Retiring Metro Washington Council president Jos Williams told a capacity crowd Saturday night that he plans to continue the fight for organized labor even as he steps away from the president's gavel. Nearly a thousand labor leaders and activists, power brokers and elected officials at the annual Evening With Labor celebration roared their approval at the event, which was part reunion, part awards dinner, and, as guests mixed and mingled, part raucous caucus. Mayor Muriel Bowser led the tributes, saying, "I am so grateful to Jos for his leadership." Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said that "Jos is the kind of person who brings people together and keeps them together." Liz Shuler, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO called Williams a labor giant, saying "Every worker in this region is better off because of his service." Shuler praised his social justice advocacy and said, "He's a creative organizer and tenacious as hell."
Read our complete report -- and see photos from the evening -- at dclabor.org, where you'll also find details on all of this week's labor events. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1887, the Painters union was officially formed. In 1917, the Supreme Court approved the 8-Hour Act under threat of a national railway strike. And in 1948, bituminous coal miners began a nationwide strike, demanding adoption of a pension plan. Today’s labor quote is by George Meany "Labor never quits. We never give up the fight – no matter how tough the odds, no matter how long it takes." William George Meany was an American labor union leader for 57 years. He was the key figure in the creation of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, and served as the AFL-CIO's first president from 1955–1979.
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