For Immediate Release
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
AFSCME Recruits College Students to Become Union Organizers
Students Learn the Value of Union Membership
WASHINGTON —AFSCME today unveiled a new program to train college students to be union organizers and encourage them to join the fight for social and economic justice in the workplace.
AFSCME's "Union Spring Break 2006" participants will experience the life of an organizer through five intensive days of training and organizing — in the classroom and on the streets. The program is being offered in three cities where AFSCME is running campaigns to organize child care providers: Detroit, Mich., Albany, N.Y., and Oakland, Calif.
During the weeklong program, students will make house calls, help workers launch legislative advocacy campaigns and learn how to run effective organizing drives.
"This program gives the next generation of organizers the tools to make a difference and the opportunity to gain real skills that they can use after graduation," said AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee. "The energy and the insight these students will bring to AFSCME organizing campaigns will benefit the union as a whole. What's more, the students will be equipped to take on all the issues today's workers are facing."
AFSCME will be recruiting Spring Break participants through on-campus visits, mailings and paid advertising on campuses in Washington, D.C. and 19 states, including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Michigan and New York. Trainees who successfully complete the program will be recommended to AFSCME's Organizing Department to be hired as union organizers when they graduate. The program is open to students in all fields.
"I joined AFSCME after years as an on-campus student activist. Now, I just finished my first year as an organizer, and I've learned so much about working to improve the lives of American workers." said Armida Montaño. "This program will give students a sense of what it's like to be an AFSCME union organizer."
Young workers are an important constituency for the labor movement. A recent Peter D. Hart Research survey found that 78 percent of 18- to 34 year-olds believe unions can make a difference for workers today, more than any other age group. It also found that 66 percent of those surveyed believe unions have a strong impact on workers' rights on the job and 55 percent believe unions help individuals reach their full potential.
