| Some
of the specific courses developed by the Education Department available
to local unions are:
· Building the Union's Image; where participants evaluate
the union's image in the public eye and with the use of strategic
planning techniques, determine how to build a more accurate understanding
in the public of labor unions, as well as how to advance the labor
movement in general.
· Collective Bargaining; where
participants learn the necessary skills to successfully bargain.
These include: planning, developing demands, negotiating language,
costing economics and how to ratify the agreement.
· Facilitation Skills; where
participants learn the necessary techniques to lead discussion groups
and facilitate meetings.
· Conflict Resolution: where
participants learn the techniques to resolve differences and learn
to understand that conflict is unavoidably a part of working together.
· Global Economics; where participants
discuss the current state of the economy with an emphasis on trade,
the global effects on domestic and foreign workers and economic
programs that put workers first.
· Social Insurance; where participants
recognize that economic policy is driven by people's needs and beliefs.
They also learn about the union's economic and social analysis behind
our position on social insurance.
· Education Committee Training;
where participants learn how the activities of the Education Committee
build and support the goal of our union. They learn how to identify
the needs of the local union and respond by developing programs
promoting resources and sharing information with other standing
committees.
· Grievance Handling; where
participants learn the necessary skill to effectively represent
the membership such as, investigating techniques, writing and interpersonal
skills. They learn the duties and rights of grievance handlers and
discuss their role and leaders.
· Labor Challenges; where participants
compare the events from our past and apply the lessons learned to
our present and future challenges. They will learn the importance
of developing an agenda through strategic planning and what role
the political system plays in that agenda.
· Labor in the Schools - Elementary
and Middle School; where school age children learn to appreciate
the reasons why people work, difference between work and play, and
how they see themselves as future workers.
· Labor in the School - High
School; where students learn the rich heritage of the labor movement
and its dynamics in society.
· Leaders in Action; where participants
recognize the role leadership plays in impacting the union and the
crisis the labor movement is currently in.
· Local Union Discussion Leaders
(LUDL); where participants become certified by the UAW Education
Department to present programs and classes to union members using
prepared outlines and materials. They learn to prepare presentation
and teaching outlines, objectives and to gather information. They
also learn interactive teaching techniques, stand up skill and how
to use the appropriate media for delivery.
· Membership Education and Mobilization
for Organizing (MEMO); where participants recognize the correlation
between collective bargaining and organizing, and the rise and fall
of union power. They may also participate in organizing activities.
· New Members Orientation; where
participants identify the value of unions and the labor movement,
the union structure and roles of various officers, and become familiar
with the laws that provide union/labor protection.
· Political Action Program;
where participants learn the "wedge" issues in past political
campaigns and how they serve to divide us in current campaigns.
They will practice one-on-one communicating skills while discussing
politics with fellow members.
· Survey Design; where participants
learn when to use surveys, how to design and tabulate them and how
to interpret and report their results.
· Teambuilding Skills; where
union leaders and members learn and develop skill for working collectively
rather then individually.
· Understanding Discrimination
Through Solidarity; where participants learn the value of diversity.
They will recognize that any form of discrimination is wrong and
how it hurts and divides us.
· Union Activist Training -
Building the Power of the Union Through Standing Committees; where
participants learn to tie standing committees into the goals and
objectives of the local union and the labor movement.
· Union Involvement; where participants
recognize the necessity for member involvement in their union. They
will discuss worker rights in the workplace, federal, state and
local laws, and the Union's legislative agenda. This leads to the
recognition of the Union's role in our society and how members get
involved. |