PROGRAMMATIC WORKSHOPS
These workshops will be offered twice during the District Meetings.
STATE AND LOCAL LEGISLATION: TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR CAPITOL AND WIN FOR WORKERSThere’s a saying in organizing: If workers have a little bit of power, workers win a little bit of justice. How do we build, and exercise, more power—in widely divergent political climates—to win more justice for workers? In the context of the local and regional political landscape, in this session we will map out why we win, why we lose and how to shift from reactive legislative work to agenda-driving. We will discuss varied legislative strategies to support the right to organize, expand collective bargaining rights, build investment in and leverage for good union jobs and more. Bring your local priorities, your innovative ideas, your best victories and your biggest challenges. Together, we will talk through how to plan longer-term legislative strategies to win more justice for workers. PRESENTERS | Res. 1: Workers' Bill of Rights Res. 2: An Independent Political Voice |
ELECTING UNION MEMBERS—BUILDING OUR POWERWhen union members hold public office, all working families win. Join the Union Member Candidate Program Workshop to learn how to identify union-dense winnable races and union members from your ranks who have what it takes to be successful candidates. We’ll also explore the national AFL-CIO’s member-to-member electoral program; a winning strategy to elect our own. PRESENTER | Res. 10: Encouraging Union Members to Run for Public Office |
REVERSE THE DECLINE IN UNION DENSITY—GOALS THAT MATTERNo one-size-fits-all approach will solve the crisis in union density, but we all must take responsibility for growing our portion of the labor movement. This workshop will examine trends in union organizing and union density. What’s behind the numbers and what does it all mean? Participants will work in small groups on a goal-setting exercise related to their part of the labor movement—state federations, central labor councils or local unions. Let’s discuss our role and the concrete steps we can take together to win! PRESENTERS | Res. 3: Engaging Our Members to Build Strong Unions Res. 4: Organizing to Win Power for Working People Res. 15: Prioritizing Organizing and Growth of Affiliate Unions |
POWER TO WIN—WORKSITE ORGANIZING PROGRAMS THAT DELIVERHarness the power of union members and take it to the street, the statehouse and the ballot box! This workshop reinforces the tools and skills critical to building a winning local union member-to-member engagement program. Recruit hoards of activists. Understand what motivates your members and find common issues that inspire people to collective action. Participants will apply their own experience and work in small groups to directly connect internal organizing work to legislative and political results. PRESENTER | Res. 3: Engaging Our Members to Build Strong Unions |
COMMUNICATING ABOUT LABOR IN 2019The AFL-CIO Communications Resource will provide comprehensive training for all skill levels covering traditional media, social media, graphic design, and iPhone photos and video. Consistent throughout the training will be the importance and best practices for ensuring message discipline across all communications. Using real-life examples, you will learn the keys of using communications to support effective campaigns and outreach, while increasing efficiency. And you will learn how social media is a crucial way of communicating most effectively and directly. Participants will leave the training with templates, tips and the confidence to perform communications tasks needed to be successful. PRESENTERS | |
TECHNOLOGY AND DATA TOOLSWhat is the Data, Analytics and Infrastructure Resource (DAIR)? What does it do? This workshop will introduce all the moving parts of the DAIR department at the AFL-CIO, how DAIR builds member engagement tools with unions and power for our labor movement. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear about the membership engagement tools DAIR builds and manages, from LAN to UnionHall to Action Network, and how these tools all work together. During the workshop, there also will be a chance to see what’s happening with Action Builder—the new organizing tool launching with national unions across the country—which is exactly the kind of collaborative tool DAIR wants to continue to create and launch, with and for unions. PRESENTERS | Res. 5: Commission on the Future of Work and Unions |
HOLDING THE 116TH CONGRESS ACCOUNTABLEWorking families won major electoral victories in 2018, sweeping into power the largest class of labor-friendly representatives since Watergate. Now it’s time to hold them accountable for creating good jobs, strengthening unions, securing our health care and pensions, and fixing our trade and immigration policies. This workshop will focus on our legislative priorities for the 116th Congress. We’ll get an update about what’s happening on Capitol Hill and share ideas about how we can have the biggest impact on the men and women we sent to Washington in 2019. PRESENTERS | Res. 1: Workers' Bill of Rights Res. 2: An Independent Political Voice |
UNION ECONOMY WORKSHOPS
These workshops will be offered once during the District Meetings.