MEMORANDUM
TO: Principal and Secondary Officers of State Federations and
Central and Area Labor Councils
FROM: AFL-CIO Office of the President
No person of conscience can watch the video of George Floyd pleading for his life under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer and not understand that something is deeply wrong in America. What happened to George Floyd, what happened to Ahmaud Arbery, what happened to far too many unarmed people of color has happened for centuries. The difference is now we have cell phones. It’s there for all of us to see. And we can’t turn our heads and look away because we feel uncomfortable. This is a labor issue because it is a workplace issue. It is a community issue, and unions are the community. We must and will continue to fight for reforms in policing and to address issues of racial and economic inequality.
We are asking you to postpone Workers First Caravan national day of action events. We will in the near future be calling for coast to coast action around the 5 Economic Essentials and the HEROES Act.
The HEROES Act will be one of the most important pieces of social legislation in the last 30 years and is urgently needed in response to the economic crisis our nation faces. However now is the time for the labor movement to focus on the national conversation underway around racism.
All public in person events planned for the Workers First Caravan actions should be postponed.
Media events specific to the 5 Economic Essentials and importance of getting the HEROES Act passed that can be postponed should be, if at all possible. If not possible, we will provide you social justice messaging that the media will be asking you about anyway.
Events with elected officials regarding the 5 Economic Essentials and importance of getting the HEROES Act passed that can be postponed should be, if at all possible.
Many of the Workers First Caravan actions / National Day of Action events our State and Central Bodies have planned deal directly with food insecurity and workplace safety. These types of actions are always timely. We defer to your judgment about local conditions and the ability to continue these efforts.
Just to be clear, we are only asking events you have planned for the national day of action to support the 5 Economic Essentials and the HEROES Act be postponed. We encourage you to continue to provide the leadership and voice for workers in your communities and states that is so desperately needed now. We will get back to you shortly with revised plans for our mobilization on behalf of the 5 Economic Essentials and the HEROES Act.
Please let your Regional Field Director, field staff or mobilizers know your specific plans in relation to your scheduled June 3rd event. We will continue to be in regular contact.
Thank you.
AFL-CIO
Office of the President
815 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
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Join the Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco and San Mateo and now Sacramento Labor Councils on Wednesday, June 3rd from 11am-1pm for an action and car caravan from the SF Federal Building to the Oakland Federal Building calling on Congress and on our state level officials to adopt the 5 Economic Essentials:
- Keep America healthy—protect and expand health insurance for all workers.
- Keep front-line workers safe and secure.
- Keep workers employed and protect earned pension checks.
- Keep public schools going, the Postal Service solvent, state and local governments running.
- Keep America competitive—hire people to build infrastructure.
Want to find the Caravan Nearest to you? GO HERE!
Make your voice heard. Demand worker protections today. RSVP HERE!
Central Labor Council of Contra Costa County, AFL-CIO 1333 Pine Street, Suite E Martinez, CAwww.cclabor.net
