IFPTE Stands In Solidarity with Wisconsin Public Sector Workers
IFPTE President Junemann Says that Union Busting is Alive and Well
WASHINGTON, DC – International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) President Gregory Junemann issued the following statement in support of Wisconsin Public Sector workers:
“On behalf of the 85,000 member strong IFPTE family, I am heading to Madison today and for the remainder of the weekend to join the tens of thousands of public sector workers, their families and other supporters in their struggle to beat back the vicious attacks coming from Governor Walker and the Republican lawmakers in the legislature. IFPTE represents tens of thousands of government workers as well, including in states like New Jersey where we are also facing similar kinds of blistering attacks and false accusations from ideologues who disguise themselves as lawmakers.
“Madison has become ground zero for working people to stand up to rouge lawmakers like Governor Walker. Make no mistake about it, Governor Walker’s union busting effort here in Wisconsin is not about a trumped-up debt, or about balancing budgets. Rather, it is about the race-to-the-bottom ideology that is being funded, promoted and orchestrated by political strategists whose goal is the destruction of collective bargaining. Governor Walker, like Governor Christie in New Jersey and other like minded Governors in Indiana and Ohio, are right-wing opportunists who have scapegoated these dedicated public servants for our nation’s current economic woes, when clearly unpunished corporate abuses within the private financial sector are responsible for this crisis. This anti-government, anti-worker, anti-union witch hunt has been fueled by false data being circulated to support the contention that government workers and their unions are at fault for economic woes.
“What Governor Walker and others really want is a free hand to unilaterally reduce pensions, wages, and health care benefits earned by state workers, with the workers having no voice or say in the decision. More importantly, they want the ability to reward their campaign backers with taxpayer dollars by contracting out the work of government workers with little to no transparency and behind closed doors.
“Make no mistake about it, Madison is ground zero for these attacks on working Americans. IFPTE is Proud to Stand in Solidarity with Wisconsin’s public servants.”
IFPTE is a labor union representing 85,000 public, private and federal sector workers in the United States and Canada.