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Recognized as an Effective School-to-Work Practice, July, 2001
Awakening College Students About the Importance of Unions
Teamsters Local Union 693
Binghamton, New York
Overview of the Project
For the past three years, Teamsters Local Union 693 has worked with Oneonta State University and LaMoye College in Syracuse, New York to teach college students the importance of unions in the United States. Primarily through the use of lecture and discussion, college students are provided with the opportunity to learn the role of organized labor and its responsibilities with regard to addressing the needs of its members through contract negotiation and the collective bargaining process. In many cases, presentations are made to students who are business management students, many of whom have had no exposure to unions other than what they learn in their college classes. These students, in particular, are provided information about the "hows" and the "whys" of unions and what to expect when, as business managers, they assume job roles in which they must interact with labor organizations. Lectures focus on "real world," everyday examples to facilitate understanding among the students about the emergence of the labor movement and principles and practices associated with organizing and collective bargaining. In addition to the lecture, students also engage in a discussion session where they are given the opportunity to raise follow-up questions or comments. Awakening College Students About the Importance of Unions serves about 45-50 students during each college semester.
Teamster’s Local Union 693 serves approximately 1,000 members throughout the Binghamton, New York area, representing workers employed in the public sector, highway maintenance services, freight, United Postal Service, bakery, dairy, and other occupations. In addition to Awakening College Students About the Importance of Unions, Local 693 has expanded its school-to-work activities in other areas as well. For example, the Local conducts presentations for high school students in the Binghamton, New York area and is a frequent participant in the county’s job fair event.
The Need
It is the common experience of many college students, even those planning careers in the field of business, to go throughout much of their educational career without receiving any in-depth exposure to labor issues. Quite often, their only source of knowledge is what they may have acquired in a business course, but this learning experience often leaves them with a vague, and occasionally imprecise view of what unions represent and what its responsibilities are to its members. Because of this widespread lack of understanding and awareness about unions and its role in improving the lives of the labor force, Teamsters Local Union 693 has implemented a school-to-work activity to reach out to college students, particularly those who will be serving as future managers, to help them understand what the purpose of a union is and perhaps to alleviate some of the misconceptions they may have acquired. According to Roberta Dunker, Secretary-Treasurer and Business Agent for Local 693, "Students coming out of college and into jobs where they must deal with labor really don’t understand what unions are—the majority have no clue—we must help them understand that unions are not there to fight them." In the course of conducting school-to-work activities, Ms. Dunker has often observed that many students don’t understand why unions are necessary, suggesting that management would never do anything "wrong." However, by providing them actual examples of labor situations that arise on a daily basis, students are able to gain a much better understanding, or an "awakening" of the role of labor in the United States. Thus, instead of calling what she does "teaching," Ms. Dunker prefers to think of the local’s school-to-work activities as an "awakening" experience for students.
Meeting the Need
Once a semester, a lecture and discussion session is held for college students, many of whom are majoring in the field of business. The lecture portion of the presentation involves an overview of the history of the labor movement in the United States and an in-depth discussion of the roles and responsibilities of unions. The overall objective of this presentation is to teach students about the importance of unions, helping them to gain a heightened awareness beyond the management perspective they are likely to receive as part of their business education. Establishing the importance of unions is an essential component of the lecture because it provides the foundation to help students understand why unions are necessary and how unions positively impact the lives of workers. One effective strategy that is used in the presentation is to find out how much students actually know about their rights in the workplace and what types of things could happen to them. In addition to providing students with background on the labor movement, the lecture also includes the use of practical examples representing the range of labor issues encountered by the union on a daily basis, as well as information about organizing and collective bargaining practices. A theme reoccurring throughout each lecture is the idea that a union is not just an organization whose sole purpose is to confront management. Rather, as stated by Ms. Dunker, the role of Local 693 is to give these students a basic understanding of the benefits of the unionized workplace to workers and their families, as it relates to job stability, security, and benefits." Along with the lecture, students are led into a discussion where they are provided with the opportunity to ask a follow-up question or comment on points raised during the lecture. In general, presentations last for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours, including both lecture and discussion sessions. It is estimated that the Awakening College Students About the Importance of Unions school-to-work effort has reach approximately 75-100 college students.
The Results
Perhaps one of the more interesting results to emerge from this school-to-work effort is that instructors, as well as students, have provided feedback about how the lecture and discussion period increased their knowledge and awareness of unions. For example, many students are surprised to learn about the range of occupations represented by the Teamsters. Thinking that the union only represented transportation workers, students learn that the union also consists of members engaged in a variety of fields from medicine to public service. According to Ms. Dunker, "some students are even surprised to learn that not all Teamsters are men!" A college student who recently had an opportunity to serve as an intern at the union has made return visits—reporting that the experience has "made her see things a lot differently." Partly as a result of the positive feedback obtained from the Awakening College Students About the Importance of Unions school-to-work effort, Local 693 continues to expand its initiatives in reaching out to school-aged youth. In addition to presentations at the college level, the union also presents to high school trades classes, job fairs, and adult education programs.
Reflections
"This does not take a lot of time." was just one of the key points made by Roberta Dunker who coordinates and conducts the Awakening College Students About the Importance of Unions program and the Local’s other school-to-work activities. Rather than looking at her presentations to colleges and high schools as strictly a "lecture and discussion" Ms. Dunker simply indicates that her desire is to interact with students—to learn "what the new generation is thinking." As a result, little time is actually spent on preparation and more time is devoted to reflecting on personal skills and experiences which can be brought to bear in a classroom to provide students with a realistic, but compelling perspective about what a union is and what its responsibilities are to the members and their families. Clearly, one of the most important prerequisites to conducting an activity of this nature is the ability and willingness to reach out to young people, whatever their grade level. In reference to her school-to-work activities, Ms. Dunker stated, "This is fun—I love talking to the kids—they need to know why we have unions." What is perhaps a "unexpected outcome" of this effort has been the amount of learning which takes place on both sides of the classroom aisle, that is, between student and "teacher." For example, Ms. Dunker indicates that she has also learned much from her experiences, stating that "You learn what young people are thinking—what they are being taught—I learn as much from them as they do from me."
More Information
For additional information about the Awakening College Students About the Importance of Unions contact:
Ms. Roberta Dunker, Secretary-Treasurer/Business Agent
Teamsters Local Union No. 693
41 Howard Avenue
Binghamton, NY 13904
Phone: 607-723-5327
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