School of Continuing and Professional Studies > About > Labor Education Center

Labor Education Center

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Come to our annual fundraising BBQ!

Join us on Sunday, June 1st at 2pm for our 2025 Strength in Solidarity BBQ Fundraiser, with featured speakers, honorees, and raffles! Check out the link below for more info.

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About the Labor Education Center

Rooted in the Vincentian tradition of social justice, the Labor Education Center (LEC) is dedicated to strengthening the labor movement for a more just society. Our mission is to support the ecosystem of labor organizing and racial, gender, and economic justice work by educating youth, workers, labor activists, academics, and community leaders. Our programs equip these groups with the knowledge, skills, connections, and tools needed to take on new levels of leadership and make meaningful changes in their workplaces, the labor movement, and society. They also foster a deeper understanding of structural inequalities and how to challenge them to create a more inclusive, and effective labor movement. 

We achieve this through:

  • Comprehensive Labor Education Programs: Teaching both youth and adults to deepen their understanding of labor issues and organizing strategies.
  • Organization-Specific Trainings: Offering customized programs designed to address the unique needs of unions, worker centers, and community-based organizations.
  • Public Events and Forums: Providing guest speakers and hosting events to raise awareness and inspire collective action.
  • Strategic Consultations: Offering guidance to improve organizational capacity.
  • Resource Sharing: Providing tools and materials to bolster labor and social justice organizing efforts.

Get Involved

Join us in working together to strengthen the labor movement!

For more information on our programs, ways to get involved, or to support our work in other ways, please reach out to us at LEC@depaul.edu. We look forward to working with you!

Make a Donation

Please consider supporting our work by making a tax-deductible donation.

Donate

Register now for our Union Side Contract Costing Class

The next session of our Union Side Contract Costing Class started on Wednesday, April 23rd. This 5-session course is part of the Advanced Barga​ining Certificate. Check out this flyer here ​to learn more, and click the link below to register. See you there!

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What We Offer

We offer multiple in person and virtual labor education programs run by instructors with real world labor and organizing experience.  These help students expand their knowledge, gain more skills, build connections, and prepare them to take on new levels of leadership.

Labor Leadership Certificate Program

Our six-course "Labor Leadership Certificate" program develops activists, student leaders, members, stewards, officers, and staff from unions, worker centers, and community-based organizations. Each course helps students gain a deeper understanding of labor issues and build skills to achieve economic and social justice.  Students leave this program with more knowledge and tools to engage in enforcement of contracts and labor laws, effective organizational communication tools (visual, written, verbal, and social media based), arbitration, organizing, bargaining practices and strategies, and a graso of labor history and political economy.  Completion of our Certificate indicates you have essential training to fulfill your roles more effectively and to better support your fellow peers, members and co-workers while you strengthen your respective organizations. It also ensures that you are equipped to move into higher levels of leadership or employment in your union, worker center, or community-based organizations. Please note: Each of the six Labor Education courses can be taken individually or all together to earn the Certificate. The following classes are held during weekly sessions in the fall from September through November, and in the winter from January through March:

Click here to learn more or enroll.

Advanced Bargaining Certificate Program

The Advanced Bargaining Certificate provides students with high-level training to negotiate stronger contracts and cost out detailed union proposals. It is structured for graduates of our Labor Leadership Certificate program, as well as Union Staff and Attorneys who support in contract negotiations and grievance handling, Bargaining Team Members, CAT Team, and members at large who would like to participate in bargaining someday. The certificate is comprised of two courses held each spring: 

  • Union Side Contract Drafting - Students learn how to draft effective union contract proposals by practicing identifying and revising contract language that has multiple denotations, connotations and ambiguities, while learning how to ensure the intent of the negotiation is clearly represented. They will also learn how to ensure the final language of a collective bargaining agreement is clear enough for a member to enforce and an arbitrator to agree with. 
  • Union Side Contract Costing - Students learn how to cost out a union proposal for a Collective Bargaining Agreement in detail and how to communicate that information to members in a meaningful way.

Graduates of the program will leave with a solid base or enhanced working knowledge to fulfill their roles more effectively, and certification they are equipped to move into higher levels of leadership or employment in their organizations. They will also feel more confident to share their knowledge with others in the movement. 

Click here to learn more or enroll.

Individualized Trainings

We work with unions, worker centers, and community-based organizations to provide tailored trainings to fit your needs. Such workshops have included but are not limited to providing an introduction to the labor movement, labor history, stewardship and grievance handling, addressing sexual harassment and racial discrimination, internal and external organizing, campaign mobilization, labor-community partnership, research skills, public speaking, labor law, contemporary labor issues, contract administration, labor-management relations and organizational solidarity building, as well as in depth trainings on any of the topics from our Labor Leadership Certificate Program classes.  These workshops can be held at our office, your office, or virtually.


Public Workshops

We also provide periodic workshops open to youth, community members, and labor leaders to facilitate open discussions, encourage new initiatives, and promote a broader understanding about the labor movement and issues affecting workers.

To foster a multi-generational labor movement, we provide multiple youth programs aimed at developing pipelines for youth involvement and leadership development.

Regina V. Polk High School Program

The Center’s Regina V. Polk High School Program provides labor education curriculum to more than a thousand Illinois high school students annually. This program is run in celebration of the late Regina V. Polk and thanks to the generous support of the Regina V. Polk Scholarship Fund for Labor Leadership. Regina’s life was sadly cut short in 1983 when she was killed in a plane crash at the age of 33. We pay tribute to Regina’s trailblazing work – from organizing and supporting displaced workers, to efforts to expand opportunities for women in the labor movement – by educating and seeking to inspire a new generation of labor leaders. The program includes:

  • Collective Bargaining Role Plays: Mock labor negotiations are held in coordination with local high schools and volunteer coaches, providing students a chance to engage in and experience contract negotiations in a half-day simulation that brings the process to life. 

  • Union Summer School: In our intensive one-week union summer school program, Chicago area high school students learn about the labor movement, its history, collective bargaining, their rights, and how organized labor is critical to achieving economic justice.

Breving-Rosenberg High School Summer Internship Program

Our Center offers paid internships for high school students in coordination with local union and worker center campaigns.  Youth that actively participated in our Union Summer School are invited to apply the following summer.  Our internship trains participants on social justice and labor issues, and places them with local unions, worker centers, and community-based organizations in the Chicagoland area to get hands on organizing experience.  They are provided with an orientation and weekly cohort meetings focused on helping them learn about the labor movement, social justice, and understand their role in strengthening rights for all workers.

College Fellowship for Worker Justice  

Our College Fellowship for Worker Justice is a labor leadership training and mentorship series for a cohort of ten Chicago area college and university students who are currently or have recently been employed. It aims to educate and engage young workers about the labor movement, their rights, and leadership skills to help them stand up for such rights. It also seeks to serve as a pipeline for youth involvement and leadership development in the labor movement.  Comprising about 20 hours of commitment per month, Fellows will participate in monthly live virtual trainings from January through May and be responsible to complete additional readings and assignments. The training topics will include the following topics: Labor History and Lessons for today, Introduction to Workers Rights, Building power for workers, Leadership in your workplace, and Growing your Leadership Long Term.  The trainings also incorporate guest speakers as well as instruction on digital tools used in organizing campaigns.  Upon completion of the Fellowship, with full attendance to the trainings and all assignments turned in, Fellows will receive a stipend. They will also be invited to participate in ongoing meetings with Center staff for mentorship, access to resources, and updates on career opportunities in the labor movement.

Applicants must

  • Be an 18-25 year old student currently enrolled at a college or university in the Chicago area
  • Be currently employed or employed for at least 2 months in the last 2 years
  • Be well-organized, reliable, and able to work independently
  • Demonstrate a commitment to values of democracy, inclusivity, racial, economic, and social justice, advocacy, equality, diversity.
  • BIPOC, women, and those with at least a year of experience working or volunteering with social justice related organizations are strongly encouraged to apply.

We also strive to be a clearinghouse of information, contacts, and resources related to worker rights and the labor movement.  We do this through 


Who We Are

Jessica Cook

Dr. Jessica Cook-Qurayshi, Director

Jessica has served as the Director of and an instructor in the Center since 2016. She joined the labor movement first as an organizer and staff union steward at UNITE HERE international from 2006-2009. She then went on to teach and earn a PhD in Sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. While there she was a leader and steward with the UIC Graduate Employees Organization (IFT-AFT Local 6297). Her doctoral research focused on the labor movement, worker centers, mass incarceration and criminalization, immigration, citizenship, race and ethnicity, civil society, precarious work, and labor market restructuring. During that time she worked closely as a volunteer and researcher with multiple Chicago based worker centers. Since 2014 she has also been an Advisory Committee member of the Labor Research Action Network (LRAN). Email Jessica at jcook18@depaul.edu.

Shafeeqa Aiman Syeda

Shafeeqa Aiman Syeda, Associate Director

Shafeeqa is a dedicated advocate whose purpose lies in serving the community. She has been fortunate to engage in a spectrum of social justice causes, ranging from educating underprivileged children to addressing food security among marginalized communities. She collaborates fervently with 14+ Not For Profit Organizations, bolstering their marketing strategies. Shafeeqa is pursuing a Master's in Business Analytics at DePaul University, aiming to drive lasting change. Her expertise shines in Marketing and Brand Management, fostering growth for small businesses and empowering women entrepreneurs. She aspires to empower youth to become catalysts in the Labor Movement, bridging the gap between the present and inspiring change for a better tomorrow. Beyond her professional endeavors, Shafeeqa finds solace in the art of Slam Poetry and embarks on global adventures to immerse herself in diverse cultures. Email Shafeeqa at ssyeda1@depaul.edu.

Lam Tru

Lam Tru, Social Media Lead

Lam is a senior at DePaul University studying Applied Diplomacy and minoring in International Relations. Having immigrated to the United States at six years old, she has always been passionate about the issues affecting her community and family such as the low wages and poor working conditions of many immigrant workers. From a young age she was interested in unions and saw power in the collective fight for better working standards. Before joining the Labor Education Center, she interned with the State of Illinois Governor’s Office of Equity and the Illinois Department of Labor, where she was first exposed to labor leaders and activists in the state. As an undergrad, she is currently focused on understanding poly-lateral networks of change between government, non-profits, and communities, specifically through accessible and equitable communication strategies. Lam is looking forward to attending law school in the future and hopes to explore the intersections of law with race, class and gender throughout her career. Outside of work, Lam enjoys playing various sports, long-distance running, and traveling with her family. Email Lam at Ltru@depaul.edu.

Our Instructors include Staff, Advisory Committee members and other partners with significant real world labor and organizing experience. They are committed to helping students improve their skills and prepare them to take on new levels of leadership

Betty Boles

Betty Boles

Betty McShan-Boles started her journey with SEIU Local 73 as a member in November 1981 while working at the Chicago Housing Authority and as an employee of SEIU Local 73 September 1997 for a combined total of thirty (38) years. Being concerned about language she wanted to see in her contract, ran for the position of Union Steward and won. She then ran for a seat on the bargaining committee and was elected by her colleagues. Due to her efforts, paid maternity benefits were included in the collective bargaining agreement between SEIU Local 73 and the Chicago Housing Authority. In October 1989. Betty’s hard work led her to be elevated to the position of Chief Union Steward. As Chief Union Steward and Executive Board member, Betty was blessed to attend a conference in New Orleans whereby the AFRAM Caucus was born. Betty has served as a member and President of the Chicago Chapter, Vice President - Central Region and current National Board Member representing Retirees. Betty’s dedication to fighting for the rights of others to be heard and fair treatment in the workplace stood out among her colleagues and came to the attention of then President Tom Balanoff and Executive Assistant to the President Christine Boardman and in September 1997 she was offered a position as Union Representative. Betty continued to climb the ladder of success at SEIU Local 73 under the leadership of Christine Boardman while continuing to advocate for the rights of members that she represented. Betty was promoted to Senior Union Representative in September 1999, Director of the Cook County Division in September 2001 and Vice President in October 2004 where she was reelected four times. On April 26, 2019, Betty retired from SEIU Local 73 but remains active in the struggle for equality and justice for all as a retiree. Betty is also known for her extensive service to her community. Betty has dedicated her life and made it her mission to seek social and economic justice for all. She has skillfully trained many individuals throughout the labor movement to ensure their success as effective labor leaders in their respective workplaces. Her motto is “each one, teach one.”

Dr. Jessica Cook-Qurayshi

Dr. Jessica Cook-Qurayshi

(see bio in Staff section)

Richard de Vriesi

Richard de Vries

Richard is a graduate of University of Illinois at Chicago, 1976, with a Bachelor of Science. He has taught with the Chicago Carpenters Apprentice Training Program off and on for nearly 16 years. In 1994 he joined the staff of Teamsters Local 705 in Chicago where he has led the bargaining of various Teamster contracts in addition to the regular servicing of membership. On a number of occasions, he has directed successful strikes for his local. Richard also regularly does training in a variety of subjects ranging from contract bargaining, servicing, strike conduct, and grievance and arbitration handling. Over a number of years he has taught Contract Costing as a companion class to Contract Bargaining II with the Rocky Mountain Labor School (GCRMLS). This has led to his support of participants from GCRMLS developing costing proposals for their home locals. This year he will be leading workshops at Labor Notes on Grievance Handling, Section 7 Rights of Non-Union Employees, and Strike Readiness. Richard has been a regular contributor to several of Robert Schwartz’s books on labor relations. And he is Spanish/English bilingual and has lived and worked in various parts of Latin America including Nicaragua, Bolivia, Mexico, etc.

Jessica Espinoza

Jessica Espinoza

Jessica Espinoza's journey in labor started off as an SEIU Local 503 state employee while she earned her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Political Science from Portland State University. Upon completion of her undergraduate degree, she spent the next 15 years working in various organized labor settings with workers across a variety of industries including state sector, healthcare, janitorial, as well as communications. Supplementing her union staff experience, Jessica has volunteered over the years with various worker education organizations focused on building & developing leadership among rank and file community and labor organizations. Her passion for learning continues as she pursues her Master's degree in Labor Studies with the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In the fall of 2019, she joined the DePaul Labor Education Center as the Associate Director until the fall of 2021 and now serves as an instructor as well as an Advisory Committee member. Currently, she works in a leadership capacity with the Make the Road familia where she contributes to the development of a national platform unifying grass roots immigrant led community organizing efforts.

Cathleen Jensen

Cathleen Jensen

Cathleen Jensen worked as a Registered Occupational Therapist for over 33 years. During the last 20 years of her career, Cathleen worked at the University of Illinois Chicago where she was instrumental in organizing professional workers into a new collective bargaining unit with SEIU Local 73. She served as Chief Steward, an Executive Board Member, and eventually was elected as a Union Vice President and Financial Trustee. During her term of Union Vice President, Cathleen helped lead 5200 University and University Medical Center employees in a historic ten day strike. Upon her retirement from the University of Illinois, Cathleen worked as a Union Representative and Organizer at SEIU Local 73. Cathleen currently holds a board position on the Illinois Single Payer Healthcare Coalition.

Meg Lewis

Meg Lewis

Meg Lewis is Senior Field Representative with the AFL-CIO Central Region. In this role she serves as liaison between Central Labor Bodies in Illinois and Indiana and the National AFL-CIO. Prior to joining the AFL-CIO on April 4th, 2022, Meg was Director of Policy and Special Projects at AFSCME Council 31. She has held several positions in AFSCME from Strategic Researcher, to Campaign Coordinator and has led organizing, public policy and contract campaigns to build power, fight privatization and improve working conditions among healthcare workers, disability care workers, taxi drivers and human service workers. Prior to working for AFSCME, Meg served as Public Affairs Coordinator for 9to5, National Association of Working Women, a labor advocacy organization working to raise standards for low-wage women, and Community Organizer for a Living Wage campaign run by the South Central Federation of Labor, in Madison, WI. She also served as steward with UAW Local 2320 and worked as a line worker at a UFCW-represented meat processing plant. Meg has a BA in Journalism and Latin American Studies from the University of Wisconsin and a Masters' degree in Labor Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is a proud 5th-generation union member originally from Sheboygan, WI, and currently lives in Oak Park, IL with her husband (an organizer with UE) and their three daughters

Dave Murray

Dave Murray

Ironworkers Local 63. Bio forthcoming.

Ron Neimark

Ron Neimark

Ron is at his happiest when plotting with worksite union leaders on how to take control of their workplaces…or at least figuring out how to make the boss listen to their demands about improving wages and benefits, stopping excessive workloads, or pushing back against exposures that will quite possibly make them sick or kill them. At the LEC, he teaches the Introduction to Labor Leadership 1 and presents on occupational health and safety in classes and youth programs. During the day, he is the outreach coordinator of the UIC Great Lakes Center for Occupational Health and Safety, where he is also working on his Masters of Science in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. Before returning to graduate school, he worked for 24 years as a union organizer and representative for several unions across multiple states.

Khristian G. Parker

Khristian G. Parker

Khristian G. Parker is General Counsel for Teamsters Local Union No. 705. Ms. Parker is the first African-American and the second woman to serve as general counsel in Local 705’s 100-plus year history. Her role is to create and execute the union’s legal strategies, advise the local’s Executive Board regarding the day-to-day administration of the local. Ms. Parker also represents the local in litigation matters in federal and state court, and in front of administrative agencies such as the NLRB, EEOC, ILRB, IDES, and IDHR; and represent the local and membership in grievance arbitrations. Prior to her current position, Ms. Parker was a staff specialist attorney for the Illinois Nurses Association. Additionally, she worked as a judicial extern for the Honorable Mark J. Lopez, Circuit Court of Cook County, the INA, and the Cook County Public Defenders’ Office. Ms. Parker is a member of the Cook County Bar Association, the Union Lawyer Alliance of the AFL-CIO, the Institute for Law in the Workplace. Additionally, she sits on the Board for the Hyde Park Parent Cooperative Learning Center and the Alumni Council at Northern Illinois University College of Law.

Alex Tillett-Saks

Alex Tillett-Saks

Alex Tillett-Saks is an Associate Attorney at Dowd, Bloch, Bennett, Cervone, Auerbach & Yokich LLP. He specializes in representing and advising union clients in a variety of matters, including contract negotiations, arbitration hearings, internal union matters, and proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board and other governmental agencies. He also has extensive experience assisting unions in navigating complex organizing drives via both the NLRB process and card check recognition, from initial corporate research through first contract ratification. Alex also represents union-sponsored employee benefit funds on a variety of matters related to ERISA. Previously, Alex served as in-house counsel for Teamsters Local 705. He is a 2015 graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law with a certificate in Labor and Employment Law and was also the Organizing Director for the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals. Alex co-authored an amicus brief to the NLRB on behalf of nineteen labor law professors nationwide in support of college athletes’ right to organize a labor union. Additionally, he co-published an article on the same topic: "Work, Study, Organize!: Why the Northwestern University Football Players are Employees Under the NLRA."

Our Advisory Committee is comprised of former students and other labor leaders committed to supporting the Center and it’s programming.

Jaquie Algree

Jaquie Algee
SEIU HCII

Juan Campos

Juan Campos
Teamsters Local 705

Jess Cruz

Jessica "Jessie" Samara Cruz Pineda
National COSH

Lisa Czaplicki
Ironworkers Local 63

Rosa Delgado
The Federation of College Clerical and Technical Personnel IFT Local 1708

Tim Dunne
IBEW 134

Peter Fosco
LiUNA Local 1

Jose Frausto
Chicago Workers Collaborative

Meg Lewis

Meg Lewis
AFL-CIO Central Region

Ariana Marin
IBEW 134

Dave Murray

Dave Murray
Ironworkers Local 63

Frank Rodriguez

Frank Rodriguez
IBEW 134

Pankaj Sharma

Pankaj Sharma
Illinois Federation of Teachers

Eddie Vallejo

Eddie Vallejo
Teamsters Local 705

Delores Withers

Delores Withers
The Federation of College Clerical and Technical Personnel IFT Local 1708

Beth Zavala

Beth Zavala
The Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers Union Local 1

Sponsorships

  • View our 2023 Annual June Fundraiser ad book here
  • View our 2022 Annual June Fundraiser ad book here
  • View our 2021 Annual June Fundraiser event here and read our ad book here
  • View our 2020 Annual June Fundraiser ad book here

In recognition of organizations that go above and beyond in supporting the work of our Center, we are pleased to offer the following levels of sponsorship.  Please contact us at LEC@depaul.edu so we can identify which sponsorship level works best for your organization. We thank our sponsors for their ongoing commitment to promoting a transformational labor movement!  

  • Gold level sponsor $10,000
  • Silver level sponsor $5,000
  • Bronze level sponsor $2,500
2024 LEC Sponsorships

Silver Level


Teamsters Local 705

SEIU HCII

Iron Workers 63

Powering Chicago

Bronze Level

Chicago Federation of Labor
Cook County College Teachers Union Local 1600
IBEW Local 21
Indiana-Illinois-Iowa FFC
LIUNA Local 1
Ironworkers Local 1

Silver Level

IBEW Local 21

Teamsters Local 705

Iron Workers 63

SEIU HCII

Bronze Level

Ironworkers Local 1
BCTGM International

CPAA

Cook County College Teachers Union Local 1600
IBEW Local 134

Silver LevelIBEW Local 21


SEIU HCII

Bronze Level

Teamsters Local 705
Chicago Federation of Labor

Powering Chicago
SEIU Local 73

Silver Level

IBEW Local 21
Powering Chicago

Bronze Level

Teamsters Local 705

SEIU HCII
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