IFPTE Supports Justice in Policing Act of 2020 and Additional Sweeping Police Reforms, Calls Out FOP Officials for Complicity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Candace Rhett 
(202) 239-4895

WASHINGTON, DC – International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) executive officers released the following statements in support of critical policing reforms, as well as the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, legislation introduced this week in the House and that is being led by Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Karen Bass. 

IFPTE’s President Paul Shearon:
“The murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis policeman and his complicit colleagues is yet another wake-up call that something is seriously broken in our society and is reflective of the need for national policing reform in our nation. Despite the risks associated with gathering in a time of a pandemic, millions of people in America and around the world have assembled to express their outrage at the past and current situation and to demand immediate radical change so that our brothers and sisters of color can simply live without the fear of being stopped, frisked, and perhaps murdered by the police. We at IFPTE stand with them and stand together with those in Congress, particularly the Congressional Black Caucus, which is moving forward legislation like the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 to start the urgent reforms needed for the healing process. But that is not enough. We stand arm-in-arm with those calling for the demilitarization of police forces across the country with the money reallocated not only to support local communities, but also to build new infrastructure and to improve the training, culture, and community engagement of police departments. The bottom line is that tax dollars need to be invested in people, not weapons and vehicles of war that have no place in policing or in our communities. 

“Lastly, from my position as an International Labor leader, I call for the resignation or removal of all police Union leaders who have abused their authority to give aid and comfort to murderers, including the President of the Minneapolis FOP. While all workers, including police officers, correctly have an essential right to bargain collectively to improve their wages, benefits, and working conditions, and to guarantee due process in employment or disciplinary actions, nothing in those labor rights should be construed to condone or protect criminal behavior, especially hate crimes perpetrated against unarmed civilians by the very people paid to protect everyone, regardless of race, sexual orientation, economic or social status. Never again can the thin blue line be used for dominance in the streets, or to support a political party that is openly flirting with fascism.” 

IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Matt Biggs:
“IFPTE believes that the Justice in Policing Act is a good first step toward what is needed to undo four centuries of the institutionalized violent oppression of African Americans and the systematic and callous denial of their constitutional right to equal protection under the law despite the 13th and 14th amendments and the Civil Rights Act. In this historical moment, IFPTE stands ready to do its part to effect the dismantling of the faux law-and-order corporate infrastructure that profits from the ongoing oppression of people of color, women, poor people, and other minority groups and diverts critical tax resources away from the critical needs they were meant to address.”

IFPTE is a labor union representing upwards of 90,000 workers in Canada and the United States.

Download the press release here.