Resolution submitted by the Professional Staff Congress (PSC) of the City University of New York (CUNY), AFT Local 2334, passed the following resolutione, Dec. 4, 2025 —
Note: As U.S. military pressure on Venezuela escalates, educators, staff, and union members at the City University of New York, by passing the following resolution, reaffirms their opposition to war, intervention, and coercive foreign policy in the Americas. This resolution reflects the union’s longstanding commitment to peace, international law, and international working-class solidarity, as well as its recognition that militarism abroad fuels austerity and underfunding at home.
By publicizing this resolution, the USPC calls on its members to help spark discussion within the labor movement and beyond, and to encourage other unions and progressive organizations to take up this issue, pass similar resolutions, and build a broader collective stance against U.S. military aggression and in defense of sovereignty and peace.
Oppose Military Aggression Against Venezuela
Whereas, U.S. political and military aggression toward Venezuela and the wider Caribbean is escalating—including the deployment of more than 10,000 U.S. military personnel, ongoing naval operations, and actions that have resulted in the killing of over 80 people on boats off the Venezuelan coast—based on unproven claims of drug smuggling from the U.S. mainland and creating conditions many observers describe as a march toward a new war in the Americas;
Whereas, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has formally condemned the military strikes conducted by the U.S. administration against vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean; and has called for a full and independent investigation into these acts which represent a clear violation of international human rights law and the principles of the United Nations Charter;
Whereas, the demonization of Venezuela and other Latin American countries in mainstream U.S. media inflames xenophobic and racist narratives long used to justify intervention in the hemisphere, and such narratives directly impact CUNY’s students and workers, many of whom are immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean;
Whereas, since the 19th century the Monroe Doctrine has served as a justification for repeated U.S. political, military, and economic interventions across Latin America and the Caribbean, undermining governments, social movements, and trade unions committed to working-class struggles, resulting in repression, military coups, sanctions, and widespread killings of civilians, workers, and their organizations;
Whereas, U.S. militarization in the Caribbean—carried out even as federal aid is slashed, benefits are cut, Affordable Care Act premiums are set to rise, and public resources are clawed back from New York City—diverts desperately needed funds from education, healthcare, housing, infrastructure and other social needs at a time when CUNY remains chronically underfunded;
Whereas, Venezuelan workers, students, and communities—like workers everywhere—deserve peace and the right to determine their own political, economic, and social future free from foreign intervention;
Whereas, the PSC, in solidarity with international workers harmed by U.S. wars and military occupations, has consistently declared its resolute support for anti-war campaigns, has successfully organized events like the 2019 “Should an Anti-War Union Oppose Sanctions?” and has brought anti-war resolutions forward for adoption by NYSUT, and the AFT in the past,
Be it resolved, that the PSC opposes any U.S. military intervention, coercive action, or aggression against Venezuela and any regional expansion of the conflict,
Be it further resolved, that the PSC will bring this resolution forward for consideration by our state affiliate NYSUT, and our national affiliate the AFT, in order to help build a broad labor movement that opposes U.S. intervention in Venezuela and supports sovereignty, peace, and international law in the Americas.
