Commerford Awards Honor Jennifer Abruzzo and Mary Ann Trasciatti

The New York Labor History Association founded the John Commerford Labor Education Award in 1987. Each year the NYLHA celebrates two honorees for their contributions to workers’ empowerment.

The 2025 Awards, held on December 3 at NYU’s Tamiment Library,honored legal pioneer and NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and activist scholar and Triangle Fire Memorial leader Mary Anne Trasciatti for their extraordinary contributions to workers’ empowerment. NYLHA’s only fundraiser of the year supports a wealth of terrific – and free – programming about labor and workers throughout the year. To watch a stream of the full ceremony click here, and to make a contribution to support the NYLHA's ongoing work encouraging the study of workers and their organizations and serving as a bridge between past and present labor unionists and academics, click here!