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Recognized as an Effective School-to-Work Practice, June, 2000
Labor in the Classrooms
Teamsters Local Union 25
Boston, Massachusetts
Steve Sullivan, Director of Education and Training at Teamsters Local 25 in Boston,
poses with Gardner High School students after a STW presentation.
Overview of the Project
Labor in the Classrooms is a project of Local 25 that is based on a mission of building linkages between unionized workers and the public schools to educate high school students about their rights and responsibilities as workers and to promote a Teamster vision of the workplace. To accomplish this mission, Local 25 conducts presentations in high schools throughout Massachusetts to provide students with information about the history of the labor movement and how it has impacted lives of many people across the nation. Along with a history of labor, presentations include information about such topics as the 8-hour work day, occupational health and safety issues, Workers Compensation, Unemployment Insurance, and a range of other work related issues that students will experience in the workplace.
Knowing that many students will not be able to immediately relate the importance of these topics to their current life experiences, Local 25 strives to make the presentations "real" to students, using examples and actual situations with which students can easily relate. For example, drawing upon examples of popular figures in sports and the entertainment industry helps to provide students with an increased awareness that such issues as labor protections and safeguards permeate all aspects of the workplace, not just the "machine shop guy." The relevance of these presentations are often enhanced by the presence of members currently working in one of the many fields in which Local 25 negotiates contracts (e.g., freight and parcel drivers, air traffic controllers, police, nursing). Videos and other types of media are often used to supplement information in student presentations.
In addition to student presentations, Local 25 also sponsors a "Job Shadow Day" as part of its School-to-Work activities and actively participates in Boston Private Industry Council’s annual "Career Day" event. Currently, Local 25 is collaborating with the Metro North Regional Employment Board to provide unionized worksites for its Summer of 2000 jobs program.
With approximately 9,000 members, Local 25 members largely represent the fields of transportation and public service. Somewhat more than half the local consists of drivers in the field of transportation (e.g., freight and parcel delivery, rigging), while the remainder are employed in such public service areas as policing, public works, 911 operators, and school nursing). According to Steven Sullivan, Director of Education and Training, the employment outlook for parcel drivers in particular with continue to strengthen as "e-commerce" becomes increasingly used by consumers to purchase goods and services.
The Need
According to Mr. Sullivan, "Students today don’t realize that not long ago, not even 100 years ago, there were kids their age working in factories." Many students only have a vague idea of why unions exist and very few are familiar with the historical significance of the labor movement. For example, most students take the concept of the 8-hour day and health and safety on the job for granted, unaware of the struggles of organized labor to achieve landmark legislation for workers. As greater emphasis is placed on the role of the worker in the emerging of a "new economy," Local 25 believes that it is essential students develop an understanding of the importance of unions and how a union can facilitate their transition to gainful employment once they leave high school.
The need to increase the awareness about unions among high school students is important when one considers the large number of students who choose not to attend college and are simply interested in looking for good paying jobs with benefits. Even for those that do enter postsecondary education, many do not complete a degree and decide to pursue other career interests. These students also need to know the difference between union and non-union labor options. For example, many students are surprised to learn that unionized wages are 38% higher for females and 42% for African-Americans. Information of this nature can help students to make better choices when choosing career options when they leave school, whether or not they decide to enter postsecondary education.
Meeting the Need
According to Mr. Sullivan, the major goal of Labor in the Classrooms is simply to go into classrooms and speak to student groups about union and labor movement issues. Typically, audiences for these presentations involve 25-30 students in grades 9-12 and are conducted in secondary schools in Boston schools, its suburbs, and other cities and towns within Massachusetts (e.g., Burlington, Baldwinville, Ashburnham). Presentations generally last for a period of 1 to 2 hours and include an overview of the labor movement. Historically significant events that occurred in a geographical area or industry with which students may be familiar (e.g., the 1912 Bread and Roses Textile Strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts) are used to provide students with a meaningful context. To supplement the historical discussion, Local 25 has developed an extensive media presentation consisting of photo albums and slides that document significant events within the labor movement throughout Boston and New England, highlighting the challenging working conditions that had to be endured by workers prior to unionization.
In addition to a historical perspective, students are also provided with information about such contemporary issues and topics such as Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) laws and rules, overtime pay, Living Wage, Workers Compensation, and Unemployment Insurance. Whenever possible, topics are presented using analogies or examples based on typical student experiences. For example, in discussing the concept of an 8-hour day, the presenter often uses the length of a typical school day to reinforce a point about how such issues as time on-the-job (e.g., breaks, length of lunchtime) need to be negotiated by unions for the protection of workers. Students quickly grasp the importance of negotiating time when it is put in the context of "What if someone were to tell you that starting tomorrow, school will begin at 6:00 A.M. and go until 5:00 P.M., with no breaks except for ten-minute lunch period? Similar analogies and examples are used to teach students about the concepts of wage disparity and consequences of having no representation in the workplace.
Although most of the presentations are conducted by Steven Sullivan, Director of Education and Training, Local 25 strongly encourages members to also attend. Through solicitations at union meetings and the local’s monthly newsletter, members are asked to volunteer to attend presentations to provide students with a perspective of Teamster life, describing a "typical" day at work, discussing the types of classes which helped them and how they chose their present career. To help members prepare for students presentations, each is provided with a checklist of "Helpful Hints for Career Speakers" for tips and suggestions about keeping the students engaged.
The Results
According to Mr. Sullivan, more than 2,000 students have participated in Local 25’s school presentations, Career Day activities, job shadowing opportunities, and summer jobs program. It is estimated that Career Day alone reaches more than 1,000 students during its day-long program of activities. While it is difficult to predict what impact Labor in the Classrooms will have on students in the long-term, Mr. Sullivan indicates that students routinely provide him with evidence which indicates that learning had indeed occurred and that the experience had been informative and helpful. For example, many students learn that an hourly wage alone is an insufficient indicator of how well a worker is compensated—the worker’s benefits package must also be factored into the process of deciding how well a job pays. Similarly, students report they better understand what the purpose of a union is and why it is important with regard to the career decisions they will ultimately need to make.
Labor in the Classrooms has also yielded benefits to the membership of Local 25 itself. In addition to increasing the knowledge and awareness levels of students about union issues, the project also provides members and retirees with a chance to meet and interact with students who potentially represent union members of the future. However, Mr. Sullivan points out that the School-to-Work activities of Local 25 are "Not just for the local—although it’s important that we tie everything we do with the local—it’s (helping future workers) to understand organized labor, the value of collective bargaining, and the value of having a voice in the workplace."
Reflections
Mr. Sullivan suggests that Teamster locals who are interested in replicating all or some of Local 25’s School-to-Work activities recruit a member who "makes it a priority and carves out time to do the student presentations and approaches teacher unions to gain access to the classroom." Since most teachers are union members themselves, Mr. Sullivan finds that many are receptive to the notion of having someone conduct a presentation with their students about union issues. Also, he indicated that an effective strategy is to disseminate information to the children of the members about the local’s availability to conduct presentations in their classrooms because they will often inform their teacher about this opportunity. He also suggests that whoever is charged with the responsibility of conducing School-to-Work activities maintain ongoing communication with the classroom teacher and the school administration so that everyone is fully informed of what activities will be conducted and by whom. Talking and keeping in contact with teachers who are leaders of the local union is a another particularly useful strategy for gaining access to classrooms and promoting School-to-Work activities.
Based on his experiences with Labor in the Classrooms, Mr. Sullivan believes that other locals have a wide range of options available to them in the area of School-to-Work. For example, in addition to classroom presentations, a local may want to extend their efforts to also include "connecting activities" with those employed in the wide array of occupations held by Teamster members. Currently, Local 25 provides students with connecting activities through its Job Shadow Day where students spend the day with Teamsters at Boston’s Logan Airport observing them perform their roles in all aspects of the airline industry (e.g., graphics arts, field maintenance, aviation, and port division operations). Mr. Sullivan suggests that locals could also engage in curriculum development activities with school personnel to provide an additional structure to the School-to-Work experiences of students.
To a large extent, Mr. Sullivan believes that School-to-Work efforts that are undertaken by local unions can be considered a matter of scale. For example, smaller locals that do not have the resources to dedicate personnel to conduct classroom presentation activities and the like may wish to work on a smaller scale, perhaps "adopting" one school in their community to serve as a resource. According to Mr. Sullivan, this strategy is currently used by many businesses across the nation and has been very effective. Although Mr. Sullivan is currently able to devote a small portion of his time to coordinating and managing School-to-Work activities for Local 25, he believes there is enough potential for someone to work in this role on a full-time basis. Suggesting that since students represent the future of labor, such a role would be very advantageous to the labor movement and locals should actively seek opportunities to become involved in School-to-Work efforts. Mr. Sullivan observed that "They (educators) are always looking (for people to make classroom presentations)—they are looking for labor—they really are."
More Information
For additional information about Labor in the Classrooms, contact:
Steven R. Sullivan, Director of Education & Training
Teamsters Local 25
544 Main Street
Boston, MA 02129
Phone: 617-242-6113
Fax: 617-242-4284
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