Ten national unions and scores of locals representing more than 3 million members have issued a joint statement demanding “an End to the Assault on the Right to Organize and Protest.”
“Labor demands an end to the Trump administration’s assaults on immigrant workers, freedom of speech, the right to organize and bargain, and federal government workers, their unions, and the services they provide.
“We will not stand by as President Donald Trump terrorizes immigrant workers with abduction, detention, and confinement without due process in unmarked facilities, far-flung detention centers, and a notorious prison in El Salvador.
“The attacks are ramping up, and we need to act fast. In Washington state, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents smashed a car window and detained farmworker Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez, a leader in the berry-pickers union Familias Unidas por la Justicia, on his way to drop off his partner at work. They locked up SEIU Local 925 member Lewelyn Dixon, a lab tech at the University of Washington, when she returned from a family trip. They raided a roofing company where workers recently went on a safety strike, and arrested 37 people.”
The statement called on all unions to “organize rallies, demonstrations, and other actions to demand that the administration stop these attacks and free our fellow workers.” The labor movement “must act to stop Trump’s deportation, censorship, and intimidation machine. When necessary, we must disrupt business as usual.”
Edgar Franks, political director of independent farmworker union Familias Unidas por la Justicia where Lelo Juarez is a leader, and a member of the LNS Board said, “Hopefully this is a sign of, maybe if there were past issues with unions or organizations that maybe had differences, this could be the thing that brings everybody together, uniting for one cause. From there we can have a united, fighting labor front.”
National unions signing the statement include American Association of University Professors (AAUP) • Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) • American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) • American Postal Workers Union (APWU) • Inland Boatmen’s Union (IBU) • International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) • International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) • National Education Association (NEA) • National Nurses United (NNU) • National Writers Union (NWU) • Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) • Service Employees International Union (SEIU) • United Auto Workers (UAW) • United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE).
For text of statement: https://form.jotform.com/250850668516059
Unions can sign on to the petition here.