Baltimore Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth and Washington Redskins offensive tackle Stephon Heyer urged union solidarity today at the AFL-CIO Young Workers' Summit in Washington, D.C.

"We’re in the middle of the biggest battle with the team owners of the National Football League that our union has faced since we won the right to free agency over 20 years ago," said Foxworth, who was elected to the NFLPA executive committee in 2008.

"We’re blessed to play football for a living, but this battle is a stark reminder to us that football is a brutal billion-dollar business; the owners are management, and they see us as revenue-generating widgets," Foxworth said. "We have to fight to protect ourselves in careers that usually end before we’re 30 years old, but leave us with injures that endure for the rest of our lives. We are not complaining, but explaining to you why we understand how crucial union strength and solidarity is."

Yet those who are about to join the union will be sacrificed in the next collective bargaining agreement.