Employment Justice Center Celebrates Decade Of Worker Justice

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Calling it "a tribute to our 37,000 members' activism, and to their commitment to justice, equity and dignity for all workers," UFCW Local 400 President Tom McNutt accepted the DC Employment Justice Center's (EJC) Labor Partner of the Year Award last night at the EJC's 10th anniversary Labor Day Dinner. "Every one of us recognizes the inherent truth in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who said that 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' When workers are exploited and underpaid, when their rights are denied, when their health and safety is threatened, when they are treated with disrespect, this is a threat to our members, too," McNutt said, "that's why we are fighting for the workers struggling for a living wage, real benefits and humane treatment at WalMart." Local 400 was among a raft of well-deserved awards handed out to lawyers, volunteers and allies by the decade-old DC-based worker rights organization, including the Metro Council's own Claimant Advocacy Program (CAP), longtime community ally DC Jobs with Justice and DC Labor FilmFest supporter Bernstein and Lipsett. "We've been through many tough fights together and with many more ahead and we stand shoulder to shoulder with the great folks at the EJC," said DC Jobs with Justice’s Mackenzie Baris. "We're proud of the work we do with the Employment Justice Center," added CAP’s Lolita Martin. The dinner also featured a screening of one of the short labor films from this year’s Working Lunch DC Labor FilmFest compilation. To learn more about the EJC, see their 2009 Annual Impact Report and the EJC’s video on YouTube. - photo collage: (clockwise from top left): EJC founders Judy Conti and Kerry O’Brien; Conti & O’Brien with DC JwJ staffers; UFCW 400’s Tom McNutt, Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams, UFCW 400’s Tony Perez and CAP’s Lolita Martin; American Prospect Editor at Large Harold Myerson delivers the keynote speech; Jules Bernstein & Linda Lipsett; McNutt & Perez with DC Councilmember Michael A. Brown, winner of the Public Servant of the Year award. Photos/collage by Chris Garlock