PRESS RELEASE

SOUTH BAY LABOR COUNCIL CHOOSES JEAN COHEN TO BE INTERIM EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Last night the South Bay Labor Council voted to hire Jean Cohen as Interim Executive Officer.  Cohen is the Political Director of Plumbers Local 393 and the First Vice President of Labor Council.  She previously served as the Political Director of the Alameda Labor Council.

Last month, after nine years as Executive Officer of the South Bay Labor Council, Ben Field, decided to resign, and the Labor Council began a process of finding a successor, deciding to quickly hire a well-qualified Interim Executive Officer to oversee labor’s upcoming election campaigns. 

“The Labor Council’s primary focus during the next two and a half months will be our election campaigns and Jean is well equipped to manage those campaigns,” said Field, “With the help of Labor Council Political Director Dianna Zamora Marroquin, Jean and the Labor Council are poised to continue our record of campaign success.”

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Our hearts are heavy with grief and rage at the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the many senseless killings we have seen over our lifetime. We always must name and condemn the white supremacy and anti-Black racism that permeates our society, but especially now that we are suffering from a deadly pandemic that disproportionately impacts poor communities of color. 

As the labor movement in the South Bay, we stand in solidarity with George Floyd’s family,  Black communities and organizers in Minnesota and around the country who  demand justice in his name. Locally, we stand in solidarity with San Jose Silicon Valley NAACP in seeking justice for the murder of George Floyd. 

These are tumultuous times but we must remember the lessons and values we hold as a labor movement. On January 1962, Martin Luther King’s letter to the Amalgamated Laundry Workers stated:

"As I have said many times, and believe with all my heart, the coalition that can have the greatest impact in the struggle for human dignity here in America is that of the Negro and the forces of labor, because their fortunes are so closely intertwined.” 

Our fortunes are intertwined and we must and will continue to fight for reforms in policing. We must address issues of racial and economic inequality in all its forms. We must dismantle the systems of oppression that pit us against each other. We must love each other and support each other. 

Now more than ever, our work towards racial and economic justice continues.

Please read the statements of solidarity and support for Black Lives from South Bay Labor Council affiliates:

IFPTE Local 21

SEIU-UHW - SEIU INTERNATIONAL LATINO CAUCUS

IBEW 1245

Alum Rock Educators' Association

National Nurses United

CWA District 9

San Jose/Evergreen Federation of Teachers

UA 939

CSEA

Visit the California Labor Federation website for Outbreak Resources and Information for Workers