In a historic vote of 53 to 47, the Senate on April 7 confirmed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
Justice Jackson received the support of all Democrats and three Republicans -- Sens. Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski.
AFGE applauds the Senate for confirming Justice Jackson, whose intellect, experience, and integrity will be valuable as she makes decisions that will affect working people and all Americans.
“Justice Jackson has made history as the first Black woman ever confirmed to the highest court of the land. This is indeed a cause for celebration, as yet another barrier has been overcome in the fight for equality,” said AFGE President Everett Kelley.
Justice Jackson’s previous work as a public defender and an advocate for reforming our criminal sentencing laws, along with her prior judicial rulings, show she will affirm the rights of regular American workers and everyday citizens while holding accountable those who break the law – even the most powerful among us.
When former President Trump, for example, issued three executive orders that illegally limited collective bargaining, due process, and union rights for federal workers, AFGE and a dozen other unions filed a lawsuit against the EOs. Jackson, then a judge, invalidated most provisions in the executive orders, ruling that their combined effect would “eviscerate the right to bargain collectively” at federal workplaces. These EOs were some of the most damaging actions aimed at destroying unions and workers’ rights.
That single ruling safeguarded federal workers’ union rights and demonstrated the limits of an administration. Her reasoning demonstrated exactly the kind of principled, independent, impartial judicial thinking that should be a hallmark of the highest court in our land.
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