The Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO will host a year-long series of labor education workshops designed to better equip labor activists and leaders to meet the challenges facing today's labor movement. Now in its fourth year, the Philadelphia Labor Activist Academy is co-sponsored by the Labor School at Penn State. All local unions affiliated with the Philadelphia Council are eligible to send members to participate, as well as invited community allies.
"The program through Penn State and the Philadelphia Council was outstanding. If you want to take a serious stance and really understand the "why" of our unions, this is a course that will allow you to understand how our movement started, and how it is continuing to grow and change."
-- Rochelle Smith, AFGE Local 940
The curriculum consists of four comprehensive, non-credit courses designed to develop critical thinking skills and to increase capacity for building power. Instructors include faculty from Penn State's Labor School, labor leaders, and community experts. Using a multi-union setting, the courses encourage participation and networking with other activists. Each course includes ten hours of classroom time over four weeks. Participants should commit to attending all four sessions of each course. Each 4-week course costs $60. Participants who complete all four courses will graduate with a Certificate in Labor Studies from Penn State.
"Coming from a higher-ed union, meeting and learning from the diverse perspectives and experiences of union leaders from across the city and region was invaluable to me. I found [this program] to be a warm and welcoming learning community to find out about the altest union strategies and tactics, to form deep relationships with awesome union people, and to learn how to build union power. it was also a lot of fun!"
-- Marc Meola, AFT Local 2026 (Community College of Philadelphia)
The links below will take you to the registration page for each course. Please fill out the registration form for each course that you wish to take. After the first session of any course, enrollments and payments for that course are non-transferrable. Missed sessions cannot be substituted for a session in another course.
Course 1 -- Unions for the 21st Century: What Every Activist Should Know (October 2, 9, 16, 23)
Course 2 -- What Labor History Can Teach Us: Lessons for Today (November 13, 20, 27, December 4)
Course 3 -- Building Union Power in the Workplace and the Community (January 8, 15, 22, 29)
Course 4 -- Labor and Employment Law: Labor's New Landscape (February 12, 19, 26, March 5)
All classes are held on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM at the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO.