The Union Plus Credit Card Scholarship program will again honor deserving students with $200,000 in scholarships in the year 2000, Union Privilege has announced. Applications for the year 2000 Union Plus Credit Card Scholarship awards are now available.

To receive a year 2000 program application, please send in a postcard, with return address, telephone contact information and international union name clearly printed on it, to Union Plus Scholarship Program, P.O. Box 34800, Washington, D.C. 20043-4800. The deadline to apply is Jan. 31, 2000; award recipients' names will be announced May 31, 2000.

This year 120 students representing 32 AFL-CIO unions were selected to receive more than $200,000 in Union Plus Credit Card scholarships. The recipients were chosen in part for their academic achievements and in part for their appreciation and understanding of labor, and their efforts in bettering society. Sixteen students attending four-year colleges and universities were honored with the program's top $4,000 award; another 85 received awards ranging from $500 to $3,000; and 18 community college students and one trade school student received scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,000.

As a group, the scholarship recipients share similar academic successes, but as individuals they each have their own unique and interesting stories to tell about their challenges, motivations and contributions.

One such student is Julie Hodek of Westmont, Ill., daughter of Larry Hodek, a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Local 825. Julie, who graduated first in her 1997 high school class with a 4.3 (out of a 4.0) grade point average, is about to enter her junior year at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Ind. Active in labor and social causes from an early age, Julie has spent her college days fighting for the rights of workers employed by manufacturers of University of Notre Dame apparel as part of a Sweatshop-Free Campus campaign. She also persuaded the school's food services department "to purchase only labor-friendly products." And she served as a student labor activist during a panel discussion of the 50^th Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights.

But that's not all. In 1998 Julie participated in the AFL-CIO's Union Summer program, and this summer she will work with the Catholic Diocese in Rochester, N.Y., as an activist for fair wages and decent living conditions for migrant farmers. Hailed by her labor-management relations professor as a "gem of a worker for workers in the future," Julie hopes to participate in the AFL-CIO's Organizing Institute after college to train for work as an international organizer. She also plans to attend law school, where she will focus on labor law with the goal of becoming a labor lawyer and perhaps eventually running for political office.

Overcoming Obstacles

Nicholas DeLong of Toledo, Ohio, son of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 1892 member John DeLong, and the recipient of a $1,000 award is another overachiever. Legally blind as a result of a degenerative eye disease, Nicholas has not let his disability stand in the way of his many achievements or ambitions, which include academic honors and participation on his high school's wrestling and football teams. His goal: to study chemical engineering and obtain a job with a car company. In his essay, he writes about his respect for both his father and the union by stating, that like his father, "I may someday be an engineer at Ford Motor Company and a member of UAW. And I hope that I can serve them both as proudly as my father has."

Also noteworthy is University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) student Kimberly Fross, daughter of Jon Fross, a United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) Local 803 member. A high scholastic achiever with a 4.0 grade point average and the child of strongly supportive and loving parents, Kimberly has successfully overcome many adolescent problems.

As her professor writes, "In my three decades of teaching I have never had a student who was more committed [to overcoming obstacles] ..." Kimberly received a $2,000 award.

Other recipients include Jacelyn Keys of Spray, Ore., daughter of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 503 member Michael Keys. Deeply affected when her father's local went on strike, Jacelyn began her education in labor issues by reading the literature sent to her father by the union. And she later put that education to good use by giving presentations about health insurance and minimum-wage-increase concerns while serving as an honorary page at the state capitol. Her academic goal is to "bring forth an understanding of cultural studies" through work in theatre art. Jacelyn was presented with a $1,000 scholarship.

Evaluation Criteria

The scholarship program is open to students attending or planning to attend a four-year college or university, a community college, or a technical college/trade school. Scholarship applicants were evaluated according to academic ability, social awareness, financial need, and appreciation of labor. Program judges included representatives from the United Negro College Fund; the American Association of State Colleges and Universities; the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities; the American Association of Community Colleges; and the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges.

Part of the union-endorsed Union Plus Credit Card Program, the scholarship is funded and administered by Union Privilege and Household Credit Services. The Union Plus Credit Card Program offers a no-annual-fee MasterCard with a low variable Annual Percentage Rate. More than 2 million union members carry the Union Plus Credit Card, which is issued by Household Bank (Nevada), N.A., an equal-opportunity lender.

Currently entering its ninth year, the Union Plus Credit Card Scholarship Program has awarded more than $1.1 million to deserving students. The program is open to members of participating unions and their spouses, as well as to their dependent sons and daughters, regardless of whether they carry a Union Plus Credit Card.

The program's 1999 award recipients have been sent congratulatory letters. However, because over 5,700 entries were received, applicants not selected will not be notified.