SAN FRANCISCO LABOR HONORS HAITI BICENTENNIAL
San Francisco, California, December 10, 2003 -- The San Francisco Labor Council voted this week to send "warm greetings of solidarity to the working people and government of Haiti, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Haitian Revolution, which abolished slavery and ended colonial rule in Haiti" on January 1, 1804.
The resolution by the Council, adopted unanimously, hailed the 13-year rebellion that threw off the yoke of slavery and French rule in Haiti as "an earth-shattering development in the struggle for the emancipation of labor all over the world."
The Labor Council, representing over 80,000 members in 141 affiliated unions, and part of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, noted that the United Nations has declared 2004 the "Year of the Abolition of Slavery" on the occasion of Haiti's Bicentennial and "to honor the Haitian people as valiant pioneers in the struggle for the emancipation of labor."
It was a general strike in 1791, by the enslaved labor force in Haiti, that set in motion the "armed rebellion that defeated the pro-slavery French army of Napoleon Bonaparte at a time when the trans-Atlantic slave trade was at its height," according to the Labor Council statement. "The Haitian people on January 1, 1804 victoriously declared their independence; abolished the slave system; renamed the country Haiti in honor of the original indigenous population of the island; and declared Haiti as the first free republic in the Americas."
The Council, voice of organized labor in San Francisco, had earlier passed a resolution calling for an end to the current US government-led embargo on international financial aid to Haiti, and demanding release of the approximately $500 million in blocked humanitarian and developmental aid.
The earlier resolution, "Let Haiti Live!", went on to be adopted last year by the 2,000,000-member California Labor Federation, as well as by the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and A. Philip Randolph Institute, San Francisco chapters. The 2002 resolution noted that Secretary of State Colin Powell had vowed the US would "continue to embargo these funds in order to leverage a 'political outcome' in Haiti," adding: "It is appalling that the US is using humanitarian aid as a political weapon."
The heroic Haitian people deserve our support and solidarity, not sabotage and interference.
-- By Dave Welsh, Delegate, San Francisco Labor Council
Resolution of the San Francisco Labor Council
HONORING THE BICENTENNIAL OF HAITI
Whereas, slavery, the kidnapping of human beings and forcing them into servitude, is a crime against humanity and the most oppressive form of the exploitation of labor;
Whereas, the slave system, employing the unpaid labor of enslaved people from Africa, working the plantations and mines of the Americas, created enormous wealth for the dominant classes of the slave-owning and colonial powers, while holding back the advancement of the enslaved workers, their descendants and working people everywhere;
Whereas, the enslaved labor force in Haiti rose up in a general strike in 1791, culminating in a 13-year armed rebellion that defeated the pro-slavery French Army of Napoleon Bonaparte [then thought to be the world's greatest military power], as well as defeating the pro-slavery armies of Britain and Spain, at a time when the trans-Atlantic slave trade was at its height;
Whereas, following the defeat and evacuation of the French military in November 1803, the Haitian people on January 1, 1804 victoriously declared their independence; abolished the slave system; renamed the country Haiti in honor of the original indigenous population of the island; and declared Haiti as the first free republic in the Americas - with worldwide repercussions for the emancipation of enslaved peoples and all labor;
Whereas, Haitian volunteers fought side by side with the Continental Army in the Battle of Savannah, thus making a contribution to the success of the US war of independence, just as Haiti assisted the countries of South America in their struggles for independence and to abolish slavery;
Whereas, the United Nations, in recognition of the 200th anniversary of the Haitian Revolution, has declared 2004 the Year of the Abolition of Slavery, to honor the Haitian people as valiant pioneers in the struggle for the emancipation of labor;
Therefore be it Resolved, that the San Francisco Labor Council, AFL-CIO, send warm greetings of solidarity to the working people and government of Haiti, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Haitian Revolution, which abolished slavery and ended colonial rule in Haiti - an earth-shattering development in the struggle for the emancipation of labor all over the world;
And be it Finally Resolved, that the Council send this resolution to affiliated unions, other labor councils and organizations, the California Labor Federation and AFL-CIO, recommending adoption.
-- Adopted unanimously by the San Francisco Labor Council, December 8, 2003
International Action Center
39 West 14th Street, Room 206
New York, NY 10011
email: mailto:iacenter@action-mail.org
En Espanol: iac-cai@action-mail.org
Web: http://www.iacenter.org
Support Mumia Abu-Jamal: http://www.millions4mumia.org/
phone: 212 633-6646
fax: 212 633-2889
Make a donation to the IAC and its projects
The International Action Center
Home ActionAlerts Press
Share this page with a friend