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Recognized as an Effective School-to-Work Practice,
November, 2002
Joint Council Support of High School Career Development
Events
Teamsters Joint Council 53
Philadelphia, PA
Overview of the Project
This profile illustrates the role Joint Councils can
play in promoting and supporting the involvement of
local unions in high school career development
activities and events. In Philadelphia, Joint Council 53
partnered with Teamsters Local Unions Nos. 115 and 502
to promote the importance of unions among high school
students. Joint Council 53 represents 27 locals in
eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware.
These locals represent workers in a wide range of
industries, including trucking and freight, warehousing
and distribution, bakeries, beverages, public schools,
and others. In May 2002, Joint Council 53 collaborated
with Locals 115 and 502 to conduct a career day focused
on teaching high school students about the labor
movement and unions. The career day event included
several presentations designed to enhance students’
awareness of the value of union jobs in the American
economy. During these presentations, students learned
about the role unions play in helping to ensure livable
wages and benefits and protect the rights of workers.
Classroom lecture and discussion sessions also
familiarized students with labor history, and the
principles and overall message of the importance of
unionism. The career day program was conducted for
students in grades 9-12 at Lincoln High School in
Philadelphia, PA. Approximately 300 high school students
participated in this event with the support of Local 115
and Joint Council 53. In addition, Dr. George DiPilato,
President of Local Union 502, and former principal of
Lincoln High School, supported this overall event and
participated in the career day program.
The Need
As students prepare for adult life, few have been
exposed to information concerning organized labor and
its role in the economy. Despite the fact that high
school students are clearly aware of the importance of
employment with good wages, health care coverage,
retirement plans, paid vacations, and other benefits,
most do not understand how such benefits are derived and
supported by unions. In addition to sharing information
about unions and the role they play, Joint Council 53
also recognized that many young people have a limited
understanding of career options available to them after
graduation. The current emphasis on college and
university training, while important, does not give
students the broadest sense of the careers available to
them if they choose not to go on to a 4-year college.
The career day program provided an opportunity for Joint
Council 53 and Local 115 to speak to students directly
about these options and to stress the importance and
value of working in union shops. Further, the program
also provided a venue for the Joint Council to
communicate regarding the availability of a wide range
of occupations that students may not have considered
without additional information. Joint Council 53’s
representatives played a direct role during
presentations and in supporting other aspects of this
event.
Joint Council 53 also recognized the important role that
Joint Councils can play in supporting their locals in
sponsoring career days and other career development events
and activities for high school students. That is, the Joint
Council, by virtue of its role, serves in a leadership
capacity and supports a wide range of local union
activities. This leadership role can also be directed
towards encouraging locals to get involved with schools to
promote the importance of working with high school students
to increase students’ overall awareness and knowledge of
unions and career options.
Meeting the Need
As noted earlier, the Lincoln High School Career Day
was a collaborative effort between Joint Council 53 and
Local Unions 115 and 502. Local 502’s President, Dr.
George DiPilato, helped to organize and co-sponsor this
event. As the former principal of Lincoln High School,
he was instrumental in connecting Joint Council 53 and
Local Union 115 with the high school’s administration
and teachers. The Career Day event was collaboratively
planned and carried out by Joint Council 53 and Local
115. The specific role of Joint Council 53 was to work
directly with Local 115 in supporting presentations and
making high interest materials available to Lincoln High
School students. Joint Council 53, for example, provided
an information display about the council and its local
unions. In addition, the Joint Council made available an
18-wheeler truck that they brought onto the school
grounds for display and demonstration purposes. Several
joint council representatives were also on hand to
discuss careers in the trucking industry with students
and to address questions concerning the vehicle itself.
The truck display and demonstration received a great
deal of attention and was a high-interest activity that
students, teachers, and the school administration
valued. Joint Council 53’s members also made formal
presentations to students during the day. As part of the
career day program, two general assemblies of the
student body (one for 9th and 10th graders and one for
11th and 12th graders) were conducted. During the
general assembly, Frank Gillen, President of Joint
Council 53 and other representatives of the Joint
Council, along with Local 115’s members, conveyed the
union message to students. During the general
assemblies, these joint council representatives
discussed the role of unions in terms of their benefits
and support for workers. The assemblies also provided an
opportunity for the joint council to present information
on a range of job opportunities within the trucking,
distribution, freight, and related industries. The
International Brotherhood of Teamsters Education
Department also made available pens, brochures, and
other high-interest materials that were distributed to
students during the assemblies. The culminating event
for Joint Council 53 was their participation in a
luncheon held with the Lincoln High School Student
Council. During the luncheon, discussions were held with
student council members to discuss similarities between
their role in representing the student body and the role
of unions in representing their workers. Students were
also asked whether or not their parents, other
relatives, or neighbors were union members. Students
were surprised as to how little attention is devoted to
the value of having a union job.
The Results
Based on their participation in the Lincoln High
School Career Day, Joint Council 53 developed additional
capacity to help promote and support the importance of
working with high school students among its locals. The
joint council’s involvement with Lincoln High School
gave the council’s leadership a perspective and tangible
example of how to work with schools to increase
students’ understanding of unions and future career
options. According to Frank Gillen, President of Joint
Council 53, “We believe that this program will be easy
to replicate throughout the various locals and joint
councils. Our goal is to increase the awareness level
high school students have regarding the value of working
in a union job setting. In addition, we want to impress
our Teamster brothers and sisters on the importance of
making a commitment to high school youth in order to
ensure that we pass the union message to young people.”
In addition to the career day program, more than 300
Lincoln High School students had an opportunity to receive
information about unions and a wide range of career options.
The use of motivational materials and activities, like the
presence of the Teamster truck, all helped to make the
career day a successful event. Students unilaterally
expressed appreciation for the union’s participation in
communicating the benefits of unions and future career
opportunities within union workplaces. Lincoln High School
teachers and the school’s administration also acknowledged
the importance of Joint Council 53’s participation in the
career day.
Reflections
One of the most important outcomes of the career day
event was the opportunity Joint Council 53 received to
demonstrate the role joint councils can play in
sponsoring these types of events. The participation of
joint council leadership and other representatives,
making available high interest materials and displays,
and permitting the use of the Teamster truck were all
examples of how joint councils can get involved. Based
on Joint Council 53’s experiences, it is important that
council members clearly discuss and plan their
involvement in these programs before promoting these
types of activities to locals. In the best of
situations, a comprehensive approach to working with
local high schools is to engage in top-down discussions
at the joint council leadership level as well as to
promote bottom up, grassroots interest and action from
locals. The success of the Lincoln High School Career
Day event was clearly an example of how joint councils
and local unions can collaborate to assist high school
youth in understanding the union message and future
career opportunities. In responding to this event, Dr.
George DiPilato, President of Local Union 502 commented,
“This model is excellent and Joint Council 53 and the
members of Local 115 have developed a program that can
be easily replicated anywhere in the United States by
another local. I am proud to have been part of this
endeavor that has brought the Teamster message to some
of America’s youth.”
More Information
For more information about Joint Council Support
of High School Career Development Events, contact:
Frank Gillen, President
Teamsters Joint Council No. 53
3460 N. Delaware Avenue, Suite 310
Philadelphia, PA 19134
Telephone: (215) 634-4556
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