January 15, 2007
Contact: Snehal Shingavi
(510) 575-8052

What: Protest against the war in Iraq and Bush's proposed troop "surge" & Protest At Pier33 Against Union Busting
When: Saturday, January 27 @ Noon
Where: Powell and Market Sts. with march to San Francisco to Pier 31/33 for mass picket line

ANTIWAR ACTIVISTS THROUGHOUT the Bay Area are planning a protest rally and march in response to President Bush's plan to escalate the Iraq war with an additional 21,500 troops. In addition to calling for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, protesters will demand an end to racist attacks on Arabs and Muslims and a halt to U.S. support for Israel's occupation of Palestine and in defense of bay area workers who are under attack. The march will also focus on union busting and the defense of IBU-ILWU/MMP workers who are under attack at Alcatraz Tours on Pier 33 which is owned by Terry MacCrae and the Hornblower Tours outfit. They have been awarded a 10 year contract by the Bush administration and are discriminating against union members. Trade unionists and many other organizations are working on building union contingents to join this march.

The protest, which begins at Noon and the march route will take the demonstration to a rally at Pier 31/33 where Alcatraz Tours is located. The march and rally has been endorsed by the San Francisco Labor Council, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and several local activist groups, and will coincide with a national protest in Washington, DC organized by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ). March organizers are urging union and other groups to speak about about how the war is harming their members and the costs of this war to education, housing and healthcare. Already over half a trillion dollars have been spent on the wars in the Middle East.

"Bush's announcement that 21,500 additional troops will be sent into Baghdad proves that he cares little about the lives of Iraqis," said Snehal Shingavi, a protest organizer, "or about the opinions of Americans, who are overwhelmingly against the 'surge.'" "This 'surge' will mean the massacre of innocent Iraqis in Sadr City. It will also mean the unnecessary deaths of American soldiers, who are increasingly against the war," continued Shingavi. "With neither major political party willing to speak to the majority of Americans' desire to end the war, we must make our voices heard."