In 1942, Penn State became one of the first universities in the country to establish a labor education program following the passage of the National Labor Relations Act seven years earlier. The first classes were held at the Philadelphia Shipyard.
The Penn State Labor Education Service expanded in the 1940s and into the 1950s to train union leaders across the state. Unions, such as the Steelworkers, Auto Workers, and the International Ladies Garment Workers would bring hundreds of their local leaders to campus for summer schools that lasted from the 1940s until 2000. Participants would stay in fraternity houses and dorms and attend classes on leadership, bargaining, grievance procedures, politics, and economics that would help them perform their roles more effectively.
To make its labor education services more accessible across the state, the Department added faculty stationed in Reading, greater Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh in the 1970s. In 2002, the University defunded the Department’s long-standing labor education program, until it was reinstated ten years later under the new name, The Labor School at Penn State.
Our current faculty and staff are proud to continue this tradition of serving Pennsylvania workers.
In 2019, the Labor School created an Advisory Board of labor leaders to provide input and feedback about our programs, as well as to promote Labor School programs with their organizations. The board meets biannually and is formed of key labor leaders across Pennsylvania who are engaged in labor education efforts. The advisory board helps to ensure that our programming reflects the current educational needs of the labor movement.
The Pennsylvania Labor Educators’ Roundtable is a space for labor educators and those interested in labor education to share curriculum and discuss best practices, challenges, and ideas for engaging activities. The Roundtable meets virtually via Zoom once per quarter. If you would like to participate in the Roundtable, please email laborschool@psu.edu indicating your interest.
The Healthcare Labor-Management Partnership Initiative (HPI) at Penn State is committed to encouraging the implementation of new labor-management partnerships in healthcare organizations and to working with existing partnerships to help them reach their full potential.