For over fifty years, the Appalachian Council, Inc. has provided education, training and a wide range of human resource development programs throughout the region.  Our programs have included comprehensive child development, career transition/placement, vocational training, and employee assistance programs. 

The Council began as an outgrowth of a meeting of the Appalachian Trade Union Conference, held in Charleston, West Virginia, in October 1964.  The twelve chief executive officers of the state AFL-CIO organizations in the area of greater Appalachia (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland-DC, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia) joined together to form a non-profit corporation to “work toward unearthing and understanding the employment and training problems of the region, develop plans for their solution, and to stimulate or undertake specific projects or action programs for their resolve and/or elimination”. 

Efforts to improve the quality of life for people in the Region led to the expansion of the Council’s operation into areas beyond Appalachia and into programs beyond those originally envisioned and at times included staff in all regions but the northwestern United States.  Today, the AFL-CIO Appalachian Council continues its commitment to helping people.

Diversity Statement: Together we are stronger than ever! The Appalachian Council embraces the reality that the people of Appalachia are largely diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic status, and religious beliefs. The Appalachian Council is committed to sustaining the rights of all of our region’s citizens. We ignite the power to lead and learn from each other.