One Year Later: Remembrance, Reflection, and Resolve

Just over a year ago, our union faced the most critical challenge in our history. Who on that beautiful Tuesday morning could have conceived that three commercial aircrafts would turn into missiles of death, striking the heart of our nation’s defense system and destroying two of the world’s tallest buildings at the epicenter of world trade and finance?

It was our members who stood strong against that cataclysmic horror. In New York, it was members of Locals 94 and 854 who responded with courage against incredible adversity. They responded with bravery and heroism and 343 of them gave their lives, as they rescued thousands of innocent civilians from certain slaughter in the hell that was once the World Trade Center.

At the Pentagon, thousands more of our members from locals around the Washington D.C. metropolitan area battled the flames and risked their lives to pull hundreds of victims from that deliberate act of mass murder.

Over the months that followed, this International and the men and women of the IAFF from the smallest towns to the largest cities stood together as one. We came together to support our grieving members and comfort their families. We worked to provide necessary financial support to the loved ones of our fallen that surpassed all expectations.

We initiated and implemented a counseling program that provided a consoling shoulder to our members in need, and that will support them for the months and the years ahead. We did whatever was necessary to get us through this time of incredible pain and sorrow.

I want to share a few words from a letter I received from FDNY Battalion Chief James Riches, the father of FDNY fire fighter James Riches who died at Ground Zero.

“As a family, we wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of the IAFF community for such an outpouring of love and compassion in our time of mourning. We are so honored. There are no words that can portray our gratitude for your acts of kindness and generosity. I am so proud to say that my son James was a member of the IAFF, a union that is comprised of men and women whom all in the New York City fire fighting community hold in the highest esteem.”

That eloquent statement sums it up for all of us and aptly describes the bond that exists between all IAFF members. And on your behalf, I have a message for the Riches family and all those families across our two nations who have lost loved ones in the line of duty: We thank you and honor you for your supreme sacrifice.

There is nothing else I can say that hasn’t been said about 9-11. Suffice to say that America and the world learned something that day - something that we’ve known all along - and that is the true value of the men and women of the IAFF who put their lives on the line day after day, giving their all for the citizens they protect and their brother and sister fire fighters.

The actions of our members in Lower Manhattan, at the Pentagon, and all across our two nations over the last 13 months speak far louder than any words possibly can. The IAFF did what we did not for the glory or for the recognition, but because it was our duty and our sacred responsibility. And I know we are prepared to do it again - God forbid it is ever needed - because that’s who we are.

Despite the burdens we all faced over the last year, this International and our affiliates never lost sight of our overall mission. Every one of us worked for our primary purpose: to protect our members, to help them make a good living, to keep them safe, to protect their families, and to assure them a generous and secure retirement. No matter what else happens, we can’t forget that.

Even as we mounted our comprehensive response to the horrific tragedy and the aftermath of 9-11, the business of this union continued. We didn’t skip a beat. I’m proud of that fact and you should be too.

Working together, we have succeeded in the face of adversity. We have accomplished more than we ever expected to accomplish in this short time. We have proven our worth to our nations, to our citizens, and to each other. We have fought the battles together; we have won together.

We have experienced tragedy and triumph, but we have always moved forward with resolve, that is unquestioned.

We have made this union more effective, more inclusive and more unified. And working as one, we will continue to seize the moment, whenever and wherever we can, to better the lives and the jobs of our brothers and sisters for generations to come.

This last year we have grieved together. We have felt hostility and anger toward those who perpetrated such a heinous action against our country and our profession. We have shown compassion and love for those who suffered unspeakable losses.

But we must now look forward to a future full of hope, as we grow ever stronger as a union, united in our patriotism under the banner of trade unionism.

We saw that hope at our recent International convention, the largest convention in the IAFF’s history, where delegates looked backward with respect, and forward with anticipation and determination.

We felt energy among the convention delegates that is a microcosm of the vibrant energy I have felt among our members during my many visits with our brothers and sisters in firehouses across our two nations.

We truly are a union of men and women that is galvanized for action and committed to continuing our work with the same sense of pride and dedication that you and all of our 255,000 members show every day on every shift.

We have gone through a tragic time, one that we hope our members, our profession, and our nation will never have to experience again. But there is no doubt that our response to this tragedy, as a union and as union members, has made us stronger and better able to meet the challenges of the future - whatever they may be.

It is that strength, that determination, and the dedication we have shown in so many ways to our nations and the world that will help this International remain focused on our commitment and responsibility to better the lives and the livelihood of you, our members, and those that enter this noble profession of ours for generations to come.

Stay safe on your shifts and God Bless.

Click Here to Read President Schaitberger's Past Messages

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