Celebrating 20 Years of the Union Plus Scholarship Program

Press Contact: Liliana Lopez, 202-778-9818, llopez@unionplus.org

Union Plus has awarded $150,000 in scholarships to 129 students representing 44 unions, including five winners representing the United Steelworkers (USW), in the 2012 Union Plus Scholarship Program.

Union Plus Scholarship awards are granted to students attending a two-year college, four-year college, graduate school or a recognized technical or trade school. Since starting the program in 1991, Union Plus has awarded more than $3.3 million in educational funding to more than 2,200 union members, spouses and dependent children. Recipients are selected based on academic ability, social awareness, financial need and appreciation of labor.

Meet the 2012 USW Honorees

USW Local 2-0445—Melissa Ertl
Melissa Ertl of Park Falls, WI, whose father John is a member of USW Local 2-0445, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship. She is a two-time scholarship winner who followed in the footsteps of her brother, who was awarded a scholarship in 2009. Her family embodies the union emphasis on service and achievement that has helped make our nation great. “Both my parents and all four siblings are card-carrying union members,” she says (her mother is an AFSCME member). Melissa herself tried to help workers organize with UFCW at a grocery store when she was in high school. She is majoring in psychology. 

USW Local 13-227—Kendall Womble
Kendall Womble of La Porte, TX, whose mother Tandy Deerdoff is a member of USW Local 13-227, has been awarded a $750 scholarship. Kendall is beating the odds, having come through her family’s challenges and difficulties to stand on the cusp of college, thanks to hard work. “I want to have a good life and be all that I can be because it wasn’t given to me,” she says. Kendall’s goal is to get a degree in occupational therapy so she can work with children who have special needs and help them to strive and succeed—just like she did.

USW Local 8526—Gerhard Steven Jr.
Gerhard Steven Jr. of St. Croix, USVI, whose father Gerhard is a member of USW Local 8526, has been awarded a $2,000 scholarship. Gerhard, a saxophone player who will major in biochemistry, has proven he has the hands, the head and the heart to succeed in whatever he does. He sees a world of possibilities before him, and he gives thanks to the USW, his father’s longtime union, for the opportunities it has meant for him. “The labor movement has changed my life,” he says.

USW Local 979—Thomas Sienkiewicz Jr.
Thomas Sienkiewicz Jr. of Garfield Heights, OH, whose father Thomas is a member of USW Local 979, has been awarded a $500 scholarship. With union steelworkers, teachers, police and firefighters in his family (his mother belongs to AFSCME), it’s no wonder Tom became part of the campaign to defeat an Ohio state bill that would have rewritten collective bargaining rights. “It is important to keep strong unions in America,” he says. Tom is majoring in public health with the goal of continuing in his family tradition of service in the field of public safety. “I can give back to the community, while doing a job that I really enjoy,” he says. 

USW Local 952—Courtney Cox
Courtney Cox of Butler, AL, whose father James is a member of USW Local 952, has been awarded a $500 scholarship. More than a model student, Courtney strives to be a model citizen. During high school she volunteered more than 650 community service hours. Courtney, who will study biology and music at Auburn University, also played basketball, cheered, served in student government, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, various honor societies and is a 13-year student of piano—exhibiting the strength, service and support union families represent. “The union has helped my family to provide me with an excellent education and the stability of knowing I can be anything I set my mind to.” 

Union Plus Scholarship awards are granted to students attending a two-year college, four-year college, graduate school or a recognized technical or trade school. Since starting the program in 1991, Union Plus has awarded more than $3.3 million in educational funding to more than 2,200 union members, spouses and dependent children. Recipients are selected based on academic ability, social awareness, financial need and appreciation of labor.

In addition to the Union Plus Scholarships, the following benefits help union families afford higher education:

• Scholarships to help union members and leaders finish their degrees with an affordable, flexible and convenient online program at the National Labor College.

• Discounts of 15 to 60 percent on college and graduate school test preparation courses from The Princeton Review. Discount includes classroom, online and private tutoring for the SAT®, ACT®, GMAT®, LSAT®, GRE® and MCAT® as well as college affordability and admissions online courses. Visit UnionPlus.org/CollegePrep or call 1-888-243-7737.

Visit UnionPlus.org/Education for applications and benefit eligibility.

Union Plus programs also include mortgages, insurance protection and money-saving offers on flowers, car rentals and AT&T wireless service. Union members can visit UnionPlus.org for more information.

Click here to get a head start on the 2013 Union Plus Scholarships

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