Organized labor in this country played an instrumental role in the passage of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994. The Act itself outlines a requirement that state and local agencies engage unions and non-management workers in the design and implementation of school-to-work systems. Every state, regional and local school-to-work partnership must make specific efforts to engage union representatives in school-to-work initiatives.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters along with other labor organizations have a major stake in the development of the nation’s future workforce. As such, it is critically important that all unions and their members take an active role in providing and supporting school-to-work learning opportunities for young people across the nation.

As partners in this effort, unions bring the following to the school-to-work table:

			Unions represent millions of front-line workers that can be called upon at the local level to support young people in job shadowing, mentoring, internships, apprenticeships and other work-based learning opportunities.
			Unions have direct links to employers in a wide variety of occupational areas and can play a key role in facilitating employer involvement in school-to-work efforts.
			Unions can play an important role in linking school-based learning with on the job training.
			Unions understand workplace dynamics, worker rights, and labor history and can be of substantial assistance to schools in creating a comprehensive curriculum, which adequately and meaningfully conveys "all aspect of an industry".
			Unions are at the forefront of efforts to ensure safety and healthy workplace for all workers and can offer "real world" learning for young people both in the classroom and at the worksite.

These are only a few examples of the unique things that organized labor has to offer to educators, employers and young people as partners in this nation’s school-to-work efforts.