The National Labor College (NLC) is now accredited to offer an Associate of Arts degree. An Associate of Arts degree is the first two years of college and will provide students with the foundation to succeed in NLC's bachelor's degree programs or at any other four-year college or university.

Applications for the Associate of Arts degree for the fall semester, beginning Sept. 3, 2013, will be available shortly. If you would like to be immediately notified when the applications are available, sign up here.

Duy Tran’s uncle came to America on a boat with other political refugees from Vietnam during the U.S. war. It was at sea for 52 days. Their only food was raw fish. Half of them died from starvation. They came seeking freedom and better lives for themselves and their families. Most of Tran’s family and friends experienced similarly dangerous journeys on their path to America and Tran says it gave him a greater appreciation of the goals Vietnamese immigrants were pursuing.

Many purveyors of financial advice are trying to sell you something, whether it's insurance, a retirement plan or even a mortgage. But bias-free financial advice isn't impossible to find. The National Labor College has a great online resource, NLC Invested, which provides some helpful financial tips on major life developments such as saving for a home purchase, preparing for a new child, sending a child to college, retirement, debt reduction, foreclosure and more. 

If you’ve been considering going back to school, why not take the next steps at the National Labor College (NLC). The NLC’s online degree programs make it easy to balance work, family and school.

2012 graduates Bruce Dantley of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters (UA) and AFSCME member Tina Davis did it. So can you.

Spring semester begins Jan. 7, 2013, and if you apply now, you can get 50% off the application fee.  

There’s still time to enroll in the fall semester of the online program at the National Labor College (NLC). Aug. 17 is the deadline for scholarships and financial aid applications for fall 2012. NLC also is offering Solidarity awards to new students who register for two courses by Aug. 17. Awards cover the cost of one three-credit course (value $915). Here is more info on the online degree program from NLC:

Mark King considers the bachelor’s degree in labor studies that he received Saturday at the National Labor College’s (NLC's) class of 2012 commencement as his “keys to the kingdom.”

King, a New Hampshire school librarian and AFT member, was one of 78 graduates from 25 unions and the AFL-CIO community affiliate, Working America, who received degrees at the Silver Spring campus. He was elected class speaker of the NLC’s 14th graduating class by his peers.

Are you or is someone you know trying to complete a college degree? If so, now is the time to do something about it, and the National Labor College (NLC) can get you started toward completing your degree as soon as this fall.

NLC is the only accredited labor college dedicated to educating union members and their families. Tuition is highly discounted for union members (about $300 per credit). If you apply now, take 50 percent off the application fee—and you can start taking classes in September.

Jennifer Wright Dorr, director of Strategic Communications at the National Labor College, sends us this.

Registration is open for the summer 2012 term at the National Labor College (NLC). The summer schedule is now available and courses run from May through August.

The National Labor College (NLC) is offering a new round of skills-building courses, beginning in January, in areas ranging from negotiation and organizing to working with new union staff.

When the nation’s Poet Laureate, Philip Levine, gives a reading of his work tomorrow here at the AFL-CIO, he will recite poems that weave a lyrical web of words around his visceral understanding of the world of work. Levine, whom the Library of Congress named Poet Laureate in May, and who has written of his experiences working in Detroit factories in the post-World War II years, finds his verses especially resonate with America’s workers—and that’s in part because his portrayals are so honest. (To attend the event, which begins at 1 p.m. Nov. 15, RSVP here.)