Herrera resigns as L.A. Labor Federation head after audio leak - Los Angeles Times

Facing outrage implicit a arguable leaked audio recording, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera resigned Monday night, and the organization’s remaining leaders demanded Tuesday that the 3 City Council members progressive successful the ungraded taxable their resignations arsenic well.

“Racism successful immoderate signifier has nary spot successful the House of Labor. It is unconscionable that those elected to combat for our communities of colour would prosecute successful repulsive and vile anti-Black, anti-LGBTQ, anti-Asian and anti-Oaxacan remarks that pit our moving communities against each other. These sentiments volition not beryllium tolerated by our enactment oregon those who we represent,” the seat of the federation’s enforcement committee Thom Davis, said successful a statement.

“The Executive Board of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor besides calls connected those elected officials who were contiguous to travel President Herrera’s illustration by instantly resigning arsenic well,” Davis said aft a gathering Monday night.

The federation, which represents 800,000 workers crossed 300 unions, has been astatine the epicenter of the situation rocking Los Angeles’ governmental enactment implicit the past 2 days.

Herrera — on with Los Angeles City Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo — participated successful an October 2021 closed-door speech astatine the federation’s offices wherever Martinez said a achromatic councilmember handled his young Black lad arsenic though helium were an “accessory” and described Councilmember Mike Bonin’s lad arsenic “Parece changuito,” oregon “like a monkey.”

Other racist and derogatory remarks were made during the conversation, which mostly focused connected the city’s once-every-decade redistricting process and preserving and maintaining Latino governmental power.

The speech remained backstage for astir a twelvemonth earlier exploding into nationalist presumption Sunday aft being reported connected by The Times. The leaked audio was primitively posted connected Reddit.

The labour federation described the leaked audio arsenic portion of a “serious information and privateness breach” astatine its offices involving “illegal” recordings of “many backstage and confidential conversations successful backstage offices and league rooms,” successful a Sunday email to affiliates, according to substance provided to The Times.

The federation has not publically addressed the root of the recordings isolated from initially attacking The Times for publishing the contents of the leaks.

Herrera’s resignation comes aft snowballing demands that Martinez, De León and Cedillo measurement down from the City Council and that Herrera permission his ain station astatine the caput of 1 of the nation’s astir almighty and influential labour organizations. Martinez, who had been City Council president, announced that she was resigning her enactment station Monday greeting and said Tuesday that she was taking a permission of absence from the council.

Support for Herrera’s withdrawal had dispersed broadly crossed the labour question Monday, including the leaders of 8 SEIU California unions with Los Angeles-area members, United Teachers Los Angeles, Unite Here Local 11 and the California Nurses Assn.

Shortly earlier Monday night’s meeting, Herrera’s location local, Teamsters Local 396, had joined aggregate Teamsters locals successful calling for Herrera to discontinue his federation post.

“We are a question of ample organizations and profoundly ingrained processes,” Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, president of the California Labor Federation, which is abstracted from the section federation, said successful a tweet Monday night. “But, we yet prioritize moving people solidarity crossed each radical groups supra each else. It’s present clip for our labour question to travel unneurotic and commencement the hard enactment to heal.”

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler enactment retired a connection Sunday saying that “we volition stitchery each the facts, but the hateful code reported successful that gathering is inexcusable.”

“Until we person accountability, we cannot statesman the healing process,” Gonzalez Fletcher wrote. “We person overmuch enactment up of america to guarantee the labour question is simply a spot wherever ALL workers tin each travel unneurotic successful solidarity successful our shared struggle.”

Times unit writer Julia Wick contributed to this report.