An organization of union members, which has established six chapters in California to oppose abortion on demand, has called on “every union in the United States” to adopt a pro-life stance and work for the passage of a constitutional amendment to protect the unborn.

Union Workers for Life also urged AFL-CIO to adopt a pro-life resolution, insist on a pro-life “plank” at the Democratic national convention in New York, and support only those candidates for public office “who take a pro-life stand.”

Charles Gallagher, president of Union Workers for Life and a member of Local 781, International Association of Machinists here, said the “rank-and-file” organization is seeking “to inform our fellow union members of this growing tragedy (of abortion) and to alert them to the dangers inherent to the family unit if the ‘abortion mentality’ triumphs in our society.

“Our best offence against this mentality,” said Gallagher, “is to bring to light facts, to dispel the falsehoods and myths that pro-abortion advocates have foisted on the American public.”

He denied that abortion is a “women’s issue,” but took the position that it is a human issue, “since it denies to humanity’s offspring the most fundamental right of all, the right to life.”

“Just as the AFL-CIO is concerned with human rights in Northern Ireland and the Soviet Union, so should we be concerned about the denial of human rights to millions of infants in America,” Gallagher declared. “Compassion for the helpless and the underprivileged is the cornerstone of ‘union philosophy.’ But who is more helpless than the infant fetus?”

Stating that union members who respect the sanctity of life can reverse the abortion trend by supporting pro-life political candidates, he stated: “We therefore ask every union member who believes in the protection of life, and liberty, to join with us …”

Gallagher said that while the organization is presently concentrating on California, he hoped that Union Workers for Life would eventually spread throughout the country.

Current officers of the organization include representatives from the Communications Workers of America, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.