Careers and Apprenticeships

Work with Us

We are a diverse and powerful coalition of unions committed to a better life for working people. If you believe in justice and equality, then a career in the labor movement is right for you. Here are some job opportunities to use your skills to give people a voice at work. Join us in the fight for living wages and worker’s rights.

Current Job Openings

• Associate General Counsel – Election Law and Voting Rights – Washington, D.C.

• Global Worker Rights Coordinator – Advocacy Hub—International Division

• Legal Department: Fellow

• Legislative Representative: Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO

• Office Administrator: Civil, Human and Women’s Rights – Political, Electoral & Issues Mobilization Hub

• Policy Specialist for Labor Energy Partnerships – Washington, D.C.

• Political Director – Washington, D.C.

• Senior Field Representative – Political, Electoral and Issues Mobilization

View additional job openings in the labor movement.

Additional Opportunities

Become a Union Organizer

Union organizers are on the front lines of activism, building power while engaging in the important social and economic issues facing working families. Organizers are a resource for working people who are interested in forming a union. The Organizing Institute develops and promotes the craft of organizing. We recruit and train new organizers; collaborate in solidarity with community allies; and share innovations and strategic campaigns for social justice.

• Attend a three-day training workshop to get a start as a union organizer.

Become a Strategic Researcher

Strategic corporate researchers work for labor unions, environmental justice groups and community-based organizations. Strategic researchers provide insights on corporate ownership, finances, organizational structure and connections and help progressive organizations understand the sources of corporate power.

Strategic Corporate Research Summer School

The AFL-CIO and Cornell University are sponsoring an online Strategic Corporate Research Summer School on June 13-25, 2021. The application deadline is May 1.

The course is designed for students and others who want to make corporations accountable by working as researchers in unions and social change organizations. The course offers a regular track and an advanced track with an additional research and writing requirement. It is open to individuals applying on their own and to individuals sponsored by unions and other organizations. Scholarships are available to non-sponsored individuals who qualify. Inquire if interested in obtaining course credit.

For more information, send an email, call 607-269-7246, or visit the course website.

Apprenticeship Programs

Apprenticeship programs integrate systematic on-the-job training, guided by an experienced master-level practitioner in an occupation, with classroom instruction. The federal government, in cooperation with the states, registers apprenticeship programs that meet federal and state standards. The best programs—which provide multiple industries with highly skilled workers who earn family-sustaining wages—are registered with government agencies, operated by sponsors representing labor and management organizations and funded through collectively bargained contributions to tax-exempt trust funds.

Building and Construction Trades Apprenticeship Programs

• Painters and Allied Trades Finishing Trades Institute
• Ironworkers
• Heat and Frost Insulators
• Boilermakers National Joint Apprenticeship Program
• Electrical Workers/National Electrical Contractors Association National Joint Apprenticeship Council
• Bricklayers Masonry Institute
• Elevator Constructors National Elevator Industry Educational Program
• Plasterers and Cement Masons
• The Sheet Metal Workers International Training Institute
• Plumbers and Pipe Fitters
• United Union of Roofers and Waterproofers
• Operating Engineers

Manufacturing Training and Apprenticeship Programs

• Machinists (IAM) Apprenticeship
• UAW Apprenticeships
  • Ford-UAW Apprenticeship Program
  • UAW-Chrysler Apprentice Program
  • UAW-GM Center for Human Resources
• UNITE HERE! Local 11 Hospitality Training Academy
• USW Apprenticeship

Labor-Management Partnerships

By partnering with employers, unions help working people develop in-demand skills to power the next generation of American-led innovation.

Joint labor-management training programs in the building and construction industry contribute about $1.5 billion to the American economy every year.

We combine forces to offer opportunities for working people in many other industries including health care, construction, manufacturing, hospitality and aerospace.

The Alliance for Employee Growth and Development is a partnership with the Communication Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

The USW Institute for Career Development pursues the goal to help every worker attain his or her full potential, both as an employee and as a human being, in the competitive and challenging environment that lies ahead.

The UAW alliances with Ford and GM drive innovation in labor-management relations, improve the lives of union members, and propel the auto industry into a pattern of profitable growth for the 21st century.

The Kaiser Permanente Labor Management Partnership covers 115,000 union-represented workers, 14,000 managers and 19,000 physicians.