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Local 535’s Training Program September 2002
Local 535 has one of the most extensive training programs in all of SEIU. The program has been designed by (now former) Education and Training Director Seth Schapiro. The local holds over 60 training programs per year and over 700 members attend. Make sure your chapter uses this resource. You can learn how to be a leader, conduct meetings, and run a campaign. Classes teach organizational and personal skills. You can learn both how to be more assertive and how to work cooperatively, and which mode is more appropriate in a given situation. “The more people we get trained, the more we can accomplish,” states Contra Costa Chapter President Ian Arnold, who brags that he has attended almost all of Schapiro’s trainings. “I would say that when I mention trainings to my members, their first reaction is, ‘I’m not interested in spending my free time going to something like that.’ But after they go to the first class, they can’t wait for the second. It gives you the absolute confidence in your ability to do what you learned in that training.” Arnold recalls his first training: “I was a brand new shop steward, and the next day I was called to a meeting where someone was in trouble. I quickly realized that I was more familiar with the member’s rights than management was. The manager had to call personnel to get advice. When they say they don’t have to do something and you have the confidence to say, ‘Yes, you do have to do that,’ you get instant credibility. The classes are intended to strengthen chapter leadership. A well-trained chapter leadership can then secure a better working environment for union members, in both negotiations and day-to-day working relationships with management and other union members. The subjects range from effective representation of members as a union steward to problem solving to organizing a campaign to get results. And not all the trainings are about winning through adversarial skills. Schapiro has also helped chapters and management set up cooperative programs, including interest-based bargaining, collaborative problem solving, and effective labor-management teams. Taking classes has other rewards. “Many of my students have gained full-time careers in the labor movement, working for Local 535 and other unions,” Schapiro notes with pride. As Schapiro is now northern regional director, the Local will name a replacement education/training director in the near future. Classes: Basic Steward Training Members learn the role of a shop steward, basic worker rights, and how to enforce a contract. This includes Weingarten rights and grievance procedures (how to investigate a member’s complaint, write a grievance, present the problem, and deal with management from a place of power and equality). Intermediate Steward Training This training addresses how to organize around issues and present cases. It includes understanding discipline procedures and organizing the membership around issues to deal with a problem collectively. The difference between solving problems with an organizing campaign and by filing grievances is covered. The members learn the elements of a campaign and how to communicate and motivate people around an issue. Advanced Steward Training Advanced workshops are offered every two years. These are two and one-half day programs that include presentations by lawyers and other experts, such as federal mediators. “The advanced steward trainings are amazing with the people he brings in. I felt better trained than any manager,” Arnold states. The next advanced training will be held in 2003. Other classes include: •Running a Meeting
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