NPEU condemns the Trump-backed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, calls on DC’s leaders to take action to keep residents safe

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Katie Barrows, NPEU, kbarrows@npeu.org, 360-624-6936

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2020 - The officers of the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU) unapologetically condemn the white nationalist insurrection at the U.S. Capitol yesterday afternoon. Furthermore, we call on the District of Columbia’s elected leaders to take concrete action to prepare the city for future violence and protect residents from white nationalist militias. Over the last few months, white supremacist groups have gathered in D.C. to demonstrate several times and have terrorized the city’s residents. Mayor Bowser must do more to protect D.C. residents and take a stand against white supremacists. 

Additionally, the next Senate should pass D.C. statehood within the first 100 days, which will give D.C. residents the power to call in the National Guard and not have to rely on the president for their safety. The residents of D.C. deserve to be protected with the full power and respect of a state government, and our members who live and work in D.C. need full voting representation in the U.S. Congress.

Law enforcement officers who failed to protect the American people - whether through negligence or unwillingness to enforce the law against white supremacists - should also be held accountable. It was disturbing but unsurprising to see police officers taking selfies with, being friendly, and even letting insurrectionists through a barricaded area. These actions further show that police are footsoldiers of white supremacism. 

The lack of law enforcement action to defend the Capitol from white supremacist insurrectionists is even more infuriating given that the majority of them have not faced any consequences. This is in stark contrast to the extreme methods that local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies used in their response to nationwide Black Lives Matter protests this summer, when peaceful protestors were met with tear gas, rubber bullets, repeated physical assaults, and mass arrests in response to standing against police violence and white supremacy.

NPEU once again calls on the AFL-CIO Executive Council to suspend and revoke the charter of the International Union of Police Associations (IUPA) and other police unions, which have no place in the labor movement.

About NPEU:

The Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU), a local of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, represents professionals employed at more than 30 nonprofit organizations (and counting), including employees at Economic Policy Institute, the Center for American Progress, and Community Change. With several hundred members, NPEU gives nonprofit workers a voice to strengthen their workplaces and continue to do work that makes a difference in people’s lives.