Support Grows for a New Labor School at CUNY

The delegates unanimously ratified the New York State AFL-CIO Executive Council recommended resolution calling on state officials to establish a new school for labor and urban studies within the City University of New York (CUNY) at the federation’s 32nd Constitutional Convention on Tuesday.  

Graduates of the CUNY Murphy Institute MA in Labor Studies program spoke passionately about the value their experience at Murphy has had in their lives and careers.

As envisioned, the new school, an outgrowth of CUNY’s Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies, will prepare the next generation of union and community leaders, while providing a wide range of educational opportunities for workers in general.

With a focus on issues confronting today’s workforce and working class communities, the new school will offer courses in such topics as labor relations, public policy, labor law, politics, and economics.  In addition, the school will work with CUNY colleges to establish academic programs in a range of other fields, providing the education and credentials workers need for career advancement.

“We’re looking to strengthen labor in an era when corporations are willing to spend limitless money and resources to try and weaken it,” said New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento. “We need to educate our members and the general public about workers’ rights and the role of unions in defending them: it’s time for a school for labor.”

CUNY is the largest urban public institution of higher education in the nation with over a half million students and a long history and tradition of serving the needs of working people.  It offers more than 1,200 academic and technical programs at 24 colleges and schools. 

CUNY’s Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies has been serving union members and adult workers for nearly three decades.

Studens in the M.A. in Labor Studies at CUNY’s Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies explore issues from many perspectives, including economics, sociology, history, political science, global studies and cultural analysis. The curriculum combines theory with practice and includes internship opportunities. Graduates are prepared to work with unions as representatives, organizers, researchers, educators and communications specialists, among other staff and leadership positions. Others pursue careers in law, labor relations, human resources and government.

 · Earn a professional degree to enhance career opportunities in Labor, HR, and related fields.

· Develop a deeper understanding of work, workers, and workers’ organizations
in a global society.

· Become a more effective advocate for labor rights, human rights, and social justice.

· Study with world-class faculty and outstanding practitioners in the field.

· Obtain professional experience through exciting internship opportunities

The New York Union Semester is an innovative semester-away scholarship program for select local, national, and international students. Open to undergraduates, graduate students, and college graduates, t his unique 15-week program combines a New York City based Union internship with labor studies courses for a full semester of undergraduate or MA in Labor Studies college credit. Students work 32 hours a week and receive a weekly stipend and partial tuition scholarship.

For more information contact: 

Laurie Kellogg 

(212) 642- 2055

Laurie.Kellogg@mail.cuny.edu