Educators union calls for the immediate resignations of Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Kevin de León, and Gil Cedillo, and LA Labor Federation President Ron Herrera

(Los Angeles, CA)— United Teachers Los Angeles condemns the appalling conversations between Los Angeles City Council President and former School Boardmember Nury Martinez, Councilmember Kevin de León, Councilmember Gil Cedillo, and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera.

At a time when solidarity is critical to our futures, rather than uplifting marginalized communities and people, these elected officials saw fit to create a space of divisiveness and engage in hateful, racist, and colorist comments toward Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Armenian, and LGBTQ+ communities.

When anti-Black rhetoric continues leading to the death of Black folx to this day, it is abhorrent that these elected officials would speak and condone racist slurs and words of violence against a Black child — especially from the mouth of a former LAUSD School Boardmember in a BIPOC community.

As educators, we are here to make sure our students and our communities do not face this type of harm. We expect better, and Los Angeles deserves better, than political leaders who perpetuate cycles of violence and freely spew viciousness behind closed doors when they think they cannot be heard and held accountable.

It is deplorable that this is what is thought and said about the most marginalized in our communities by leaders in the halls of our city and in the house of labor. It is shameful what is not said in response; silence is complicity. And it is reprehensible to know this is taking place when and where decisions are being made that will have ongoing effects and repercussions for generations of citizens.

We can and MUST rebuild from this. We call for unity, education, and building toward justice in our city — not hot air and hollow apologies. We call for solidarity and leaders who have the best interests for the people of Los Angeles at heart. We cannot let this continue or consume the soul of this city, when this type of harm toward working class families and marginalized communities is already so pervasive around us. This is why we must hold elected officials and community leaders accountable to their actions and uplift those that will stand for economic and racial justice, not the status quo.

UTLA calls for the immediate resignations of Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez, Councilmember Kevin de León, Councilmember Gil Cedillo, and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera.