On July 15, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters took part in the Labor Education in the Schools Interest Group meeting held during the American Federation of Teachers' (AFT) 78th Convention in Washington, D.C. Representatives from eight other labor and educational organizations also attended the conference.

AFT’s Research Director Jewell Gould and American Labor Studies Center’s (ALSC) Director Paul Cole co-chaired the meeting, which brought together leading voices, like the Teamsters, in youth outreach.

Cole described some of the highlights of the ALSC’s program that includes a history of the Kate Mullany House and plans to disseminate curricula around Mullany. Cole also said that the Baseball Hall of Fame is developing a curriculum that should be ready by the 2004 Baseball World Series, and plans to have an exhibit and lessons that tie in baseball with unions. He expressed satisfaction with the sizeable increase in ALSC’s website traffic and encouraged everyone to visit the site at www.labor-studies.org for additional information and updates.

Gould gave a presentation on the ALSC’s program at the Illinois State Federation of Teachers Conference on Leadership and Professional Development. He said he hopes to incorporate the next Labor Education in the Schools Interest Group meeting with the AFT Quest meeting in 2005.  Cole encouraged everyone to support Tom Juravich’s efforts to produce CDs of union music and songs.

Among the other speakers who described their organizations’ programs and services were Dan Golodner of the Walter Reuther Library at Wayne State University, Dennis Serrette of the Communications Workers of America, and Sharlene Mentor and James Beeharilal of the Teamsters Union.

The Hoffa Administration won significant funding from the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Education to develop a school-to-work outreach project. In five short years, the Teamsters Union has increased its commitment to America’s youth tenfold through Skills For Tomorrow (SFT), the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Program, job shadowing, internships and other efforts coordinated by the Education Department.