IFPTE Call to Join a National Day of Action and Healing in Solidarity with Asian and Pacific Islander Communities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) mourns the eight lives lost during the horrific shooting that occurred in the Atlanta area on March 16, of which most of the victims were women workers of Asian descent . Our deepest condolences go to the families, friends, and communities affected by this tragedy. IFPTE firmly believes the act was undoubtedly the result of both misogyny and anti-Asian racism. These murders are clearly and unmistakably connected to an overarching backdrop and system of violence and racism against all racialized communities, including Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. We call upon our members and their families, our brother and sisters in the labor movement, our elected leader, and our communities to join together for a national day of action and healing on Friday, March 26, 2021 to #StopAsianHate.
Last year, IFPTE issued a statement condemning the rise in anti-Asian racism. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian and Pacific Islander communities across Canada and the USA have been targeted and blamed for the COVID-19 virus. While anti-Asian sentiment has a long history in both nations dating back well over a hundred years, anti-Asian hate crimes have spiked since the beginning of the pandemic, in large part because the previous U.S. administration, pursuant to direct encouragement by former President Donald Trump, stoked fears promoting hate and xenophobia against Asians by labelling COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus” or “Wuhan virus”. Over the past year, over 1000 cases of anti-Asian racism have been reported in Canada, and almost 3,800 cases and counting have been reported in the USA.
These attacks based upon anti-Asian sentiment disproportionately impact women and the elderly, in addition to the landscape of deep social and economic hardship many marginalized communities are already experiencing because of the pandemic. On top of many pre-existing inequities experienced by non-White communities in income, housing, working conditions, policing, safety, and education, people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent are now feeling even more racially targeted and having their safety and families threatened by this ongoing rise in anti-Asian violence.
IFPTE stands in solidarity with Asian and Pacific Islander communities across Canada and the USA. We are heartened by actions like those taken in Oakland to protect elderly community members. Affected community members are organizing and taking a stand, such as the anti-Asian racism march and vigil which occurred in Montreal on March 21 and local rallies and marches around the U.S. We encourage our members and elected leaders to get involved and to actively support local efforts to stop the spread of racial intolerance and hate.
Our union reaffirms our commitment to ending racism in all forms, including anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism by reaffirming our pledge:
1. IFPTE joins other unions and labor organizations such as the Asian PacificAmerican Labor Alliance and the Ontario Federation of Labour in demanding that all employers have procedures in place to deal with discrimination in the workplace, especially in their COVID-19 response plan. IFPTE joins these groups as well as the Canadian Labour Congress and the Labor Coalition for Community Action, which includes the A. Philip Randolph Institute, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, and Pride at Work, in highlighting the need to protect our frontline workers, as they are the ones bearing the brunt from the global pandemic.
2. IFPTE encourages its members who encounter racism, workplace harassment, or discrimination in any form to contact their local representatives, and calls upon IFPTE elected leaders, members and allies to speak out against racist hostile and aggressive behaviour.
3. IFPTE calls upon every member to become a true ally - someone who actively supports racialized groups facing challenges - by showing solidarity with East Asian, Southeast Asian, Pacific Islanders and other racialized workers.
4. IFPTE urges IFPTE members, allies and the general public to educate themselves about how to manage their health as well as to self-educate about any of their own prejudices/ or biases, especially those that may have led them to assume that all Asians have the virus.
5. IFPTE actively supports the work of the Asian Canadian Labour Alliance, Asian Pacific American Labour Alliance, and other racial justice organizations that are organizing on the ground to shed light on injustices, advocating for change.
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