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.
The memorial video listing the names of every IAFF member who died in the attacks was played.
“This year marks the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks of Sept. 11,” 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,” Kelly said. “For those who survived, September 11 did not end that day. Exposure, illness, and loss have continued in the decades since and that number continues to grow.”
The IAFF continues 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 9/11. 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.
