Fourth in the series

In a January 14 press release, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who is Chair of the National Labor College, announced that the board of trustees had approved the selection of The Princeton Review, Inc. and its subsidiary, Penn Foster Education Group, Inc., leading providers of postsecondary educational services, as a partner with the NLC, which Trumka expects to be named “The College of Working Families.”

Princeton Review and Penn Foster Education Group are “for profit” companies. When they invest in a venture, they expect to earn a profit. There is no evidence that they have any sympathy for unions or working families. So why are they entering into a partnership with the National Labor College?

The Labor College, which is fully subsidized by the AFL-CIO, has been operating at a loss for years. Although its annual budget is $28 million, it has amassed a debt of more than $40 million. If Princeton Review is willing to cover the debt and assure NLC’s financial future, what does it get for that pile of money? We simply don’t know, and are left to speculate, because the terms of the partnership have been kept secret from union members, who have thus far been paying the bill for the college’s operations.

In addition to money, the National Labor College needs students. Currently, its two degree programs have a total enrollment of 272 students, a paltry number for an accredited college. The AFL-CIO, with 11.6 million members, has made no sustained effort to recruit more students for the college. It appears to be relying on the “marketing” skills of Princeton Review to provide a substantial and steady flow of students from AFL-CIO unions.

Princeton Review, NLC’s corporate partner, is a company that offers test preparation for standardized, aptitude tests and advice regarding college admissions. It operates in 41 states and 22 countries, and earns approximately 70 percent of its revenue from test preparation. In 2006, its revenue was $35.9 million. Without knowing the terms of the partnership, it is impossible to predict what academic services P.R. is expected to provide and how it will change the Labor College’s authority.

What Does the Labor College Do for Princeton Review?

It is not at all clear how the National Labor College will compensate Princeton Review for its investment in money and academic services. Only the actual terms of the partnership will reveal what each party will receive and what each party will have to yield.

Michael J. Perik, 51, the president and CEO of Princeton Review, who earned $787,501 in 2008, undoubtedly knows why he expects the partnership with the Labor College to pay off. Shrewd P.R. investors may see possibilities in all kinds of spinoffs by the company’s link with a labor college and friendly access to the AFL-CIO’s 11.6 million members.

The AFL-CIO and Change to Win need a well-run and expanded National Labor College. It is the only college in the United States that offers four-year Bachelor of Arts degrees in six major subjects that include dozens of labor courses not offered by other colleges.

We Shouldn't Need Corporate Investors to Finance Our College

If we are to train a new generation of leaders to reach our goal of a bigger and stronger labor movement in the age of globalization, the National Labor College must become the educational arm of organized labor. It must be the place where our best and brightest young members will be brought together to be trained as well-informed, broadly educated, articulate in speech, competent in writing and proficient in other skills to become the leaders we urgently need, today and tomorrow.

Right now, we should demand to see the terms of the partnership? How much money is Princeton Review contributing to the National Labor College.? What will its role be within the NLC? What does the NLC offer Princeton Review?

Union members have the right to know what’s in the partnership agreement. We strongly urge Trumka to make its terms public.