Irish Trade Unionists call for boycott of war work

national | miscellaneous | news report Tuesday April 01, 2003 14:41 by Alan MacSimoin - Trade Union Campaign Against the War tucaw at eircom dot net

A couple of us have got together and drawn up the pledge below, which calls on the workers in Shannon to refuse to co-operate with the re-fuelling of US military planes. The idea behind it is to try to get a large number of trade unionists to issue the call and also to pledge themselves to support any worker who might be disciplined for doing so. TUCAW has no existance beyond this petition and is not connected to any political party - it is simply one more contribution towards stopping the war.

Among those who have already signed are:
Mary Enright (President, Dublin Council of Trade Unions and INTO Dublin City North branch),
Des Bonass (ATGWU 3/102 branch & Executive of DCTU),
Clare Daly (SIPTU, Dublin Airport branch committee),
Des Derwin (President, SIPTU Electronics & Engineering branch and member of Dublin Regional Executive),
Denis Keane (President, CPSU),
Eddie Conlon (Executive member, TUI),
Pat Cahill (Vice-President ASTI),
Owen McCormack (NBRU and secretary of Bus Workers Action Group),
Michael O'Brien (Executive member, PSEU),
Anne Marie O'Connor (former member, PSEU Executive),
Mary Cahillane (Executive member, INTO),
Joe Moore (Secretary, CWU Cork and member of Cork Council of Trade Unions),
Brendan Archibold (national official, MANDATE),
Frank Keoghan (Executive member, TEEU),
Carmel Gates (President, NIPSA)

We know that this initiative in itself is not enough to bring about our objective, but we feel that it would go some way towards creating the climate in which workers in Shannon who may be thinking of doing something might feel more able to do so.

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TO ALL TRADE UNIONISTS AT SHANNON AIRPORT

Dear Colleagues,

The planes, weapons troops and material stopping over at Shannon are part of the war effort which is killing innocent civilians in Iraq. We, as fellow trade unionists, are asking you, the workers of Shannon, to make a stand against this unjust, illegal and horrible war.

We realise, as trade unionists from both public and private sectors from all over the country who have for many years fought for jobs and workers' rights, and supported the Shannon stop over, that it is not easy for you to contemplate action of this type. Yet we ask you to do so, to do one of the biggest acts in Ireland against this war so far by withdrawing your labour from US military planes and troops using the Airport. We are convinced that this will not lead to the closure of Shannon but to greater respect for the workers there.

Please meet in your Branches and Sections to discuss what you can do. We ask you to refuse to refuel or offer any service to the war machine. But any significant action - a half-day boycott to begin with - would greatly add to the movement against the war. A war opposed by most Irish people. Even action by a small number of you could be enough to start the ball rolling.

Should any attempt be made to discipline or victimise you for any action you might take, we pledge to defend you and to campaign in our unions for your defence. We also call on the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to state that it will defend and support any workers at Shannon who will not co-operate with servicing the war machine.

Yours sincerely,

NAME UNION BRANCH UNION POSITION (if any)

all signatures in a personal capacity

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To get petition sheets to bring into work and/or give to friends who are trade union members, send your postal address to [email protected]