On February 8, 2024 the AFL-CIO issued this “Statement on the Situation in Israel and Gaza”:
The AFL-CIO condemns the attacks by Hamas on October 7th and calls for a negotiated cease-fire in Gaza—including the immediate release of all hostages and provision of desperately needed shelter, food, medicine and other humanitarian assistance to Gazans—and reaffirms our support of a two-state solution for long-term peace and security.
This contrasted with an AFL-CIO statement on October 11, 2023 which made no call for a cease-fire and said “we are concerned about the emerging humanitarian crisis that is affecting Palestinians in Gaza and throughout the region” without calling for any action to address it.
The new statement follows a groundswell of labor support for a cease-fire in Gaza. On February 16, seven national unions and over two hundred local unions announced the formation of the National Labor Network for Ceasefire (NLNC) to “end the death and devastation” in the Middle East, and to expand support for the ceasefire among unions nationally.
Together, unions calling for a ceasefire represent over 9 million union members – more than half the labor movement in the United States. They include American Postal Workers Union (APWU), the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), the National Education Association (NEA), National Nurses United (NNU), the United Auto Workers (UAW), and the United Electrical Workers (UE), joined by two hundred local unions and labor organizations.
A recent study found that the climate warming greenhouse gas emissions released during just the first sixty days of the war in Gaza — 281,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide — were greater than the annual carbon footprint of more than 20 of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations. More than 99% can be attributed to Israel’s aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza.
For February 8 AFL-CIO statement: https://aflcio.org/press/releases/afl-cio-statement-situation-israel-and-gaza
For the website of the National Labor Network for a Ceasefire (NLNC): https://www.laborforceasefire.org
For more on the impact of Gaza war on global warming: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/09/emissions-gaza-israel-hamas-war-climate-change