Let’s See the Contract the Labor College
Signed  with its New Corporate ‘Partner’

By Harry Kelber

Fifth and final article

A heavy veil of secrecy hangs over the contract that the Board of Trustees of the National Labor College signed with its new “partner,” Princeton Review, an academic investment company.

The only thing we know about the deal thus far is that Princeton Review plans to contribute a certain amount of money to the financially strapped Labor College. How much money? We simply do not know.  Nor do we have the slightest information about what  the company wants for its money.

Princeton Review (no connection with the university) is a for-profit company  that normally demands a profit on any business venture. There is no evidence that the company has shown any  active interest in  unions or in improving the lives of working families. So what can the National Labor College and a friendly AFL-CIO give Princeton to compensate it for its investment?                                        

AFL-CIO union members  have a right to be informed of the terms of the contract on two counts. Union members’ dues money have been supporting the Labor College for years. They are shareholders of the college, and have a right  to know what is happening to their investment.

Secondly, there is a  clear violation of union democracy and transparency.  That doesn’t bother AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who is also Chair of the Board of Trustees,  because neither the Executive Council, the labor media  nor labor activists dare to publicly criticize his undemocratic behavior.

What Are NLC’s Plans to Increase Student Enrollment?

If the National Labor College intends to increase student enrollment in its degree programs, it will have to make significant changes in its current operations to appeal to AFL-CIO members. While the college’s week-long Union Skills, non-degree programs have  had  relatively good attendance records, NLC has had  difficulty in attracting a significant number of AFL-CIO members to its two degree programs--a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Technical/Professional Studies--that  had a total enrollment of 272 students in 2007-2008.

 The college also hosts  numerous educational projects, sponsored by individual unions and groups of unions, year round.  These programs should not only continue, but the AFL-CIO should encourage its affiliates to make more use of the college’s services.

The college would be a good venue for establishing a National Leadership Training Program, with applicants coming from unions around the country. It is critical that the labor movement develop new leaders who are  well-informed, broadly educated and can command the attention of a public and labor audience.

The AFL-CIO might also consider creating a leadership  program at the college for young workers. There are many ways to build  respect for the college and stimulate enrollment.

Will Online Courses Attract or Repel Union Members?

The NLC’s Board of Trustees has decided to introduce online instruction in all of the  technical and professional courses and in many of the labor classes, without a prior study of its practicality for union members.

How do you teach collective bargaining, organizing  and union administration in an online format, where the  student never sees any human, not even the instructor  or fellow students,  except possibly during the week-long residency every semester at the Silver Spring campus?

Large-scale publicity, not secrecy, is the way to increase NLC’s enrollment. The reputation of the members of the Board of  Trustees, many who are members of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, will be tarnished  if they  purposely deny union members  the right to know the terms of the partnership between the National Labor College and Princeton Review.