AFL-CIO Daily Briefs: Shuler, Texas AFL-CIO and AFT

Message from President Liz Shuler

• America's labor movement is absolutely devastated by the loss of 19 children and two teachers who were shot and killed in their classrooms yesterday afternoon at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. On a day when the teachers and students of Robb Elementary School were planning to gear up for summer vacation, they instead faced the unimaginable. Classrooms should be the safest place for a child to learn and for educators to teach.
• Yesterday's horrific tragedy occurred just 10 days after the racially motivated shooting of 10 Black people who were grocery shopping in Buffalo, New York. These mass shootings are a stark reminder of why the Senate must stop hiding behind arcane procedures to avoid preventing gun violence and take action. Because working people deserve safe workplaces without fear of a mass shooting. And America's children deserve to learn and thrive in safe schools.
• Our hearts are with the family members, friends and loved ones of the victims, the Uvalde community, and educators and school staff everywhere.

Texas AFL-CIO: 'Our Hearts Are Broken'

The Texas AFL-CIO reacted to the news of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

"Our hearts are broken-yet again," the state federation said on Tuesday. "Fourteen children and a teacher at Robb Elementary in Uvalde died today, reportedly at the hands of an 18-year-old shooter. Unspeakable tragedy, repeated endlessly. We mourn in solidarity with Uvalde."

News outlets are reporting that as of today, the death count has risen to include 19 students and two teachers.

AFT President Weingarten Horrified by Elementary School Shooting That Killed Students and Teachers in Texas

American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten responded to the mass shooting that took the lives of at least 21 people, including 19 young students and two teachers, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday:

"Within the span of a week, our country has witnessed two mass shootings, the gunning down of innocent people in what should be our community's safest spaces. As we await further details, some things are clear: These are despicable acts of hatred designed to terrorize us all. The communities of Buffalo and now Uvalde will join a long list of places that will never be the same. Our hearts are with all of them.

"Only in America do people go grocery shopping and get mowed down by a shooter with hate in his heart; only in this country are parents not assured that their kids will be safe at school.

"Gun violence is a cancer, and it's one that none of us should tolerate for one single moment longer. We have made a choice to let this continue, and we can make a choice to finally do something-do anything-to put a stop to this madness."

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