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Union Educational Resources
Educational and Career Development
Overview of the Project
Educational and Career Development is a program developed by Teamsters Local Union 63 that consists of two major components: (1) educational planning assistance, and (2) assistance with clarifying personal and career goals. With regard to the educational planning assistance component of the program, staff of Local 63 observed that many students leave high school without having developed a postsecondary education plan. The Educational and Career Development program assists students and parents of Teamster families with the process of preparing for postsecondary education by providing them with information that covers a wide range of topics—from the application process to applying for scholarships and financial aids. The program is based on an "academic calendar" in which key topics are discussed at critical points of the school year. Following the calendar ensures students and their families have sufficient time to complete the application process, including the application for financial aids and other postsecondary education entry requirements.
In addition to providing information about postsecondary education planning options, the Educational and Career Development program also recognizes that there are a numbers of students who are uncertain about whether attending a postsecondary education institution is necessary to meet their future needs. Instead, these students are more interested in exploring career and training options available to them when they graduate from high school. In this component of the program, students are provided with information that help them clarify their career goals and assist them with such tasks as creating a resume and developing job seeking and job interviewing skills. As designed, the Educational and Career Development program is designed to address the needs of all students, whatever decision they ultimately make about their future.
While the Educational and Career Development project constitutes Local 63's primary School-to-Work effort, it also offers school-aged youth opportunities to become involved in other activities through its Union Summer program. In this program, children of Teamster families participate in political and organizing campaigns that provide them with a firsthand opportunity to observe the operations of various political and social organizations within the community. For example, students in the Union Summer program participate in voter registration activities, staff phone-banks, attend rallies and strategic planning meetings. According to Ed Rendon, Director of Education for Local 63, Union Summer activities are primarily intended to develop a camaraderie among students, irrespective of whether they decide to continue their education at the postsecondary level or enter the workforce upon high school graduation.
As more and more students decide to attend postsecondary education and training upon completing their high school education, Teamster families are increasingly faced with the challenge of planning and financing their child's education. Admissions policies, application deadlines, preparing for national testing programs (e.g., Scholastic Aptitude Test) are all examples of issues that both students and their parents need to be informed about in order to achieve their postsecondary education goals. A growing problem, however, is that many Teamster families are unaware of the planning that is necessary for their children to enter postsecondary programs, including information about the many resources available to them to aid in the decision making process. For example, many students and parents are unaware of the resources available to them through high school counseling and advisement programs and need to acquire the necessary skills to access these programs in order to obtain the information needed to successfully complete the application process.
In addition, a number of students of Teamster families who decide not to pursue a postsecondary education may be uncertain about their postschool goals and need to have information about other options that are available to them. In these cases, students need to have information that will help guide them in exploring career options that do not require a postsecondary education degree. For these students, career planning information is needed to enable them to explore other training options and develop employability skills that will help them to find and secure jobs that will provide them with a high quality standard of living. As requirements in the workplace become more complex, Local 63 believes that both students and parents need to obtain information that will enable them to assess their personal and career goals and prepare for the future. Not only do these activities help to ensure that students are provided with an opportunity to find a good paying job, they also enhance and support the Local's mission to "promote organized labor to retain its strong position in the American economy." As part of their mission, Local 63 seeks to provide students with career planning options in industries and occupations in which union contracts exist.
In an effort to meet the information needs of Teamster families with regard to postsecondary education planning and exploring employment and training options available to their children, Local 63 developed the Educational and Career Development program. Consisting of two key components (1) educational planning assistance, and (2) clarifying personal and career goals, the program was designed to meet the needs of a wide range of students—from those who had definite plans to continue their education at the postsecondary level to those more interested in pursuing employment and training opportunities after high school. In operation for about two years, the program typically targets Teamster families whose children are preparing to graduate from high school. However, program activities are also appropriate for a broad range of students, beginning at the seventh grade level. Approximately 50 students have been served by the program within the last year.
The educational assistance component of the program concentrates on providing students and their families with information about the postsecondary planning process. Specifically, a series of workshops are conducted to inform students and parents about admissions requirements, financial aid opportunities, college entrance test preparation, and the timeline which needs to be followed to successfully complete the application process. In addition, "open houses" are also scheduled so that students and their parents have a firsthand opportunity to observe activities on a postsecondary campus. According to Mr. Rendon, all workshop activities of the educational planning assistance component are strategically designed to coincide at key points throughout the academic year. For example, workshops in January through March primarily focus on financial aid and college test preparation issues, while workshops held from June to December cover such topics as the selection, application, and field trips to prospective postsecondary institutions. A common feature of all the workshops is to strongly encourage students and their parents to contact the local school’s counseling and advisement program to obtain additional information and materials about postsecondary education opportunities. Mr. Rendon indicates that many students and parents are unaware of this underutilized, but often very helpful resource.
In the career planning and goals clarification component of the program, students are provided with an opportunity to engage in career exploration activities to consider employment and training options available to them upon completing high school. Some students do not wish to continue their education at the postsecondary level and are simply interested in securing employment or entering a training program that will provide them with a good paying job. In these cases, workshops are available to students that include such topics as resume writing, career goals clarification, personal organization, job interviewing, and job follow-up skills (i.e. writing a "thank you" letter). Students are also provided with information about federal and state labor laws that inform them of their workplace rights and protect them throughout their working careers. Assistance is also provided to students about apprenticeship programs or how to attain certification in a specific occupational area (e.g., Commercial Drivers License).
According to Mr. Rendon, a number of students have benefited from the Educational and Career Development project. For example, Brian was a student who was indecisive about a career and decided to work part-time for United Parcel Service where he gained experience working under a union contract. After discussing his career options, he eventually decided to pursue a career in a management field where he now supervises many workers. Brian indicated that his experience with Local 63 not only positively influenced his career choice, but also helped him to develop a management style that is based on an appreciation and respect for working families. Goal clarification activities were used for another student, Jennifer, who eventually decided to enter the workforce instead of pursuing a postsecondary degree. In seeking a job, Jennifer would only consider employment that offered the security and protection of a union contract. As a result of her persistence, Jennifer succeeded in securing a job under a contract with the Culinary Workers Union. Finally, Christy is a student who participated in educational assistance workshops with her parents. Using the information she obtained from the Educational and Career Development workshops, along with guidance of her parents, Christy recently completed her Associates Degree at a local community college and plans to continue her study at Arizona State University to achieve her goal of becoming a registered nurse.
In addition to the benefits provided to students, the Educational and Career Development project has gained strong support from Teamster families. According to Mr. Rendon, many family members are simply "overwhelmed" by the many forms and deadlines associated with entry into postsecondary education programs. As a result, many find it helpful when someone is able to help them "walk through" this process and gain a better understanding of all the required steps and the timeline in which requirements need to be met. As observed by Mr. Rendon, "With a better understanding of the processes, the members feel empowered to better guide their children."
Mr. Rendon recommends that other locals survey their membership to determine the need for a program such as Educational and Career Development. Even before discussion about how a similar program might operate and who should be assigned coordination responsibilities, it is essential that locals determine whether the program addresses a critical need of the membership. This is particularly important for smaller locals with more limited resources—a survey can be a quick and economic approach to determining whether a similar program should be established. In the event that there is sufficient interest to replicate some or all aspects of the Educational and Career Development program, locals may find it helpful to "build capacity" by establishing relationships with postsecondary institutions of all types (technical colleges, community colleges, 4-year colleges and universities, etc.) to obtain information about admissions information, financial aid opportunities, etc. The program should be widely disseminated to the membership and it should follow an "academic calendar." In the future, Local 63 plans to increase internship opportunities for students. This effort will involve paid and unpaid internships in various industries to help students learn more about career options available to them. Not only will this benefit students who are planning to enter employment immediately after high school, it would also give those who elect to enter postsecondary education and who may become future managers an in-depth perspective of the everyday issues faced by workers.
In summary, Mr. Rendon suggests that the general model developed for the Educational and Career Development is relatively simple to replicate and cost effective with regard to staff time and effort. One reason given by Mr. Rendon is that "the goals of academic assistance are universal in terms of developing workshops to address the many aspects of college acceptance, matriculation, and graduation." As a result, it is not necessary for a local to "reinvent the wheel," as it were, to develop a series of workshops that inform students and their families about the range of postsecondary education, employment, and training options available to them. As such, Mr. Rendon has concluded that the project will provide a suitable and viable framework for other locals, irrespective of their size of membership.
More Information
For additional information about Collective Bargaining in the Classrooms, contact:
Ed Rendon, Director of Education
Teamsters Local Union 42
818 Oak Park Road, Suite 250
Covina, CA 91724
Phone: 626-974-4212
E-mail: edr@jc42.net
- The Skills for Tomorrow Project is a collaboration of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, employers, educators and other workforce development partners to recognize, celebrate, promote and assist Local Unions and Joint Councils in their efforts in creating school-to-work learning opportunities for America’s youth.
- School-to-Work is an initiative designed to address the nation’s skill shortage through the creation of partnerships between educators, employers, labor and the community. These partnerships are being established to bring together state and local efforts to prepare young people for high wage, high skill careers in a dynamic global economy.
- The Skills for Tomorrow Toolkit has been distributed to Teamster Local Unions and Joint Councils and other interested parties. The Toolkit provides a variety of resources and information that will assist Local Unions and Joint Councils in getting started or expanding school-to-work efforts.
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