Locals to be Recognized for Outstanding School-to-Career Programs

Three Teamster locals will be honored for innovative School-to-Career programs at a special ceremony next month at Teamsters Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Locals 20, 122 and 1150 will be rewarded by the International for the work they do to educate students about good jobs and the role unions play in building vibrant, strong communities in North America.

“The locals being recognized this year have done amazing work in terms of educating students about workers’ rights on the job, labor history and the Teamsters, as well as fulfilling the goal of the School-to-Career program to connect young people to high wage careers in growth industries,” said Mary G. Hardiman, Teamsters Director of Education. “At a time when jobs are scarce and students see opportunities dwindling, Teamsters across the country are reaching out to the youth.”

The following is a brief description of each of the three locals’ programs:

Teamsters Local 20, Toledo, Ohio - Labor Education Program

• Local Union 20 takes the union message into high schools in the Toledo area. It teaches students about what a union does, how a union performs services for its members, the benefits of being a Teamster, and labor history.

•  The Local also engages students in mock contract negotiations, arbitration hearings and grievance handling.

• The Local adopted Walbridge Elementary School and Libbey High School in Toledo.

Teamsters Local 122, Boston, Massachusetts - Educating College Students About Unions

• Local 122’s Principal Officer, John Murphy, has been reaching out to the Harvard Trade Union Program for a number of years. This past year, Murphy addressed students at the Harvard Business School on the role of unions in the economy and the overall impact union workers have on the job and in their communities.

• In this program, graduate students get an opportunity to interact with a lifelong labor leader to test theories and assumptions about the real world of work.

Teamsters Local 1150, Stratford, Connecticut - Union Mentoring Program

• Local Union 1150 in Stratford, Connecticut involves high school students in an annual summer mentoring program at Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation—a Teamsters worksite.

• At the jobsite, students are matched with mentors who teach them their trades as well as the value of being a Teamster member. This program includes a “Labor History Day” where students learn the history of labor and labor-management relations.

• Although the program started in 2002 with five students, the number of students increased to 15 in 2003. Forty students will participate in next year’s mentoring program.

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