For The Love of Labor

On Friday, March 17th, Organizer and Union Representative Flormaria Gonzalez was asked to be a guest speaker in a class of Juniors and Seniors in the Academy of Finance at Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne, NJ. Academy of Finance Instructor Ms. Julissa Borbon invited Gonzalez to her classes to bring her curriculum to life by giving a lecture on how labor unions play a role in the real world.

The Academy of Finance (AOF) is PCTI’s response to the need for change in the finance industry, where students acquire the knowledge and skills for success. The Academy of Finance offers the students the opportunity to take college courses through Berkeley College while in high school and get first hand knowledge on the career paths they seek to embark on. By the time the students graduate they can earn up to 36 college credits to be ahead of a traditional high school student.

Ms. Borbon’s students are currently taking a management course which gives them an idea of what management is and how human resources plays a role. By default, students get a brief overview of labor unions, the National Labor Relations Board, various Labor Legislation, collective bargaining and how to settle labor-management disputes. For this reason, Gonzalez was asked to come in and talk to the classes about labor unions in the real world and how things actually work outside of textbook.

Students had an opportunity to listen to Gonzalez speak on unions, the current state of the labor movement and the importance of unionization. Students were able to transfer their knowledge from the classroom and books to real life experience. “The students at a young age don’t really understand their rights when they start working or what to expect and this meeting of the minds allowed them to educate themselves further on their rights. As a teacher, [ I ] try to bring in speakers who the students can relate to and could relate to their curriculum. It gives them the opportunity to think past the textbook or classroom materials and ask that person questions, face to face.” says Ms. Borbon.

“The students enjoyed the experience because [ Gonzalez] was not advertising her job or the union but simply educating the students on how to organize a union, why employees want to be unionized, and what happens after they become union. The students tell me that she just made it easy to listen and stay engaged and their detailed questions showed just that.”

For more information on Passaic County Technical Institute’s Academy of Finance please visit: Academy of Finance at PCTI.