A Message from President Billy Dycus & Secretary-Treasurer A.J. Starling

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week and the events that have taken place throughout the country (including right here in Tennessee) over the past several days highlight what is well-known but not discussed nearly as often as it should be: our country is broken, and our brothers and sisters of color are hurting.

Racism in any form is disgusting, abhorrent, and must be condemned as strongly as possible. As President Trumka said in a statement this morning “[Racism] is a labor issue because it is a workplace issue. It is a community issue, and unions are the community. We must and will continue to fight for reforms in policing and to address issues of racial and economic inequality.”

The Tennessee AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions will continue to fight for social, economic, and racial justice in both the workplace and our daily lives. Until these ideas become more than talking points, our work will never be completed.  

At the direction of the national AFL-CIO, the Workers First Caravan Day of Action that was scheduled for this Wednesday, June 3rd, has been postponed until further notice. All actions and our virtual press conference will be rescheduled for a later date. Once that information has been shared with us, we will let you know.

Today and every day, we are humbled to stand in solidarity with all of you as we work tirelessly to ensure that all of our brothers and sisters are treated with the respect, dignity, and equality to which they are entitled.