Tu lucha es mi lucha: Black Lives Matter Statement

"Those who deplore our militants, who exhort patience in the name of a false peace, are in fact supporting segregation and exploitation. They would have social peace at the expense of social and racial justice. They are more concerned with easing racial tension than enforcing racial democracy." - A. Philip Randolph, Labor Unionist.

First and foremost, the United Latinos of the UFCW, extends our most sincerest condolences to the family and friends of George Flyod. As a labor organization we cannot remain silent regarding the systemic violence and racism against Black people in the United States. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow Black Lives Matter. The United Latinos of the UFCW stands in solidarity with everyone who is outraged and voicing their stand in the streets. From Minneapolis to Los Angeles, your unrest, frustration, and anger is felt, you are heard. We join your outcry for Justice for George Floyed. Justice for Black and Brown lives lost in the hands of police brutality. Justice for Black and Brown lives lost in detention centers. Racism and White Supremacy plague our system and are deeply rooted in our socio-cultural way of life. Today, we join the Labor Movement and community organizations calling for justice for George Floyd.

The police have terrorized Brown and Black working people for hundreds of years. We are frustrated that we keep finding ourselves in this position and we are angry that justice still seems far out of reach. This frustration has manifested in protests and outrage throughout the United States. Our media has gone from news reports on the staggering numbers of COVID-19 deaths to scenes of burning buildings and hundreds of people chanting “I Can’t Breath.” Both issues are related and exemplify the embedded racism in our system. The majority of people who were dying from COVID-19 were disproportionately African American. We need to understand that this is not about a few officers, but about institutional racism that plagues our society. White Supremacy is a wide spreading disease that needs to be eradicated.

As Latinxs we need to combat the anti-blackness in our communities. Latinos are diverse and many of our members are Afro-Latinx. Anti-blackness in Latino communities is rampant. As labor organizers we have seen management use race as a divider to wither down our organizing campaigns.

We need to show a united front in the face of discrimination and racism. We need to confront our own biases and fight together to dismantle White Supremacy.

As the United Latinos of the UFCW, we will keep fighting for racial and economic justice by building together with other constituency groups and Local Unions. We need to keep our membership educated about issues relating to racial and criminal justice, after all the change we want to see starts with us. Together, we must take collective action to dismantle institutions that enable acts of violence against Black and Brown communities to keep happening. Again, our hearts go out to the family and friends of George Floyd and to all those families and communities whose lives have been impacted by police brutality and immigration enforcement agencies. We shall overcome.