The Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council Annual

Scholarship Program

The Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council Scholarship is available to high school seniors living in Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and the Islands whose Parents, Legal Guardian, or Grandparents are members of a labor union affiliated with the Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council. The student applicant may also be a member of a labor union affiliated to the labor council.

Three $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to three students selected as winners during the competition. The council will make every attempt to award the scholarships evenly by trying to select a winner from each region (Cape & Islands, Greater Fall River and the Greater New Bedford). All scholarships are awarded to those students who most fully meet the selection criteria.

The most important element of the selection criteria is the essay followed by the students’ grades.

ALL STUDENTS MUST

A complete application packet must be received by March 15, 2012. Any late or incomplete scholarship application packet will be automatically rejected.

All students MUST include ALL five of the following elements in their application packet:

1. Have a Parent, Legal Guardian, Grandparent or the student applicant be a member of a labor union affiliated with the Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council. NOTE: Please contact The Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council at 508-992-5475 or at gsmlaborcouncil@verizon.net if you have any questions or want to verify your union’s membership in The Greater Southeastern Mass Labor Council.

2. Be a senior in high school and plan to attend college in the fall.

3. Submit a completed scholarship application form.

4. Submit a high school transcript.

5. Submit a completed essay.

SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY

A. Write a 800-word essay describing the history of you or your family’s involvement in unions. You MUST refer to the following four areas:

1. How and why you or your family became involved in organized labor
2. Describe any special moments in which you or your family benefitted from involvement in a labor union.
3. Describe what you believe to be the value of belonging to a labor union.
4. Explain your understanding of the union movement in America today.

Helpful hints in preparing your essay:
Get information from family members in labor unions, your family’s union shop steward and or business agent, and your teachers

B. Essay must be typed using 12 pt. font. Margins should be no more than 1 inch on all sides. All lines must be double-spaced.

C. Please return the completed essay and completed application form by March   15, 2012.

D. Failure to submit any of the required items by the deadline will result in disqualification.

The Mission of The Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council is:

• To fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the working people of America through the democratic process within the framework of our constitutional government.

• To responsibly serve the interests of all the American people at the collective bargaining table, in the community and in the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

• To pledge ourselves to the more effective organization of working men and women; to the achievement of even higher standards of living and working conditions; to the attainment of security for all the people; to the enjoyment of the leisure which their skills make possible and to strengthen our way of life and the fundamental freedoms which are the basis of our democratic Society.

Mail completed application and essay to:
The Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council
556 Pleasant St. New Bedford, MA 02740

THE GREATER SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS LABOR COUNCIL ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

All applications are due no later than March 15, 2012.

                            Part I Student Information

Full Name: __________________________ Male___ Female ___

Address: __________________________________________________

City: ____________ State: ____ Zip: _______Phone________

Senior at: ___________________________________________
 

College you plan to attend in the Fall:______________________

 Part II Union Member Information

1. Member’s Full Name: ________________Active___Retired___

Relationship to student applying (please check one) Self ____ Parent/Stepparent ____ Grandparent ____ Legal Guardian ____

2. Union: _________________Local Number: ___ Tel.: ________

Part III Parent Information

Mother’s Full Name: ____________________Occupation__________________

Father’s Full Name:_____________Occupation_______________

Applications can be mailed to:

 The Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council
556 Pleasant St.
New Bedford, MA 02740-6236
or
Faxed to
508-992-0340.

Don’t forget to include your completed essay
and high school transcript with this application 

 Deadline to submit: March 15, 2012