Labor Stands United Against Attack on Women’s Rights

On June 24, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that affirmed the constitutional right of women to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions. 

BAC President Driscoll condemned the ruling as “a direct assault” on reproductive and economic rights. “Labor unions are dedicated to the proposition that workers have a voice in promoting the physical, economic, and social welfare of their members and all other workers. And the right of workers to control their own bodies cannot be separated from the right of workers to control their own labor,” 

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler called the ruling “a devastating blow to working women and families across this country. We strongly believe that everyone should have control over their own bodies, including decisions over their personal reproductive health care. This is just the latest in a harmful string of attacks on our fundamental rights, including the right to vote and to collectively bargain in the workplace.”

Labor unions across the country strongly condemned the Court’s ruling. 

IUPAT President Jimmy Williams Jr. decried the ruling noting that, “This decision, made by unelected and unaccountable people, will hurt millions of people, particularly women, the poor, and disadvantaged. The extremists on the Supreme Court who don’t believe in reproductive rights also don’t believe in the most basic labor rights.”

Similarly, AFSCME President Lee Saunders assailed the Court’s decision. “The court said today that the most deeply personal choices about your bodies, your health care and your future are not yours to make. We trust people to make the right decisions for themselves and their families – guided by their own moral and religious beliefs and not the political views of six judges.”

BAC President Tim Driscoll said, “BAC will remain engaged to support the right of women, and all workers, to make their own decisions about their health and body.”