8th June 2020
Brother Richard Trumka
President, AFL-CIO
National Headquarters
Washington DC
United States of America
Dear Brother Richard,
WE STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS (AFL-CIO) ON THE BLACK LIVES MATTER GLOBAL ANTI-RACISM PROTESTS
I bring you fraternal greetings from the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and her civil society allies.
We write to express our solidarity with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and all the working people of America on your commitment to the “Black Lives Matter” anti-racism protests. It is satisfying that this struggle for civil rights and liberties has captured the interest of the world and gained a global momentum.
Like the rest of the world, we are horrified at the cruel execution of Mr. George Floyd on the streets of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America on May 25, 2020. Those gory nine minutes before Mr. Floyd’s life was brutally snuffed out by Derek Chauvin, a police officer, in cohort with three other police officers will continue to evoke outrage from all people of conscience.
We also share in AFL-CIO’s pain and loss especially as occasioned by the torching of your headquarters in Washington DC, just a few steps away from the White House. It is heartwarming that the criminality of a few misguided elements who have turned a genuine struggle for rights into an opportunity for looting and lighting has not dampened your commitment to this great social campaign for civil rights and liberties.
The Nigeria Labour Congress condemns the dastardly murder of George Floyd in the hands of law enforcement officers paid with public funds to protect lives. We demand justice on George Floyd’s killing and the extrajudicial killing of other African Americans. We condemn the institutionalized racial profiling of black people in America, Europe, Asia and all over the world. We condemn the dehumanization of black people through color profiling, racial discrimination, human trafficking, slave labour and sexual exploitation.
We demand that world governments and institutions must take very strong and stern steps to stamp out racism in all its shades on the streets, in the workplace, and on play grounds. The manifestation of racism anywhere on the planet is a severe mockery to civilization, globalization, and development.
Once again, we commend the courage of your leadership and membership in standing up, as always, in this great hour of contestation for the values that define the American spirit. We commend all people of goodwill and conscience from all races who have identified in one way or the other with the “Black Lives Matter” movement and protests.
We hope that all the efforts invested in this struggle would yield fundamental reforms of law enforcement institutions, increased funding of social protection schemes for minority communities and better work conditions for the working people of America.
Solidarity Forever!
Comrade Ayuba Wabba, mni
President