Submitted by California Labor Federation
Amended by the International Labor Committee
WHEREAS, the AFL-CIO has “expressed solidarity with the three union federations of Honduras—the unitary Central of Honduran Workers (CUTH), the Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH) and the General Workers Central (CGT)—and with the Trade union Confederation of the Americas (TuCA), representing more than 45 million workers of this hemisphere, in condemning the military coup that resulted in the illegal ouster of democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya”; and
WHEREAS, the AFL-CIO has “denounced the coup as an unconscionable attack on the fundamental rights and liberties of the Honduran people in flagrant violation of the most basic democratic principles and of the rule of law, and has called upon the u.S. government and the international community, particularly the Organization of American States and the united Nations, not only to condemn the coup and withhold recognition of the current government, but to make every effort to help achieve restitution of constitutional order and reinstatement of the democratically elected president”; and
WHEREAS, in the wake of the coup, trade unionists, human rights activists, journalists, community leaders and ordinary citizens have suffered grave violations of their human and civil rights, with at least eight people killed and hundreds injured or detained during mass protests against the coup and against the dissolution of democracy in Honduras; and WHEREAS, the u.S. government has suspended military and direct government aid to the current government in Honduras in an effort to shore up its demands that President Zelaya be returned to office, but has refrained from issuing additional economic sanctions; and
WHEREAS, the militarily backed de facto government, led by anti-union political and economic elites with Roberto Micheletti at the head, so far has resisted international calls for the restitution of constitutional order, has refused to honor the San Jose accord on national reconciliation and has continued to repress those who speak out against the coup; and
WHEREAS, the California Labor Federation stands in solidarity with the independence, selfdetermination and human rights of the country of Honduras, whose citizens have democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya, who was deposed by an illegal military coup d’etat; and
WHEREAS, California and other parts of the united States have Honduran and Latin American communities that include hard-working and taxpaying citizens, residents and undocumented workers who contribute to our economy and nation; and
WHEREAS, the California Labor Federation recognizes that political unrest that destabilizes nations and countries neighboring the united States creates conditions that harm said nations and countries and has historically created and continues to create mass immigration to alleviate human needs;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the California Labor Federation urges the AFL-CIO to encourage the Obama administration to continue to withhold state-to-state military aid to the Micheletti government. Moreover, the u.S government should remove its current ambassador to Honduras, revoke the u.S. visas for all of those responsible for the coup, seek to legally freeze all accounts and assets of those individuals and organizations responsible for the coup and seriously consider suspending trade with Honduras until President Manuel Zelaya is restored to his democratically elected office and human and trade union rights have been restored; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the California Labor Federation urges the AFL-CIO to support an Obama administration policy that discourages predatory interests from politically and economically destabilizing developing countries and prevents adverse harm to our sisters and brothers in Latin America; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, the California Labor Federation shall make this resolution public and forward it to the national AFL-CIO Convention for adoption.