LCLAA Repudiates the Trump Administration’s Divisive and Hateful Rhetoric
Media Statement
5 February 2019
Washington D.C.- Last night Trump delivered his third State of the Union Address. During this 80-minutes speech, he boasted about accomplishments that fall short from being true, and further divide our nation. Trump triumphantly noted that our nation’s unemployment has reached its lowest rate in over half a century. However, this statement fails to take into account that Latinos earn the lowest wages of any ethnic group in the country with over 10 million making poverty-level wages. He deceptively defended American’s right to health care, while the reality is that his administration has consistently sought to take coverage away from millions. Once again, Trump attacked immigrants by condemning sanctuary cities, which uphold the values of unity and inclusiveness that have characterized our nation since its beginnings.
“It was a lamentable discourse aimed at further dividing our nation,” said Yanira Merino, LCLAA National President. Just a few days ago, his promised border wall- this nefarious edifice that embodies exclusion, segregation, and hate, was torn down by strong winds, crumbling onto the Mexican side. In the same way, our engagement, our presence at the polls in November, and our commitment to justice and equality will undoubtedly tear down the walls of division that this administration has thus far erected.”
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The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) is the leading national organization for Latino(a) workers and their families. LCLAA was born in 1973 out of the need to educate, organize and mobilize Latinos in the labor movement and has expanded its influence to organize Latinos in an effort to impact workers’ rights and their influence in the political process. LCLAA represents the interest of more than 2 million Latino workers in the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), The Change to Win Federation, independent unions and all their affiliate unions. Visit LCLAA on the web at www.lclaa.org, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.