Leadership 2
Hello Brothers and Sister,
To start off, Brother Aaron and I, would like to thank you for our opportunity to attend the next level of Leadership Training offered by our Union. Both Aaron and I spent the last week, Apr 6th through Apr 11th, attending the Leadership 2 class at the W3 training center in Hollywood, Maryland. The classes we had to attend were,
Be More Than a Bystander
Union Ethics
Advanced Steward Training
Collective Bargaining
Organizing
Issues & Lobbying
Each class contained a massive amount of information for those in attendance to learn, as well as the sharing of knowledge from meeting with and networking with members from our Union from across the country and Canada.
Be More Than a Bystander
In the Be More Than a Bystander, we learned about the importance of stepping up and stepping forward when we spot something that is wrong. With an emphasis on increasing workplace safety, from dealing with issues in the workplace such as bullying to sexual harassment and assault, we learned techniques and strategies to address ongoing issues within our workplace. Below is one of the videos we watched about consent.
Union Ethics
In Union Ethics, we discussed scenarios we might run into within the Union and our Local Meetings and then discussed as a group how we would handle those situations. Many of the scenarios really made you think and had you questioning your own beliefs and learning to put those aside to do what is right for the membership. We also discussed the Ethical Frameworks for how you classify your decisions. Those are…
Consequences -
The ethical decision is the one that produces the most good and does the least harm for the most people.
Common Good -
The ethical decision is the one that is best for everyone (entire community) not just best for some or even the most people.
Egotisitc -
The ethical decision is the one that produces the greatest amount of good for the decider - Self Interest.
Duty -
The ethical decision is the one that obeys what is fundamentally right or wrong regardless of consequences.
Rights -
The ethical action is the one that best protects the fundamental human dignity/rights of those affected.
Justice -
The ethical decision is the one that provides the most fair or equal treatment to people.
Vurtue -
The ethical decision is the one which is most in line with the decider’s beliefs about who they should try to be as a human being.
Advanced Steward Training
By far the most involved class, Advanced Steward Training was all about being a better steward for our membership. We were given situations we were to discuss. We then had to work through what it takes to be a steward and handle those situations. We also dove into grievances and the importance of what needs to be on a grievance and what you leave to discussion. We drilled into just cause and the seven tests to determine if it was just.
Collective Bargaining
Collective Bargaining revolved around learning about preparations to take when the time draws near that you will be close to a negotiation. Learning to recognize your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. This was very educational and will absolutely be something we utilize as many of us get closer to Negotiations. Be that negotiations with Lockheed or any negotiation without other Bargaining Units, and if you are a member of those other groups, please start getting involved. We understand most of our Local is at Lockheed, but you are members too and we want to include you in everything we do.
Organizing
Organizing was an interesting class, while it had a lot of focus on strategies for organizing new shops, it also taught us about internal organizing. Organizing our members to be involved and engaged. This is something that we, as an Executive Board, are striving to do. Increase the involvement of our membership.
Issues & Lobbying
Issues and Lobbying were exactly as they sound. Learning about our government and the policies that affect the Union. It also consisted of a trip to DC, where we and all the other members met with our representatives on Capitol Hill. Both Aaron and I, as well as our fellow brothers and sisters of California, met with one of the Policy Advisors to Senator Alex Padilla and a Staffer of Senator Adam Schiff. We discussed Labor Issues on a Federal Level and many other issues that affect our Union Members.
With that, thank you for reading. If you’d like to learn more please comment below or come to your next scheduled meeting. We’d be more than happy to go more in depth about the classes with the class materials.
