A Spring Celebration of Labor Studies Graduates and Building A Movement Interns

By April Rubio, Communications Coordinator for the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies.

On Thursday, June 5, the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies hosted a celebration honoring Spring 2025 undergraduates completing the Labor Studies Minor, as well as students completing the Building a Movement (BAM) Labor Internship and Labor Research Internship programs. Held at the UW’s Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center, the event welcomed over 70.

Now, in its seventh year, the BAM internship program continues to embody the initial vision of Sai Ahmed, Assistant Director of Student and Community Engagement, which is to connect students with meaningful, community-rooted labor experiences. This year, fifteen interns were placed with local labor and social justice organizations, deepening their understanding of worker-led movements and collective action.

One of the most moving moments of the evening came from keynote speaker Rachel Sun, an inaugural BAM intern who has continued her work as an organizer with the Massage Parlor Organizing Project (MPOP), a long-standing host of BAM interns. Sun shared her journey from student intern to full-time organizer, reflecting on the transformative power of solidarity, mentorship, and direct engagement with marginalized communities. “In all of the wonderful work that you do and will continue to do, I urge you to keep these relationships close to you and to stay grounded in connection -– especially to those on the periphery of our labor force, those who are most hard to reach and consequently most commonly overlooked, who most easily slip through the widening cracks of our social safety nets. Remind yourself and find opportunities to remind them that they deserve safety and deserve to be heard.”

Current interns Jessica Chen and Ollie Le, both of whom interned at MPOP this quarter, opened the evening by introducing the speakers and sharing reflections on their own experiences. “This was a precious opportunity where I learned much about the mechanisms of sociopolitical change,” Le shared. “I was also lucky to have learned from people with such strong backgrounds in labor, advocacy, and the Bridges Center.”

Professor Moon-Ho Jung, Chair of the Bridges Center, offered insight as he reflected on the country’s contentious labor history. “We cannot let the actions of any president define our world. And that’s where Labor Studies and the Bridges Center come in. To me, Labor Studies is ultimately about framing, understanding, and highlighting the struggles of those who confront the horrors of racial capitalism, state violence, and gendered exploitation every single day,” Professor Jung said, “I believe it’s in studying those struggles that we can find hope and creativity in our own strivings for collective justice. That is why I’m really happy that so many students have decided to pursue Labor Studies at UW.”

The evening also spotlighted the Center’s research work this year. Research Director Rachel Erstad and Research Assistant Maya Cruz shared highlights from their projects, including the MLK Labor President Organizing Internship (POI), which supported two student interns: Andrea Fernandez-Henry and Christina Joo. As research assistants, Andrea and Christina contributed to various research projects to support worker organizing and building power for working people across Washington State.

The celebration was further enriched by the presence of local legislators, including Shaun Scott, Mary Fosse, Rebecca Saldaña, and Bob Hasegawa, demonstrating their commitment to uplifting student and worker voices. Scott, a former student of Professor Jung, reflected on how the Labor Studies community influenced his journey to advocate for the economic justice of working families.

As the evening continued, interns Suzanne Downey, William Mscichowski, Sophie Yin, and Ashlyn Suganuma introduced their peers and spoke about the growth and learning they experienced while working with organizations like Queer the Land, Puget Sound Sage, Kabataan Alliance, SMART Local 66, PROTEC17, Tacoma 4 All, United Farm Workers, UAW Local 4121, and UNITE HERE Local 8. They also thanked Soohyung Hur, Graduate Assistant and BAM Internship Coordinator, for her dedication and attentive work with the interns during the quarter.

The program concluded with a recognition of the Spring 2025 graduates of the Labor Studies Minor, students who have pursued academic work rooted in justice, history, and the continued fight for workers' rights. Associate Director Andrew Hedden expressed a heartfelt thanks to United Students Against Sweatshops for their generous donation of $10,000 to the Building A Movement program, and appreciation for every host organization, speaker, guest, and student who made this celebration a success.