Dear Labor Activists and Labor Educators,

My ask is simple – join the United Association for Labor Education (UALE).   Here is why you should do this today.

Working people are under siege!   Where do you go to learn and share information about your craft of educating people who work?  Perhaps you work in a university or college and teach about worker rights.  Perhaps you work in the area of health and safety.  Perhaps you represent a worker organization, a labor union or alt labor.   Where can you go to share your craft and your knowledge?

Join the United Association for Labor Education (UALE) and learn how we can change the rules!    Membership in UALE is open to all persons engaged in or preparing to engage in labor education regardless of their race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, religious or political beliefs. Labor Education programs, unions, worker centers and other organizations engaged in labor education are eligible for institutional membership.

Labor education is defined as education to advance the collective needs and interests of working people.

We within the UALE community have done some amazing work in 2015:

• With a grant from the Berger-Marks Foundation we published a study on Women’s Schools which is available on our website.
• With a grant from UALE and the AFL-CIO we issued a study on the state of Labor Education in Colleges and Universities.
• We have worked with the National Labor College Legacy effort to get their curricula and materials placed in institutions of higher learning that will use and treasure the resources amassed to teach future generations about important labor issues.
• We hosted a terrific conference in Orlando, FL : Local to Global – Working in a Changing World  where we addressed work rights and immigrant rights, we hosted a number of panels, workshops and discussions. 
• We awarded the Black Worker Centers out of UCLA with the award for Outstanding  Contribution to Labor Education in 2015 and recognized  other  significant work in the field of labor education.
• We have working groups that meet and regional representatives who attempt to keep issues on the forefront with members.
• And we have an active listserve and a fantastic journal that is dedicated to Labor Studies – the Labor Studies Journal.

Have I convinced you yet of our worth and that this is a place for you?  We are revamping our website so that it is available on mobile devices and enhanced.  Our 2016 Conference, in Washington DC, will take place April 13 – 16.   The theme is Connecting the Dots: Race, Labor, Community and Education.  As you read this message, excellent submissions are being reviewed for plenaries and workshops.    We hope you will attend and get involved.  From now until the end of January – a special registration rate for the conference includes a reduced membership fee.   Note too, that we recently streamlined the membership fee structure to make it even more affordable to join.

You can join or renew from this website.  If you already have an account on the website, just hit the "Join or Renew Membership" button. If you do not have an account, you can easily create one by clicking on "Register for website". Once your account is created, the "Join or Renew Membership" button will appear. While on the website, you can also register for the conference.

Do it now – and join an organization that is actually about the work that you do!

In Solidarity and on behalf of the UALE Executive Board

Cheryl Teare, President