The 18th Annual Union Plus Scholarship Awards have just been announced, and a family member and member of the Sheet Metal Workers (SMWIA) are among the recipients.
· Christa Moore of Cabot, PA, whose father Richard Moore is a member of SMWIA Local 12, has been awarded a $4,000 scholarship.
· Brian Wainwright of Denver, CO, who is a member of SMWIA Local 9, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.
This year $200,000 in Union Plus scholarships is being awarded to 133 students representing 41 unions. Their accomplishments are impressive, their stories are inspiring and their backgrounds are incredibly diverse. However, they all are united by their connection to the union movement.
Christa Moore’s father Richard isn’t the only SMWIA member in the family. “My grandfather and great-grandfather were also Sheet Metal Workers,” she notes proudly. “There are many union members on my mother’s side of the family as well. I understand and cherish the opportunities that unions have given my family and the fairness in general that they have instilled within union workplaces.” So it’s no surprise that when Christa took a job two years ago to help save money for college, she found a union job at her local supermarket. Christa, who is graduating first in her high school class, is planning to study mathematics and finance and is considering a career as a lawyer, or in government. “As a hard-working, fourth-generation union member, I believe I am an excellent choice for a scholarship,” she says.
Two unions are central in Brian Wainwright’s life. One is SMWIA, which he joined in 2002. The other began three years earlier, when he married a local labor organizer. “Our house is often filled late into the night with leaders of local unions and community groups, and it was from these conversations that I conceived of the idea of returning to school, finishing my degree and working for change on a higher level.” Brian believes that education, along with hard work and his firsthand understanding of the union workplace, will make him a more effective leader in both his union and his community. “No matter what part of the solution I play after I graduate,” he says, “I will continue in my mission to help grow the labor movement.”
Union Plus Scholarship awards are granted to students attending a two-year college, four-year college, graduate school or a recognized technical or trade school. Since starting the program in 1991, Union Plus has awarded $2.8 million in educational funding to 1,813 union members, spouses and dependent children. Recipients are selected based on academic ability, social awareness, financial need and appreciation of labor.
Union Privilege offers the Union Plus benefits, which help union members and their families save money. Union Privilege also provides the Union Safe benefits, which assist union members during difficult times. One of the newest benefits is the College Savings Grant, which helps to spur savings for a bright future by adding to participating members’ contributions.
Other programs include mortgage and finance benefits, education and insurance benefits and even money-saving offers on health services and vacations. Union members can visit UnionPlus.org to find out which programs their unions offer.