MILITARY SPENDING

WHEREAS, 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the 10th United Nations Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT); and

WHEREAS, the United States has still not ratified the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; and

WHEREAS, U.S. federal expenditures on nuclear weapons and associated costs in fiscal year 2018 were $21.8 billion, which, redirected into other spending, could have paid for 54,000 elementary school teachers for the year, 500,000 Head Start slots, 120,000 four-year university scholarships, 175,000 four-year Pell Grant awards, and 80,000 infrastructure jobs for the year;[1] and

WHEREAS, U.S. military allocations in 2019 ($717 billion) were 20 percent larger than the combined spending of the next nine countries (seven of which are U.S. allies);[2] and

WHEREAS, our national security would be better protected if there were universal healthcare for our people, high-quality education and training, affordable housing, environmental justice, and adequate nutrition for all, and full global nuclear disarmament, rather than continuing these bloated military programs; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Conference of Mayors has called for cuts in the federal military budget and the redirection of funds to urgent human needs, and called upon their city councils or equivalent local governments to hold hearings and join in this call:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers will call on the United States to ratify the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and contribute constructively to the eradication of all nuclear weapons from the planet; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT reiterates its past demand for significant cuts in the military budget, coupled with a program of just transition to productive civilian economic activity for workers and communities now dependent upon military production; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT urges its members to question all candidates and elected officials to press them to endorse and work in support of these policies, and where appropriate to hold hearings in their local communities to assess the local impact of excessive federal military spending in support of moving the money; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will convey this resolution to local, state and federal officials as appropriate.