News, Front Page
Categories: Action Alerts, Civil Liberties/Privacy, Corporate Accountability / Workers' Rights, Election Reform, Foreign Policy, Media Accountability, Peace and Armed Conflict, Religion, Faith and Religion, Workers' Rights, News, Front Page
The Struggle for Independence
Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) in coordination with Labor Against the War hold Independence Day observance in Philadelphia to mark the First American Revolution.
Bobby Hanafin
Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired (69-94)
Philadelphia: In celebration of the American Revolution, Iraq Veterans Against the War held a "Patriots' Town Hall Gathering" on July 2 on the 3rd Floor of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees(AFSCME)District Council 47 Union Hall, located at 1606 Walnut St.
EDITOR'S NOTE: During the Vietnam War, organized labor was in large part a part of the pro-war sentiment. Labor (or the Hard Hats as members were referred to) were the most aggressive and brutal opposition to the anti-war movement. It is ironic to see that the role of organized labor has shifted during the Iraq War to be spearheaded by Labor Against the War.
The keynote speakers for this event were John Braxton, U.S. Labor Against the War Steering Committee Member, and T.J. Buonomo, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) Organizer and Former Military Intelligence Officer, U.S. Army.
After the fall of Baghdad in 2003, U.S. officials rewrote the laws of Iraq to enable foreign investors to buy up Iraqi national assets without any requirement to reinvest much-needed capital into the country. One of the few Iraqi laws they kept in place was a Saddam-era law which prohibits public sector workers from unionizing.
This legal measure has been used to suppress grassroots dissent against ongoing U.S.-Iraq negotiations over the role of foreign oil companies in Iraq's energy industry.
These highly secretive negotiations have in turn contributed significantly to political instability throughout the country, frustrating the ostensible U.S. military mission there. Iraq Veterans Against the War highlighted these issues and related them to our own nation's struggle for independence.
Mr. Braxton spoke on the struggle of Iraqi workers to unionize in the face of U.S. and Iraqi government repression.
Mr. Buonomo spoke on the legacy of the American Revolution and its relevance to U.S. foreign policy in Iraq.
Click here for more IVAW Updates
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION
Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) in coordination with Labor Against the War hold Independence Day observance in Philadelphia to mark the First American Revolution.
Bobby Hanafin
Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired (69-94)
Philadelphia: In celebration of the American Revolution, Iraq Veterans Against the War held a "Patriots' Town Hall Gathering" on July 2 on the 3rd Floor of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees(AFSCME)District Council 47 Union Hall, located at 1606 Walnut St.
EDITOR'S NOTE: During the Vietnam War, organized labor was in large part a part of the pro-war sentiment. Labor (or the Hard Hats as members were referred to) were the most aggressive and brutal opposition to the anti-war movement. It is ironic to see that the role of organized labor has shifted during the Iraq War to be spearheaded by Labor Against the War.
The keynote speakers for this event were John Braxton, U.S. Labor Against the War Steering Committee Member, and T.J. Buonomo, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) Organizer and Former Military Intelligence Officer, U.S. Army.
After the fall of Baghdad in 2003, U.S. officials rewrote the laws of Iraq to enable foreign investors to buy up Iraqi national assets without any requirement to reinvest much-needed capital into the country. One of the few Iraqi laws they kept in place was a Saddam-era law which prohibits public sector workers from unionizing.
This legal measure has been used to suppress grassroots dissent against ongoing U.S.-Iraq negotiations over the role of foreign oil companies in Iraq's energy industry.
These highly secretive negotiations have in turn contributed significantly to political instability throughout the country, frustrating the ostensible U.S. military mission there. Iraq Veterans Against the War highlighted these issues and related them to our own nation's struggle for independence.
Mr. Braxton spoke on the struggle of Iraqi workers to unionize in the face of U.S. and Iraqi government repression.
Mr. Buonomo spoke on the legacy of the American Revolution and its relevance to U.S. foreign policy in Iraq.
Click here for more IVAW Updates
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION
