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An Urgent Call from the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions To Trade Unions and Labor Forces in the United States of America
On the Occasion of International Workers’ Day – May 1, 2026
https://sisinfo.short.gy/PGFTU-May-Day-2026
On the occasion of May 1st — International Workers’ Day — and drawing on the essence of this day as a revolutionary act that awakens the latent power of the working class, and as a platform for escalating union action, particularly in the United States of America, the Palestinian General Federation Trade Unions addresses this urgent appeal to the unions and labor forces in the United States of America, as a first step toward building real pressure that transforms solidarity into tangible and lasting tools of influence. From the trenches of steadfastness and suffering, and from amid the rubble of what were once factories, workshops, and sources of livelihood, we turn to you — our comrades in the labor movement in the United States — with an appeal rooted in the unity of class belonging and shared historical responsibility, and in the firm conviction that the power of workers, when united, is capable of reshaping the scales of justice in the world.
In these difficult circumstances facing the world and our region — and Palestine in particular — Palestinian workers, especially in the Gaza Strip, are living through one of the most severe humanitarian and social catastrophes of the modern era. The cycle of production has been nearly completely disrupted, more than half a million workers have lost their livelihoods, and unemployment rates have reached unprecedented levels exceeding 80%, under a siege that has lasted for many years and amid widespread destruction of infrastructure and productive facilities. The damage has not been limited to the loss of work, but has extended to the comprehensive destruction of productive infrastructure — factories, workshops, and service facilities — uprooting the material foundation of economic life and leaving workers utterly unable to secure any source of income.
We present to you a harrowing reality regarding the fate of Gaza’s “food basket”: the agricultural and fishing sectors are being subjected to systematic eradication and total paralysis. More than 94% of agricultural land has been destroyed, and production has collapsed nearly entirely—plummeting from 405,000 tons annually to a mere 28,000 tons. Out at sea, fishermen face death on a daily basis; Israeli warships have destroyed most fishing boats, burned their nets and equipment, and turned their search for sustenance into a massacre. Dozens have fallen as martyrs or been wounded, while others have been abducted to interrogation and detention centers under a hail of gunfire and shells. This has resulted in the total collapse of the food security system, the transformation of fertile lands into barren, contaminated terrain, and has left more than 560,000 people without means of sustenance, facing the very real threat of famine.
Data reveals the catastrophic scale of the losses workers have incurred. Economic losses have exceeded $9 billion over the past two years. As a result of the destruction of the production sectors and the obstruction of workers’ access to their workplaces—including within the territories occupied in 1948—where approximately 220,000 workers once constituted a vital pillar of the Palestinian economy. Their sudden deprivation of work triggered a severe economic and social shock, leading to a decline in purchasing power and a surge in poverty and debt rates throughout society—not to mention the ongoing targeting, harassment, and detention of the working class in both Gaza and the West Bank.
The systematic crimes to which workers in Palestine are subjected intersect with the blatant Israeli targeting—backed by the U.S. administration—including factories, means of production, and the foundations of economic life, within the framework of a complex crime. This forms part of a compound crime in which political, military, and economic dimensions are intertwined, and aims to cripple the people’s capacity to work, produce, and survive.
Comrades in American Trade Unions and Labor Forces…
The ongoing catastrophe in Palestine and Gaza cannot be measured merely by unprecedented, catastrophic figures and statistics, but by its very structural nature; for the working-class community itself is being dismantled, and its capacity to reproduce its own existence is being stifled—all amidst massive and comprehensive destruction of infrastructure. In the absence of any economic horizon, workers are being driven toward forced poverty, forced migration, or remaining trapped within a cycle of total helplessness.
In the occupied West Bank, the quest for work has transformed into a daily test of survival. Thousands of laborers set out before dawn, confronting checkpoints and walls, and navigating routes fraught with the risk of gunfire and arrest. Statistics reveal that 74 workers were killed over the past year while attempting to reach their workplaces—18 of whom were killed by direct fire—in addition to more than 35,000 arrests and 1,500 injuries recorded over a two-year period, effectively turning the pursuit of a livelihood into a daily journey to the brink of death.
In a scene that unfolds daily, workers gather near gaps in the wall or at military gates, watching soldiers’ movements and waiting for the opportune moment to cross. While some scale the fence, others dig rudimentary tunnels or squeeze through narrow openings—facing at every step, the peril of gunfire, pursuit, or arrest. This suffering is not confined to the economic sphere; rather, it extends to profound human and psychological dimensions, as their families live in a state of perpetual suspense—caught between the hope of a safe return and the dreaded news of an arrest, injury, or martyrdom.
Our colleagues in the American Labor Movement…
The martyrs of this catastrophe are your colleagues—your peers in both profession and class. They must not be reduced to mere statistics; rather, they were workers who produced, healed, taught, and saved lives. Consequently, targeting them constitutes a direct assault on the very concept of labor itself, as well as on the values upon which the global trade union movement was founded. It is from this standpoint of shared struggle—and with a full appreciation of the significance and impact of your presence, particularly within the United States—that we reach out to you.
Accordingly, as we extend our greetings to you and to the working class worldwide, particularly the martyrs, prisoners, wounded, and bereaved, on the occasion of International Workers’ Day, we in the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions call upon you to transition from the stage of expression to the stage of action, and from symbolic solidarity to impactful solidarity. We hereby ask the following:
- Fight to halt the investment of trade union pension funds in the apartheid state. Workers’ funds must serve as a tool to protect their rights, not as a means to finance their violation. Therefore, divesting from bonds and companies linked to the war economy constitutes a pivotal step in redirecting the economic power of the trade union movement toward serving the cause of justice; furthermore, we call for the adoption of ethical, transparent investment policies subject to oversight by the union rank and file.
- Work to prevent the export of weapons of destruction and death. The union movement plays a decisive role within global supply chains, enabling it to exert direct influence to disrupt arms shipments—and to halt participation in their production or transport—through clear union stances adopted within ports, factories, and shipping hubs.
- Urgent and serious pressure to lift the blockade on fishermen and farmers and attacks by Zionist gunboats; and to permit the entry of production supplies (including seeds, fertilizers, fuel, fishing nets, and replacement boats), thereby enabling workers to earn their livelihood with dignity and safeguarding what remains of the food production cycle.
- Pressure to compel the U.S. government to adhere to international law—not merely through statements, but through organized advocacy campaigns, political accountability, and by conditioning support on respect for human rights and labor rights.
- Elevate the American trade union position to the level of the global labor movement: the current stage requires repositioning American trade unions within a more cohesive international labor movement, and aligning with the positions of international federations that have taken clear positions supporting the rights of the Palestinian people.
- Affirm solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination—not merely as a moral stance, but as part of a global struggle for freedom and social justice.
- Remember that the martyred victims are at the very heart of the labor movement. Doctors and nurses, teachers and professors, journalists, ambulance drivers, and rescue workers—all constitute the living foundation of the Palestinian labor movement, and targeting them is a direct assault on society’s capacity to persevere.
- Transition to practical and sustainable trade union initiatives by launching educational campaigns within unions, adopting official boycott resolutions, building alliances with social movements, and organizing field-based events and protests—thereby generating continuous, cumulative pressure.
Our colleagues and comrades.
History is not written in statements, but in organized action. The labor movement that forged its rights through struggle is capable today of serving as a decisive force in the face of injustice, provided the will is present. Our people in Palestine—and our workers in particular—await from you actions that rise to the magnitude of the tragedy.
Long live international workers’ solidarity… Long live the laboring working class—on this May Day—striving for a new world governed by peace, stability, freedom, justice, and human dignity.
Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions
May 1, 2026
Signatures:
