"Stand With Us And Fight" Say Fired Ironworkers

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Chants for justice rang out in both Spanish and English on the George Washington University campus last night, rising above the sounds of rush hour traffic crawling home through snow-clogged DC streets. Protesters gathered at the Square 54 residential/commercial jobsite to call on Wings Enterprises to halt their unjust labor practices. “Our motive is to demand respect for those who work here and our families,” said Juan Carlos Soto, a union leader for the workers at the site. “We want our jobs to provide what we need for our children.” Five months ago, Wings fired 30 ironworkers for supporting a union on the job.  Yesterday, many of those workers and their supporters were on hand to call for fair pay, benefits, and respect from all workers at the company. “We recognize that injustice to any worker is injustice for all of us,” said Tracy Lingo of UNITE-HERE. Most of the workers at the Square 54 site are paid between $10-13 an hour, much less than the $32-36 an hour average pay at union construction jobs. “People who understand what’s happening to us should stand with us and fight,” said Soto. “Many times, lies triumph over the truth because those that know the truth stay silent. You have the truth; use your voice and help us.” - report by Paddy Lehane; photo by Adam Wright