Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO on President Trump’s Executive Order: Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity
Statement: Ryan Stanton, Executive Director, of the Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO on President Trump’s Executive Order: Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity
Today’s Newsday included an article covering President Trump’s Executive Order targeting DEI initiatives, and a response from me highlighting the impact this order will have on our veteran community. What you don’t see in my statement, and what is important for you to know, is the fact that this Executive Order undoes decades of progress including the repeal of Executive Order 11246, signed Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, which prohibited federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
The federal government already hires and promotes exclusively on the basis of merit.
Furthermore, and equally disturbing, is Section 5 of the Executive Order which includes a threat to federal funding for state and local education agencies.
Our union movement has been, and will remain on the front lines, to create a more diverse workforce, protect access to education, and ensure traditionally underserved and underrepresented communities do not have sixty years of progress erased overnight. We know that our diversity is our strength.
There is work to be done. Collective bargaining has always been and remains the best tool to ensure equal access to opportunity for all workers. We will continue to fight for everyone’s right to join a union and a fair economy that works for all of us.