Statement by UDW Executive Director Doug Moore in response to deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling:

Today we’re enraged about the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, two black men killed by the police who are supposed to protect our communities. Philando Castile was a Teamster, one of our brothers in the labor movement. We have an obligation to act on his behalf, and on behalf of Alton Sterling, Mike Brown, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, and too many more. We cannot and will not be silent. These murders are yet another blatant reminder that we have to be bold in our stance and our action against anti-black and brown racism.

Union members and members of our communities are being killed for nothing more than the perceived threat of the color of their skin. UDW members don’t just look to their union to protect their rights as workers, they want a union that cares about their overall wellbeing, quality of life, and their communities. We can’t help them win better pay, benefits, and labor protections, but sit idly by while they are shot and killed during a traffic stop on the way home.

UDW is prepared to mobilize in the streets with labor and community activists around racial justice and the unarmed killings of black and brown people by police. We will not betray the memory of those who have been killed by turning a blind eye, because our silence condones the actions of the officers who killed these men and others like them. We will not be silent.

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United Domestic Workers of America (UDW)/AFSCME Local 3930 is a homecare union made up of nearly 94,000 in-home caregivers across the state of California. UDW caregivers provide care through the state’s In-Home Supportive Services program (IHSS), which allows hundreds of thousands of seniors and people with disabilities to stay safe and healthy at home.