So what has USLAW been up to?
Well, we started what seems like ages ago in 2016, long before we entered the Age of Trump with our National Assembly.
There, we decided to focus on some critical areas of work:
-Resolving to address the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia in a concrete way
-Forging a path forward to develop new leadership intentionally with the goal of transformation into a powerful 21st Century organization
-Using our movement's profound commitment to solidarity to confront labor's connection to the military-industrial complex
-Strengthening our organizational involvement in making the connection between the war economy and Just Transition
… keeping in mind that our alliances and campaign work that we have had lots of success with needed to continue as appropriate.
2016 pre-election:
-Held a successful event in NYC around labor’s role Islamophobia in cooperation with 1199 NYC that brought in new donors, participants, and recognition by the City of New York’s Commission on Human Rights
-Built new relationships with CLCs in 7 cities as we worked to create a resolution against Islamophobia
-Participated in the People’s Summit (an event led by National Nurses United and The People for Bernie Sanders) as panelists in the only forum on foreign policy
-Spoke to our allies in Iraq Veterans Against War at their national convention at the Stony Point Center in Stony Point, NY
-Submitted testimony for the Iraq War Anniversary Tribunal held by CodePINK and other allies in Washington, DC.
-Our actions and petitions in cooperation with campaigns like the People’s Budget collected over 4000 signatures
-Participated in a coalition effort to push the United States away from a deep relationship with Saudi Arabia
-Recruited young union members from AFL-CIO and local union young worker programs to shadow US Labor Against the War co-conveners, two of whom remain connected to leadership and actively work with USLAW
-Participated in the organizing, development and leadership of the Labor Network of Sustainability as it continues to push for a Just Transition
-Fundraising efforts increased dramatically with the Founder’s Challenge, with USLAW having raised over $65000 in 2016 from individual donors
2016 post-election and 2017:
-Spent a year listening to workers from Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine about their connection to the military-industrial complex and developed a foundation for best practices moving forward that is being monitored and replicated by allies
-Affiliates lead trainings on everything from anti-racism to direct action to close 2016 and moving into 2017
-Affiliates were active participants on multiple levels in the Women’s March of 2017 in Washington, DC
-Affiliates were active participants on multiple levels in the January 20th 2017 Inaugration Actions in Washington, DC and other parts of the country
-Affiliates and staff assisted new organizing efforts by activists rising to leadership through activity at airports in opposition to the Muslim Ban in multiple cities across the country
-Initiated first meeting of young people from USLAW and other groups around building a new anti-militarism formation/network led by young workers and people-of-color
-Participated in the planning and successful execution of the People’s Climate March on April 29th, 2017 on both the East Coast (Washington, DC) and West Coast (Oakland, CA.)
-Our actions and petitions in cooperation with campaigns like the People’s Budget collected over 10000 signatures
-Participated in the People’s Summit (an event led by National Nurses United and The People for Bernie Sanders) as panelists in the only forum on foreign policy
-Participated in five-day Peace Delegation to South Korea in cooperation with anti-war organizations and our friends in the Korean Confederation of Trade Unionists
-Gave over 20 presentations on issues related to militarism in 7 cities for union members and labor organizations affiliated with US Labor Against the War
-Substantively contributed to the creation of the Poor People’s Campaign Moral Audit, specifically the section concerning confronting the rise of militarism
-Affiliates authored 10 resolutions that were adopted by 30 labor organizations across the country concerning everything from the militarization of police to combating islamophobia
-Resolution 50, authored by affiliates of USLAW, was passed at the 2017 AFL-CIO convention taking the strongest stand against war to date
And in 2018?
-USLAW will lead a 15+ delegation back to South Korea to discuss topics ranging from Just Transition to demilitarization of the Korean Peninsula
-USLAW will hold a gathering of young people dedicated to building a new anti-militarist network that centers the impact of war on working people and marginalized communities
-USLAW will continue to lift up the voices of working people in popular movements seeking an end to war by helping the Poor People’s Campaign confront militarism across the country
-USLAW will create new popular education tools that center both the voices and needs of working people to assist labor organizations
-USLAW will continue its work to develop relationships with workers in the Military-Industrial Complex to create opportunities for a more robust economy free of warfare
And much more!
USLAW in media (note: this is not an exhaustive list)
“Jill Stein leads US activists in protesting THAAD in South Korea”
“Spotlight: U.S. activists stress need to build anti-THAAD solidarity with S.Koreans”
“As Tensions Explode on Korean Peninsula, US Peace Delegation Calls for Immediate Response to North Korea’s Offer to Freeze Its Nuclear Program”
“Urgent Warning: Time to Hit the Reset Button on U.S.-Korean Policy”
“Trump Wants to Hand $54 Billion More to One of the World's Biggest Drivers of Climate Catastrophe”
“US Citizen Peace Delegation to Visit”
“Widening the Doorway”
“By Any Means Necessary Episode 53”
“By Any Means Necessary Episode 103
“By Any Means Necessary Israeli Occupation Episode”
“Report from Korea featuring Juyeon Rhee and Reece Chenault”