“Our American answer is 'In Union there is Strength.' We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis—confident that we are better than our politics.”- General James Mattis, USMC (ret’d)

Brothers and Sisters of Local 1-2, in the past week, as our country is devastated by Covid-19, Americans in all fifty states have gathered to condemn the public murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on camera by rogue police officers.

The quote above by General Mattis perfectly sums up the way to move forward. We must not merely condemn the extrajudicial murder of George Floyd, a black man, we must condemn racial inequities that pervade our society at every level and fight as one to dismantle them.

George Floyd’s murder, and countless others in recent years for being Black, point to a poison in our whole society that must be countered at every turn. This moment transcends opinion, it transcends politics, it calls for equal justice, equal rights, and equal treatment of all men and women.

Brothers and Sisters, it is time, as we go through our lives, to demand and work for "Justice for All.” The time for lip service is gone. It is time for action at work, at home, and in our society. We must restore dignity and respect at the human level, person to person, to heal our Nation.