Peggy Browning Still Contributing To The Labor Movement

By Dr. Marciene Mattleman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Peggy Browning Fund, based in Philadelphia, was established in memory of Margaret Browning, prominent labor attorney and member of the National Labor Relations Board, to inspire law students to become advocates for workplace justice, through summer fellowships in labor unions and organizations nationwide.

Joe Michaels, a law student at the University of Michigan, was the 2012 Peggy Browning Fellow working in the legal department of the United Auto Workers. He comes from a family where the labor movement was discussed at the dinner table.

When 9-years-old, after returning from walking a picket line at the Detroit News and Free Press, Joe, with his four brothers and sisters decided to call a strike against their parents to receive an allowance for their chores.

Now Joe is the Workers' Rights coordinator for the Michigan Immigration and Labor Law Association, one of more than 500 fellows who got a start as a Peggy Browning Fellow working for social justice.

Learn more at PeggyBrowningFund.org.