Public Employee Press

Union activists rally for voting rights

"We must recommit to the founding principle that made this country free - the right to vote." — Maf Misbah Uddin, DC 37 Treasurer

Fifty years ago on Aug. 6, 1965, with Rosa Parks and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. looking over his shoulder, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the historic Voting Rights Act.

The VRA sought to remedy racial discrimination and guarantee all Americans the right to vote, especially in the South, where black voters were often subjected to violence, poll taxes, forced to take literary tests or asked to recite the entire U.S. Constitution. That landmark legislation was commemorated Aug. 6 in New York City with a noontime rally at Foley Square.

"We're here to commemorate this landmark decision that gave every American the right to vote, but we're also here to send a message to Congress that the VRA needs to be strengthened," said DC 37 Treasurer and President of Local 1407 Maf Misbah Uddin at the rally. DC 37 was part of a coalition of more than 20 advocacy groups and labor unions that helped stage the rally.

Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act, saying that it was up to the U.S. Congress to bring the law into the modern age. The ruling allows nine states, mainly in the South, to change their election laws without prior approval of the federal government.

Right-wing activists in some states have taken advantage of the court's decision and made it more difficult to register by passing laws requiring photo identification and eliminating early voting and same-day registration. States are making these drastic changes without any federal oversight. Johnson's 1965 act required some states and cities, including New York City, to obtain approval from the Dept. of Justice before implementing any changes to the Voting Rights Act. The New York City Board of Elections, acting without any federal oversight, recently tossed out 200,000 voter registrations.

"Because of activists in the African American and Latino communities, there is now voter language assistance for New Yorkers who speak Chinese, Korean or Bengali," said Grace Shim, executive director of the MinKwon Center for Community Action. "We must protect that."

Activists are now supporting legislation that has been reintroduced in the U.S. Congress as the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015.

"We must recommit to the founding principle that made this country free - the right to vote," Uddin said.