The University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations recently announced the following schedule of upcoming classes in Chicago for union members.

Spring 2013 Certificate Classes in Chicago

Registration Form

Labor History – $150
Wednesdays 6PM – 8:30PM January 23 – February 20

What does the history of the U.S. look like when viewed from the point of view of those who built the country? The class reviews working class and labor history since the Civil War, but focuses (with films) on some key labor struggles such as the 1894 Pullman Strike; organizing in the mine and textile industries; the rise of the CIO and the autoworker sit-down strikes; the impact of McCarthyism on the labor movement; and the expansion of public sector unionization (1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike and the 1970 Postal Workers Strike).

Collective Bargaining – $150
Wednesdays 6PM – 8:30PM March 6 – April 3

This class introduces the student to the process and content of collective bargaining. It addresses among other items the legal obligations to bargain, mandatory and permissible subjects of bargaining, types of bargaining relationships, styles of bargaining and takes the student thorough multiple stages of labor negotiations. The class also examines the critical information necessary to bargain successfully. Students learn to analyze a contract, cost out a contract, develop a bargaining proposal, practice good table behavior, negotiating skills, how to use the caucus, keep records, and write appropriate contract language.

Pocketbook Economics: From the New Deal to the Tea Party – $150
Wednesday 6PM – 8:30PM April 24 – May 22
Perfect for anyone wanting to understand how and why we find ourselves enduring the biggest financial meltdown since the “Great Depression.” This class examines how American workers achieved a middle class standard of living and why it is slipping away. We will look at the regulatory policies of the New Deal, study how unions became part of the economic life of the US, and how deregulation and shifting perspectives about the obligations of the state and the economy have led to decreased union density and financial instability for middle class families.

For more information click here.