IFPTE's May Day Statement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, many members of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, along with their families, are suffering due to the policies of the Trump administration. Many of them suffer because they have chosen lives of service in the federal sector as proud professionals who make our democracy, our government, and our social compact work. They are the quiet and often unnoticed stewards of what the Founders termed the “common good.”
As our civil servants and their agencies are torn down, those who rely on the key governmental programs they administer also join the ranks of the suffering. These Americans – children, the elderly, the poor, veterans, families living from paycheck to paycheck – are viewed as collateral damage by an administration that prioritizes more riches for the rich, more power for the powerful, and more privilege for the privileged. This administration’s brand of patriotism salutes our wounded warriors while defunding the very programs that help them heal.
Many more Americans suffer because they belong to groups that have been singled out for mistreatment, both official and unofficial. They include immigrants, activists, people of color, women, defenders of the rule of law, members of the LGBTQ+ community, people of faith, and many others. Moral conscience calls upon us to care for these Americans, as does religious guidance to lift up “the least among us.”
This campaign of disrespect extends beyond borders to include the people of Canada. Our sisters, brothers and siblings in the True North have served and sacrificed next to U.S. troops time and again in the name of our shared principles of democracy, liberty, and tolerance. This land of First Nations has always stood as the truest ally of the free world, and we know that one day the American government will again represent those values.
For over a century, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers has used its collective voice to raise the wages, the livelihoods, and the hopes of workers throughout North America. That record, along with the service of our members, holds a place of pride for us, but we recognize our challenge today is unlike any faced by our predecessors.
We stand ready for that challenge.
On this May 1st, 2025, we join countless trade unionists, activists, and workers around the world in celebrating our proud history and rededicating ourselves to a better future. With open minds, open hearts, and open arms, we reach out in solidarity to all who suffer. We commit to do our part, to fight the good fight, and to keep true to that grounding principle of trade unionism that reminds us: An injustice against one is an injustice against all.
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