Current ULA Course Offerings

Fall 2026 - Spring 2027 Schedule

Union Leadership Academy (ULA)

ULA classes are designed by union members and for union members and worker organizations

Fall Session I 
In It To Win It – Building Strong Contract Campaigns
Dates: September 15- October 20, 2026|  (Tuesdays)
Time: 5:30-8:30pm EST

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Instructors: Djar Horn & Special Guests

Format: Remote (via Zoom) Online Class

Union members, Union representatives and elected officers have an important role to play in developing and implementing contract campaigns that win demands for workers. Whether you are new to your role or you have been engaged in contract fights for years, we invite you to learn from experienced leaders in our Labor Movement. This class will introduce students to practices found in successful contract campaigns. Guest speakers will focus on how they built power and won demands using various strategies including Direct Action, creating demands through workers’ stories and political pressure. At the end of the 6-week course, students will have produced a contract campaign plan. The class will be a mixture of presentation, discussion and small group work.

Fall Session II

Movements That Made History: Lessons for Today’s Union Members!
Dates: November 18, December 2, 9, 16, 23
Time: 5:30-8:30pm EST

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Instructors: Kate Ragon, The Labor School at Penn State, Assistant Clinical Professor of Labor and Employment Relations and Labor Education Coordinator.

Format: Remote (via Zoom) Online Class

Description: 

Social movements have been a core feature of how working, poor, and disenfranchised people have engaged with and influenced politics since the early days of our nation’s history. Some scholars have even called the United States a “social movement society.” In this class we will examine some specific social movement campaigns, what they won, what made them successful, and what union members and union leaders can learn from them. We cover a variety of campaigns, including the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins/desegregating southern US cities, the campaign to pass the ADA, and the campaign to pass the Clean Air & Water Acts. The class will be a mixture of presentation, discussion and small group work.

Contributes toward completion of the Rutgers LEARN - Union Leadership Academy (ULA) certificate.  

ULA classes are designed by union members and for union members and worker organizations - join the academy today to become the leader you want to be tomorrow!