IFPTE Proudly Celebrates and Honors Juneteenth
WASHINGTON, DC – The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) is proud to celebrate and remember Juneteenth, the day in 1865 when slaves in the State of Texas were finally freed from the bondage of slavery. June 19th, 2025, marks the 160th Anniversary of Juneteenth, when Union Major General Gordon Granger presented and enforced General Order Number 3 in Galveston, Texas, freeing all enslaved people in the State of Texas. This date in history came over two years after President Lincoln ended slavery across the southern United States by signing the Emancipation Proclamation.
Juneteenth has a heightened significance right now, as many of the gains made by our historic Civil Rights Movement are being eroded or outright eliminated. This includes both the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, and public policies at the National, State, and Local levels that have brought our nation closer to equity and fairness for all people.
IFPTE is proud to be in the fight for justice and dignity alongside our larger Labor Movement and, indeed, our Civil Rights Movement. As we celebrate Juneteenth today, let us reflect on our gains as a Society, with an eye toward our continued fight against systemic injustices.
Happy Juneteenth!
IFPTE is a labor union representing upwards of 90,000 workers across North America in the federal, public, and private sectors.
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