Local 589’s John Lee, Jim Evers, Peggy LaPaglia, and Mike Keller at the CLU’s “Salt of the Earth” award ceremony.

Community Labor United (CLU), a coalition of community, religious, neighborhood and labor organizations, honored the Boston Carmen’s Union at their “Salt of the Earth” Awards on June 6th.

Local 589 President / Business Agent John Lee was among five awardees recognized by CLU for organizing victories and successful advocacy campaigns.

The Boston Carmen’s Union, in coordination with the ATU, is playing a leading role in coalitions supporting public transit services and transportation funding. In Massachusetts Local 589 led the “Public Transit, Public Good” campaign that fought cuts in MBTA service and targeted the state budget for increased transit funding.

Prior to President Lee accepting the CLU award, a video presentation (see below) was played explaining the campaign and the Union’s role in the organization. Lee accepted the award on behalf of the Local 589 Executive Board and membership, thanking CLU for the recognition and saying there is still much work to be done on transit funding locally and on the federal level.

Click here to see photos from the event or click on the video below to learn more about the campaign and Local 589’s involvement.