THE AMERICAN LABOR STUDIES CENTER

WHEREAS, according to research conducted by Hart Associates that indicates that, of all adults, 46 percent said they knew a fair amount or a great amount about unions as opposed to 54 percent who said they knew just a little or did not know much about unions; and

WHEREAS, that same research found a great deal of misunderstanding and misinformation about unions and what they do; and

WHEREAS, Americans said their chief sources of knowledge about unions were personal experience (37 percent), people in unions (26 percent) and the media (25 percent), while schools were not mentioned at all; and

WHEREAS, while there are a number of well-documented reasons for the relative decline of American labor, it can be argued that the lack of knowledge or incorrect knowledge about unions contributed to this decline; and

WHEREAS, if the fortunes of the American labor movement are to improve, its story must be told and told more effectively; and

WHEREAS, there does exist a number of excellent programs and curriculum about the history and activities of workers and their unions but that few find their way into American classrooms:

RESOLVED, that the AFT strongly support the establishment of The American Labor Studies Center whose mission will be to collect, analyze, evaluate, create and disseminate labor history and labor studies curriculum and related materials, aligned to academic standards in place, to K-12 teachers nationwide in cooperation with the National Education Association and other organizations and agencies who express an interest; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT support the establishment of The American Labor Studies Center in the Kate Mullaney house in Troy, New York, which has been declared a National Historic Landmark and for which the New York State Senate has appropriated $75,000 for this purpose; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT urge its affiliates, the AFL-CIO, state federations, central labor councils, international unions, local unions, foundations and other friends of the labor movement to support the creation and operation of The American Labor Studies Center.