DC JWJ Statement on Attack on United States Capitol

Yesterday's events were despicable and nothing short of an attack on the will of the people and democracy. 

We at DC JWJ are not only disgusted by yesterday’s attack on our capitol, but stand with the workers and community members that had to spend dozens of hours cleaning up the aftermath of this attack by hate groups. We stand with the cleaning staff, the public services workers, hotel workers, retail workers, essential workers that were placed in danger’s way last night. We applaud the local unions who worked to ensure their members were safe.  Far too many workers were forced to work despite a clearly unsafe situation. This demonstrates yet again that every worker deserves a union as it is the only thing standing between them and the arbitrary decisions of their employers.

We would also like to take a moment to acknowledge and respect the Black and Brown communities affected by yesterday’s demonstration of racism and anti-democratic authoritarianism. For months we have witnessed police brutality against our Black and Brown communities as they were seeking justice of the countless violations of human rights. To see what happened yesterday and the complicit police response is yet another indictment of the former administration and foundational racism we have seen in policing across the country.  

As an organization committed to protecting its residents, we call on our Labor, Faith, Community and Youth organizations to come together and protect one another. To continue to arouse, organize and mobilize our communities for a more just city and nation.

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Elizabeth Falcon

Executive DirectorDC Jobs with Justice