FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gary Hubbard, 202-256-8125; ghubbard@usw.org
Pittsburgh (March 16) – Leo W. Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers (USW) union today commended President Obama’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court and called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the U.S. Senate to hold a confirmation hearing as required by the Constitution.
“We commend the nomination by President Obama of Merrick Garland for the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Judge Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is eminently qualified with a long career as a prosecutor and a judge with fidelity to the Constitution and the law.
“The nominee deserves and is entitled to an immediate fair hearing by the U.S Senate. President Obama did his job. Now the Senate leadership should do their jobs, hold a hearing and an up-or-down vote. Republican leaders cannot play a game of partisan politics that undermines the American constitutional democracy.
“Judge Garland is widely recognized as a serious and exemplary appeals court judge with a sterling record as one of America’s sharpest legal minds. He’s someone who brings to his work a spirit of decency, integrity and public service admired by all who know him.
“This nomination process should be about upholding American values for a Supreme Court that serves all of us in these challenging times.
“The Republican leadership cannot play roughshod short term politics. The Constitution created a government of checks and balances. We must all work to honor this principle.
Judge Merrick Garland deserves a hearing for his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. President Obama did his job, now the U.S. Senate must do theirs.”
The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries that include metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service and public sectors. For more information: http://www.usw.org/.
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