The 63rd annual convention of the American Federation of Labor adopted a resolution over the week-end condemning the persecution of the Jewish people in Axis-held Europe, asking for their rehabilitation after the war in their native lands, and demanding the abrogation of the British White Paper of 1939 which will close Palestine to Jewish immigration next Spring.
The resolution also urged the establishment of a Jewish National Home in Palestine in accordance with the pledge contained in the Balfour Declaration, and praised the Histadruth, the Palestine Federation of Labor, for its contributions towards the development of the country. It was introduced by A.F. of L. vice-president Mathew Woll, and was adopted unanimously after an address by J. B. Goldberg of the Millinery Workers Union, in which he described the plight of the Jews in Europe and warned that if immediate rescue measures are not taken no Jews will remain alive by the end of the war.
The report of the executive council of the A.F. of L., just released to the delegates, voices opposition to large-scale post-war immigration from Europe and Asia to the United States after the war and declares that “the representatives of the American Federation of Labor have followed the immigration restriction policies as laid down by the Federation conventions and in regard to pending bills these policies should be adhered to as it will be impossible for the workers in this country to compete with a flood of European and Asiatic immigrants.”
“When this war ends,” the report points out, “the return of the millions in the armed forces and the adjustment of industry from a war to a consumer basis will create an unemployment problem never previously known. It will be absolutely impossible for this country to absorb the millions now desirous of immigrating to the United States.” The executive council report on immigration problems concludes by directing the officers of the A.F. of L. “to carry out the decisions of conventions regarding immigration exclusion laws.”
At the same time the council reiterated its policy of non-discrimination in employment and in trade unions because of race, creed or color. It emphasized that this policy “has always been the fundamental policy” of the Federation. It expressed support for the efforts of the Fair Employment Practice Committee, on which an A.F. of L. representative sits.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
