RKG

University-based labor studies programs are an essential support to working people. In the early days of these programs, most of the courses were considered “extension” education, and were not for college credit; instead they focused on skills for trade unionists. A few decades ago, there was a realization that degree programs were also important for working people, who might otherwise not have access to higher education.

These programs create opportunities for unionists, from rank-and-file members to high-level staff, to learn and study together. They combine practical skills with broader academic knowledge.

Students take required courses in areas like labor law and collective bargaining, as well as research and labor history. They learn how to negotiate a contract and how to research a corporation, but also where our labor relations system comes from, and how to approach a strategic campaign; they can take classes on comparative labor movements and on the effects of globalization on North American workers.

While some unions offer opportunities to acquire some of these skills, like bargaining and grievance handling, most no longer have the resources to situate these applied skills in the larger political and economic context. When students graduate from the Labor Center, they have both broad and deep knowledge about why we’re in the state we’re in, and what we can do about it.