SEARCH
Labor College to Celebrate 40 Years, Honor Sweeney |
|
 |
|
For four decades, the National Labor College (NLC) has strengthened the union movement through education and training. Next week, the college will celebrate its 40th anniversary, and at the same time honor three union leaders who symbolize what the school means to workers.
During the July 28 anniversary gala, the Labor College will honor AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney for his strong commitment to the NLC and labor education and NLC graduates, James Williams, president of the Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), and Michael Sullivan, president of the Sheet Metal Workers (SMWIA).
Former U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis Herman will be the emcee for the event.
For more information on the gala and to purchase tickets, click here.
In June 2008, Sweeney, who serves as chairman of NLC’s board of trustees and spearheaded creation of the Labor College, told the graduating class of 2008 the union movement needs educated members:
We need you all and your commitment now more than ever because the values we share are under relentless attack by the forces of greed, self interest and a cynical indifference to the rights of working men and women—the rights to a safe workplace, good, secure jobs and a decent living.
Williams and Sullivan both graduated from the NLC in 2004. At the time, Sullivan said reaching the goal of a college degree was an important signal to his members about the necessity of education.
What we learn through the Labor Studies program has application in all union work. If our locals build a stronger education base, then the entire union has to grow. Education and training will make the difference between survival and extinction.
Williams added:
How can you ask your membership to do something that you’re not prepared to do? As a job runner when I was just starting out with the tools, I always took the toughest part of the job to set an example. As the saying goes, in order to lead, you must first learn to follow.
From its founding by the AFL-CIO as the George Meany Center for Labor Studies in 1969 to its transformation to a degree-granting college in 1997 and the opening of the state-of-the-art Lane Kirkland Center in 2007, the Labor College has evolved to meet the changing needs of America’s union movement.
With a 46-acre campus just outside Washington, D.C., the nation’s only labor college is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and grants bachelor’s and master’s degrees The school now partners with the University of Baltimore and George Mason University for its graduate degree programs.
Last month, the NLC graduated its 11th class, granting degrees to 103 union members. More than 1,200 union members have graduated from the NLC since 1998.
3 Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Great job on that end… in fact the more we study the complexity of human rights the more we value the necessity for more unionizing…
Keep up the Great work…
Demba.
Unfortunate that the Labor College would be located “just outside Washington, D.C..” While the facts are not known, the immediate perception I got was that these students probably learn how to lobby and schmooz with elected members of Congress and their staffs and families.
If only this college could have been located in one of the now-decimated rust belt states - that would have been forward thinking and might have given students an understanding that real life in America is NOT what is seen “just outside Washington, D.C.”
Sally:
Just to clarify: Students come to the National Labor College from across the nation. They are working people, union members, who often receive funding from their unions to attain a higher education degree that many thought impossible. The curricula consists of such courses as improving safety and health on the job, labor history and union leadership and administration.
We profiled four of the recent Labor College graduates last month (link below), and their life and work experience and dedication in achieving a degree while working full time and often caring for families, is really inspiring:
103 Students Set to Graduate from National Labor College
http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/06/26/103-students-set-to-graduate-from-national-labor-college/