ULAOC PROGRAMS

The United Labor Agency of Orange County provides health, welfare, social and other essential services to working families and the community. This is based on the common objective of providing services to individuals on the basis of need regardless of the cause of that need, or the circumstances that brought them to the agency.

The following are some of the services ULAOC provides:

Union Counselor Training Program

This program trains rank and file union members and others to serve as information and referral specialists at their union and at their workplace. These specialists participate in a training course that enables them to provide assistance to co-workers who may be experiencing personal or other problems. The United Labor Agency of Orange County, with support of the AFL-CIO Department of Community Services and the United Way of America, developed this program in Orange County for working families.

The training covers such topics as: How to secure public benefits; Where to obtain credit counseling or legal assistance; How to obtain unemployment insurance or job training; How to access the services of voluntary agencies; How to recognize and deal with emotional problems; Where to go for counseling for personal problems such as substance abuse; Where to turn to in the community for help with issues such as legal, financial, marital and family counseling.

The training varies from year to year based on the needs of the local unions and the needs of union members and their families. We believe that we must continually change the training program not just to keep up with the “times,” but to project what the anticipated needs of our target client base and constituency will be.

The training takes place over a period of six weeks, usually 2 ½ hours each week. Representatives of local, state and federal agencies and community-based organizations are invited to explain their programs. Each year around the United States and Canada, approximately 8,000 union members become union counselors. In Orange County over 1,100 Union Counselors have been trained since 1980.