The voice. (Cumberland, Md.) 1937-1938, 1938-11-17

Labor today mas ltScii the center
OF attention In the news. on tho
radio. in the Neutrality-suspicious..
The tremendous growth Of the trade
union movement in the past two or
three years. and the passage %
new and important labor legislation
has combined TO bring this about.
A large part Of the unions battle
for recognition has been won and
labor Is now an accepted and an
increasingly important part OF our
national life
Along with this new place in the
sun. labor is faced with added re-
Sponsibilities. What do thSe new
laws mean? How can l"bor take
full advantage OF its opportunities
under this new legislation make It's
voice heard on minimum wage and
other boards fight effectively for
higher standards? How can labor
hold the gains 1t has made along
organization lines. retain the loyal
ty and interest OF its membership
during periods of depression; draw
in new members. All of these things
depend largely upon the intelligent
participation IN the activities OF the
union. This calls for a program OF
workers education built along mod
ern lines using new methods
4 Problem
Every union executive today be-
licvcS IN workers education. III ono
form or another The biggest prob
lem is to find time TO set up pro-
gram and SCI that 1t Is carried out
Some OF tho Older unions and
number of tho never organizations
have established separate workers
education departments. But fire.
qucntly. lack OF funds holds a UNI
ion back. Often union that secs
the importance OF an educational
program. especially during a pc
Rod OF depression when organiza-
ton activities are at Standstill.
finds itself handicapped in this
manner. Offers OF volunteer help
and OF cooperation from other
agencies cannot be- utilized because
OF the incxpcrience OF these organi-
cations in the field of workers cdu-
cation. The chief difficulty with tho
union. however. is the question o!
finding the time TO plan for and
carry out a program
To help meet this situation
the Affiliated Schools for Work
ers. which has been working In
this field for number Of years. Y
vas set up several types of ed
ational services. which are
k,ilable to unions. Tine Af6l. !
--.-- ..ked Schools was for some
years. as its name implies.
loose federation Of its member
summer schools of which there
are now five: The Bryn Mawr
Summer School. The School for
Workers at the University OF
Wisconsin. The Southern SUM
mer School. The Pacific school
for Workers and The Summer
School for Office Workers. Four
Of the five schools are coed
ucational
Affiliated Schools
The affiliated Schools still works
closely with its member schools but
more and more of Its time and en-
crgy and funds 20 into its Labor
Education Service This service is
varied and has been extended to
moro than 100 unions and in the
case OF ono international union 10
80 locals. II may take tho form OF
help IN setting up regional con-
ference where several organizations
feel need for the stimulation OF
an exchange OF ideas on such sub
poets as new organizing methods
for instance or Social Security Leg
islation. the new Federal Wages and
Hours Bill. or any one of dozen
different subjects OF interest TO la
Dor. Or II may be the educational
department OF union needs as
Sistance in rounding up teachers for
local classes. as one big intcrnation-
al union did for its locals all the
way from the Pacific Coast 70 New
England The travelling library OF
the Affiliated Schools is in more or
less constant demand. particularly
from isolated communities where
the shelves Of the local library are
strangely minus books Oh labor sub
jects
Unions are continually asking
What shall We read? We can't
get interested in heavy books on
economies. What about novels and
labor plays? Can't you tell us
where to get pamphlets written in
popular style easy to read?" The
answer to most OF these questions is
TO be found in the publication of
the Affiliated Schools. Those in
Guide SUGGESTED READING
list or NOVELS. PLAYS. b.
O-RAPIIES AND POETRY deal
Ing with social and economic prob
lens; a newly compiled LIST OF
LABOR PLAYS; and most recently
OF all. a new annotated list OF
PAMPHLET MATERIAL FOR
WORKERS CLASSES. In adlne..ion
to these lists the Affiliated Schools
has published its own pamphlets
on LABOR DRAMA. AN INTRO
DuCl1oN TO AMERICAN TRADE