“All Credit Goes to the Workers” – Secretary-Treasurer Henson Honors Workers at Jobs With Justice Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award

Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson and IFPTE were honored to participate this week in the 2024 Jobs With Justice (JWJ) Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Celebration awards ceremony in Washington, DC.  This is the 20th such JWJ ceremony in which workers and their advocates are honored with the prestigious human rights award. 

As a part of the program, Secretary-Treasurer Henson was asked to present awards to two of the UAW union organizers, Charles Kimbrough and Letonja “Renee” Berry, who led the successful organizing campaign against Volkswagen this Spring in Henson’s hometown of Chattanooga, TN.   Henson commended Kimbrough, Berry, and all of the Volkswagen workers, saying, “They were faced with threats from management, and even worse, from lawmakers locally, statewide and nationally…But the workers never flinched.” 

Henson, who during the organizing campaign joined the workers at rallies in Chattanooga, further stated that “as both a native Chattanoogan and a trade unionist, I was compelled to join Union Sisters, Brothers, and Siblings in their fight to win a Union at Volkswagen.  After all, when we all stand in Solidarity as workers, we win.  All credit goes to the workers and IFPTE congratulates them on their historic, and overwhelming organizing victory.” 

See the JWJ video recognizing the award winners here.