The AFL-CIO is very excited to announce that Union Summer will return for 2010! Since 1996, Union Summer has graduated over 3000 activists, many of whom continue to work in the labor movement. Union Summer will be looking to recruit and place student activists from colleges and universities across the country to take the fight for justice into the streets in support of our campaign to win good jobs!
Union Summer is a ten week educational internship in which participants are introduced to the labor movement. The Union Summer Internship will run from June 7th through August 13th. It will begin with a weeklong orientation and training, which will be held in Washington, D.C. June 7-June 13. After the training, interns will work in teams in support of the AFL-CIO’s Jobs Campaign in various parts of the country; there will also be classroom instruction on matters related to their activities. Their activities could include assisting in organizing direct actions such as marches and rallies, talking with workers impacted by the jobs crisis, as well as assisting in building community, labor and religious support for the Campaign. Interns will play an important role in helping to build support for our top priority - making sure that everyone that wants a job can get one. Participation in Union Summer is also an ideal way for people to learn about unions and our work in the community.
Union Summer is looking to recruit students with a strong commitment to social and economic justice as and openness to working with people of various races, ethnicities, sexual and religious orientations. Participants should be enthusiastic, energetic and flexible to working long and irregular hours. We are accepting applications from rising juniors and seniors as well as graduating seniors. Women and People of Color are strongly encouraged to apply.
Participants will receive a stipend of $300 per week (minus taxes) to cover meals and other incidental expenses. Each intern will be responsible to getting to and from their orientation training. After the week long orientation, Union Summer will cover the costs of transportation to their internship site. Housing and local transportation costs will be provided by the host site.
We ask that you pass this information along to those students you think would be best suited for the internship and encourage them to apply. Union Summer is a competitive internship and will have a limited number of available positions this year. Please encourage all interested students to apply soon.
CONTACT TARA KAUFMAN AT TKAUF@INDIANA.EDU, AND I WILL E-MAIL YOU A COPY OF THE APPLICATION.
Interested students should complete the application and return it to unionsummer@aflcio.org. The application deadline is May 7, 2010. For more information, students should contact us at 1.888.835.8557 or visit us at www.unionsummer.aflcio.org.
Once again, thank you and we look forward to this being a very exciting and rewarding experience for your students. We will get more information to you in the near future.
In Solidarity,
Fred Azcarate
Director, Voice@Work Campaign
AFL-CIO
