Among the images burned into our memories of 9/11 are those of panicked, dust-covered New Yorkers fleeing the World Trade Center. What fewer cameras memorialized that day was the heroism of the public service workers who rushed toward the danger and the chaos after the hijacked planes slammed into the Twin Towers.

That day, AFSCME members didn’t hesitate. Trained to serve their communities no matter what, to answer the call despite the risk to themselves, these brave public service workers were driven by one impulse: to help.

New York Fire Department Chaplain Father Mychal Judge of AFSCME Local 299 (District Council 37) was among the first to lose his life delivering last rites to victims in the North Tower. Three other DC 37 members also died immediately — Paramedics Carlos Lillo of Local 2507 and Lt. Ricardo Quinn of Local 3621, and Off-Track Betting Clerk Chet Louie of Local 2021.

Those four brave AFSCME members were among the 3,000 people who died immediately after the attacks in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Thousands more, including AFSCME members, have died or become sick after developing respiratory illnesses by breathing in toxic fumes at Ground Zero in New York.

AFSCME members did selfless work on 9/11. Their jobs ran the gamut. EMS workers ran into the towers to rescue office workers and help the injured. 911 operators fielded thousands of panicked calls. Parks staff, transit workers, public works employees, laborers, engineers, and countless others — all members of DC 37 — sprang into action, without hesitation. Their goal that day was the same: to save lives, to help in any way they could.

The poise and professionalism of AFSCME members was also on display at the Federal Aviation Administration, where they secured our skies after the attacks, and in Pennsylvania, where AFSCME members who worked for the Somerset County Department of Transportation helped authorities following the crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville.

In the days, weeks and months after 9/11, AFSCME members of all stripes, from many different locals and councils, continued to play critical roles in rescue operations and in caring for the injured. They also helped the yearslong cleanup and rebuilding of both the World Trade Center site and the Pentagon. 

And while the frenzied rescue efforts of that terrible day would fade with time, the iron-clad commitment of AFSCME public service workers never did. 

On the 25^th anniversary of 9/11, we must not only pay tribute to the bravery of those who answered the call but also remember that our country’s public service workers continue to answer the call. Day in and day out. With little fanfare or recognition. Because public service is more than a job, it’s a noble calling. 

AFSCME members show their heroism, selflessness, and commitment to our communities every day of the week.

Unfortunately, 25 years later, many in power seem to have forgotten the bravery of our country’s public service workers. 

Anti-worker lawmakers have passed devastating laws that slash billions of funding for the services we provide, and the services that our communities rely on, like Medicaid and food assistance. Billionaires and anti-worker extremists want to gut our right to collectively bargain — the very thing that enables us to speak up for the resources we need to serve our communities, the equipment we need to do our jobs, and safety standards that keep us and those we serve safe.

The most fitting way to honor those who answered the call on 9/11 is to remember that public service workers remain ready in communities across this country to respond at a moment’s notice. 

In the 25 years since 9/11, too many people have forgotten this fact. But we will never forget.