By Doug Cunningham

A massive antiwar protest in the nation’s capital drew well over 100,000 people over the weekend demanding that U.S. troops be brought home from Iraq now. Organizers said the turnout was 300,000. The labor movement joined the protest as U.S. Labor Against The War gathered at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington to add labor’s voice to the demand to stop the war. Fred Mason is a co-convener of U.S. Labor Against The War.

[Fred Mason 1] : “The best way to support and protect our troops is to bring them home now and end the occupation.”

Mason says the AFL-CIO resolution earlier this year calling for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops was historic and so was this antiwar protest.

[Mason 2] : “This gathering here today at the AFL-CIO buildin’ is also historic in terms of its content. Trade unionists from all over the country are gathering at the AFL-CIO building preparing to participate in one of the largest peace or antiwar demonstrations in recent times.”

As hundreds of workers representing the spectrum of American labor marched on the White House demanding that the troops be brought home
Clayola Brown is an international Vice President of UNITE-HERE. She says the Iraq war is bad for all working people…

“Those folks who are there in Iraq now are our children. Our brothers, our sisters, workers from America that could do things to help America. They could be here to help when we have our natural disasters like Katrina, like Rita. Bring our folks home. We have some building to do here. And if you can’t build here at home, how in the hell are you going to build over there?”

Julia Jebcote’s son was killed in Iraq in August. She’s grateful that unions are calling for the troops to come home..

We got to stand up as United States people, we got to fight and bring the country back. Bring the power back to the people. We have to run the government. This is our government, we’ve got to take the government back, say we’ve had enough of it. He’s got to go! He’s slaughterin’ people! My son name is Rahid Jamal Jebcote. He died August the sixth.

One of the Iraqi trade unionists who recently toured the U.S. made it clear where Iraq’s labor movement stands on ending the U.S. military occupation.

“End the occupation now. Thank you very much. “ (applause)

Carrying a large banner saying “End the Occupation, Bring Our Troops Home Now” America’s labor movement added its voice to what has now become a majority American opinion supporting the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq..

Chant : “Money for jobs, not for war!”

From Washington, D.C. for Workers Independent News, I’m Doug Cunningham.