Labor Profile: Union Summer Intern Jasmine Butler

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Eighteen-year-old Jasmine Butler (r) wants to educate you about the labor movement. Just a week into her Union Summer internship at the Metro Washington Council, the Bowie State sophomore already knows that "when you are at a job and employers aren't treating you right," you have a right to organize. Butler learned about the Union Summer program from a fellow church member at Kettering Baptist Church in Prince George's County and was inspired by a presentation on labor history at last week's Union Summer orientation, connecting workers' past and present struggles. A native Washingtonian, Butler studies communications and runs track at Bowie State. The 10-week Union Summer internship is her first paid internship and as she looks forward to her work this summer, she says she looks forward to a wide range of activities with the Council and its affiliates, from journalism with Union City to campaigning in local political races. Whatever Butler does this summer, she says she knows one thing for sure: "I want to be a part of educating more people about the labor movement."
- report/photo by Ryan Carty, AFL-CIO Union Summer Intern