Apply to the 2022 Harvard Trade Union Program

August 1 • 2021

The IAFF is accepting applications for the 2022 Harvard Trade Union Program scheduled for January 18-February 18, 2022. The deadline for applications is September 15, 2021.

Three scholarships will be awarded to IAFF members to attend the five-week training program designed for trade union leaders. It is comparable to the advanced education that Harvard University offers to executive-level individuals in business and government and teaches the essential skills for union management and leadership and provides a unique opportunity to explore key issues for the labor movement.

Participants will:

  • Gain insight into the complex political, social and economic forces that shape their operating environment.
  • Explore how strategic planning, organizational theory and problem solving can be applied in a union to assist leaders in understanding and managing change in their organizations.
  • Exchange perspectives with faculty who are internationally recognized for their expertise on labor issues.
  • Develop relationships with people doing similar work in the national and international labor communities.
  • Interact with future leaders in the corporate and public sectors by attending classes at the country’s most prestigious graduate schools of law, business, education and government.

The scholarship covers the cost of tuition, plus $1,000. Any IAFF member living in the United States and in good standing in their local is eligible to apply. Applicants must be an active member of their IAFF local and have demonstrated active participation within their local as an officer, committee member, etc.

Applicants must prepare a short essay of 500 words or more on one of the following questions:

  1. What is your personal interest in attending the Harvard University Trade Union Program and how will it benefit you professionally?
  2. What do you consider to be the major problem(s) facing the professional fire fighter within the labor movement in the United States today?

Applicants must also include a brief statement of 250 words or more on how they have demonstrated active participation within their local.

Email your Harvard Trade Union Scholarship Program application to [email protected] or mail to:

Harvard University Trade Union Program Scholarship
International Association of Fire Fighters
1750 New York Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006

Learn more or contact the IAFF Department of Education at (202) 824-1551 for additional information.