Labor Profile: Union Summer Intern Essie Ablavsky

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Inspired by anarchist Emma Goldman and folksinger Utah Phillips, Union Summer intern Essie Ablavsky (r) is back for her second summer of union activism. “They addressed issues of inequality and referenced the labor movement” says Ablavsky, “it really captured my interest.” The New College of Florida student – a Massachusetts native -- interned last summer in Boston with UNITE HERE, registering union members to vote, training as an organizer and campaigning for Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. “I just want to get a broader understanding of the labor movement” this year, she says, “everything from politics to organizing.” The Union Summer internship interested Ablavsky “because there are not a lot of formal programs that deal with the labor movement.” This Fall, Ablavsky, a sociology major, will travel to Mexico to study with the Mexico Solidarity Network, working with social movement organizations including the Zapatistas.
- report/photo by Jasmine Butler, AFL-CIO Union Summer Intern