Trumka on the Race... issue

"I’m not one for quoting dead philosophers, but back in the 1700s, Edmund Burke said: “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.”

"Well, there’s no evil that’s inflicted more pain and more suffering than racism -- and it’s something we in the labor movement have a special responsibility to challenge.

"It’s our special responsibility because we know, better than anyone else, how racism is used to divide working people.

"We’ve seen how companies set worker against worker -- how they throw whites a few extra crumbs off the table -- and how it’s black and Latino workers who get the dirtiest, most dangerous jobs. "

Richard Trumka Secretary-Treasurer AFL-CIO


See Also:

August 4, 2008
Majority of Americans Say Racism Against Blacks Widespread

PRINCETON, NJ -- A recent USA Today/Gallup poll finds most Americans saying racism is widespread against blacks in the United States. This includes a slim majority of whites (51%), a slightly higher 59% of Hispanics, and the vast majority of blacks (78%).

Analysis: Impact of Personal Characteristics on Candidate Support