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By Mark Gruenberg
WASHINGTON—Declaring that working people are saying, “We’ve had enough,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said unions will continue the fight to root out systemic racism in the U.S.
In a 77-minute Zoom telecast on June 3, Trumka and other labor leaders—AFSCME President Lee Saunders, Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten, IBEW President Lonnie Stephenson, Painters President Ken Rigmaiden, Unite Here President D. Taylor, and two Unite Here regional leaders—laid blame for that racism at the feet of U.S. history and U.S. politicians.
And most said the fight to tackle racism must include key moves at the ballot box this fall, starting with the ouster of GOP President Donald Trump and his congressional enablers.
Trumka added that corporations are responsible for racism, too. They take advantage of racial divisions and animosities, Rigmaiden said.
After declaring workers and others “must come together and call out oppression,” the Painters chief added: “The U.S. is built on an economic system that thrives on dividing us by race, gender, sexual orientation, and immigration status. The wealthy thrive while we struggle....
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