Labor Profile: Union Summer Intern Joseph Daniels

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

It’s no surprise that DC native Joe Daniels (r) is fascinated by politics. After following the 2004 election, Daniels – one of seven Union Summer interns at the Metro Council -- was hooked and wanted to “learn more about how our government ticks and how it affects the people.”  Since then, he’s followed politics closely in his hometown and is majoring in politics at Messiah College in Pennsylvania. He was looking for a political job this summer and sees his Union Summer internship as a chance to learn how politics are related to the labor movement. He recently interviewed an unemployed member of IUEC Local 10 at the Navy Yard, an experience that showed Daniels how workers can be positively affected by a law ensuring that government-funded projects in the District hire local workers. Looking ahead to the rest of his Union Summer, Daniels says he wants to see "the work we do build to a successful result" advancing the Employee Trade Stimulus Act. In his free time Daniels enjoys playing baseball, learning about cars and visiting the Smithsonian museums, especially political exhibits in the National Museum of American History. - report/photo by Ryan Carty, AFL-CIO Union Summer Intern