Los Angeles County Federation of Labor president resigns amid city council racist remarks scandal, multiple reports say
By Chris Boyette, CNNUpdated: Tue, 11 Oct 2022 11:13:06 GMTSource: CNNA union federation president who was part of a leaked conversation in which Los Angeles City Council member Nury Martinez was hear
By Chris Boyette, CNNUpdated: Tue, 11 Oct 2022 11:13:06 GMT
Source: CNN
A union federation president who was part of a leaked conversation in which Los Angeles City Council member Nury Martinez was heard making racist remarks about a fellow council member and his Black child has resigned, according to multiple reports.
Ron Herrera, the president of Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, offered to resign at a meeting Monday, and the federation accepted it, The Los Angeles Times reported, citing two sources close to the situation.
According to the LA Times, the leaked audio details a conversation among Martinez, Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León and Herrera that focused on maps proposed by the city's redistricting commission and the councilmembers' frustration with them.
Martinez resigned as the city council president Monday after she was heard in that audio making racist remarks about Councilmember Mike Bonin, a White man, and his Black child.
Herrera has not responded to CNN's request for comment, but the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO tweeted an apology from him.
"There is no justification and no excuse for the vile remarks made in that room. Period," the apology said. "And I didn't step up to stop them and I will have to bear the burden of that cross moving forward."
CNN has reached out to the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor for more information.
The leaked audio was posted anonymously on Reddit and obtained by the Times.
When talking about the redistricting maps, the council members discussed the need to "ensure that heavily Latino districts did not lose economic assets" in the once-in-a-decade process, according to the Times.
The councilmembers then discussed Bonin. In clips of the leaked audio posted by the Times, Martinez is heard recounting a conversation and says, "Bonin thinks he's f**king Black."
According to the Times, Martinez says Bonin appeared with his son on a float in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade and he "handled his young Black son as though he were an accessory." The boy is 8 years old, according to a Facebook post by his father.
The Times reported that Martinez also said of Bonin's child, "Parece changuito," or "He's like a monkey."
In a statement Monday, Martinez said apologized for the comments. "I take responsibility for what I said and there are no excuses for those comments."
Martinez's resignation as president was effective immediately, according to the statement, though she remains a member of the council.
