Original online here and here.
Petition to Rescind Endorsement for Genocide Joe Biden
SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION PRESIDENT MARY KAY HENRY AND SEIU LEADERS
The Zionist Entity known as Israel, with the Biden administration beside it at every step, has horrifically escalated its genocide of Palestinians, killing over 38,000 people in four months; over half of them women and children. While Israeli Occupation Forces attack hospitals, schools, residential neighborhoods, aid workers, members of the press, and refugee camps, Joe Biden has circumvented Congress to send more bombs and weapons to Israel. Just after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take measures to avoid committing genocide, and with Israel restricting desperately needed food, aid, and relief to the starving population of 2 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the Biden administration cut funding to UNRWA, the UN agency providing relief. Throughout his long career and especially in the past four months, Joe Biden has made the United States complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people.
For far too long, our unions have supported elected officials and political parties that serve violent corporations and the billionaire class. They have both exploited workers in the U.S. and they continue to fund mass militarism, murder, and illegal wars across the world. This genocide is where it ends.
We, as union members and staff of SEIU, in solidarity with the tradition of trade union activism and workers across the globe, take a principled stand against genocide and for the liberation of the Palestinian people. We call on SEIU and our local unions to publicly rescind the endorsement of Joe Biden for President until he meets ALL of the following demands:
- Demand an end to the genocide and immediate ceasefire in Gaza
- Immediately end all weapons delivery and military funding to the Israeli government, both now and in the future
- Immediately restore and increase funding for UNRWA
- Demand an end to the blockade and siege of Gaza, allowing for the free flow of aid and travel, and demand a completion of the terms of a prisoner exchange
- Demand that the Zionist entity ends the occupation, dismantles the apartheid wall, and grants Palestinians’ land back and the right to self-determination
We refuse to support ANY candidate that fails to take an active and public stand against the injustices and genocide of the Palestinian people, and support following in UFCW 3000’s footsteps to endorse writing in “uncommitted.” We also call on union leadership to commit to refraining from retaliation against staff who withhold electoral labor for candidates who fail to meet the above conditions.
It’s on us to use our collective power to hold elected officials accountable. We, the members and staff of SEIU, commit to refraining from engaging in electoral efforts that support Biden until he meets the above demands.
