The History of LCSA

Since 1946, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the United Way have worked together to improve the lives of working class communities. In local affirmation of this pursuit, Labor's Community Service Agency was incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit community partnership program of the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette on July 5, 1974 in Portland, OR. Then Executive Director, E.R. “Del” Ricks, had this to say about the newly formed agency:

‘Our programs are designed to make our membership community-minded and also directly benefit the community. By involving officers and members of organized labor in the problems of society and the community, we utilize a vast resource of knowledge, experience, and expertise with a willingness to work toward a beneficial solution.’

Over the years, the United Way’s funding and support has allowed the agency to apply those time-honored objectives to many health and human service programs: union counselor courses, food drives, blood drives, ex-offender job placement, the Project Bridge foster home program, Seafarers apprenticeship testing, community family dinner nights, emergency assistance (now Helping Hands), holiday meals, Labor in the Pulpits, the Presents from Partners toy drive and distribution program and so much more.

Ten years after the agency's inception, our overall mission was enhanced by the award of dislocated worker pilot program funds to provide outreach and pre-layoff services – in partnership with local community colleges, the Oregon unemployment administration, and state and local agencies – to union represented companies and their workers facing job loss. Since that time, Labor's Community has contracted for state and federal workforce funds to provide labor liaisons, peer advocates, and pre-layoff "Rapid Response and Early Intervention Services" for tens of thousands of workers throughout the Portland region. Funding for these services is currently through a contract with our regional workforce development coordinator, Worksystems, Inc.

Beneath these many years of service to the community, a strong current of local labor support faithfully lifts and carries our agency through every program and service offered. Local unions, union leaders, staff and members alike generously invest their time and donations into labor's own charitable community service agency. The old United Way labor campaign slogan, "Labor Cares - Labor Shares" is as relevant today as it has been for over forty years, and we are proud to carry that tradition into the future.