This resolution was passed unanimously after amendment at the November 2nd 2023 all-store meeting. NSLU normally publishes motion and resolution texts only in the meeting minutes of these meetings, but this resolution is of special importance to current events and is here published as it was adopted by the membership:
WHEREAS, as people of conscience we mourn the loss of life everywhere, regardless of nationality;
WHEREAS, as union members we recognize that every human being deserves to live a life of peace and dignity, regardless of where they live and where they work;
WHEREAS, labor must play a leading role in the movement for peace and justice at home and around the world;
WHEREAS, the Gaza Strip is home to 2.3 million displaced people, half of whom are under 18 years old;
WHEREAS, the ongoing collective punishment of these civilians - by means of constant bombing, the shutting off of water and electricity, and the denial of food and medical aid - constitutes a war crime under the Geneva Convention;
WHEREAS, in the past month, over nine thousand Palestinians, around forty percent of whom were children, have been killed in the Gaza strip by the Israeli military.
WHEREAS, a growing number of international and local unions are demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip;
AND WHEREAS we live and work in the United States of America, whose support and funding for Israel's occupation is necessary for its continuation
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union stands completely behind the Palestinian struggle for self-determination and an end to the Israeli apartheid system.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Union calls on Oregon’s Congressional delegation to support United States House Resolution 786, calling for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the union will heed the call of Palestinian civil society to support the boycott, divest, and sanction movement with the full withdrawal of its current and future resources from companies complicit in the system of Israeli apartheid.
