A pioneering labor college for union members that operated 1969–2014 in Silver Spring, Maryland.
National Labor College was established in 1969 by AFL–CIO President George Meany as a training center to strengthen union member education and organizing skills. The institution operated on the former campus of Xaverian College, purchased by the AFL–CIO in 1971 for $2.5 million. In 1997, under AFL–CIO President John J. Sweeney, the center received authorization to grant baccalaureate degrees and became an independent institution. By 2004, it achieved full accreditation from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Until its closure, it remained the only college of its kind in the United States.
The college offered a Bachelor of Arts degree in Labor Studies, initially in partnership with Antioch College through the 1990s. The institution published Labor's Heritage, a scholarly journal of labor history, until 2004. In 2009, the college partnered with Penn Foster Education to develop distance education programs, though this partnership ended in 2011 due to slow growth and financial difficulties. The college intended to transition to online-only education in 2012.
The 47-acre Silver Spring campus featured a 72,000-square-foot academic and conference center, hotel-quality residence halls, classroom and meeting spaces, and dining services. The Lane Kirkland Center, opened in 2006, provided upgraded facilities and expanded hosting capabilities. The campus also housed the George Meany Memorial Archives from 1993 to 2013, containing over 40 million artifacts and official AFL–CIO records dating to the 1880s. The National Workers Memorial, dedicated in 2010, honored workers killed or injured on the job.
The college faced severe financial difficulties, accumulating approximately $30 million in debt primarily from building the conference center. In November 2013, the Board of Trustees directed closure due to ongoing financial challenges. The college signed teach-out agreements with SUNY Empire State College, Thomas Edison State College, Penn State, University of Illinois, and Rowan University to allow enrolled students to complete their degrees. The final commencement occurred on April 26, 2014. The George Meany Memorial Archives were transferred to University of Maryland Libraries in October 2013. The campus was sold to the Amalgamated Transit Union in July 2014.