FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michael Buckley
202/628-9262
Washington, D.C. — The following statement was issued today by Edward Wytkind, President of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“As the nation honors Martin Luther King Day 2005, transportation workers should not only remember and honor Dr. King’s legacy of fighting for social and economic justice, but also have his life and works inspire us as we confront the mounting challenges facing our industry and our nation.
“The strong ties that bind the labor and civil rights movements lie in our shared beliefs and our shared visions. We are driven by an abiding faith in the power of people, a belief that men and women can achieve greatness through collective action. We seek a more just and prosperous nation, and do so with an unwavering commitment to redress wrongs. We believe in sacrifices in times of adversity, but demand that they be borne fairly and equitably.
“Martin Luther King’s dream remains sadly unfulfilled whenever someone reaps power or profit through tactics of fear or division, or at the expense of another’s rights or dignity. The credo of nineteenth century robber baron Jay Gould — ‘I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half’ — still too often guides many in positions of power.
“On Martin Luther King Day, transportation workers can feel great pride in all that the labor and civil rights movements have achieved. But this pride must be tempered by great disappointment over the ways in which our nation has fallen short. We can best honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by further strengthening our resolve to create the land that Dr. King so passionately inspired us to march toward.”
TTD represents 35 member unions in the rail, aviation, transit, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, visit www.ttd.org.
