2005 JwJ Honoree Dinner was our most successful ever!

On October 29th, 500 activists and leaders from throughout the Seattle-Tacoma area joined together to support the work of WA State Jobs with Justice and to honor some of those who lead the movement for social justice. Thanks to strong support from both labor and community allies (and despite significant cost increases from previous years), the dinner resulted in almost $30,000 net income from an ad book, a collection at the event, and a silent auction.

We continued to build our program to expose the war's impact on worker organizing by honoring both a peace activist and Department of Defense employees. Honoree Father Bill Bichsel is a leader in the South Sound (Tacoma) peace and justice movement, and is an inspirational activist in the Catholic Worker movement.

We also honored Federal workers and their unions, particularly the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the Bremerton Metal Trades Council, for their fight against efforts to use the war and "national security" as an excuse for union-busting. WA JwJ's work on the impact of war on workers has included faith-based peace activists joining an informational picket by defense workers at the gates of a military base and defense industry workers attending a major peace rally to educate the community about the challenges that they're facing from the National Security Personnel System (NSPS).

The third set of honorees were the 25 union members in the Washington State Legislature (including 20 Representatives and 5 Senators) who have formed a labor caucus to fight for the interests of working people. The labor caucus was instrumental in reversing business-inspired cuts to unemployment compensation.

Congratulations to all our distinguished honorees, and thanks again to everyone who helped make this event possible!