2025 Union Plus Scholarships Award $250,000 to Union Members and Families
PRESS RELEASE: 93 winners honored for achievement and union values with 2025 Union Plus Scholarships awards.
Washington, D.C. – Union Plus recently awarded $250,000 in scholarships to 193 students representing 38 unions. This year’s group of scholarship recipients includes university, college, and trade or technical school students from 33 states.
The Union Plus Scholarship Program, now in its 34th year, awards scholarships based on outstanding academic achievement, personal character, financial need, and commitment to the values of organized labor. The program is offered through the Union Plus Education Foundation.
Since starting the program in 1991, Union Plus has awarded more than $5.9 million in educational funding to more than 4,200 union members, spouses, and dependent children. Union Plus Scholarship awards are granted to students attending a two-year college, four-year college, graduate school, or recognized technical or trade school. The selection process is exceptionally competitive: 6,213 applications were received this year from 69 unions and all 50 states, the District of Columbia, three U.S. territories, and six Canadian provinces.
“The resilience, determination, and achievements of this year's scholarship winners is inspiring,” Union Plus President Mitch Stevens said. “We are proud to support these students from hardworking union backgrounds as they achieve their educational goals.”
Among this year’s winners are Ashlyne Costin, LaBrina Hopkins, and Nicholas Hossinger.
Costin, whose mother is a CWA member and whose father is an IBEW member, is planning to attend the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. “The union community that shaped me has deeply inspired my desire to pursue my education,” Costin said. “I am eager to be part of the next generation working to ensure fair treatment for all workers, building on the legacy of those who have come before me.”
Hopkins, a 25-year AFT member, was influenced by her own education to pursue a career in education; she is an educational leadership and organizational innovation doctoral candidate, in addition to being a special education teacher and serving on the board of AFT-Maryland and as state secretary treasurer. “My specific focus will be on teacher preparation, career progression, and fostering student outcomes,” Hopkins said. “As a young girl growing up amidst adversity in the inner city of Baltimore, I recognized education was my pathway out of poverty. I had a series of dedicated teachers from elementary to high school who poured into me and conveyed the belief that an education is paramount. I am passionate about sharing this love of education with students who look like me, come from similar environments, and face circumstances similar to mine.”
Hossinger, an IBEW member, is enrolled in an online engineering program through the Union Plus College Program, which offers affordable online certificate and degree programs to union families. Hossinger is an engineering technician who now runs his own electrical union shop. He also teaches others his craft one night a week. “I am furthering my education for the betterment of myself and for those I can help teach and inspire,” Hossinger said. “The union saved my life, and I am forever grateful for it.”
About Union Plus
Union Plus, founded by the AFL-CIO in 1986, uses the collective buying power of America’s nearly 15 million union members to deliver top-quality benefits and services at competitive prices to working families. In addition to the scholarship program, Union Plus offers the College Program with exclusive tuition discounts, financial aid, and grants, providing union members and their families the opportunity to earn an affordable, online degree that fits their schedule, interests, career goals, and budget. Union Plus also provides a wide range of other benefits, including financial services and money-saving programs, including exclusive everyday discounts on wireless service, travel, and more. Visit unionplus.org to explore Union Plus’s 30-plus benefits.