RI Union Supports Dropping 'Plantations' From State Name

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island's largest labor union has voiced its support for a polarizing issue in Rhode Island. On Thursday, the AFL-CIO called for all members and their families to vote in favor of dropping "and Providence Plantations" from the state's official name.

"It is time for Rhode Island to remove the hurtful references to plantations in the official state name," union president George Nee said. "Part of the mission of the AFL-CIO is to 'vanquish ­oppression, privation and cruelty in all their forms' and one of those forms is embedded in the very name of our state. As working people, we cherish the idea of solidarity and take seriously the idea that “an injury to one is an injury to all."

The official name — the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations — has once again come under fire this year for the hurtful connotations with the word "plantations," which hearken back to the state's slave-holding past. The issue was last brought to vote 10 years ago, and will again appear on the ballot Nov. 3. In 2010, voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of keeping the full name, with 78 voting in support.

Read more: Rhode Island: Smallest State With Largest Name Controversy

"As the entire country struggles to come to terms with the original sin of slavery in America, we as union members must also do our part. This is an important step in the right direction," Nee continued.

The AFL-CIO is the largest organization of its kind in the state with 80,000 members. On Monday, the union's executive board unanimously voted in favor of the proposed amendment to the state's constitution that would shorten the state's name.

“Black Lives Matter is not just a slogan: it is a call to action," said Patrick Crowley, the secretary-treasurer. "As we identify the elements of structural racism that are holding us back as a country and as a state, we are committed to tearing down those structures that reinforce inequality and discrimination. It’s about more than a name on stationary — it is about standing together with all our sisters and brothers, in every community, and moving our state forward."