Rising 3L Brandon Vaca Receives Peggy Browning Fund Public Interest Fellowship
Rising 3L Brandon Vaca received a highly competitive fellowship from the Peggy Browning Fund (PBF). Nearly 700 applications were made for the public interest fellowship; only 80 were awarded nationwide.
Vaca is spending the fellowship working at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in Washington, DC.
“I taught in unionized and non-unionized high schools before law school,” Vaca says in explaining his desire to spend the summer with the AFT. “Most recently, I was a teacher and union representative in AFT Local 2240. I have seen first-hand how having a union elevates. It elevates the level of support we can offer one another. It elevates our ability to improve job conditions. It elevates our voices so we can have a real say in what happens in our schools and have a positive impact on issues that affect our students and our communities. … Naturally, I jumped at the chance to contribute to the network of support that was so essential to me as a teacher and a union representative. I look forward to applying what I learn this summer as an attorney in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area following graduation.”
Vaca's experience with the AFT so far has lived up to his expectations.
“I began the summer wanting to get a better idea of what working as a union lawyer entailed, to build legal skills, and to connect with passionate advocates,” he said. “All these goals were met within the first few weeks! It has been so informative to be in the (virtual) room with labor lawyers and to work on assignments dealing with issues faced by individual locals and national issues affecting AFT members and their communities. The team at AFT and at PBF also do a great job connecting Fellows with people and organizations working for justice in the workplace and beyond. I have no doubt that my experience this summer will help me build a career empowering workers.”
The Peggy Browning Fund is a not-for-profit organization established in memory of Margaret A. Browning, a prominent union-side attorney who was a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from 1994 until 1997. Peggy Browning Fellowships provide law students with unique, diverse and challenging work experiences fighting for social and economic justice. These experiences encourage and inspire students to pursue careers in public interest labor law.
