On May 31, the Bridges Center concluded the fourth year of its Building a Movement (BAM) internship program with a closing reception. The event showcased the interns' many accomplishments and the host organizations they interned with this year.

BAM was launched in Fall 2021 by the University of Washington’s Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies faculty, students, and sponsors, drawing inspiration from the Washington State Labor Council’s Union Summer Program. Currently, the BAM program is led by Bridges Center Assistant Director of Student and Community Engagement Sai Ahmed and Graduate Staff Assistant Soohyung Hur. It is the university’s first paid internship program that unites undergraduate students with the local labor movement through partnerships with community organizations engaged in organizing work at various levels. Students who are passionate about labor and social justice advocacy have the unique opportunity to explore how organizations strive to bring about systemic and community-level changes for the benefit of working people. Participants in BAM make meaningful contributions to this process through their involvement.

This year, BAM interns partnered with local organizations, including the Legacy of Equality, Leadership, and Organizing (LELO), Workers United, Washington State Rainbow Coalition History Project, Protec17, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), UAW 4121, Unite Here Local 8, Massage Parlor Outreach Project (MPOP), Anakbayan UW, Tacoma For All, and La Resistencia.

Students engaged in compiling research, communicating with workers, and organizing campaigns with their host organizations while they attended regular classes at UW. During the academic year, interns also had the opportunity to hear from guest speakers, including JM Wong from MPOP, Cindy Domingo from LELO, Rosalinda Guillen from Community to Community (C2C), and Madison Zack-Wu, organizer with the Stripper Bill of Rights. A few interns also toured the International Association of Machinists District Lodge 751 union hall and joined in on a labor history bus tour through Seattle’s International District, led by Dr. Andrew Hedden, Bridges Center Associate Director.

At the reception, attendees heard from several community members from the local organizations involved this year, including Eunice How from Unite Here Local 8 and APALA, Paul Ryan Villanueva from APALA and LELO, Jesse Mason from Workers United, Nelson Niu from UAW 4121, Rufina Reyes and Vilma Arias from La Resistencia, and Dr. Andrew Hedden from WA State Rainbow Coalition Research Project.

Several interns also formed a book club to discuss 'Palestine: A Social Introduction’ by Sumaya Awad, who came to speak at UW earlier this Spring. At the reception, Kimberly Chen, Leiney Gamache, Saul Gonzalez, Katherine Chen, and Maria Mandt each spoke on individual chapters of the book that impacted them the most.

The students developed educational tools to further advocate for fair and proper working conditions across Washington state. Their projects were digitized and compiled into a website built by intern Keilani Uehara. One of the projects, by intern Andrea Fernandez-Henry, focused on Racial Justice in the Labor Movement, in which she created a digital collage presentation with excerpts from interviews with people of color who are members of the union, as well as the groups created by activists throughout the years to fight oppression and build worker class solidarity. During her internship with Protec17, her tasks included joining a four-week workshop for youth leaders, engaging in practical organizing like reaching out to non-members for card signatures to vote on ratification, and getting insights into the organization's history through chapter meetings. “[Protec17] is a professional and technical workers union that represents public sector workers in many different cities and counties across Washington state,” Andrea explained. “During my internship, the recent City of Seattle contract was ratified, and other campaigns progressed. I am a junior Political Science major who believes union and labor knowledge is a big factor in social activism and progress.”

View the BAM intern project website here.

The Spring 2024 BAM interns spoke highly of their experiences working with their host organizations. “I would like to take the time to thank Soohyung and Sai for their guidance and support over the BAM internship program this past year. Without them, this program would not have been possible and as rewarding as it was for all of us interns,” said Keilani Uehara. The Bridges Center is extremely proud of this year’s interns and their accomplishments, and the important connections made through the labor community.

Learn more about the Building A Movement Internship Program

If you or your organization are interested in hosting an intern for the 2025 school year or beyond, please contact Sai Ahmed at ypahmed@uw.edu.