FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michael Buckley
202/628-9262
202/262-3854
MichaelB@ttd.org
Washington, D.C. B 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.
“On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2006 we pause to honor a courageous pioneer in the fight for a more just society. We also renew our commitment to strengthen the power of everyday people to unite, through collective action, to improve their lives on the job and in their communities.
“Jailed for exercising the courage of his convictions, Dr. King spoke to the world from the solitude of his Birmingham cell, writing that, ‘injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ Never was Dr. King’s spirit and determination shaken as he fought for fairness and dignity for those denied their most basic rights and freedoms.
“Decades later, too many in our government and in our corporations flaunt our nation’s laws while ignoring the basic needs and weakening the rights of workers. Even worse, we have witnessed for five years an Administration that is all too willing to permit the use of public assets and services as instruments of private gain as working people have suffered.
“Dr. King once said, ‘our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.’ As we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we must take his words to heart and do whatever it takes to defend workers when their jobs or rights are jeopardized.”
TTD represents 29 member unions in the rail, aviation, transit, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, visit ttd.org.
