The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 11 has a successful mentoring program designed to help underserved communities prepare for careers in the electrical trades. 

Nominations are being accepted through July 31 for the 2012 Edna, a $10,000 award from the Berger-Marks Foundation that will go to a young woman leader in the social justice movement. Young women making a mark in labor, women’s and other social justice movements are eligible for the award, which will be presented in the fall.

Union members teamed up with the United Way California Capital Region Toilet Paper Drive in Sacramento in recent days, netting 177,451 rolls and breaking the United Way’s Certified Non-Profit Community Partners 2011 record by more than 52,000 rolls. The toilet paper was donated to local Sacramento homeless shelters. 

This is a cross-post by Kelsey Duckett from Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 11 in Commerce, Calif., on their participation in this year’s Letter Carriers "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive.

Across the United States, 50 million adults and 17 million children lack sufficient food every single day. To combat this, the Letter Carriers (NALC), for the past 20 years, has collected and donated food from mailboxes across the country. For the second consecutive year, IBEW Local 11 donated its Electrical Training Center in Commerce as the home base for all donated and collected food in Los Angeles County.

Tens of thousands of working families are volunteering today to improve conditions in their communities as part of the United Way Day of Action.

You can join them, from your desk or mobile, through Facebook and Twitter.

This year marks the 125th anniversary of the United Way and, in a floor statement (see video) honoring the occasion, U.S. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) notes that the “success and strength” of the partnership “between the United Way and America’s workers cannot be overstated.”   

Members of Laborers Local 563, Minnesota Laborers Employers Cooperation & Education Trust (LECET) and the Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades recently teamed up with volunteers from Minneapolis companies to build a new playground at Sheridan Arts Magnet School.

The Writers Guild of America, East and the Wounded Warrior Project have joined forces in a project that pairs military veterans and their family members with award-winning writers, empowering them with storytelling skills to share their post-war experiences.

Read the full story here, part of the AFL-CIO In Our Communities feature highlights.

Since 1947, the AFL-CIO and the United Way have helped families and communties recover from natural disasters--and more recently from the disastrous effects of the great recession. We continue to work together to provide services where they’re needed and when they’re needed.

In this new video, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka urges people to “give, advocate and volunteer with your local United Way.”

When it comes to education, few would dispute that youngsters who have access to high-quality child care and early learning opportunities have a better chance at lifelong success.

Now, two research reports show that unions are playing a big role in helping child care providers bring the highest level of care to the children and families they serve. Another study calls for more effective public investment in early childhood education.