The US Labor Movement Calls for a Halt to US Military Aid to Bring a Ceasefire to the Region

We, members of the American labor movement, mourn the loss of life in Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon. We express our solidarity with all workers and a shared desire for peace in Palestine and Israel and condemn all acts of hate committed against Muslims, Jews, or anyone else. We call on the President and Congress to uphold U.S. and international law and halt lethal military aid to the Israeli government to secure an immediate ceasefire that releases the hostages, ends the violence and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and prevents further escalation in the region. The Israeli government cannot bomb its way to peace. With this call, U.S. unions join the voices of more than 90 members of Congress, a majority of the American people, and others calling for an immediate ceasefire.

There must be a ceasefire in Gaza, and the fundamental rights of people must be restored. Humanitarian aid must be allowed into Gaza, power must be restored, the rebuilding of infrastructure must begin, and those requiring medical care must be allowed out of Gaza to get the help they desperately need.

The hostages taken by Hamas must be immediately released, along with the release of Palestinian prisoners of war. Both Hamas and the Israeli government must adhere to standards of international law and the Geneva Convention provisions concerning the welfare and security of civilians and prisoners of war.

To achieve these ends, the U.S. Government must halt military aid to Israel immediately. The U.S. government is supplying Israel with arms worth billions of dollars (more than $22 billion in direct and indirect aid in 2024 alone) that are being used in violation of U.S. and international law to target civilian populations. The Israeli military has made Gaza uninhabitable — damaging two-thirds of its buildings, disrupting the livelihoods of more than 2 million people, and killing more than 43,500 people. Palestinians in Gaza face famine and preventable diseases as the Israeli government has restricted the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The death toll includes many of our union siblings, including hundreds of healthcare workers, media workers, engineers, and civil servants killed on the job.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right ministers have refused repeated attempts to negotiate a ceasefire and have made it clear they will not stop the killing until they are forced to. Netanyahu is enabled by the continuous supply of weapons

predominantly from the United States, the Israeli government’s largest and most important source of arms and military aid.

The unchecked supply of weapons has emboldened Netanyahu to expand the conflict to multiple countries and is drawing the U.S. into a growing regional war. To obtain a ceasefire in Gaza, secure the release of hostages, and de-escalate the regional conflict, the transfer of this destructive U.S. military aid must be halted. The U.S. is the only country with sufficient leverage to pressure Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire, which will make possible the release of hostages and reopen the flow of humanitarian aid.

The U.S. must act. The U.S. government bears great responsibility. We call on the President to immediately halt lethal U.S. military aid to Israel and to escalate its call for a ceasefire between Hamas and the Israeli government.

The escalation of war and arms sales does not serve the interests of workers. Workers everywhere want a place to call home and for our families to be safe. Working people around the world deserve to live free from the effects of violence, war, and militarism.

The labor movement calls on the President and Congress to hear our voices. We demand a ceasefire and a halt to the U.S. military aid enabling the devastation in the Middle East. Together, we can stand for peace, justice, and a better future for working people everywhere.

Please sign and organizationally endorse this call for a halt to US Military Aid to Israel to bring a ceasefire to the region.

National Labor Network for Ceasefire Members include:

American Postal Workers Union (APWU) – Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) National Nurses United (NNU) – International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) – National Education Association (NEA) – National Writers Union – United Auto Workers (UAW) – United Electrical Workers (UE)

For questions or media inquiries: contact@laborforceasefire.org

Videos and Meetings

Building Bridges to Peace - A National Labor Network for Ceasefire webinar

The viewpoints expressed by individual speakers in this webinar belong solely to those individuals and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of the National Labor Network For Ceasefire or the other individuals participating in this webinar.

Working people around the world have mourned the tragic loss of life in Israel and Palestine since Hamas’s brutal attack in Israel on October 7, 2023. As trade unionists, we stand in solidarity with workers everywhere, and join in movements leading towards a just and peaceful world, which upholds our values of democracy, equality and the respect for human and labor rights.

The ongoing tragedy in Israel and Gaza makes the prospects of a just and peaceful world more remote.

Our unions are united in our call for a ceasefire in Gaza. To achieve a just and lasting peace, the bombing must stop, the hostages must be released, and the humanitarian aid that is so needed in Gaza must be realized.

Together, we have formed the National Labor Network for a Ceasefire. We stand for peace, justice, and a better future for working people everywhere.

Our unions are made up of educators and electric workers, tradespeople and transportation workers, autoworkers and flight attendants, nurses and care workers, postal workers and public servants, and many more.

American unions which have called for a ceasefire now represent the majority of the organized labor movement.

The National Labor Network for a Ceasefire will continue to organize among the labor movement to increase the size and volume of that call.