Brian Bryant, International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union), issued a statement on April 29 following the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais. The ruling weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The issue is significant because Section 2 was designed to prevent gerrymandering and protect voting rights for Black people in the South. The court’s decision changes how these protections can be enforced.
“Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a direct attack on workers and our democracy. The court has effectively gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the very provision designed to end Jim Crow-era gerrymandering and expand voting protections for Black people across the South,” Bryant said.
Bryant also connected voting rights with labor rights, saying, “The right to vote and the right to organize are connected. IAM Union represents hundreds of thousands of workers of every background across North America, and we know that when any worker’s voice is silenced at the ballot box, all workers lose.” He criticized current barriers such as voter ID laws and misinformation campaigns: “Repressive voter ID laws, racial gerrymandering, long lines, and voter misinformation campaigns are the modern tools of disenfranchisement. The Supreme Court has now made it harder to fight them. Congress must act immediately to restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act. This is not a Democrat issue or a Republican issue. Workers deserve a democracy that works for all of them, not just the billionaires and people in power.”
The statement reflects concerns about potential impacts on both democratic participation and worker representation after changes made by this Supreme Court decision.
