Join us for any or all of the trainings which provide helpful tips whether you are preparing for negotiations or trying to build more unity in your union. Solidarity School is open to all represented employees.
Build more unity! Labor Education Series
Each class is offered on two different days and times
Organizing 102: Inviting Co-workers into Leadership
The strongest unions are "leaderful" organizations filled with members across the workplace. Member-leaders play key roles listening to their co-workers' issues, being the liaison between them and other union bodies and helping plan mobilizations and actions.
How do we recruit members to take on these roles in both big and small ways? In this class, we'll talk about how to identify, recruit and work with members as they grow into their skills as worksite Area Reps and activists.
Find Your Power Base: How to Map Your Union Support
How is our workplace organized functionally and socially? Learn how to develop an understanding of the natural landscape of coworker connections by utilizing mapping and “charting techniques.” In this class, we’ll make visual sense of our workplaces, and share tips and strategies for keeping track of it all. We’ll learn how to use these tools to assess our union support and gain a more objective evaluation of our position.
How Member Participation Helps Us Win at the Bargaining Table
While some may think of “bargaining” as simply what happens at the negotiating table, long experience shows that good contracts are won through building worker power. This happens away from the table, with significant member engagement. In this training, we’ll share success stories and best practices from the labor movement on ways members have contributed to such wins and explore how worker leaders can bring more coworkers into the campaign.
Attend as many as you would like! Look for more Solidarity School workshops in spring and summer.
Past trainings
Effective Membership Conversation Series (1-3)
✓ Part 1: A Power Based Approach to Union Building
We’ll root our work in a shared understanding of leverage, tactics, and how power functions in and beyond our workplace. We’ll talk power maps, optics to our members and management, and strategies to mobilize our base. Occurred on 3/9 and 3/11.
✓ Part 2: Structured Organizing Conversations
Together, we’ll take a closer look at listening strategies, effective asks, fostering solidarity, and moving our coworkers to take action. Occurred on 3/24 and 3/26.
✓ Part 3: Overcoming Objections and Answering Hard Questions
We will review a Membership Conversation Toolkit, outlining different strategies for dealing with objections, hard questions, and other difficulties in getting members to take action. Occurred on 4/13 and 4/16.