-USLAW Delegation includes Iraqi Unionists in Attendance, Will Propose Tough Resolutions

-Administration May Face Hard Choices

By Beth I. Gandelman, Union Web Services (UWS) Correspondent

As representatives of American Labor convene this week at the annual AFL-CIO conference in Pittsburgh, PA, a ground-breaking US Labor delegation will offer resolutions in support of Iraqi unions and confront the Obama administration on its plans for Iraq and Afghanistan. The delegation will be accompanied by invited leaders of Iraq's oil sector unions. Obama spoke to the conference Tuesday, in a speech largely devoted to healthcare.

The Obama campaign leveraged wide-spread opposition to the Bush Administration's war in Iraq en route to the Presidency. However, the latest polls show the nation and Obama's own party especially defecting in heavy numbers from support for the Afghan war with an all-time high of 57% of Americans opposed. Voters in the President's own party are said to oppose the war by  75%. Opposition from Independent voters, who arguably pushed Obama to the presidency,  increased by  10% since the last numbers taken in April.

In this context, organized labor, which formed the political bedrock of Obama's support in critical, union-heavy contested states during the 2008 election, meets this week to “decide the union movement’s next steps and long-term strategies”