On Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, the Twin Cities Coalition of Labor Union Women launched a new educational program targeted at stemming the spread of the disease among working women.

The program, being developed with the assistance of the University of Minnesota Labor Education Service and the Minnesota AIDS Project, seeks to educate women about HIV/AIDS and provide information on prevention and treatment.

Worldwide, half of all people living with HIV are female and the disease is spreading more rapidly among women than men. Across the U.S., rates among African-American and Latino women have increased dramatically. In Minnesota, more than one-fourth of new cases are among women, primarily women of color.

?Women can be particularly vulnerable to infection by their husbands or partners,? said Kate Kline, president of Twin Cities CLUW. ?They may lack sufficient information about HIV/AIDS, or feel powerless to negotiate safer sex.

?We believe that through education from their unions, more women will have the knowledge and resources necessary to protect themselves.?

The need for information is great among all women, but particularly among immigrant women who may face additional cultural barriers, Kline said.

?The Minnesota AIDS Project welcomes this opportunity to partner with CLUW and with organized labor to expand the opportunities to educate people about HIV,? said Doug Flateau, coordinator of Wise@Work, a service of the Minnesota AIDS Project.

The foundation of the program is a PowerPoint presentation that union officers and stewards can use at union meetings, health and safety sessions and other settings. Training for union representatives will be held in February and March, Kline said.

Funding for the training is being provided by the national CLUW HIV/AIDS Project, through the Business Responds to AIDS/Labor Responds to AIDS program of the Centers for Disease Control.

The first World AIDS Day was commemorated in 1988. This year, the United Nations set the theme as ?Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS.?