(SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND) - The AFL-CIO-established National Labor College has announced the launch of a cutting-edge education tool called the Open Learning Course - a free, self-directed, web-based learning activity program for Union Members, Leaders, activists and staff that has been designed to help improve their current understanding of the Labor Movement.

The Open Learning Course Program creates a virtual "open classroom" for all and is bound only by the limits of the Internet, thus expanding the reach of these courses across the Nation and around the world, NLC representatives at the Silver Spring, Maryland center said.

The OLC combines the best available knowledge on a given subject in a short, concise format that is also free and accessible to all.  Areas made available to visitors include: Images of Labor In Art; Collective Bargaining; Taft-Hartley Funds; Leadership and Landmark Events; Basic Computer Skills; Basics of Multimedia and a unique Play Labor Jeopardy! game.

For example, the OLC course on Images of Labor in Art takes only about an hour to complete and offers students a quick introduction or refresher in this key area of study just by visiting the web site at www.nlc.edu.  For those in the Union Community who wish to learn more, the NLC offers more extensive courses on-line, both on its Silver Spring campus and partially on-line for those wishing to go further.

The Open Learning Course program may be the one of most exciting and innovative education ventures for the 21st century making useful knowledge instantly available to the Labor Community and further strengthening the labor movement in a modern, global economy, Union officials said.

The National Labor College was first opened as a training center by the AFL-CIO in 1969 to strengthen Union Member education and organizing skills.  In fact, the NLC is the Nation's only accredited higher education institution that is devoted exclusively to educating Union Members, Union Leaders and Union staff.  The NLC became a degree-granting college in 1997 and in March 2004 gained accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

With a 47-acre campus located in Silver Spring, a new 72,000 square-foot state- of-the-art academic and conference center, and hotel quality residence halls, the NLC provides the best in classroom, meeting spaces and dining services.  The NLC has also served as the venue for an increasing number of national and international conferences on organizing, Labor Rights, Civil Rights, Health Care and pension benefits, among other areas.

Since its founding, more than 200,000 Union Officers and Union Members have taken one or more of its offered Union Skills Courses and more than 1,100 Bachelor of Arts degrees in Labor Studies have been granted.  Recipients include international Union presidents and officers, local Union officials and stewards and workers from virtually every national and international Union.

The NLC is also the home of the National Workers Memorial - erected on campus to honor the memory of workers killed or fatally injured on the job, or in service to the Labor Movement.