Injury Doesn't Sideline Edwards' Solidarity With Daycon Strikers

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Being hobbled with an injured leg did not stop Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D, MD - at right) from walking the picketline Monday as the Teamsters 639 strike at Daycon entered its sixth week. Edwards has called and written Daycon to urge them to return to the bargaining table, "But there's been absolutely no response," she told the drivers walking the line Monday morning. Daycon's refusal to respond to public officials or to bargain with their workers "sends a horrible message," Edwards told Union City. "As the economy recovers, now isn't the time to force organized workers out of the workforce, it's time for us all to come together." Edwards, who's recovering from a tumble on the Capitol Hill steps a few weeks ago, urged the strikers to "fight the good fight" for good job and good wages and pledged to continue supporting them. "We'll be out here one day longer than Daycon," promised shop steward Eugene Brown. The Teamsters will rally and handbill in front of the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum this Friday at 10A, urging the Smithsonian, one of Daycon's largest commercial customers, to ask the company to return to the bargaining table. – report/photo by Chris Garlock