Please join us for the 9th Annual “I’ll Be There” AwardsrnrnThursday, June 23rdrn5:30 to 7:30pm rnSamuel Gompers’ room at the AFL-CIOrn815 16th St NW. rnrnThe event will feature performances by women’s a cappella group SongRise and performance artist Quique Aviles, as well as wine, beer and light fare.rnrnEach year we honor labor and community leaders for exceptional solidarity. This year’s honorees are:rnrnHead-ROCrnDubbed “The Mayor of DC Hip Hop,” Head-Roc is a renowned artist and activist who has played a central role in the local movement for social justice. He has come to embody the passions, hopes and dreams of a talented but too often overlooked DC Black music scene. He has never hesitated to lend his considerable talent to local struggles,recording songs for Empower DC and the Teamsters and performing at countless rallies and actions. Head-Roc has had a number of solo and group effort album releases in his career, and his songs have been featured on dozens of nationwide mix-tape and compilation CD releases. Head-Roc has enjoyed performing and promoting his music across the United States as well as parts of Europe, bringing his music and political analysis to thousands of socially progressive, conscious, and independent music lovers. Currently, Head-Roc is promoting his latest critically acclaimed release The “Empower DC” Project, working on a debut album and other projects with his Award winning Funk, Rock and Soul Band GODISHEUS (gotta-see-us). He also serves as the first ever Arts Ambassador for the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts (WALA).rnrnSarahi Uribe of the National Day Labor Organizing NetworkrnSince moving to Washington, DC in 2008, Sarahi has made enormous contributions to both the local and national struggles for immigrant rights. Raised in Los Angeles and the daughter of immigrants, Sarahi attended Yale University where she worked for the immigrant community group Junta and was part of the historic campaign to win municipal drivers’ licenses for all New Haven rnresidents, regardless of status. Sarahi came to DC rnfirst to battle wage theft with the WashingtonrnLawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and then joined the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. As part of NDLON, Sarahi has led the national campaign against the criminalization of immigrant, Latino, and communities of color via new enforcement programs. Here in DC she was a critical part of the successful campaign to move the city to remove itself from the mis-named and dangerous Secure Communities program. This Spring Sarahi brought together community, political and faith leaders to support fired Chipotle workers in standing up for respect and fair treatment. rnrnDrop Daycon! Coalition at the University of MarylandrnLed by UMD Feminism Without Borders, Drop Daycon! has been calling on university officials to cut rntheir contract with cleaning supply company Daycon. Headquartered in Upper Marlboro, Daycon is one of the rnlargest cleaning and maintenance supply companies on the East Coast, yet it has been putting the squeeze on workers and walked away from contract talks last year, forcing Daycon workers, who are represented by Teamsters Local 639, to walk off the job and strike. For the past year students have been holding education forums, running a smart media campaign, building coalition, and staging creative direct action to pressure their university to live up to its image as an ethical community leader by cutting its ties with a union-busting company that refuses to pay new workers a living wage.rnrnKnetra Byrd, Franklin Carter, and Eric Marshall rnare three members of UFCW Local 400 who have taken a leadership role in the fight to make Walmart sign an enforceable community benefits agreement before they can open stores in DC. This Spring, they took time off from their jobs at Safeway and Giant to work full-time on the Respect DC campaign. They knocked on doors, handed out flyers, spoke at rallies and community meetings, and talked to their co-workers and neighbors about why we need living wage jobs and healthy communities in DC. Knetra, a resident of Petworth, is a new member of Local 400 working as a cashier at the Giant on Columbia Road. Frank works as an assistant manager at the Columbia Road Giant and lives in 16th Street Heights. Eric is a Ward 7 resident and shop steward at the Safeway at Georgia and Piney Branch Rd. Together they are building a strong local union, getting active in their community, and working to make change at their companies.
