For Release: Monday, June 23, 2003

UAW: Supreme Court’s University of Michigan Law School Decision Underscores Importance of Diversity

“Today’s Supreme Court decision upholding the University of Michigan Law School’s admissions system sends the powerful message that we all benefit from diversity in our schools, workplaces, military and society as a whole,” said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger.

“Although we’re disappointed the Court did not uphold Michigan’s undergraduate admissions system as well, we are pleased that the Court provided, as University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman put it, a ‘road map’ for using affirmative action in a sensitive, individualized way to promote diversity in its undergraduate student body,” the UAW leader continued.

“The UAW is proud to have been a part of the remarkably diverse coalition of education, civil rights, business, military and labor leaders that supported the University of Michigan in these landmark cases,” Gettelfinger said.

The UAW’s participation in the University of Michigan case began in 2001, when it was the only union to file an amicus brief with the Sixth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals in support of the university’s admissions policies. The appellate court upheld Michigan’s admissions policies in May 2002.