Civil and Human Rights Coalition Calls on Supreme Court to Uphold Workers’ Rights

WASHINGTON – Seema Nanda, executive vice president and COO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the former chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Labor in the Obama administration, issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to grant certiorari in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, a challenge to public sector union fees:

“Here we go again. Billionaires and right-wing corporate special interests are trying to use the Supreme Court to attack the fundamental rights of working people to come together, speak up, and hold the wealthy and powerful accountable. Working people and their unions have been at the forefront of battles for civil rights and the fight to unrig our economy – fights that benefit everyone. Stronger unions mean higher wages for all workers, and stronger communities with more pathways to prosperity for all, including women and people of color.  Black and Latino union workers earn respectively 15 percent and 22 percent more than their non-union counterparts.

The Supreme Court, and all of our courts, must be guided by the law and the Constitution, not politics. The Court should reject this political attack on long-settled rights of working people.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of approximately 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.