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Michigan State AFL-CIO |
A History of
the Michigan Association of United Ways and Organized Labor
Organized labor has fostered a strong tradition of supporting the partnership with the United Way of Michigan for more than 60 years.
The United Way of Michigan, now named the Michigan Association of United Ways (MAUW), was founded through the initial efforts of Walter Reuther (President of the UAW), August Scholle (First President of the Michigan State AFL-CIO) and Henry Ford (President of Ford Motor Car Company) in 1947.
In 1951, two state labor staff were hired at UWM to:
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Develop increased labor participation and expand the community services network. |
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Develop community service committees within the labor councils. |
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Educate community service representatives in linking their members to the human services available in their respective communities |
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Assist with establishing local liaison positions in Michigan |
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Encourage organized labor to support the Community Chest and United Fund Campaigns in Michigan. |
In 1952, a third labor staff was hired and the fourth liaison was selected in 1954.
Organized labor continues to be an integral part of the United Way fund raising efforts in Michigan. Each year, organized labor contributes more than 35 million dollars to support the statewide human service delivery system. It is estimated that 33 percent of the blood donated in Michigan is given by union members.
Currently, MAUW employs a State Community Services Director and one State Liaison position. There are also 27 Local Community Service Liaisons employed by Local United Ways in the 16 larger communities in Michigan and one liaison employed by the American Red Cross.
The state labor program, co-sponsored by MAUW and the Michigan State AFL-CIO coordinates three annual educational events with the help of a planning consisting of state labor officers, state and local community service liaisons:
| Three day staff training conference for community service liaisons. |
| One week community service training school for labor volunteers. |
| One day seminar, held in August, to mobilize and train labor solicitors for the United Way Campaign. |
The state labor program responds to special requests for plant closing seminars unemployment seminars, united way/labor speaking engagements, campaign assistance, information and referrals, and special projects such as the Letter Carriers annual Food drive.
The state labor liaison program has developed a “State Labor Leads” registry that recognizes labor United Way donors that have made leadership pledges to their respective United Ways in excess of $500, $750, $1000 per year. The initial booklet in 1999 listed 317 union leadership givers. The 2006 registry listed 1,800 union members and labor councils/international unions that contributed over $1.2 million in leadership gifts through the 59 local United Ways in Michigan.
State CS Office 1627 Lake Lansing Road, Suite B 4560 McKinley Ct. Muskegon, MI 49441 (231) 798-7746 Fax same as phone Email: ckennedy@uwmich.org Phyllis Soik, State Liaison |
Michigan State AFL-CIO Officers Chairperson Mark Gaffney, President Vice Chairs Linda Lash, Retired Director Larry Roehrig, Secretary-Treasurer |
| StrategiesOrganized labor has a tradition of caring for one another, a tradition rich
in pride, pride in ourselves, in our skills, in our families, and in our unions.
We have evolved from what was once a dream to a powerful organization, one which represents over 13 million working men and women across our great United States. But to continue to grow, to be effective, to properly represent our memberships, we must continue to learn. Community services offers unlimited opportunities for us to not only learn, but to teach others in our community about organized labor. We need to continue to develop new and innovative strategies which provide us with those opportunities. One such strategy is our newly developed "State Labor Leads" initiative. This program recognized labor contributors that make pledges of $500, $750 or $1,000 or more to their respective Local United Ways. We will collect this information and publish the annual results in a booklet form which acknowledges individuals, their union affiliation and recipient United Way. Opportunities which:
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Responsibilities As community services representatives, we work to expand organized labor's knowledge and use of the community's health and human care services by:
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Michigan State AFL-CIO Community Services Liaisons
Michigan Association of United Ways Web Page
| AFL-CIO
UCAN ProgramThe objective of the AFL-CIO UCAN "Union Community
Activist" program is to train
union members, and others in the community, to become information and referral
specialists.
This training is usually provided in modules of two hours per week for a six to twelve week period. During this training, the union member learns about the program and services that are available in his/her community. The union information and referral specialist is trained to refer a person with a specific problem to an agency which can provide assistance. This training includes sessions on empathic listening, communication, confidentiality, and information regarding health and human care services and programs which are available in the community. Examples of those services are: credit counseling, health care, individual/marital/family counseling, legal services, substance abuse prevention and treatment. A major component of this training is the actual hands-on case studies, where the student is given examples of problems that he/she may encounter, and actually completes the referral through role-playing. Your AFL-CIO C.S. Liaison is available to help provide this training for you and your community services committee, in your local community, and at our statewide community services school at Black Lake. For more information call your local liaison or the Michigan State AFL-CIO Community Services Department at (517) 371-4360. |