At a meeting of the SPFE Executive Board on the morning of July 2, the following resolution was passed. It is patterned after the resolution passed by the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation:
Resolution Opposing Racism and White Supremacy Culture
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Federation of Educators is a diverse and united union dedicated to improving the lives of all working families and an expression of the hopes and aspirations of the working people, students, families, and residents of Saint Paul, and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Federation of Educators is committed to mobilizing our members to support racial justice and equity, and
WHEREAS, racism is a system of oppression, designed to divide the working class so the wealthy elite can consolidate their wealth and power at the very top, and was systemically embedded in American society from our nation’s founding when slavery was the dominant base of the economy; and although historic and heroic struggles have yielded progress in destroying its basis in law, racism continues to pervade the social and economic life of our country, causing enormous harm and suffering of all people of color, and
WHEREAS, racism continues to be used as a means to divide working people and weaken their political and economic power, with the aim of imposing austerity, the destruction of unions and the crippling of all democratic institutions and rights, and
WHEREAS, many Black, Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander, Indigenous, Immigrant, LGBTQ, Muslim and female union members, along with our communities, are witnessing the results of policies and decisions driven by racial and gender exclusion, coupled with policies and decisions that undermine economic health for all working people, and
WHEREAS, repeated occurrences of deadly police violence in our community and throughout the country have outraged many decent Americans and provoked a mass movement for reform of the criminal justice system,
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Saint Paul Federation of Educators works to educate union members about the way race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and other differences impact the lives of our members and would-be members, and to build common understandings of how racial bias and discrimination cause generational harms, divide working people, and undermine our collective power, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Saint Paul Federation of Educators commits to dismantling systems of oppression and to building power among union members and community allies to change the institutions and practices that prevent us from advancing a shared vision for a
just, anti-racist and democratic economy that repairs past harms, and works for each of us, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Saint Paul Federation of Educators affirmatively states that there is no place for white supremacy in our schools, and in our labor movement. To that end, no individual shall be eligible to serve as an Officer, member of the executive board or committee, or other governing body, or any committee of, or as a delegate from, or as a representative, agent, or employee of this body who is a member of any fascist or white supremacist organization and/or consistently pursues policies and/or activities directed toward the purposes of any fascist or otherwise white supremacist.