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John Ajak learned how to detect the chemical benzene while dressed in a blue astronaut-like safety suit complete with a respirator. Kaitlin DeCero educated suburban residents about a community newspaper where workers were denied a contract. Andy Bosh found himself in a courtroom with a USW lawyer who was questioning a witness.
John is not a scientist, Kaitlin is not an organizer, and Andy is not a lawyer…yet. They all participated in the experience of a life time last summer as interns for the USW.
The Steelworkers Summer Internship Program is more than a paid summer job. It gives young adults a hands-on education in the process of achieving social justice through workplace and community organizing.
Last year’s class of 34 interns at USW headquarters in Pittsburgh included young adults from across the United States and even the African country of Sudan. The program runs from late May to early August.
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Ajak came the farthest, 6,000 miles from his homeland in Sudan, to study petroleum, natural gas and chemical engineering at Penn State University.
Before his USW internship, Ajak said all he knew about labor unions came from books. Now he realizes, “it’s vital for young people to get involved in union activities because they allow employees to achieve fair wages and safe working conditions.”
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John Ajak
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Ajak and two other interns in the Health and Human Safety Department were trained on identifying unsafe chemicals within workplaces and how workers can approach a hazardous substance and remove it from an industrial site.
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Katlin DeCero
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DeCero, an Indiana University senior majoring in political science and labor studies, grew up in Munster, Ind., learning about the importance of labor issues.
Over the summer, DeCero led a USW community-awareness effort in Beaver County, Pa., where she and a team of interns fought for a small group of employees who had been trying to negotiate a contract with a local newspaper for two years.
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“Both of my parents are Steelworkers and are active in their local unions,” DeCero said. “So it’s hard not to get interested in issues that directly affect my parents and family.”
But not all young adults are as aware as DeCero.
“Young people are more interested in business degrees,” she said, “which is unfortunate because there’s another side to that coin - labor.”
University of Pittsburgh law student Andy Bosh spent the summer working in the union’s legal department, which represents member interests in labor relations, employment standards, and human rights.
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Bosh said he grew up learning about “the importance of workers’ rights.” His father, an active union member, worked almost 20 years in a steel mill.
“Many students in my generation wouldn’t have been able to even attend college had it not been for the fair union wages that allowed our parents to save for college,” Bosh said.
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Andy Bosh
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That realization is what the USW summer program aims to foster in its interns. A top goal is to help students understand their parents’ working lives and the positive impact the union’s fight for family-sustaining jobs has had on their own lives.
(This article was written by 2007 Intern Erin Schubert)
Internships are open to young adults, 18 years of age or older. Selection preference is given to children of USW members.
Applicants should have a strong commitment to social and economic justice as well as openness to working with a broad cross section of people. Participants need to be people-oriented, enthusiastic, energetic, flexible and willing to work long hours on an unpredictable schedule. A college degree is not required. Previous union experience is not necessary. Volunteerism or activism is a plus.
For information, visit here
or contact:
USW Organizing Department
Five Gateway Center
Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222
Email: Steelworkerssummer@usw.org
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STEELWORKERS' SUMMER
