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Postal Workers Union boycott Israeli Apartheid

Canadian Dimension, April 17th, 2008

Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) Congratulates Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) on Historic Boycott Resolution!

16 April 2008 - CAIA extends its warm congratulations to the delegates of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers national convention held in Ottawa, Canada, April 13-17th 2008. At the convention, CUPW passed an historic resolution, Resolution 338/339, in support of the global campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israeli Apartheid. This resolution is an extremely significant landmark for the Palestinian solidarity movement in Canada. It represents the first time in North American history that a national union has passed a BDS resolution. The resolution recognizes Israel as an apartheid state and expresses CUPW’s support for boycott and divestment from Israel. It was passed almost unanimously after nearly one hour of discussion on the convention floor.

CUPW represents more than 50,000 postal workers across Canada and has been at the forefront of campaigns against privatization and deregulation at Canada Post. The union has a proud history of international solidarity. During the South African apartheid years, CUPW was at the forefront of labour solidarity with South African workers and engaged in concrete actions such as the refusal to handle mail from South Africa.

The CUPW resolution was modeled on Resolution 50 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (Ontario), which was passed in May 2006 and re-affirmed in 2007. The resolution commits CUPW to “support the international campaign of BDS until Israel meets its obligations to recognize the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law including the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.”

The resolution states that CUPW will work “… with Palestinian solidarity and human rights organizations to develop an educational campaign about the apartheid nature of the Israeli state and the political and economic support of Canada for these practices.” The resolution also calls on the Canadian government to increase humanitarian aid to Palestinians who have been affected by the conflict, and commits CUPW to research on Canadian involvement in the occupation.

CAIA congratulates CUPW on this vital show of support for Palestinian workers and their families. At a time when the Palestinian people are suffering under brutal siege and daily bombardment this resolution is an important show of solidarity. Today alone, 22 Palestinian civilians, including 5 children, were killed by Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. The explicit recognition by yet another Canadian union that Israel is an apartheid state, deserving of international isolation and boycott in the manner of South African Apartheid, is an inspiration for the North American and international labour movements. It is one further confirmation that the Israeli apartheid regime has deservedly become a pariah for progressive movements across the globe.

We call on supporters across the world to take the following action in support of CUPW:

1) Immediately email and fax the CUPW National office congratulating them on their stand against Israeli apartheid (sample letter below). Please fax your letter of support to CUPW National Office at ++ (613) 563-7861 or email endapartheid@riseup.net and we will pass them on to the CUPW national officeholders.

2) If you are a member of a union then get involved! Please contact the CAIA Labour Committee, Labour for Palestine, at labour@caiaweb.org for ideas and ways to get involved in Palestinian solidarity work within your workplace and union.

3) Visit your local post office and thank the workers for this resolution! Let them know that you appreciate this show of solidarity with Palestine.

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Sample letter

Dear CUPW-Executive:

Thank you for passing the resolution to support the campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.

Like South Africa, Israel will have to be subjected to intense international pressure before it recognizes Palestinians as a people with the right to self-determination. Your union played a critical role in the fight against South African Apartheid – it is wonderful to see you taking on this leadership role again in the fight against Israeli Apartheid.

No doubt you will come under intense pressure from pro-Israeli, pro-apartheid organizations to reverse this courageous decision, but rest assured that the overwhelming majority of people in the world are not fooled by right-wing, racist rhetoric and the mainstream media bias surrounding this issue.

Thank you again!

Canadian Dimension Matthew Brett is the Canadian Dimension weblog editor and a Montreal-based journalist at a weekly newspaper. Read other posts by Canadian Dimension.

13 Comments

  1. Comment by Blue on April 18th, 2008 at 8:33 am:

    The boycott is ineffectual because most of the Israeli economy is outside of Israel, providing no product markings to indicate Israeli origin. However, the boycott does serve the purpose of letting the rest of us know who to direct our own civil action against.

    Incidentally, in order to remain true to their cause, posties and CUPE must immediately toss their computers and cell phones. Israeli patents are on most of the software.

  2. Comment by Hugh on April 18th, 2008 at 10:08 am:

    I’m quite sure that this “resolution” was finessed through by a relatively small but potent cadre of Jew haters, and is not truly representative of the rank and file.

    In any case, I think that Israel already “recognizes Palestinians as a people with the right to self-determination,” but there’s the small problem of Palestinians’ waging violent war on a daily against Israel. This is more a problem in Gaza then it is in the West Bank. You see, Israel withdrew its people from Gaza in 2005 because it recognized Palestinians as a people with the right to self-determination.

    But that has not worked out well, as the fanatical Hamas and other mafia-like militias insist upon attacking Israel across an international boundary, with rockets , mortars and other attacks.

    And that appears to have taken more importance and focus and resources than establishing their own viable economy and “means of production,” not to mention credible national identity.

    So this resolution is misplace, and has hijacked the goodwill of sincere people here.

  3. Comment by Hugh on April 18th, 2008 at 10:13 am:

    One more thing.
    This whole notion of Israel being anything like an apartheid regime is a calumny. It’s simply not true. Although there are problems and discrimination issues, as there are perhaps anywhere else, this concept has been foisted upon hand has found some acceptance in the liberal far-left.

    It’s actually just a rehashing of traditional antisemitism, demonizing Jews.

  4. Comment by Powell Lucas on April 18th, 2008 at 12:44 pm:

    It’s no wonder that unions have been getting snot kicked out of them when they get involved with tripe like this. Unions were formed to gain better working conditions and wages for their members, not to run off on some bizarre international witch hunt. Regardless of the pros and cons relative to the Israeli/Palestinian situation, when unions start taking up international political causes it is time for them to fold up shop as an entity representing working men and women and register as a political organization. I’ve been a trade union member for 50 years and I can understand why nonsense like this is driving the whole movement into the ground. Most members are interested in their day-to-day issues and are turned off when some clique of radical zealots hijacks their organization for their own goofy agenda. With nonsense like this spewing from the mouths of the politically motivated delegates, I too think it is time to privatize the post office.

  5. Comment by Matthew Brett on April 18th, 2008 at 4:05 pm:

    I think, Lucas, if you were take a historical look at labour unions you would find that there has always been involvement with national and foreign affairs. Unions in free societies like Canada, the UK and the U.S. have the opportunity and political clout to voice concerns like these. The National Union of Journalists in Britain passed a similar motion not long ago, and scores of others are following suit. Demands for universal health care or women’s rights are also spurred by unions. Should we privatize hospitals too?

  6. Comment by Hugh on April 18th, 2008 at 11:07 pm:

    I think Matt should look at this:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jul/10/nationalunionofjournalists.mediaunions

    NUJ abandons Israel boycott

    July 10 2007

    and

    http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/53267.php

    (Re: the UK boycott motion) “It takes some skill to do something that is at once inane, ineffectual, counter-productive and insulting to the intelligence,” wrote Telegraph US editor Toby Harnden, blogging at Telegraph.co.uk. It is tendentious and politically loaded propaganda that would be rightly edited out of any news story written in a newspaper that had any pretensions of fairness.”

  7. Comment by Harry on April 19th, 2008 at 10:06 am:

    Correction:

    The National Union of Journalists in Britain rescinded that Israel/Apartheid motion as racist and inappropriate.

  8. Comment by Kat on April 19th, 2008 at 10:55 am:

    Congratulations CUPW! This is a really important resolution in solidarity with the Palestinian people and in always being at the forefront of solidarity against racism, exploitation and state terror.
    I think the union-bashing responses on this board speak to the fact that defenders of Israeli apartheid are clearly not on the side of justice. For Powell, Hugh and Blue…i recommend some readings in history. Ilan Pappe’s A History of Modern Palestine/The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Uri Davis’ Apartheid Israel.

  9. Comment by Matthew Brett on April 19th, 2008 at 11:19 am:

    Harry, correction: the National Union of Journalists did not rescind the motion because it was “racist” but because, quoting from their website, “it jeopardizes the safety and credibility of NUJ members.”

    The same overturned motion reads that NUJ “rejects absolutely” allegations of anti-semitism and/or racism, calling for the union to “reaffirm our responsibility to towards our sister unions in the Middle East and our sister union in Palestine” to help them “deal with the day-to-day problems of journalists and their families, in particular their safety”.

  10. Comment by Harry on April 19th, 2008 at 11:22 am:

    Thanks Kat,

    Ilan Pappe? No thanks. Been watching the news, and that’s pretty much enough. The Gazans have been attacking the terminals through which their humanitarian aid is shipped.

    Killing and wounding people, including non-combatant terminal workers and still complaining about being blockaded.

    This in addition to daily multiple missile and mortar attacks.

    This is not “apartheid.”

  11. Comment by Harry on April 19th, 2008 at 11:27 am:

    There’s no question that the apartheid Israel thing is anti-semitic. It’s all about the jihadist war notion that Israel and all Jews must be exterminated.

    Other why do they continue to attack across a international border?

    For peace???

  12. Comment by Shel on May 5th, 2008 at 4:29 pm:

    I used to be a union vice president. I am ashamed. CUPW has just supported the bombing of children in Sederot Israel by the terriorists. How to people in Gaza smuggle in weapons and not food and fuel? Why do people in Gaza use their children as shields. Israel left Lebonon and is is now used as a base for bombing Israel. Isreal left Gaza and uprooted the Jewish residents. Gaza is now a base to bomb Israel.

    Postal workers will not deliver mail to a house with a dog and want to maintain a fence but they expect Israel to allow terrorist to Israel with any protection.

    With the union supporting violence as a solution, I can see the origin of the term “going postal”

  13. Comment by Andrew Gert on May 22nd, 2008 at 4:33 pm:

    As a member of the CUPW, I am disgusted by CUPWs latest tirade. Its a handful of hatemongers in Southern Ontario who tell the other 55,000 of us what to think. Nobobdy asked us if we wanted a say in the matter.

    Starting next week, our entire excecutive council will be resigning and handing the entire local post office over to management. We are sick of the CUPWs absurd politics.

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