Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Issues Statement In Response To Burberry’s “Noose Hoodie”

WASHINGTON -D.C. – In response to news high-end luxury fashion brand Burberry featured a hoodie featuring a noose around the collar as part of its autumn/winter collection, Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, issued the following statement: “It is astounding to see Burberry showcase and profit…

National Civil Rights Group Responds to Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Vote Fraud Allegations

Washington, DC – Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, issued the following statement in response to an announcement made by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton regarding alleged non-U.S. citizens on the state’s registration rolls: “Advancing exaggerated claims of vote fraud has become the latest go-to tactic…

AFT President Randi Weingarten Urges Swift Passage of H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten released the following statement on the introduction of H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019: “Last year, we mourned students who never returned home from school, congregants who never returned home from church or synagogue, families who never returned home from a concert, and shoppers who never return home…

Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Reacts to Appellate Court’s Decision to Uphold the Conviction and 20-Year sentence of Michael Slager

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, issued the following statement following an appellate court’s decision to uphold the conviction and 20-year sentence of a white former South Carolina policeman for the shooting death of Walter Scott. “The 4th Circuit’s unanimous decision upholding the…

Congresswoman Lee Statement on Trump Administration’s Proposed Rule to End SNAP Benefits for 750,000+ Americans

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Lee released the following statement regarding the Trump administration’s proposed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) rule that would end food assistance for more than 750,000 Americans: “Let’s be clear: this Trump administration rule is a mean-spirited attempt to prevent hundreds of thousands of struggling Americans from accessing food assistance. This rule…

Waters Chosen by House Democrats to Be First Woman and African American to Chair Financial Services Committee

WASHINGTON — Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) released the following statement after being approved by the Democratic Caucus to serve as the first woman and the first African American Chair of the House Financial Services Committee: “I am honored to have been selected by my colleagues to be the first Chairwoman of the House Financial…

Editorial Boards Blame Trump for Possible Shutdown

With a possible government shutdown looming, editorial boards across the country have placed the blame firmly where it belongs – on Donald Trump. San Francisco Chronicle: “Moreover, Republicans’ total control of government, and the president’s explicit acceptance of responsibility for any impasse, all but eliminate the chief political drawback of a shutdown for Democrats: the…

DNC on Senate Intelligence Committee Report

DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement after the release of a new report prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee detailing Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, including its targeting of African-American voters and its attempts to suppress turnout among Democrats: “This is even more proof that the Russian government and the Republican Party…

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Welcomes Endorsement from Congressman John Lewis

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Barbara Lee welcomed the endorsement from Congressman John Lewis in her race for Democratic Caucus Chair. “Congressman John Lewis is the conscious of the Congress and a living civil rights legend. I am incredibly grateful for his leadership and his endorsement for Chair of the Democratic Caucus,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee….

USDA Partners with Communities to Bring High-Speed Broadband e-Connectivity Infrastructure to Rural Areas

More than 27,000 Businesses and Residents to Get Improved e-Connectivity WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2018 – Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett today announced that USDA is investing in infrastructure projects in a dozen states (PDF, 132 KB) to improve e-Connectivity in rural communities. “In the modern economy, rural broadband is a lifeline…

Largest VA union slams Trump administration move to silence workers’ voices

Agency moves to deny representation rights to health care workers WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. today issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s announcement that it will be denying union representation rights to more than 100,000 health care workers at…

EEOC Violating Own Policies to Target Workers, Union Says

Civil rights agency contradicts itself to attack own workers WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — As the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission prepares to hold a public hearing this week on preventing harassment in the workplace, behind the scenes it is upending internal policies that safeguard its own employees from harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, says the…

Torres Statement on President Trump’s Unconstitutional Planned Executive Order to End Birthright Citizenship

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Representative Norma J. Torres (D-CA) released the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s plan to issue an executive order to end birthright citizenship: “If there is one thing President Trump has made clear throughout his time in office, it is his complete disregard for the U.S. Constitution. It should…

Senators to Betsy DeVos: Stop Violating Workers’ Rights

Education  defies  FLRA  finding  to  push  anti-union  agenda  undermining  mission WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Three U.S. Senators are calling on Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to stop denying workplace rights and protections to nearly 4,000 Department of Education employees who are represented by the American Federation of Government Employees. The union representing nearly 4,000…

Waters: Trump Would Rather Put Children in Cages Than Prepare Nation for Natural Disasters

WASHINGTON — In response to the release of documents showing the transfer of $9.8 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) emergency preparedness funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for its detention centers, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), made the following statement: “The Trump Administration’s transfer of $9.8 million in FEMA emergency preparedness funding to…

Union echoes bipartisan calls from 182 lawmakers to overturn Trump pay freeze

‘We should not abandon our federal workers’ by denying them a ‘well-deserved pay increase,’ lawmakers say in letters to Congress, Trump WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — The American Federation of Government Employees is echoing bipartisan calls from members of the U.S. House to overturn President Trump’s plan to freeze wages for more than 2…

Democracy Wins as Court Strikes Down Trump’s Anti-Worker Executive Order

AFGE applauds ruling that administration illegally gutted workers’ rights, violated labor contracts WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — In a landmark decision, a federal judge has ruled that President Trump violated the U.S. Constitution and laws providing checks and balances in the federal government by attempting to deny more than 2 million federal workers their…