Resolution to cut ties to war crimes and endorse the #BoycottChevron campaign

August 21, 2025

WHEREAS, MLK Labor Council recognizes that Israel’s ongoing assaults on Gaza and the West Bank, along with the recent assault on Lebanon, constitute war crimes, and we have repeatedly called for a ceasefire in response.

WHEREAS, MLK Labor has passed a resolution condemning the violence on Palestine and calling on the AFL-CIO to put forward a ceasefire statement. Shortly after this and other calls to action, the AFL-CIO changed its national Statement.

WHEREAS, Washington State Labor Council has passed a resolution to resolve that WSLC urge the National AFL-CIO Executive Board to call for an arms embargo on Israel in an effort to end the horrific violence that has been ongoing for over a year.

WHEREAS, MLK Labor recognizes the important role that boycott, divestment, and sanction campaigns have played in challenging systems of oppression and apartheid, notably in South Africa and particularly when organized labor joins in the campaigns.

WHEREAS, MLK Labor passed a resolution to send a letter to the AFL-CIO to endorse the Mask Off Maersk campaign due to Maersk’s role in shipping the weapons to Israel that enable Israel to continue its unlawful campaign in Palestine, while also expanding the scope of its operations by targeting Lebanon and potentially other nations in the region.

WHEREAS, Chevron operates and partially owns oil fields off the shore of Occupied Palestine; and as the operator of these gas fields, Chevron is in charge of all operations, including planning, construction, production, and supply.

WHEREAS, Chevron pays Israel hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue totaling over $462 million in 2022 alone, and provides almost all of Israel’s natural gas, fueling all Israeli military bases, prisons, and police stations, as well as hundreds of illegal Israeli settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank that rely on Chevron-produced electricity to commit war crimes and maintain a system of apartheid;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, MLK Labor will send a letter to the National AFL-CIO Executive Board to endorse the #BoycottChevron campaign and encourage Safeway to cut all ties with Chevron until Chevron cuts all ties with Israel while they are participating in genocide and apartheid. 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that MLK Labor will encourage the Washington State Labor Council to communicate this resolution to the AFL-CIO leadership and Executive Board.