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June 16, 2023
Resolution on Ukraine, from the Sonoma State University chapter of the California Faculty Association, late May, 2023
WHEREAS Putin has openly declared that Ukraine has no right to exist and his war crimes there include:
And,
WHEREAS this is part of a pattern, Putin has
He has proved that if he succeeds he will not stop with the invasion
of Ukraine. All of history shows such dictators cannot be stopped by
kind words and “negotiations”. And
WHEREAS Ukraine has a small but vibrant independent union movement (https://www.kvpu.org.ua/en/). Those unions are struggling for worker rights against the Ukrainian employers, against government neoliberal policies, and against Putin’s invasion. If that invasion succeeds, the free and independent unions will be crushed, along with any hope for democracy. And
WHEREAS the Putin regime has built links with extreme right, nationalist, and anti-labor forces. In the US attendees at the racist America First conference in 2022 chanted “Putin, Putin, Putin”. If Putin’s invasion even partly succeeds, it will strengthen these forces in the United States and around the world.
And while the great majority of the Ukrainian people have shown their determination to fight the invasion, they need arms to do so. For whatever motives, the United States is helping provide those arms. The far right - Marjorie Taylor Greene, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Rand Paul and others — are mounting a campaign to oppose this.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Sonoma Chapter of the California Faculty Association, must unequivocally support our Ukrainian sisters and brothers in their fight against this invasion. They cannot do so without arms. We support the United States providing all the arms Ukraine needs with no strings attached. We call for the removal of all Russian troops from Ukraine and for no Russian annexations of any part of that country.
The labor movement must oppose all imperialist invasions, no matter who is the invader. The Ukrainian people’s struggle is our struggle.
The text is from the CFA website <>
Resolution passed by the Communications Workers of America, Local 7250 Executive Board, April 13th 2022. CWA Local 7250 is based in Minneapolis MN and organizes workers at AT&T and DirecTV. And this month Kieran F. Knutson, the president of Local 7250, reiterated this position and called on people to “defend Ukrainian self-determination without strings attached” in an article of June 5, 2023 opposing the anti-Ukrainian stand of Medea Benjamin, see “The left’s confusion harms the Ukrainian people”.
WHEREAS Ukraine has long been under the domination of Russian Czars, the Soviet Union, and now Putin;
WHEREAS this has meant the suppression of Ukrainian culture, the exploitation of workers, and the abuse of the land and resources;
WHEREAS Ukrainian people have continually fought for freedom and self-determination, including the 2014 Revolution of Dignity that overthrew an oppressive Russian puppet government;
WHEREAS the ongoing bloody 2022 invasion and occupation of Ukraine by Russia’s military is an unprovoked unjust, and immoral attempt to crush independent Ukraine – reminiscent of the U.S. government’s own ongoing attempts to dominate smaller and poorer countries around the globe;
WHEREAS this invasion has already killed thousands of civilians, destroyed cities and infrastructure, and created millions of refugees;
WHEREAS the heroic popular resistance of the Ukrainian people has frustrated Russia’s plans and inspired working-class people world-wide;
And WHEREAS a courageous and bold anti-war movement has emerged in Russia that shows the Russian people are not our enemies but important allies
BE IT RESOLVED that CWA 7250 calls on the Labor Movement and workers everywhere to give our full solidarity to the resistance of the Ukrainian people and demand Russian Troops Out Now!
Further Resolved, that we will look to offer material support (modest as it may be) to Ukrainian unions and workers organizations involved in the fight.
Further Resolved that we call on all countries to open their borders to war refugees from Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and others.
Further Resolved that we call on the United States and the IMF to cancel all of Ukraine’s foreign debt of some $125 billion – these resources should be used to fight the invasion and rebuild from the devastation not to pay interest to the big banks.
Further Resolved that we will support the local Ukrainian community, unions, and activists who organize solidarity rallies here.
And finally, be it Resolved that since we are not hypocrites we must speak up and stand against all imperialism – including that of the United States – because all peoples deserve to be free and determine their own destiny.
The CWA website adds:
For more information on Ukraine:
Ukraine Solidarity Campaign - organizes solidarity and provides information in support of the Ukrainian labor movement
Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group - Ukrainian human rights education and monitoring group
Operation Solidarity - Antiauthoritarian volunteer network organized to help all progressive forces in society to counter imperialist aggression against Ukraine.
Commons Ukrainian "egalitarian and anticapitalist" journal <>
The Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine with other the Ukrainian affiliates of the IndustriALL Global Union and IndustriALL-Europe made a statement on Kakhovka HPP explosion and an environmental disaster in Ukraine, June 7, 2023.
On June 6, 2023, in Ukraine, the Russian aggressor committed a new terrorist act of a global scale and caused a large-scale man-made accident in Ukraine and Europe. The Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant (HPP), which had been occupied by the Russians for a long time, was mined and blown up by the Russians. The dam and engine room are completely destroyed. According to Ukrhydroenergo, the Kakhovka HPP cannot be restored.
Threats to civilians are growing every minute. About 80 settlements are to be evacuated.
Water will destroy cities and villages, buildings, infrastructure, enterprises. And the mechanism for destroying the environment and ecosystems for many years has been started. Pollution from enterprises and their products, for example, petroleum products, chemical materials will lead to massive pollution, and the sanitary-epidemiological crisis will not be delayed. It is already known that more than 450 tons of engine oil, which was in turbines and transformers, fell into the water.
The Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, ZNPP, uses water from the Kakhovka reservoir to cool reactors. The water level required at ZNPP decreases very quickly, which poses a potential threat to ZNPP, and corresponding consequences for the entire European continent and the world.
What exactly will happen to the shore of the Kakhovka reservoir from the side of the ZNPP, which was mined by the occupiers, under the influence of water flows, is currently unknown.
But it is clear that Russian minefields trapped underwater will be blown away by streams of water down.
At the same time, the delegations from the terrorist country Russia and its accomplice Belarus will take part in the 111th annual ILO Conference in Geneva, June 5-16, 2023.
This terrorist country that, according to the Geneva Convention, commits a war crime by blowing up the dam of the Kakhovka hydro power plant, should be expelled from all international organizations and associations.
We call on the International trade unions’ federations to make statements about the inadmissibility of participation of Russia and Belarus in the work of the ILO Conference and other ILO events!
We also apply to you to strengthen assistance to Ukraine in various directions in order to accelerate Ukraine’s victory and bring Russia to justice.
We emphasize that by destroying the Kakhovka HPP, Russia once again committed a war crime, violated the norms of humanitarian law and environmental law. This is a continuation of Russia’s policy to destroy civilian objects, infrastructure and the economy sectors in Ukraine in order to inflict maximum loss of life and destruction. Russia has already caused $700 billion in damage to Ukraine, including destroying entire industrial cities with metallurgical and mining enterprises.
Russia must bear the international responsibility for all its crimes.
We ask you to become the voice of Ukraine on the international platforms.
Help Ukraine to bring peace and security to all its territories!
Sincerely Yours,
12 Ukrainian Affiliates of GU IndustriALL
13 Ukrainian Affiliates of IndustriALL-Europe
The text is from
https://ukrainesolidaritycampaign.org/2023/06/07/ukrainian-trade-unions-statement-on-kakhovka-hpp-explosion-and-an-environmental-disaster-in-ukraine/.
(Note: The IndustriALL Global Union is a global union federation that
was founded in Copenhagen on 19 June 2012, as a merger of the
International Metalworkers' Federation, the International Federation of
Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions, and the
International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation. It
represents more than 50 million working people in over 140 countries.
It's European affiliates are among the members of the IndustriALL -
European Trade Union. More information is at
https://www.industriall-union.org/who-we-are.) <>
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