WHEREAS:
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2023’s Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. University of North Carolina and SFFA v. Harvard College cases determined that race-based affirmative action policies in higher education admissions violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution; and
WHEREAS:
The Supreme Court majority effectively ignored the continuing racial disparities in opportunity that remain in higher education, and the documented record that when race-based affirmative action has been prohibited in states such as California and Michigan, enrollment of Black students declined precipitously and remains far below levels representative of high school graduates; and
WHEREAS:
The SFFA v. Harvard College decision has fueled efforts to roll back affirmative action and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the public sector and at private-sector companies. Almost immediately after the ruling, attorneys general from 13 states sent a joint letter to major corporate CEOs warning them that race-based preferences in DEI initiatives may violate anti-discrimination laws. State legislatures introduced dozens of anti-DEI bills in the wake of the court’s decision; and
WHEREAS:
Following the decision, conservative legal organizations obtained a court injunction blocking a private organization from making grants to Black women entrepreneurs and sued major corporations and organizations such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Football League and Major League Baseball for seeking to increase the representation of women and racial and ethnic minority employees at their organizations. In stunts that would be laughable if the implications were not so dire, right-wing elected officials have blamed DEI for such events as the Baltimore bridge collapse and the Boeing company’s manufacturing quality control crisis; and
WHEREAS:
Attorneys general from 21 other states clarified that DEI efforts are in fact legal and reduce corporate risk and the chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reaffirmed the legality of DEI programs seeking “to foster diverse and inclusive workforces or to engage the talents of all qualified workers, regardless of their background;” and
WHEREAS:
Some companies, fearful of legal entanglements and manufactured controversy, have deemphasized and in some cases abandoned DEI initiatives. Corporations are cutting or eliminating staff focused on diversity initiatives, resulting in a reduction in corporate DEI officers nationwide. Law firms and major corporations in the pharmaceutical and telecommunications industries are among the companies that have backed away from race-conscious diversity efforts in response to legal threats; and
WHEREAS:
Even though some corporate DEI efforts may be largely window dressing or public relations, there is evidence that companies with DEI initiatives make more diverse hires and have higher employee satisfaction. A retreat from these programs could lead to a backslide in diversity in the workplace. More importantly, it is concerning to see companies and organizations so quickly pull back from them, and alarming that the backlash against initiatives to create a more just and equitable society is emboldened; and
WHEREAS:
Lawmakers in states such as Florida and Texas have prohibited diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in schools, higher education institutions and muzzled faculty in teaching or speaking about issues of race and gender. Florida also imposed a ban on private companies conducting workplace trainings involving race, which for now has been blocked by federal court decisions; and
WHEREAS:
These anti-affirmative action efforts cynically appropriate the language of equal treatment to stifle candid discussions of structural racism, divide Americans across racial lines and uphold inequality; and
WHEREAS:
AFSCME has long fought for racial justice, as reflected most recently in our resolution to combat systemic racism at the 44th International Convention (Resolution No. 3) in 2020 and to support and defend affirmative action and basic civil rights protections at the 40th International Convention (Resolution No. 62) in 2012.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
AFSCME strongly opposes the Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina and SFFA v. Harvard College Supreme Court decisions as wrongly decided and harmful to efforts to create equal educational opportunity and to repair racial division in our society; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
AFSCME will fight against efforts to use the Supreme Court decision on college admissions to roll back affirmative action and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in public services and at private-sector companies; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
AFSCME condemns the glaring hypocrisy of the individuals and groups with long records of hostility to racial fairness who use America’s legal tools of equality to stifle discussion of historical and structural racism in an attempt to reverse the growing awareness of unequal conditions and opportunities today; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:
AFSCME recognizes the labor movement’s role, and our union’s unique part, in fighting to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, affirmative action and the freedom to teach and to learn about historical and structural racism in the face of these political and legal attacks on racial justice efforts.
SUBMITTED BY:
Ronald McMullen, President and Delegate
Frances Cintron, Secretary-Treasurer
AFSCME Council 63
New Jersey