At the 58th Convention, the IAFF honored those killed on Sept. 11, 2001, and the hundreds of fire fighters and emergency medical workers who have died from 9/11-related illnesses in the 25 years since.
Tuesday morning opened with a memorial video listing the names of every IAFF member who died in the attacks.
“This year marks the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11th,” General President Edward Kelly said. “343 FDNY members and one New York City fire patrolman made the ultimate sacrifice.”
We rightfully never forget the heroics of that day.
General president edward kelly
“We rightfully never forget the heroics of that day,” Kelly said. For those who survived, September 11 did not end that day. Exposure, illness, and loss have continued in the decades since.
“That number continues to grow,” Kelly said.
The IAFF continued the fight for those responders, including working to fully fund the World Trade Center Health Program alongside Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA) of Greater New York Local 94 and Uniformed Fire Officers Association (UFOA) Local 854.
The IAFF worked with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to ensure IAFF members would receive care without bearing the cost.
“That’s why we never stopped working to fully fund the program,” Kelly said. “And we got it done the same way we get everything done – by working with anyone interested in advancing fire fighter issues.”
That’s the work that embodies the promise to “Always Remember” and “Never Forget.”
The convention also heard from Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants. She was a Boston-based United Airlines flight attendant on Sept. 11, 2021.
Attendants, Sara Nelson, at the 58th Convention.
Nelson lost close friends and flying partners aboard United Airlines Flight 175, a flight she often worked.
“It has been hard over the years to feel like the flight attendants were forgotten, and to hear President Kelly’s words today about recognizing the flight attendants, the people that I represent, it was just this amazing feeling of solidarity,” said Nelson.
Twenty-five years later, she said the lessons of Sept. 11 continue to shape aviation security and the work of flight attendants.
“We’ve been able to thwart security threats that continue to come to aviation, but only because union members have fought for the tools and the policies and the priorities that we need to make sure that we never forget those events, that we’re always mitigating for any safety or security risks,” said Nelson.
Chaplain Rick Spence reflected on a shared commitment to serve and protect others.
“There was no greater example of unconditional and sacrificial love than what occurred on September 11,” Spence said.
