Washington D.C. — The International Executive Board of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) unanimously declared its support for Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, and promised to help secure her confirmation by the Senate.

“President Obama’s nomination of distinguished Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court is the right move for our nation,” said AFSCME President Gerald McEntee.  “Judge Sotomayor is exactly the kind of experienced, capable and fair jurist the working men and women of this nation need to serve on our highest court.”

Sotomayor is a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School.  She was a prosecutor and private attorney before being appointed as a federal judge by President George H.W. Bush in 1992 (and confirmed by the Senate).  In 1997 she was named to the appeals court by President Bill Clinton. She would bring more federal judicial experience to the bench than any Supreme Court justice in 100 years.

“Judge Sonia Sotomayor has worked to preserve the rights of workers to receive fair pay, health benefits, and to be free of workplace discrimination,” said McEntee. “The Senate should promptly confirm Judge Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.”

Here is the full text of the AFSCME resolution:

JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR

WHEREAS:

President Barack Obama has nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to serve as a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court; and

WHEREAS:

Judge Sonia Sotomayor has outstanding educational credentials; including being valedictorian of her high school class, winning a scholarship to Princeton University, and earning a law degree at Yale University, where she served as editor of the Yale Law Review; and

WHEREAS:

Judge Sotomayor has served with distinction as a litigator, prosecutor, trial court attorney and U.S. appellate judge and possesses more federal judicial experience than any of the current members of the Supreme Court and than any Justice in the last century prior to their nomination to the high court; and

WHEREAS:

Judge Sotomayor has been consistent and fair in her interpretation of labor laws and has worked to preserve the rights of workers to receive fair pay, health benefits, and to be free of workplace discrimination; and

WHEREAS:

Judge Sotomayor has demonstrated a commitment to civil liberties and equal justice under the law, and has a record that shows that she is fair minded and that she has an understanding of the struggles of working people in this country; and

WHEREAS:

Judge Sotomayor’s nomination  marks a milestone, as the first Hispanic and the first woman of color to be nominated to the high court, thereby fulfilling President Obama’s promise to add diversity to the Supreme Court; and

WHEREAS:

AFSCME has consistently supported judicial nominees in the U.S. Senate who have a history of protecting the rights of all Americans.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

That AFSCME strongly support the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court and that AFSCME work to secure the confirmation.

June 2, 2009