Statement from AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler on yesterday’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas: 

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.