IFPTE Marks the One-Year Anniversary of the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol

WASHINGTON, DC – The executive officers of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) issued the following statements in remembrance of the January 6, 2021 insurrection on Capitol Hill. 

IFPTE President Matt Biggs:
PTE marks this solemn anniversary by remembering the workers that protected our Democracy last year as our Nation’s Capital was being attacked. We commend the U.S. Capitol Police, Metropolitan Police Department, and other law enforcement professionals who put their lives on the line. We thank the D.C. National Guard, who were finally given an order to help bring calm to the Capitol.  We thank and honor the maintenance and service workers, and the staff on Capitol Hill, who also had their lives threatened, and who experienced extreme mental and physical consequences just for doing their jobs.  In doing so, we must also acknowledge that those who incited this attack, including the former President and some elected members of Congress, continue to promote dangerous and purposeful distortions of reality, which have led to the weakening of our most sacred right - the right to vote - particularly in Black and Brown communities.   As we remember that tragic day, IFPTE urges Congress to do everything in their power, including doing away with the filibuster, to protect every American’s right to vote, and to help bring accountability to not only those who stormed the Capitol, but also to those who planned and incited the deadly insurrection one year ago.”

IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson:
“As a labor union we must remind everyone that our ability to protect and advocate for a Workers First agenda is dependent on a robust Democracy.  IFPTE is proud to be a union that recognizes and appreciates the diverse political views of our membership, which we believe mirror the views of the larger population.  We also take pride in our ability to work with elected leaders of all political stripes, putting forward the issues of importance to our members.   Sadly, what happened last year was not about differences of opinion on issues.  Rather, it was an attack on our Democracy and must never be allowed to occur again.”  

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