Since 1946, United Way and the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) has enjoyed a cooperative relationship through which they have provided services to members of organized labor, their families and their communities.

United Ways and organized labor work together to:

• Train union members to assist co-workers with information about available local services and refer them to the appropriate organizations through the annual eight-week Union Counseler Training Course.

• Assist the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) in their one-day nationwide food drives. Last year, United Way of America once again joined the NALC for a record-setting drive in May. The combined cooperation of the NALC, the United States Postal Service, the AFL-CIO and United Ways netted over 40 million pounds of food, which was distributed to community food banks, pantries and shelters across the country. In addition, letter carriers help elderly and disabled citizens maintain independent lives throughout the Carrier Alert Program, which instructs letter carriers to watch for signs, such as mail accumulation, that an elderly person may be in crisis.

• Recruit, train and help place members of organized labor on the decision making bodies of health and human-care organizations.

• Recognize labor leaders who have rendered outstanding United Way volunteer service by annually awarding the Joseph A. Beirne Community Service Award - established in memory of a remarkable labor leader.

• Solicit annual letters of endorsement from the AFL-CIO affiliated unions and state federations to be distributed to United Ways and the entire AFL-CIO Community Services liaison network, supporting the United Way campaign.

• Honor the cities that have developed community-service activities with the AFL-CIO central labor council and their United Ways from the five regions across the country.

• Provide a staff of more than 250 full-time AFL-CIO Community Services liaisons, labor agency personnel and Canadian Labour Council (CLC) labor liaisons in the cities in the United States and Canada. These individuals serves as links among local United Ways, AFL-CIO central labor councils, AFL-CIO state federations and CLC labor organizations.

UNION COUNSELER TRAINING

This training is offered once a year over an eight-week period for union members. It provides them training and information resources so they can assist their co-workers in finding appropriate organizations and services during times of need and crisis.

Early registration is advised.