May 15, 2013 - Latino Community Calls for Confirming Tom Perez as Labor Secretary

PRESS RELEASE
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May 15, 2013

March and rally call on GOP to drop filibuster threat

Washington D.C.—On May 15, 2013, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), CASA de Maryland, the United Farm Workers, the Hispanic National Bar Association and NCLR (National Council of La Raza) held a march and rally, which drew over 100 people, in support of confirming Thomas Perez as U.S. Secretary of Labor and calling on senators to cease their unwarranted attacks and filibuster threats against Mr. Perez.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is scheduled to vote on Mr. Perez’s nomination tomorrow, which is three weeks later than initially planned due to delays prompted by Republican senators.

Grassroots supporters of Tom Perez joined Latino leaders outside the St. Regis Hotel and marched together to the headquarters of NCLR.

“Those who seek to block Tom’s nomination would this country of a visionary leader. But they also seem to be willing to send a message contravened by November’s elections. Senators – do you really want to send a message that you are willing to block the only Latino cabinet member?” said Gustavo Torres, Executive Director, CASA de Maryland.

“Tom Perez is a distinguished public servant who has vigorously worked to defend vulnerable populations from discrimination, including Latinos. He responded to the rise in hate crimes against Latinos by increasing hate crimes prosecutions, and in response to the foreclosure crisis he reached record settlements to help the victims of unfair lending. He has protected our voting rights, our veterans, and the very dignity of our community. We are ready to mobilize our national network of advocates in support of his nomination. Senators who are threatening to filibuster him and prevent an up-or-down on his confirmation are filibustering the Latino community,” said Hector Sanchez, Chair of NHLA and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.

“Today over 70 members of HNBA from across the nation went to Capitol Hill to make their voices heard in the halls of Congress and their message was clear: confirm Tom Perez without any further delay. He was confirmed as head of the Civil Rights Division on a bipartisan 72-22 vote to do the job of enforcing our nation’s civil rights laws. He has done that job exceptionally well which is why, ironically, some Senators oppose his confirmation,” said Peter Reyes, President, Hispanic National Bar Association.

“We are united in our unequivocal support of Tom Perez’s nomination as Secretary of Labor,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO, NCLR. “He is eminently qualified and Perez’s nomination has strong bipartisan support. We are outrage over the unjustified and unfair delays in his confirmation and in the unjust treatment of his nomination.”

“Thousands of farm workers and supporters applaud Tom Perez for his strong record of fighting for and protecting civil rights, particularly for his intervention against Arizona's anti-immigrant law while head of the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. His record there speaks for itself. We need people like Tom to continue to fight and represent for working people. Today, we urge the Senate to no longer delay Mr. Perez's nomination. Si se puede!,” said Arturo Rodriguez, President, United Farm Workers.

NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org or follow along on Facebook and Twitter.

Established in 1991, The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. NHLA's "Confirm Tom" campaign is part of the coalition's Latino Appointments Program that is dedicated to identifying and supporting Latino candidates pursuing political and career positions in the federal government. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org and follow @NHLAgenda.

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