Guilty Verdict in Chauvin Trial is a Step Toward Justice, But It Is Not Enough

PRESS RELEASE

CWA’s Statement on the April 20, 2021, Verdict in the Chauvin Trial​

Today’s verdict finding Derek Chauvin guilty of the murder of George Floyd is a step toward justice for Floyd, his family members, and all those who have been affected by his brutal murder. But it is not enough.

As we have seen in the past few weeks, the threat of police violence continues to be a constant presence in the lives of Black and Brown people in our country. We’ve heard all the pretexts and excuses and promises to do better, but the fact remains that there has been no reduction in the racial disparity in fatal police shootings over the past five years.

Our union is committed to educating, organizing and mobilizing for racial justice. That work begins with fighting racism within CWA and extends into our workplaces and our communities.

As we said last year after George Floyd was murdered, “It is not enough to punish the perpetrators who have taken these Black lives. It is not enough to simply identify a "few bad apples" to fire or prosecute - a course of action which our deeply flawed legal system makes difficult to pursue. We must also do the hard, transformational work of rooting out racism in America's consciousness and the institutions that uphold it.”

The lives of our Black and Brown brothers, sisters and siblings depend upon it.