Secretary-Treasurer Powell Joins Call for Moral Revival for Civil and Economic Rights

January 31, 2020

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On Jan. 29, Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth “Liz” Powell represented the APWU at the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival’s press conference in Washington, DC. The press conference, held on Capitol Hill, raised awareness for the Poor People’s Campaign’s Moral Budget, a budget proposal centering the needs of the 140 million poor people in the country. The press conference also promoted the organization’s “Mass Poor People’s Assembly & Moral March on Washington,” scheduled for June 20, 2020.

In her remarks, Powell recalled the unanimous resolution adopted at the 2014 APWU Biennial National Convention to support the Forward Together Moral Monday Movement, a civil disobedience campaign to protest actions by the North Carolina state government in 2014. That movement was led by Rev. William Barber, who now co-chairs the Poor People’s Campaign.

Powell also emphasized the importance of the labor movement standing for civil rights. “There is a liaison between labor and civil rights. One cannot go without the other,” Powell said. “We each fight for economic justice, social justice, human rights, women’s rights every day.” Powell pledged the APWU’s full support for the June 2020 March on Washington.

The Poor People’s Campaign, inspired by the 1968 campaign of the same name led by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., began in 2018 under Barber’s leadership. In the summer of 2018, activists in over 40 states began a campaign of civil disobedience and direct action to build lasting power for poor and impacted people. The campaign has continued into 2020 with the release of the Moral Budget and 25-state We Must Do M.O.R.E. Tour (Mobilize, Organize, Register, and Educate) leading up to the June 20, 2020 March on Washington.

Secretary-Treasurer Powell was joined by activists, organizers, and other labor leaders, including CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens, AFSCME President Lee Saunders, AFT President Randi Weingarten, AFA-CWA President Sara Nelson, Acting AFGE President Everett Kelley and UFCW Vice President Robin Williams.

For a full video of the event, click here. For more information on the June 20, 2020 event, visit the Poor People’s Campaign event page and Facebook page.

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