Racism is one of the greatest evils and has always been a roadblock to building a strong labor movement. It is a specific form of discrimination based upon the false belief that some groups of people are inherently biologically superior to others. Racism provides a basis for institutionalized systematic oppression and exploitation that is foundational to American capitalism.
Racism and white supremacy are promoted by capitalists to justify the exploitation, oppression, theft of land and resources from, and the erasure of the history and culture of Black and Indigenous peoples. Both were also a means of dividing the working class and justifying the brutal system of slavery, colonial genocide, Jim Crow, vigilante murders, and police brutality and killings.
The persistence of institutional racism affects all peoples of color, and is evident in the economic and social oppression and exploitation experienced by Black people in particular. Black people suffer from disproportionately higher unemployment, lower wages, and poorer working conditions. On average, Black people are twice as likely to die from disease, police murders, accidents, and homicide as whites. Black people are more likely to be arrested, three times more likely to become prisoners once arrested, and serve longer terms. Racists and white supremacists blame the victims of these conditions, rather than blaming the capitalist system that creates these injustices.
People of color, especially Black people, are more likely to be stopped by police, searched, arrested, and become the victims of police and vigilante violence. The murder of countless people of color by police is outrageous. This is not merely the result of individual racist police officers but of a widespread, systematic disrespect for the lives of Black people and other people of color.
Racism and white supremacy extend beyond the U.S., and are a core element of Israel’s genocide in Palestine. The Israeli project of clearing Palestinians out of Gaza shares common roots with the displacement and militarized police violence faced by Black, brown, and Indigenous people in the U.S. Multiple police departments in the U.S. have received training provided by Israeli forces, bringing the rabid tyranny demonstrated by the Israeli military to U.S. streets.
While America has had a long history of racism, the second Trump Administration has openly embraced white nationalism in a manner not seen in generations. The right-wing demonization of so-called “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (DEI) programs has morphed into the use of DEI as a thinly-veiled racial slur. The administration is demanding that various institutions, from legal firms to universities to reproductive health services providers, abandon “all DEI efforts” or face lawsuits or cuts to their funding. A recent federal settlement with Brown University goes even further, requiring the university to submit annual reports listing the race/national origin, GPA, and test scores of all of its students, under the presumed threat that the university will face legal action if nonwhite students underperform white averages. Numerous federal appointees, both civilian and military, are being purged by the Trump Administration as well, with a high percentage of those targeted being people of color, particularly Black people.
The second Trump Administration has also seen a wholesale attempt to erase the history of Black and other nonwhite Americans. In March of 2025, the Trump Administration purged 26,000 items referring to nonwhite contributions to the military, from the Tuskegee Airmen to the Navajo Code Talkers to Jackie Robinson’s service. Memorials dedicated to the service of nonwhite soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery have also been removed. Trump complained on Juneteenth that the U.S. had too many federal holidays. He has also ordered a review of all exhibits of the Smithsonian (an independent, but federally-supported network of museums) to adjust their “tone, historical framing and alignment with American ideals,” with one White House official stating that they “will explore all options and avenues to get the woke out of the Smithsonian and hold them accountable.” The implication is that even the National Museum of African American History must downplay the reality of Black history if it means to survive.
Police brutality and state repression continue to deepen and broaden, being further encouraged by Trump, most recently in pro-brutality comments made in support of his deployment of National Guard troops into Washington, DC to combat an entirely fictional crime wave. In July 2025, William Anthony McNeil Jr., a 22 year old Black man, was violently assaulted in Florida—was punched in the head through his car window, dragged through the street, and beaten for the crime of asking to speak to the officer’s supervisor after being pulled over for driving without his headlights on while it was daytime and not raining.
In response to continued police violence against Black people, Black Lives Matter became a mass movement. After the police murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, somewhere between 15-26 million people participated in demonstrations across the U.S., making the Black Lives Matter protests the largest protest movement in U.S. history. UE members were a part of these protests, and marched and bravely stood up to white supremacy, hatred, racism, and violence. The need for a mass movement to stop racist repression continues.
Since our last convention, a second cohort of UE leaders completed their participation in the UE Leadership and Staff Development Program, designed to develop the leadership of UE members from racial and ethnic backgrounds who are underrepresented in UE leadership or on UE staff. Several program participants have joined the UE staff or been elected to the General Executive Board. A third cohort is now underway, and members of the cohort are participating in this convention.
Working-class unity can never be taken for granted. Winning depends upon our success in the fight against racism. UE and the wider labor movement is not immune from racism. We must consciously work to overcome racism in our diverse working class.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THIS 79th UE CONVENTION:
- Recognizes that an important part of fighting racism is affirming it exists, especially in light of the current racist attempts to whitewash history;
- Reaffirms UE’s policies of aggressive struggle against racism and in support of equal rights;
- Calls on locals to defend our members aggressively against racism and discrimination;
- Calls on locals to develop pressure campaigns against any employers that discriminate against people of color in their workplace, including in promotions, hiring practices, wages and otherwise;
- Declares its support of workers and their communities’ fight against divisive racist terror;
- Declares its support of Palestinians and all those facing oppression due to racism and white supremacy;
- Opposes the assaults on DEI, and accessibility efforts, as well as on any other affirmative actions being taken to mitigate the impact of racism in our society;
- Directs the UE Education Department to continue providing workshops on racism and discrimination at all levels of our union;
- Reaffirms the union’s commitment to developing the leadership of members of color, including through our Leadership and Staff Development Program;
- Calls for elimination of racial profiling, police brutality, and “stop-and-frisk,” a repeal of “stand-your-ground” laws and stands in opposition to the politicians that would support these policies;
- Urges the union at all levels to support and work with local organizations like Southern Workers Assembly, Black Workers for Justice, NAACP, National Conference of Black Lawyers, Southern Movement Assembly, National Movement for Black Lives, and other organizations fighting racism and discrimination;
- Condemns all attacks on the basis of ethnicity, nationality, religion, race, color, creed, or caste, particularly those on people who are Black, Arab, Muslim, Latinx, Jewish, Indigenous, and Asian;
- Calls on UE at all levels to make our members and communities aware of the increase of hate groups in our workplaces and communities, to provide information to help them to recognize and combat all forms of hate, and to expose racism in the media, and urges UE locals to regularly monitor such activities in their local communities. and engage in outreach to materially uplift and organize their local communities impacted by racism;
- Urges locals to set up unity councils;
- Demands strict enforcement and just punishment for violation of existing anti-discrimination and hate crime laws;
- Urges the union movement to expose and condemn racially biased and selective reporting which blames people of color for the poverty they are suffering as a result of government and corporate policies;
- Urges locals to study the Freedom Manifesto put out by National Assemblies for Black Liberation;
- Urges locals to work with local municipal workers’ unions and community groups to reallocate funds from over-bloated police departments to meet the needs of city workers and community wellness;
- Calls upon the union at all levels to support political candidates that vehemently oppose racism and discrimination of all kinds and at all levels of government;
- Calls on the union at all levels, including locals, to examine the racial, cultural, national, citizenship, and ethnic makeup of their elected leadership as compared to their membership, and to work to encourage a diverse and representative leadership body.