On June 28-29, an “Open National Antiwar Conference” was held in Cleveland, called by a newly minted National Assembly to End the Iraq War and Occupation. Over objections from the conference organizers, centrally Socialist Action, the assembly voted to change the name to include reference to the war on Afghanistan, and to emphasize the connection with U.S. backing for the Zionist occupation of Palestine.

On May 1, ports up and down the Pacific Coast were shut down by the ILWU to demand an end to “this bloody war and occupation for imperial domination.” The Spartacist League for many years called for workers strikes against the war. However, as part of its turn from Trotskyism to centrism, the SL abandoned this key position.

On May 1, every port on the West Coast of the United States was shut down to demand an end to the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. The historic May Day walkout by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is the first time ever that an American union has struck against a U.S. war. The union ranks defied the rulings of an arbitrator, who twice ordered them to go to work.

Today, millions of Americans are considering how they will spend their government rebate checks that will be received within the next few days and weeks. Recently, the Bush administration announced that the checks would be released earlier in hopes of giving the U.S. economy a needed jump start.

On May 1, all 29 ports on the U.S. West Coast are to be shut down by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in protest against the U.S. war on Afghanistan and Iraq. This is a historic event of international significance: labor action against imperialist war by a major American union. The strategically placed port workers in the ILWU can bring commerce with Asia to a grinding halt, and they’re about to demonstrate it. The maritime employers are already screaming, and you can bet it’s got the attention of the warmongers in Washington.