Dear sisters and brothers —
At its meeting in Atlanta last week the AFL-CIO Executive Council established a Commission on Racial and Economic Justice as a central part of a national campaign for higher wages, jobs, reforming the criminal justice system and strengthening diversity in the labor movement. At a press conference following the meeting, the Council released a powerful statement announcing plans for meetings of the commission around the country over the next year to engage labor leaders in a “frank and thoughtful discussion” of issues “pertaining to the persistence of racial injustice today in the workforce and in their communities.”
The full statement is available at this link:
Labor Commission on Racial and Economic Justice
America’s legacy of racism and racial injustice has been and continues to be a fundamental obstacle to workers’ efforts to act together to build better lives for al…
A report on AFL-CIO Pres. Richard Trumka’s statements at the press conference is at this link:
http://www.peoplesworld.org/trumka-singles-out-fight-against-racism-as-key-to-raising-wages/
BLACK HISTORY MOMENT: Yesterday, February 27, 1872 marked the day that Charlotte E. Ray became the first African-American female lawyer in the United States. Ray graduated from Howard University School of Law. She was also the first female admitted to the District of Columbia Bar, and the first woman admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. Her admission was used as a precedent by women in other states who sought admission to the bar.
