IFPTE Responds to 2023 Election Results
WASHINGTON, DC – International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) President Matt Biggs and Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson issued the following joint statement on behalf of IFPTE in response to last night’s election results:
“Yesterday’s election results marked a number of important victories for working families, as well as for our nation’s democratic process. From Virginia to New Jersey to Kentucky to Ohio, Americans exercised their right to vote and registered strong majorities for candidates and policies that advance the cause of trade unionism and the needs of our members.
Virginia saw a resounding rebuke of the anti-worker, anti-labor agenda of Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the special interests who spent millions of dollars attempting to prop up his slate of pro-corporate, anti-labor candidates. Union members provided the boots on the ground to deliver pro-labor majorities in the Senate and the House of Delegates, and we will work with the leadership in both chambers to ensure that advancing the rights of our members remains at the top of their legislative agenda.
In New Jersey pro-worker, pro-union candidates won the day and in doing so, increased the pro-union majority in the State Legislature. We are also pleased that IFPTE endorsed candidate, Dan Benson, prevailed in the Mercer County Executive race.”
In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear demonstrated once again that pro-worker electoral majorities can be energized and mobilized in every region of the country. His reelection proves that elected officials can be both reliably pro-worker and reliably electable at the same time.
Finally, in Ohio, four million voters reached for the power of the ballot box, a collective action made even stronger by the fact that they turned out in such great numbers during an off-year election. Along with other unions in the AFLCIO, we will work to identify best practices from the Ohio success story and apply them to labor’s program for 2024.
It is often said that voters get the elected representatives they deserve. This Tuesday working families across the U.S. sent the strong message that they do not just deserve but demand government that is accountable, forward-thinking, and anchored in our nation’s core democratic principles.”
IFPTE is a labor union representing upwards of 90,000 workers across North America employed in the federal, private, and public sectors.
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