Labor supports Justice 4 Alan Blueford Nov. 10 march against racial profiling

Join the march Saturday, 12 noon, at Oscar Grant Plaza, 14th and Broadway, Oakland


Oscar-Grant-ILWU-rally-crowd-102310-by-Nick, Labor supports Justice 4 Alan Blueford Nov. 10 march against racial profiling, Local News & Views ILWU Local 10 and SEIU Local 1021, two of the largest labor unions in the Bay Area, have pledged their support for the Justice 4 Alan Blueford campaign and the Nov. 10 march against racial profiling being organized with other Bay Area families victimized by police brutality.

ILWU Local 10 represents workers at the Port of Oakland. The union has a history of supporting progressive causes, including opposition to apartheid in South Africa, the war in Iraq and the killing of Oscar Grant. The Port of Oakland has been shuttered in support of all of these causes over the past few decades.

SEIU Local 1021 represents public employees throughout Northern California, including workers at Oakland City Hall and the Port of Oakland.

“SEIU members live, work, vote and pay taxes in Oakland. We expect the police department to be professional and accountable to the community,” said Gladys Gray, chair of the SEIU Social and Economic Justice Subcommittee. “Officer Masso and the Oakland Police Department failed miserably in Alan Blueford’s death. We call on the community to stand together to demand Justice for Alan Blueford.”

Alan-Blueford-in-tux, Labor supports Justice 4 Alan Blueford Nov. 10 march against racial profiling, Local News & Views Alan Blueford was an 18-year-old Skyline High School student who was killed by Oakland Police Officer Miguel Masso on May 6. His family and their supporters have fought Oakland City Hall and OPD to have Officer Masso fired and prosecuted. After several protests at City Hall, Chief Howard Jordan was forced to release the police report in Alan’s case. This report offered overwhelming evidence that Alan was lying on his back without a gun when he was shot and said “I didn’t do anything” as his last words.

The eventual release of the Alameda County district attorney’s report – which announced that Masso would not be prosecuted in spite of the mounting evidence against him – also showed how Alan was a victim of racial profiling who should have never been stopped by the police in the first place.

The resolutions passed by these unions add to the growing list of supporters for this campaign who demand that Masso be brought to justice for his crime and that changes be instituted to assure that no such killing by an Oakland police officer happens again. Other supporters of the campaign include the Alameda County Green Party and the Dignity and Resistance coalition.

Members of these groups will join the Bluefords and other Bay Area families of police brutality victims in a march against racial profiling on Saturday, Nov. 10, gathering for a rally at 12 noon at 14th and Broadway followed by a march through West Oakland.

SEIU 1021 endorsement of the Justice 4 Alan Blueford campaign on the Nov. 10 march: http://justice4alanblueford.org/2012/11/05/seiu-1021-resolution-in-support-of-justice-4-alan-blueford/

ILWU Local 10 letter to Judge Thelton Henderson demanding Justice 4 Alan Blueford: http://justice4alanblueford.org/2012/10/25/ilwu-local-10-calls-for-justice-4-alan-blueford/

Dignity and Resistance resolution in support of the Nov. 10 march: http://justice4alanblueford.org/2012/11/03/dignity-and-resistance-coalition-endorses-nov-10-march/

The released Oakland police reports on the killing of Alan Blueford: www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/10/04/18723068.php#18723083