Work with Students

We are excited to continue to connect campus and community this semester and beyond. Interns will learn organizing skills and apply their studies to local issues, coordinated by Camilo Viveiros. Help us spread the word to students, youth and rank and file workers who would like to intern with the Labor Education Center.

The Labor Education Center accepts internships for credit through your department, paid internships through "The Experience" Program on campus, and offers work-study jobs. Contribute your skills and apply your field of study to local community and workplace issues while learning useful skills to make a difference! 

Local Labor History Research Internship

This internship is in conducting local history research, compiling local labor and social movement histories in order to develop a local history tour and to create a pamphlet and articles. Developing archives, exhibits and installations related to labor and local social history as well as presentations at local schools and community organizations.  Possible history projects include conducting and archives oral history interviews of Fall River area women involved in the labor movement. Other possibilities are in expanding, developing, and performing living history scripts describing mill worker life in Fall River and labor and social activism in Providencetown.

Required interest in labor, social movements, demonstrated writing and research skills. Experience with oral history interviews, photography, video production, archiving and digitizing skills are pluses but not mandatory.

If interested, send to Camilo Viveiros, cviveiros@umassd.edu: resume, a writing sample, cover letter, list of relevant courses taken, and three references (at least one faculty and one work related). 

The Labor Education Program staff presents to classes as guest speakers and we have been advisors to student groups. 

We recently led a two hour van and walking tour about the labor history of New Bedford for a Work and Society Sociology class.  This tour also included learning about local labor issues by meeting with union leaders at the Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council Hall.  We were honored to be joined by Cindy Rodrigues, Past-President of Greater SE Mass Labor Council and Donald Rei, retired, of the Steelworkers, Local 1357. 

More information

Paid internships

The City University of New York (CUNY) has a program where students work for a union or worker organizations in New York City.
Union Semester visit: https://slu.cuny.edu/labor-studies/union-semester

The AFL-CIO offers Union Summer a nine-week educational internship in which participants are introduced to the labor movement through union organizing campaigns.
Learn about this program by watching a video about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD2r57TBcQM&feature=youtu.be

Programs and internships likely leading to full time work

Union Research Summer School, Sponsored by the AFL-CIO and Cornell University, it is called the Strategic Corporate Research Summer School. The course (credit or non-credit) is designed for undergrads, grad students, and others who are interested in working as union researchers and campaigners. Scholarships are available based on need if taking the course for credit.

The AFL-CIO offers the Organizing Institute, a program involving much training and many steps but leading to a full time job.

To start directly working for a union or worker organization

Visit http://www.unionjobs.com/location.php?state=Massachusetts. You must click on staffing opportunities to see the jobs available. You can search for all states from there as well.

For more information on each opportunity, contact Camilo Viveiros at cviveiros@umassd.edu.