1 min read

Season 5, Episode 193

AFT working with Micron to develop certification program in NY schools

AFT Gray

 

Guest Name:


Randi Weingarten

Guest Website:


American Federation of Teachers 

Guest Social Media:


Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

LinkedIn

Supportive Documents:


Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss her multi-city bus tour focused on addressing literacy in schools and what they’ve done during the tour as part of Banned Books Week. She also talked about a grant the AFT received in partnership with Micron to develop a high school pilot program to provide workforce certifications to students.

Earlier this week Weingarten and the AFT gave out nearly 45,000 free books to students and educators in Missoula, Mont. as part of their Banned Books Week and multi-city Get Out The Vote bus tour. A large part of the AFT's mission has been to raise awareness for literacy in schools and improve access to educational resources. Weingarten said that the bus tour addresses learning loss and literacy rates nationwide and provides free books to students and educators. 

Today, however, Weingarten is in Syracuse, N.Y. for a roundtable on career pathways in the chip manufacturing industry. She discussed a grant the AFT received, in partnership with Micron, from the U.S. Commerce Department that will help create career pathways in the advanced manufacturing industry. The AFT is the only union to receive this type of grant so far. The new certification programs will be available to students in 10 schools during its testing phase. Weingarten said the AFT has been working with Micron to extend the certification programs created in Syracuse to Minnesota and Michigan. 

Weingarten said too many high schools that should be teaching students to prepare for future careers, have turned to college preparation. These schools need to offer more alternative opportunities. She added that programs like the one in Syracuse could change that dynamic and offer students a debt-free alternative to college. She talked about the efforts to provide enrollment programs like certification programs to high school students as part of their curriculum. With jobs being created in new industries, Weingarten said high school curricula should prepare students for a career and not just prepare them for going to college. 

Learn more about the certification program in Syracuse by listening to the show above.


America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

SUBSCRIBE ON:

Group 342

Group 341

Group 343

Group 339

Group 397

Group 397

 

125th edition of the Army-Navy Game will include the American Legion

Jeff Stoffer, Director of Media and Communications for the American Legion, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the December...

Read More

Senior vote split between both presidential candidates

Rich Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the potential impact...

Read More