Public Employee Press

Remembering 9/11
DC 37 honors heroes

On the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, DC 37 local leaders, staff and officers, led by Executive Director Lillian Roberts, honored their four union brothers who were killed in the tragedy that took almost 3,000 civilian lives.

The ceremony evoked the lives and the sacrifices to New York City of the Rev. Mychal Judge, Chaplain, Local 299; Paramedic Carlos Lillo, Local 2507; Emergency Medical Service Lt. Ricardo Quinn, Local 3621, and Chet Louie, an OTB Betting Clerk in Local 2021 who moonlighted at the WTC.

The DC 37 leaders and staff prayed for the thousands who lost their lives and loved ones on that fateful day, and for the many first responders - public service workers who ran toward the danger to help others - and for the DC 37 members who aided in the rescue, recovery and cleanup.

More than 75 DC 37 local presidents and union staff joined Roberts outside union headquarters, where a wreath was placed near the union's Sept. 11 memorial plaque, one block north of ground zero.

"We cannot forget the importance of this day and the dedication our members showed to this city," said Roberts. "We have to appreciate all that was sacrificed as we faced the most gruesome attack in our nation's history. We have to appreciate how far we have come and where we are, and extract strength from that moment as we understand that the innocent paid a price with their lives that day. This is a day of remembrance."