Our union has historically fought for equal access to voting, accommodations, jobs, and health care. Today’s misguided decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is a giant step backwards that will create gross inequities for women and all working families. By taking the power to make reproductive choices from women and putting them in the hands of state legislators, the U.S. Supreme Court has effectively set up a system where the well-connected and privileged will be able to make reproductive choices by traveling to states or countries that respect those rights while other women without resources will be left powerless and vulnerable. This decision will only increase existing racial and economic disparities at a time when we should be fighting for equality for all. This is not progress. This is not right.
By disavowing a well-established right, the U.S. Supreme Court has also put everyone on notice that nothing is safe or secure. Elections have consequences, and we are seeing that bear out in front of our eyes. The political agenda of the far-right is now the template of juris prudence and that means the rights to join a union and collectively bargain for good wages, benefits, and safe working conditions are less secure today than they were yesterday.