IFPTE Applauds Nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court
Judge Brown Jackson is, “impeccably qualified to serve on the nation’s highest court”
WASHINGTON, DC – The executive officers of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) issued the following statements in response to today’s nomination by President Biden of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court.
IFPTE President Matthew Biggs:
“IFPTE joins union members and working families in enthusiastically applauding the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. Having served for several years as a federal District judge, followed by her current position on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Brown Jackson is highly qualified to serve on the nation’s highest court. As evidenced by her 2018 ruling of the Trump union-busting Executive Orders as illegal, she is a reasoned and thoughtful jurist who makes rulings based on the law, not ideologically biases. IFPTE applauds President Biden for this nomination and the thoughtful consideration that he and his administration put into the selection of Judge Brown Jackson. Numerous Senators, including Republican members, have stated their willingness to consider and support a qualified nominee. Judge Brown Jackson clearly exceeds that standard. IFPTE expects those Senators to live up to their word and looks forward to urging all Senators to vote to confirm her.”
IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson:
“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will bring with her to the Supreme Court a wealth of experience hearing and deciding cases impacting working families. Based on her long track record as a federal judge on the D.C. Circuit, we at IFPTE have little doubt that when cases impacting collective bargaining rights, workers and civil rights, and other aspects of the working lives of Americans are considered, she will even-handedly apply the law without any bias. As a union representing dedicated legal professionals, we note her public service at the U.S. Sentencing Commission and with the District of Columbia’s Federal Defender service demonstrates her commitment to fairness and equal justice under the law. Before his election, President Biden committed to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. With his announcement today, he has made not just a historic nomination, but one that will bring a new level of judicial prowess to the nation’s highest court. We commend President Biden for putting forth Judge Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court."
Among Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s landmark decisions was her 2018 ruling to uphold a lawsuit brought by labor, including IFPTE, to overturn former President Trump’s executive orders to gut federal employee collective bargaining rights and transform the federal government into an at-will employer. She wrote, “As to the merits of the unions’ contentions, while past precedents and pertinent statutory language indicate that the president has the authority to issue executive orders that carry the force of law with respect to federal labor relations, it is undisputed that no such orders can operate to eviscerate the right to bargain collectively as envisioned in the [statute]…”.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson graduated cum laude from the Harvard Law School, was nominated by President Obama in 2008 to serve as a district court judge in the D.C. federal circuit, and by President Biden to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Federal Circuit.
###