Local Labor Celebrates 30th Annual Dinner

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

“After I got hurt playing football there was no one around that wanted me except my union," said Gene Pinder at Saturday night’s 30^th Annual Evening With Labor dinner. Pinder, Business Manager of the Baltimore-Washington Laborers’ District Council, was named J.C. Turner Outstanding Trades Unionist of the Year for his leadership in the local labor community. “The union put me to work and made me the man I am today,” Pinder told the crowd of nearly 1,000 at the Hilton Washington Hotel, pledging his continuing support for the metro area labor movement. For the first time, the evening’s program preceded the dinner and dancing, which streamlined the award presentations (see below for complete list of awardees) and speeches, which featured greetings from DC Mayor Adrian Fenty – who promised to “help keep the labor movement moving forward” – Maryland State Comptroller Peter Franchot, Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson, and DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who declared “We’re not going to get mad” about the House’s failure last week to pass the DC Voting Rights Act, “We’re going to get even! Nothing will stop us!” Nothing stopped the dancing that then commenced, kicked off as always with The Electric Slide as performed by the mighty Giants of Sound. Photos by Bill Burke/Page One