[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 110 (Friday, July 30, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1681-E1682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CONGRATULATIONS FIRST GRADUATES OF THE NATIONAL LABOR COLLEGE

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                          HON. BRUCE F. VENTO

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 29, 1999

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the first National 
Labor College class of graduates.
  The National Labor College is a correspondence school that offers 
bachelor of arts degrees in seven different disciplines all relating to 
labor and its practices. Students of this university are given credits 
for work and union experience as well as general class work. Students 
that are union members and full time workers pay a substantially lower 
tuition rate and work independently towards their degree. This program 
was established 2 years ago and has advanced the skills and knowledge 
of many working Americans by offering them an opportunity to receive 
higher education at a cost they can afford while still allowing them to 
remain a part of the workforce. While most of the students are from the 
United States, the participation is international.
  As a strong advocate of education and its continuing growth and 
improvement in our society today, I have fought to ensure that a 
quality education is accessible to the working class of Minnesota and 
America. Providing our work force with a solid, quality education is a 
crucial necessity in the continuation of the advancement of knowledge 
and skills. Today's workers and labor unions have a much greater 
challenge than in the past as they cope with the rapid change in the 
world of work and represent the most important factor in the progress 
of productivity, the workers.
  The National Labor College aids in ensuring that the American world 
force is ready for the challenges of the new millennium. By providing 
education and support to our work force we can continue to successfully 
compete in the growing global economy and vastly expanding 
technological market. We must continue to support our work force and 
the National Labor College is a very important first step in doing so.
  I'd like to submit, for my colleagues' review, an article from the 
Washington Times Sunday, July 25 issue, which highlights this program 
and the achievements of its graduates.

               [From the Washington Times, July 25, 1999]

      National Labor College Pitches Tent for Its First Graduates


             88 persons earn 4-year degrees by mail, e-mail

                         (By Gerald Mizejewski)

       At first glance it looked like any other college 
     commencement, with dark gowns, tassels and gushing parents 
     snapping photographs.
       But then the speakers starting saying things like, ``I say 
     to you all, solidarity, solidarity forever,'' and ``May God 
     bless the labor movement.''
       Under a tent on a stretch of open grass in Sliver Spring, 
     the National Labor College graduate its first class 
     yesterday. Eighty-eight men and women from as far away as 
     California and Panama took home four-year bachelor's degrees 
     in subjects such as union governance and administration.
       ``That's what this is all about. Decent, honest pay for a 
     hard day's work,'' said Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening, a 
     Democrat, who was honored with a doctor of humane letters in 
     labor studies.
       Mr. Glendening, who addressed the crowd as ``brothers and 
     sisters,'' enjoy strong labor support during his two 
     campaigns for governor. The Maryland General Assembly 
     approved $650,000 this year for the school--its first public 
     funds--but less than the $2 million included in Mr. 
     Glendening's budget proposal.
       The idea of creating a national college for union members 
     had been around since 1899, when American Federation of Labor 
     President Samuel Gompers proposed the University of the 
     Federation of Labor in Baltimore. The school never 
     materialized.
       The National Labor College, a correspondence school 
     accredited by the state of Maryland, offers bachelor of arts 
     degrees in seven disciplines: labor studies; labor education; 
     organizational dynamics and growth; political economies of 
     labor; union governance and administration; labor history; 
     and labor safety and health.
       It was established two years ago by the AFL-CIO and its 
     affiliated unions as a way to make higher education available 
     to working Americans. The program enables workers to advance 
     their skills as leaders in the labor movement.
       Students are given credit--up to 90 quarter hours--for 
     their work and union experience over the years. The college 
     requires 180 quarter hours of credit for graduation.
       ``Most people are genuinely surprised to find out how much 
     their life experience is worth,'' said Sue Schurman, 
     president of the Labor College.
       The Labor College replaces Antioch University, a degree 
     program operated through the George Meany Center for Labor 
     Studies in Silver Spring.
       Average tuition is $8,000 a year, and $3,000 for union 
     members, who make up the majority of the college's student 
     body.
       While enrolled, participants must take humanities, English, 
     social science, mathematics and science, in addition to 
     electives. They are required to complete at least eight labor 
     courses and a senior research project.
       Participants typically spend one to two weeks each year on 
     campus at the George Meany Center and work independently the 
     rest of the time, completing reading assignments, writing 
     research papers and communicating with instructors by phone, 
     mail and e-mail.
       Alex Bell, 78, a former Maryland state delegate, is the 
     oldest graduate. An active member of the Plumbers Local 5 in 
     the District, Mr. Bell is on the executive board and 
     financial board of his union and also serves as a business 
     agent.
       ``That college is the greatest place in the world,'' he 
     said.

[[Page E1682]]

       Yesterday's graduates, ranging in age from 29 to 78, 
     represented 25 states and 33 unions. Most of them are the 
     first in their families to earn a degree.
       About 400 union members and leaders from throughout the 
     country are participating in the college degree program, 
     which has recently expanded to offer a master's degree.
       Kevin P. O'Sullivan, yesterday's student speaker, plans to 
     earn his master's degree in public administration through the 
     college. For Mr. O'Sullivan, the labor movement is integral 
     to his family's history.
       ``My father, an Irish immigrant, worked seven days a week 
     as an electrician, providing a better life for his family,'' 
     said Mr. O'Sullivan.
       ``His example of solidarity while supporting a Teamsters 
     strike for three months despite the pressures of providing 
     for his wife and seven children will be with me longer than 
     my disdain for oatmeal that I gained during the strike.''

     

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