On May 27 Workplace Fairness interns Hannah Goitein, Jessica Haden, Shannon Lichtenberg, and I participated in a conference call with The Coalition for Constitutional Values. This national coalition of organizations represents millions of Americans from across the country who believe it is important that the American people be informed about the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter. The coalition is co-chaired by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Alliance for Justice, and People For the American Way.

Featured speakers on the call included Tina Tchen, White House office of public engagement director; Janet Murguia, National Council of La Raza president & CEO; Bill Yeomans, Alliance for Justice legal director; Marge Baker, People For the American Way director of public policy; Wade Henderson, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights president & CEO; and Ellen Buchman, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights vice president for field operations.

On the call, we discussed how Judge Sotomayor’s distinct and impressive qualifications make her an exemplary Supreme Court nominee to the nation’s high court. We reviewed the process from nomination to confirmation, and shared information about what you and your organization can do to get involved in the process.

Here are four things you can do right now to ensure an expedient and fair confirmation process and engage others in support of Sotomayor:

1)  Call Your Senators. Urge them to support an orderly and fair confirmation process of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court:

http://www.civilrights.org/action_center/support_sotomayor_process.html

2)  Watch the “Justice” Ad and Go Viral. The Coalition for Constitutional Values has a new 30-second television ad to introduce Judge Sonia Sotomayor. The ad highlights her fair-minded approach to the law, which is grounded both in her eminent legal qualifications and her life experiences. Watch the ad, email it to five friends, post it on Facebook, or add it to your website:

http://www.constitutionalvalues.org

3) Sign the Pledge. Support constitutional values through the nomination and confirmation of this superb candidate. Pledge to support the Coalition for Constitutional Values and learn more about Judge Sonia Sotomayor and how you can get involved by joining the coalition:

http://www.constitutionalvalues.org/?page_id=24

4) Read Up on Sotomayor. Check out the Alliance for Justice Preliminary Report on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court:

http://www.afj.org/check-the-facts/supreme-court-watch

Together we can make sure Justice Sotomayor is swiftly approved to become our next Supreme Court Justice.

About the Author: Paula Brantner is Executive Director of Workplace Fairness, which hosts the Today’s Workplace blog, and has worked as an attorney in the area of employment discrimination and civil rights law for over 16 years. Workplace Fairness is a nonprofit organization that provides information, education and assistance to individual workers and their advocates nationwide and promotes public policies that advance employee rights.