In a historic move, the United Auto Workers became the largest labor union to advocate for a permanent cease-fire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
The announcement was made Friday by UAW Region 9A Director Brandon Mancilla, alongside protesters on the fifth day of a hunger strike held outside the White House. The protest had drawn appearances from notable figures such as actress Cynthia Nixon and Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush.
“UAW International is calling for an immediate, permanent cease-fire in Israel and Palestine so that we can get to the work of building a lasting peace, building social justice, and building a global community of solidarity,” Mancilla said.
The call for a cease-fire and the desire to build a global community of solidarity “is as important as anything else that we’re doing in this country in order to ensure that workers and oppressed people and poor people across the world are on the path to winning the justice that they so deserve,” Mancilla said.
Mancilla added in a message shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the International Executive Board of UAW would be forming a working group to study the history of the region and their union’s economic ties to the conflict.
“I am proud that the UAW International Union is calling for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine. From opposing fascism in WWII to mobilizing against apartheid South Africa and the CONTRA war, the @UAW has consistently stood for justice across the globe,” UAW president Shawn Fain posted on X, echoing Mancilla’s sentiment.
Other labor organizations have supported a cease-fire as well, including the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), and the American Postal Workers Union (APWU).
“We unreservedly condemn the Hamas violence of October 7, which killed over 1,000 Israeli civilians and saw the kidnapping of more than 200 people. However, Israel’s response has made the prospects for peace more remote. Over 10,000 innocent civilians, including 4,000 children, have been killed by the relentless and indiscriminate bombing campaign on Gaza. Israel has shut off the flow of food, water, fuel and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip, a war crime. A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding every day in Gaza. Thousands more innocent civilians stand to die wholly preventable deaths,” the APWU stated in their press release, citing numbers provided by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
The UAW ended a six-week strike on Oct. 30 following tentative labor agreements with the Detroit Big 3 car manufacturers. President Biden joined the picket line with UAW workers in September, in an unprecedented show of solidarity from a sitting president.
