Brian Bryant, International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union), responded on April 29 to the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which significantly reduced the power of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The issue is important because Section 2 was created to prevent discriminatory practices such as gerrymandering and to protect voting rights for Black Americans, especially in Southern states. The IAM Union represents a large number of workers across North America who could be affected by changes in voting protections.
Bryant said, “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.”
He also said that protecting voting rights is closely linked with workers’ rights: “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.”
Bryant described current challenges facing voters: “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.”
Observers say that future actions by Congress could determine how these changes affect both voters’ access and workplace organizing efforts.
