DC JwJ Honors Activists Tonight

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Award-winners at tonight's DC Jobs with Justice (JwJ) "I''ll Be There” Awards include Metro Council President Jos Williams, Foundry United Methodist Church, Empower DC, and Mary Spencer and Mark Borbely. The sixth annual awards ceremony and annual fundraiser - which begins at 5:30P at the AFL-CIO -- honors individuals and organizations for exceptional solidarity work in the Metro DC area while raising funds to support DC JwJ's work. Jos Williams was elected as the first African-American president of the Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO in 1982 and has consistently worked to build stronger relationships between labor and community and to bring labor support to community struggles. Foundry United Methodist Church began working with day laborers in early 2005, when groups from the church began to visit the day labor site at 15th and P, NW on a weekly basis with sandwiches and hot chocolate. Shortly after, Minister of Mission Jana Meyer began organizing weekly meetings of workers and allies at the church and supporting the formation of the Union de Trabajadores.  Empower DC was founded in 2004 with the mission to enhance and improve the self-advocacy of low income and working people in the District in order to bring about sustained self improvement in their quality of life. Under the leadership of co-directors Linda Leaks and Pariza Norouzi, Empower DC has secured many victories in their fights for affordable housing, child care for all, and government accountability. Mary Spencer and Mark Borbely have been tireless activists working to better DC Public Schools. Spencer is vice-president of DC ACORN, and in 2007 she led the fight to put Mayor Fenty's school takeover plans to a public referendum, and has continued to be a strong voice for DCPS parents and grandparents. After teaching in the DC Public Schools, Marc Borbely co-founded and led the DC School Modernization Campaign, which won passage of comprehensive school modernization legislation and a commitment from the DC Council to maintain a $200 million-per-year capital budget for the public schools.