CLU Honors Three With Salt of the Earth Awards

Thu, 04/29/2010 - 10:34am

On Wednesday April 14, Community Labor United held a ceremony at SEIU 615 in Boston honoring two grassroots organizations and a labor leader with its annual Salt of the Earth Award.

The event’s MC, author and former head of the South Bay Labor Council Amy Dean, spoke about the pressing need for labor and community organizations to cooperate in advancing a common agenda. CLU, she said, was leading the way nationally in this effort, especially as the host of the Green Justice Coalition. The GJC’s model brings together community and environment-focused organizations with organized labor, to leverage their power for collective goals.

The two groups receiving the award were Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative and Clean Water Action-MA. The third honoree was Bob Bower, Political Director of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. All have contributed to building the GJC into an effective vehicle for winning strategic victories, which have helped set the stage for an emerging “green economy” in Massachusetts.

Striking workers from Shaw’s Supermarket distribution center in Methuen, MA made an appeal for solidarity and were greeted by over 150 participants with a standing ovation. Among the groups present was the Chinese Progressive Association, which is hosting a pilot program in Boston’s Chinatown, one of four that would be replicated statewide after they become functional. Several other GJC partner organizations, including New England United for Justice, City Life/Vida Urbana, Jobs With Justice-MA and the Boston Workers’ Alliance brought members along to cheer on the work of the Coalition.