In its outrageous decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, SCOTUS has abandoned a 50-year precedent and the will of 70% of the American people to impose one of the worst contractions of freedoms in modern US history. Make no mistake, this will directly harm the welfare of our union sisters and kin, and therefore we must respond strongly.
We know well the catastrophic consequences that follow when authoritarians legislate control over our wombs, bodies, and lives. Taking away the option to receive compassionate reproductive care in the form of safe, legal abortions will disproportionally harm working-class people, force unwilling parents into poverty, worsen the already unacceptable maternal mortality crisis, imprison innocents for their biological functions (including miscarriages), and cut short far too many bright careers and lives.
If extremist justices will blatantly ignore established legal precedent and lie about it in their confirmation hearings, how far will they go? The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision shows the court is prepared to nullify the rights Americans fought and died for.
We stand together as sisters, brothers, and kin to ensure liberty and justice for ALL. Lawmakers at all levels must defend reproductive healthcare and Americans’ fundamental freedoms immediately, or face being replaced by those who will.
IATSE Women’s Committee Statement
The IATSE Women’s Committee believes in the right of all persons to make life choices based on the best information they have that impacts their immediate decision.
Having lived in this country as women, many of us know too well the injustices and inequities that we’ll face under this authoritarian move. Not that long ago, we fought for contraceptive insurance coverage, and it’s still not comprehensive. We still fight for equal pay. We still don’t have equal representation in our so-called halls of justice.
Let’s not forget that just a few short months ago we saw many Americans stealing the pro-choice slogan “My Body, My Choice” when it was convenient for them. Our bodies are no less valuable. Our contributions to this country are no less valuable. Our choices are equally significant. This is about controlling women.
The Women’s Committee is primed to take back that slogan and stand with the 70 % of Americans who support choice. We will stand together with our sisters, brothers, and kin to ensure …liberty and justice for ALL.
Joanne Sanders
IATSE VP & Chair of IATSE Womens Committee
IATSE DEI Committee Statement
The DEI Committee is dismayed and outraged by the Dobbs v. Jackson decision overturning Roe vs Wade. All five justices in favor spoke to Roe vs Wade being an established precedent in their confirmation hearings, and now blatantly ignore that precedent. BIPOC and working-class people will bear the brunt of this decision; autonomy and choice will be taken away, with no exceptions in at least 20 states across the USA.
The language of the decision and blatant disregard of established precedent is disturbing, and leaves opportunities to repeal established Civil Rights legislation on interracial marriage, marriage equality, equal opportunity and Title IX, and even Brown v. Board of Education. Decades of hard-fought progress on voting rights, equality, humanity and equity-building are at risk from the a stroke of a pen.
We must not let this happen. We will work together to protect choice and our collective Civil Right
In Solidarity,
― IATSE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
The IATSE Pride Committee Stands with Our Sisters and Kin
As we prepare this weekend for the New York City Pride March, fifty-three years after the events of Stonewall, we are once again facing the uncertainty of our rights to live and love.
Today the US Supreme Court handed down a devastating decision, overturning fifty years of precedent that gave people agency over their own bodies via access to safe abortions. To be clear, this decision does not end abortion. It ends safe abortions and will be especially harmful to those that are already struggling to survive. The IATSE Pride Committee strongly denounces this decision, and we stand with our kin and commit to fighting this rollback of fundamental rights for people to make their own healthcare decisions.
We must also underscore that this is only the beginning. Conservative Justice Thomas made clear that other past rulings that should be overturned are Griswold (right to contraception), Lawrence (same-sex activity), and Obergefell (same-sex marriage).
Rights for which we have fought for over decades, can be taken away overnight. This weekend, as we march, we must remember that pride began as a protest. And as we watch rights being stripped away, we need to stand together to once again protest as if our life depends on it. Because, for many, it absolutely does.
The IATSE Pride Committee
Nate Richmond
Doug Boney
Kim Holdridge
Rachel McLendon
Carl Mulert
