Empowering People. Transforming Communities. ​

LEARN is the educational extension division of the Department of Labor Studies and Employment Relations (LSER) in the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR). The State of New Jersey established the Institute for Management and Labor Relations in 1947 in order to provide extension services that would both help to foster labor – management cooperation in New Jersey workplaces and educate labor- management representatives and the general public about the advantages of such cooperation as well as the means to achieve it.

Programs that encourage labor-management cooperation have remained central to the mission of SMLR, even after it became a fully-fledged degree-granting “School” at Rutgers University in 1994. But as its degree offerings have grown, the school’s constituent departments, centers and programs have also expanded to encompass other concerns beyond those of its original focus.

LEARN sponsors public programs and activities that reflect this broader focus, disseminating knowledge, skills and ideas that: (a) strengthen the community at work; (b) facilitate its organization on a more democratic basis; and, (c) address unjustified inequalities of power and wealth in the wider society. For more information about LEARN, click on the links in the sidebar to the left of your screen.


Latest Report

Image of State of Labor in NJ Report cover
The State of Labor in New Jersey, May 2022

LEARN analyzed how the pandemic affected unionization trends in the Garden State.

> Read the news release summary 

> View the complete report


photo of Union Leadership Academy graduates For more than 50 years, the Union Leadership Academy (ULA) has provided an outstanding leadership development program for New Jersey union members and leaders. The curriculum is designed to equip emerging leaders with knowledge and effective leadership skills. Many ULA graduates have advanced their leadership position within their unions and communities. Take a class today and become the leader you want to be tomorrow!

photo of Union Leadership Academy graduates Collective bargaining plays a vital role in public sector labor and employment relations in New Jersey. The Public Sector Labor Relations Certificate Program provides labor and management representatives with critical knowledge and skills to prevent labor disputes, resolve grievances effectively, and engage in productive collective negotiation.



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