On Thursday, June 5, some fifteen union members and other activists
participated in an emergency picket line for more than two hours outside a
"Celebration" of the "60th Anniversary of Israel" held at AFSCME District
Council 37, the largest city workers' union in New York.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F74gWWvPs2I

The picket was sponsored by New York City Labor Against the War (NYCLAW). It
was endorsed by Al-Awda NY; Adalah-NY; New Jersey Solidarity-Activists for the
Liberation of Palestine;
Center for Constitutional Rights; Guyanese-American Workers United; and Not
in Our Name-Toronto.

Protesters carried placards and banners proclaiming "Labor for Palestine,"
"End DC 37 Support for Apartheid Israel," "Israel is a Racist Slave-Labor
State," "Free Palestinian Workers from Israeli Apartheid," "Support
Palestinian Labor Against Zionist Racism" "Gaza is Today's Warsaw Ghetto,"
and "Free Palestine -- From the River to the Sea."

Despite its small size, the emergency picket achieved its purpose of showing
that such protests in U.S. labor are both possible and necessary.

By ensuring that such events did not go unchallenged, it emboldened
protesters and visibly demoralized those who came to "celebrate." It was
also an opportunity to distribute hundreds of the attached flyers to DC 37
staff and members -- predominantly People of Color -- many of whom were
disturbed to learn of their union's support for Israeli Apartheid.

Please contact nyclaw01@gmail.com for more information about upcoming Labor
for Palestine efforts in the U.S.

*Background of Labor for Palestine*

The June 5 picket built on more than six years of NYCLAW work against
Israeli Apartheid.

*April 20, 2002*
NYCLAW helps ensure unified action, with full inclusion of Palestine, in the
first national antiwar protest following 9/11, which takes place in
Washington, D.C.

*May 21, 2002*
NYCLAW pickets the Midtown Manhattan appearance of Israeli Consul General
Alon Pinkus before the AFL-CIO Israel Bonds National Labor Division.
http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/2002/05/21/no-labor-money-for-israeli-war-...

*December 2002*
NYCLAW cosponsors U.S. tour by Palestinian trade unionists.
http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/2002/12/13/new-york-city-labor-against-the...

*March 20, 2004*
NYCLAW successfully fights for UFPJ to join with the ANSWER Coalition in
unified New York City antiwar protest that includes Palestinian demands.
http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/2004/03/22/m20-nyc-antiwar-labor-report/
http://www.wrmea.com/archives/April_2004/0404032.html

*April 2004*
NYCLAW and Al-Awda-NY initiate Labor for Palestine, which calls for:
Palestinian national, democratic and labor rights throughout historic
Palestine, including the right of all Palestinian refugees to return to
their homes and land; An end to U.S. military and economic support for
Israeli Apartheid; and Divestment of all labor investments in Israeli
Apartheid.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3871.shtml

*October 7, 2004*
NYCLAW helps organize "From Palestine to the US — Labor Fights Back" forum,
at AFSCME District Council 1707 in New York City.
http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/2004/10/07/from-palestine-to-the-us-labor-...

*October 17, 2004*
Labor for Palestine is announced from the platform of the Million Worker
March in Washington, DC.
http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/2004/10/17/speech-at-million-worker-march-...

*November 20, 2004*
Labor for Palestine simultaneously presented at a NYCLAW's "Resistance to
Empire" conference held at AFSCME District Council 1707, and at Al-Awda's
West Coast Regional Conference in San Diego, where it "was given center
stage as one of Al-Awda's most critical campaigns for international
justice."
http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/2004/11/20/two-oceans-of-solidarity/

*December 2004*
Labor for Palestine issues founding statement.
http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/2004/12/01/263/

*December 2, 2004*
NYCLAW proposes that U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW): (1) Condemn Israeli
attacks on the rights of Palestinian labor; (2) Join a U.S. labor delegation
to examine the conditions of Palestinian workers; (3) Organize a U.S.
speaking for Palestinian trade unionists; and (4) Discuss joining LFP and
the growing movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions. USLAW declines
to do so.
http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/2004/12/02/solidarity-with-palestinian-wor...

*July 23, 2005*
Labor for Palestine conference in Chicago coincides with AFL-CIO convention.
http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/2005/07/23/rebuilding-labor-at-the-afl-cio...

*August 11, 2006*
NYCLAW statement denounces U.S. labor leaders' support and/or silence about
the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
http://nyclaw01.wordpress.com/2006/08/11/nyclaw-statement-labor-and-the-...

*August 2007*
NYCLAW participates in a two-week delegation of attorneys and activists to
the '67 and '48 areas of Palestine.

*March 23, 2008*
NYCLAW statement on U.S. Labor and Gaza is endorsed by hundreds of activists
around the world.
http://www.petitiononline.com/Gaza/petition.html