Working men and women look to the federal courts to protect our rights at work – the right to equal pay and non-discriminatory treatment, the right to a safe workplace, and the right to form and join unions. Of all the federal circuit courts of appeals, none is more important to working men and women than the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The court hears more National Labor Relations Board cases than any other, and it also reviews rules and decisions issued by OSHA and other important government agencies. It is clear that the decisions of the D.C. Circuit have a real impact on the lives of the working people we represent.
To this all-important court, President Bush has nominated California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown. While we applaud the notion of appointing a woman of color to this important court, we strongly oppose the nomination of Justice Brown.
Over the course of her tenure on the California courts, Justice Brown has shown herself to be an ultra-conservative ideologue, with views that are both out of the mainstream and hostile to the interests of the working men and women we represent. She has authored dissenting opinions that would have barred civil rights claims, denied effective remedies to victims of unlawful discrimination, and struck down an affordable housing program in San Francisco as an unconstitutional “taking” of private property. She has authored opinions restricting free speech rights, undermining health and safety protections, and banning affirmative action. In her speeches, Justice Brown has espoused a deep skepticism of government and an overriding concern with protecting private property rights. She has called the New Deal “the triumph of our own socialist revolution,” and has compared “big government” to “slavery” and an “opiate.” In our view, these speeches and opinions show that Justice Brown is too ideological and out of the mainstream for a lifetime appointment to the D.C. Circuit.
For these reasons, we join with the Congressional Black Caucus, the NAACP, the AFL-CIO, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and other leading labor and civil rights organizations in opposing the nomination of Justice Brown. We urge the Senate to reject her nomination, and we urge the President to look to the ranks of the thousands of African-American lawyers in the District of Columbia area for a more moderate, mainstream nominee. (Following is a list of labor leaders opposed to Justice Brown’s nomination).
Contact: Suzanne Folkes 202-637-5018
Baxter Atkinson
President
American Federation of School Administrators
William Burrus
President
American Postal Workers Union
Clyde Rivers
President
School Employeees Association, California
William Lucy
Secretary-Treasurer
American Federation of State, County, and
Municipal Employees
Edgar Romney
Secretary-Treasurer
Union of Needletrades, Industrial and
Textile Employees
Willie L. Baker, Jr.
International Vice President
United Food and Commercial Workers
Andrea E. Brooks
National Vice President
American Federation of Government Employees
Clayola Brown
International Vice President
Union of Needletrades, Industrial and
Textile Employees
Edward L. Brown
International Vice President
International Longshoreman’s Association
Mary Finger
International Vice President
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union
Leon Lynch
International Vice President
United Steelworkers of America
Nate Gooden
Vice President and Director
United Autoworkers International Union
Daimler Chrysler Department
George R. Gudger
Vice President & Director of Minority Advancement
Laborers’ International Union of North America
Jean Hervey
International Vice President
Union of Needletrades, Industrial
and Textile Employees
Lawrence Martin
International Vice President
Director, Civil Rights & Liberties Committee
Transport Workers Union
Kenneth Rigmaiden
Executive General Vice President
International Union of Painters and
Allied Trades
Brook Sunkett
Vice President
Communications Workers of America
Patricia Ford
Executive Vice President
Service Employees International Union
Nat LaCour
Executive Vice President
American Federation of Teachers
Carroll Haynes
President
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237
Anna Sutton
President
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 2216
James Andrews
President
North Carolina State AFL-CIO
Sam Latham
President
Delaware State AFL-CIO
Fred Mason
President
Maryland State AFL-CIO
Tina Abbott
Secretary-Treasurer
Michigan State AFL-CIO
Jackie Canada-Reaves
Secretary Treasurer
Delaware State AFL-CIO
Sibal S. Holt
Secretary-Treasurer
Louisiana AFL-CIO
Petee Talley
Secretary-Treasurer
Ohio AFL-CIO
Donald Boggs
President
Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO
Bridgette Williams
President
Kansas City Labor Council
Joslyn N. Williams
President
Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO
Norman Hill
President
A. Philip Randolph Institute
Gloria T. Johnson
President
Coalition of Labor Union Women
William Lucy
President
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Rosetta Daylie
Associate Director
American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees, Council 31
Angela Johnson
United Food and Commercial Workers
Dallas, TX
Robert L. Massey, Jr.
Director of Community Outreach
New York State United Teachers
Royetta Sanford
Director, Human Services Department
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Jimmy Settles
Regional Director
United Autoworkers – Detroit
Aleta Hernandez
Union of Needletrades, Industrial and
Textile Employees
New York, NY
Teresa Hill
United Steelworkers of America
Oklahoma City, OK
Miriam Poe
United Autoworkers
Detroit, MI
Wilbert Robinson
United Steelworkers of America
Evansville, IN
Andrew Shelton
PACE International
Nashville, TN
Verlene Wilder
Office and Professional Employees
Seattle, WA
Rudy Bruce
Chapter President
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Long Island, New York
Cordelia Lewis-Burks
Executive Council Member
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Indianapolis, IN
Antonio Christian
Chapter President
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Northern California
Nathan Head
Chapter President
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Metropolitan Detroit
Kathleen Jackson
Chapter President
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Connecticut
Gwend Johnson
Treasurer
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
National
Henry McCoy
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Region V Representative
Lewis Peeples
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Broward Chapter - Florida
Ellen R. Sheared
Chapter President/Local President
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Southern New Jersey
Robert “Bob” Simpson
President
Chicago Chapter, CBTU
Corresponding Secretary, National CBTU
Eugene A. Washington
President
Savannah Chapter, CBTU
