The following is a statement from Rebecca Dixon, executive director of the National Employment Law Project:
“The National Employment Law Project (NELP) is united with leading constitutional scholars, advocates, and people of conscience across the country in condemning the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court of the United States. We are determined to continue fighting for our rights and for our future, in solidarity with all who resist injustice and build people power.
“Upon Judge Barrett’s nomination, NELP called on the Trump administration and Congress to halt the process and focus instead on a COVID-19 relief package for millions of unemployed workers and struggling families. It is unconscionable that today, with COVID-19 surging again, millions are still without the relief they need from our government, which is supposed to be responsible for providing basic security, and that our healthcare access and rights are now at even greater risk.
“This nomination process was an affront to our democracy. It was fast-tracked while early voting was underway, with nearly one million people already having cast their vote. Judge Barrett’s record and testimony demonstrate that she puts the wealthy and powerful first. Her appointment will only further entrench the anti-worker, pro-corporation slant of this Supreme Court, jeopardizing workers’ rights and making it far more difficult to enforce fundamental workplace protections.
“This confirmation means that together we must confront a very real threat to the progress and goals of our movements, given that Judge Barrett does not acknowledge that systemic racism and discriminatory barriers against voters of color exist; that mail-in voting is essential during a pandemic; that cases affirming the rights to contraception, choice, and marriage equality were correctly decided; that family separation is wrong; that climate change is real; and that presidents should commit to a peaceful transition of power.
“At a time when so many of our fundamental civil and human rights are threatened, we will continue to fight for our future. Millions of people participate in movements for racial, civil, gender, reproductive, LGBTQ, disability, voting, and workers’ rights, following in the footsteps of our elders and ancestors—and we will continue to organize, protest, and demand just laws and protections and access to justice for all.”
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