Mr. Michael Davies, EAA member, President of the Board of Governors, and long-time union and community development activist received the Harry Bridges Institute Caesar Chavez Labor Person of the Year award at the award banquet held on Sunday, March 30, 2008.

This marks the second year in a row that an EAA member has been honored by the Institute, reflecting on EAA’s continued support for labor organizations in southern California. As we all recall, Ms. Debbie Cabeza received this honor last year.

Michael’s acceptance speech touched on the specific, moved to the general, and came back to the specific regarding unions and what they mean in our community. Michael spoke of being born into a union family (his father was in the International Association of Machinists) and recalled joining the United Steel Workers at his first union working opportunity. This background and experiences led to further dedicated involvement as his career progressed.

Two of Caesar Chavez’s grandchildren were in attendance at the event and Michael’s recollection of working directly with Caesar during organizing of workers by the United Farm Workers in Arizona was particularly meaningful to them.

When speaking of unions, he stated that an individual can only accept this award acknowledging the support of his or her union and its members that made achievement possible. He also observed that this award is not presented to a union, but to one of its individual members who, through their collective dedication and togetherness, make a union strong. He spoke of the challenges that all unions face in today’s world and the need for them to support each other’s causes for the benefit of all working people. He also spoke of his own work in underdeveloped countries in Africa and the Caribbean as an example of the type of involvement in helping others that is the cornerstone of unions everywhere.

Michael then detailed EAA’s ongoing efforts to expand and enhance its Steward program, efforts that will inevitably lead to greater member involvement and an ever stronger union presence in Los Angeles. He further stated our dedication to assisting all unions in attendance in each of their struggles for better wages and stability in their workplaces.

Michael’s words received thunderous applause, were appreciated by all, and were repeatedly referenced in the speeches by others addressing the banquet.

Your entire Board of Governors and the staff of EAA congratulate Michael and thank him for being such an inspiration to all other union members, both within EAA and as members of other unions. We also thank the Harry Bridges Institute for their decision to honor our member and for their hard work at promoting unions for a new generation of workers.

The Harry Bridges Institute annually honors rank and file union members who have demonstrated dedication to the union movement through their actions and hard work during the previous year. The Institute is named for the long-time labor leader in the ILWU. He is also memorialized by the street in San Pedro bearing his name. From their website (www.harrybridges.com) comes their mission, “Remembering and preserving Labor's past. Breathing new life into trade unionism today. Working to secure Labor's future for generations to come.”