2025 CLJE Research Assistant Summer Experiences - Center for Labor and a Just Economy

Read about some of our students’ inspiring summer experiences working in the labor movement ecosystem. If you’re a current student looking to get involved with the Center, please feel free to get in touch.

SOPHIA LEswING ’27

I was a Peggy Browning Fellow at the United Auto Workers International Office in Detroit, MI. It was fascinating to witness the various kinds of legal work that in-house counsel at unions engage in. I assisted attorneys with research and writing assignments on various labor issues. Highlights from my internship include visiting the Labor History Archives at the Walter P. Reuther Library and touring the Ford Rouge Factory where I saw UAW members assembling F-150 trucks. My summer in Detroit will be a lifelong memory and one that I will look back on fondly as a formative moment in my future career as a union-side labor lawyer.

Finlay Adamson ’27

I worked at the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations this summer, where I assisted with the processing of Prohibited Practice charges made by public employees against their employers. I conducted legal research on state and federal labor law, took part in investigations and hearings, and wrote analysis that will be included in the Department’s final decisions. Additionally, I worked on the regulatory implementation of M.G.L 150F, a law granting rideshare drivers with organizing rights.

Meredith Gudesblatt ’26

I split my summer between Murphy Anderson PLLC in Washington DC and Centro de los Derechos del Migrante in Mexico City. At Murphy Anderson, I wrote a report about the prevalence of wage theft in affordable housing construction projects in DC, helped 300+ workers obtain severance from their employer, worked on wage theft cases, and drafted motions for a union fighting against improper prevailing wage rates. At Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, I am researching H-2B visas and housing deductions, antitrust theories, first amendment protections for day laborers, in addition to having conducted outreach to carnival workers and H-2A workers in the United States. I loved both of my experiences and am thrilled to have played a role in building worker power this summer.

Ana-Sofia Gonzalez MPP ’26

I worked with CLJE as a Research Assistant. As a graduate researcher and master of public policy candidate, I analyzed the data we collected and conducted statistical analyses to inform our report on “Working Class Women and The Future of AI.” Additionally, I continued our work on the creation of a modern Labor Journalism Archive for Harvard Law School. Working with Michelle Miller and the CLJE team has been so empowering. I’m honored to learn from such dedicated people at a center that reflects my core values. Those who are best positioned to inform the design and delivery of AI into the labor market are the workers themselves. There appears to be a large discrepancy in satisfaction with AI based on a given worker’s regular use of AI, both in and out of the workplace. This is fodder for further investigation and I’m excited to continue this research throughout the academic year.

TED PARKER ’26

I worked for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in Appellate Litigation Services. I performed legal research for cases on appeal–mostly, for a Title VII sexual harassment case, an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) case, and a case involving the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA). I had a great experience learning about these new areas of law and seeing how the appellate lawyers at the EEOC approach the task of safeguarding and advancing employment discrimination law.