“It was with sadness and outrage that we learned of the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the murder of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black child with no prior record, who was returning home from buying candy. Our sympathy, condolences and support go out to Trayvon’s parents, who have yet to win justice for the loss of their son.
“There have been too many unarmed people of color who have been murdered with impunity throughout our nation’s history, and it has got to stop. Our union will continue to be part of the movement to address the pain that our nation, and in particular people of color, are going through. Our country needs both healing, and also the acknowledgment that much change is still needed. The conversation about race is not complete in our country, and we are not living in a ‘post-racial’ society. Racism is still alive in America, and has very real and tragic consequences, such as the death of black youth like Trayvon.
“This case was mishandled and rife with racial bias from the very beginning, when the Sanford, Florida police department failed to charge Zimmerman for six long weeks, until finally the outcry from civil rights coalitions, including our union, forced the state to take action. Once Zimmerman was finally charged, the prosecution faced an uphill battle because of Florida’s so-called ‘Stand Your Ground’ legislation, which should more rightly be called the ‘Shoot First Law’.
“We cannot let the tragedy of Trayvon’s death be in vain, but rather we must act to ensure justice in this case, fight back against ‘Shoot First’ laws, heal racial divisions, and end racial profiling in all its forms. We are encouraging everyone to sign the online petition by the NAACP urging the Department of Justice to file civil rights charges against Zimmerman: http://www.naacp.org/page/s/doj-civil-rights-petition
“In addition, we are mobilizing all our members for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington on August 24th. The acquittal of Zimmerman, combined with the recent Supreme Court decisions gutting the Voting Rights Act, show that we still have a long way to go to ensure that everyone in our nation is treated equally under the law.”
-George Gresham, President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the nation’s largest and fastest-growing healthcare union.
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1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union the nation, with over 400,000 members throughout New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.
“There have been too many unarmed people of color who have been murdered with impunity throughout our nation’s history, and it has got to stop. Our union will continue to be part of the movement to address the pain that our nation, and in particular people of color, are going through. Our country needs both healing, and also the acknowledgment that much change is still needed. The conversation about race is not complete in our country, and we are not living in a ‘post-racial’ society. Racism is still alive in America, and has very real and tragic consequences, such as the death of black youth like Trayvon.
“This case was mishandled and rife with racial bias from the very beginning, when the Sanford, Florida police department failed to charge Zimmerman for six long weeks, until finally the outcry from civil rights coalitions, including our union, forced the state to take action. Once Zimmerman was finally charged, the prosecution faced an uphill battle because of Florida’s so-called ‘Stand Your Ground’ legislation, which should more rightly be called the ‘Shoot First Law’.
“We cannot let the tragedy of Trayvon’s death be in vain, but rather we must act to ensure justice in this case, fight back against ‘Shoot First’ laws, heal racial divisions, and end racial profiling in all its forms. We are encouraging everyone to sign the online petition by the NAACP urging the Department of Justice to file civil rights charges against Zimmerman: http://www.naacp.org/page/s/doj-civil-rights-petition
“In addition, we are mobilizing all our members for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington on August 24th. The acquittal of Zimmerman, combined with the recent Supreme Court decisions gutting the Voting Rights Act, show that we still have a long way to go to ensure that everyone in our nation is treated equally under the law.”
-George Gresham, President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the nation’s largest and fastest-growing healthcare union.
###
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union the nation, with over 400,000 members throughout New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.
