Green Labor Journal - Working for a Substainable Future

Green Workplace Representative Certificate Program Launched by National Labor College

Register now for the first course, June 26- July 1.  Scholarships available.  The program consists of four, week-long courses that the College will offer at reqular intervals as part of the NLC's Union Skills offerings.  The goal is to provide working adults, who are leaders in unions, public sector agencies and other organizations with practical knowledge and skills to conduct sustainability audits and become effective advocates for sustainable workplaces.

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The National Labor College (NLC), the only college in the United States with an exclusive mission to serve the educational needs of the union members and working people, will begin offering its Green Workplace Representative Program this summer.  The first class, Introduction to Green Workplaces and Sustainability Audits, is scheduled for June 26 – July 1, 2011.  It is taught in a weeklong residential format on the NLC Campus in Silver Springs, MD.

How to Register: Click here to visit the NLC Online, including information on the complete 2011 Union Skills Schedule.

Accomodations on the NLC Campus: Chick here to reserve your room online or call (301) 431-6400.

The goal of NLC’s Green Workplace program is to provide working adults who are leaders and members of unions, public sector agencies and other organizations with the tools and knowledge required to conduct sustainability audits and to become effective advocates for sustainable workplaces.  Completion of this curriculum will enable the Green Workplace Representatives to become leaders in the field of workplace sustainability.

Students who enroll in the NLC Green Workplace Representative Program will learn how to conduct workplace sustainability audits, which can save energy and water, reduce waste, use environmentally-friendly products, recycle materials, maintain employee health, adopt clean technologies and reduce carbon emissions – all while retaining good jobs at family-sustaining wages.   They will also consider such important topics as green building design and construction; labor-management sustainability partnerships; and labor’s role in the green economy.

Based upon the model of the British Trade Union Congress’s (TUC) Union Green Representative program, the NLC curriculum will provide working people with a practical guide for conducting a workplace audit, organizing a “greening committee” in every workplace, and working with management to make the positive changes necessary to achieve sustainability.

The NLC’s Green Workplace Representative curriculum is designed for people in every workplace.  The level of training is not highly technical.  Instead, students will learn from representatives of unions with deep experience in alternative technologies and processes that can be used to achieve workplace sustainability, improve workforce health, and ultimately make companies more productive and competitive in the global economy.

Union Privilege Scholarships
A limited number of $500 Union Privilege Scholarships are available for students who enroll in the first class of this Program.  For information on the Union Privilege Scholarships, and additional materials fees, please contact Ashe Morris, Student Accounts Representative for details at (301) 628-5404 or AMorris@nlcu.edu.

Affordable Tuition and Fees
The NLC offers affordable tuition:
·    For members of AFL-CIO affiliated unions and members of Working America, the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate, combined tuition and fees are $225 per credit hour;
·    For members of non-AFL-CIO affiliated unions, the tuition and fee charge is $275 per credit hour;
·    For students who are not union members, the NLC charges $1308 per credit hour for tuition and fees.

In on-campus courses, such as those in the Green Workplace Representative Certificate Program, there may be additional fees for course materials.  Please check the NLC website (www.nlc.edu) for details.

The NLC Green Workplace Program consists of four required courses that the College will offer at regular intervals as part of the NLC’s Union Skills program (there are two substitute courses; see below for the curriculum).  Students who complete 12 credits (four courses) from the courses listed below will earn the NLC’s Green Workplace Representative Certificate.

For more information about this certificate program, visit the NLC Online.

Course Schedule (all four core courses are three credits):

Introduction to Green Workplaces and Sustainability Audits (LBUS-3311): June 26 - July 1, 2011

Green Audit I:  Building Sustainable Workplaces (LBUS-3312): September 11 - 16, 2011
Green Audit II:  Building Blue-Green Campaigns (LBUS-3313): June 2012                   
Building Green Labor-Management Partnerships (LBUS-3314): November 2012          

Additional Courses:   

LBUS-3310  Greening the Construction Industry (2 cr). This course can substitute for either LBUS 3312 or LBUS 3313 with advisor approval.

LBUS-3921  Strategic Bargaining and Organizing Campaigns (2 cr).  This course can substitute for LBUS-3314 with advisor approval.

Core Faculty – First Course

Thomas J. Kriger, Ph.D., is Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost of the National Labor College. Dr. Kriger has taught environmental politics at Saint Lawrence University, Providence College and the University of Northern Colorado, and is leading the Green Workplace Curriculum development initiative at the NLC. In 1998, Kriger was named director of research and legislation for the United University Professions (UUP), the nation’s largest higher education union representing more than 30,000 faculty and staff of the State University of New York (SUNY). Kriger went on to serve as associate budget director for research and policy for   SUNY. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and professional publications.

Jerry B. Brown, Ph.D., Senior Editor, Green Labor Journal. Dr. Brown is an energy expert, author and consultant specializing in environmental projects. In the 1960s, he coordinated César Chavez’s Grape Boycott on behalf of the United Farm Workers AFL-CIO. Dr. Brown is co-author of Freedom from Mid-East Oil (2007). He is Founding Professor of Global and Sociocultural Studies at Florida International University in Miami, where he teaches courses on energy policy, social movements, growing the global green economy, and the impact of technology on society.