[olympiaworkers] LABOR CENTER NEWS

LABOR CENTER RISING AND ON THE MOVE!

November, 2009
Greetings from Washington State's Labor Education and Research Center
(currently located at the Evergreen State College)! In order to keep you
better informed about what we're doing we will be sending monthly email
bulletins. IF YOU WISH TO BE REMOVED FROM OR ADDED TO THIS LIST, PLEASE
SEND A MESSAGE TO trifflen@evergreen.edu
<mailto:trifflen@evergreen.edu> .

WHAT'S NEW

1) Changing the date for Organizing Class! Our next UNION POWER class is on
ORGANIZING! Originally scheduled for Jan 14 & 15, it is being pushed back
a week to Jan 21 & 22, 2010. See below for details.

2) The Martin Luther King County Central Labor Council Education Committee
is launching a book group! The first book is Solidarity Divided: The
Crisis in Organized Labor and a New Path Toward Social Justice by Bill
Fletcher and Fernando Gapasin. The group's first meeting is TODAY
Wednesday, Nov. 18 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in Room 208 at the Seattle Labor
Temple. Feel free to join us and/or, if you want to know about future
meetings, email Sarah Laslett - lasletts@evergreen.edu
<mailto:lasletts@evergreen.edu> .

3) Our Labor Center is co-sponsoring the 2010 West Coast Summer Institute
for Union Women with the University of Oregon Labor Education and Research
Center. The Institute will be held from July 6 -10, 2010 on the campus of
Reed College in Portland. Save those dates; we'll be sending more details
as the planning evolves! If you would like to help organize the school,
email Sarah Laslett, lasletts@evergreen.edu
<mailto:lasletts@evergreen.edu> .
_______________________________________________________________

WE ARE BUILDING

UNION
P rograms
O n
W orker
E ducation and
R ights

UNION POWER offers regularly-scheduled classes open to participants from
multiple unions and community organizations. There will be a per person
charge for each class, depending on the length of the class and what
resources are required. A minimum of five participants will be needed in
order to run a class. Our monthly bulletins announce what trainings are
scheduled. Please let us know what topics you would like to see offered!

Union Power Schedule of Classes

1) ORGANIZING - INTERNAL and EXTERNAL: Originally scheduled for Jan 14 &
15, this class is being re-scheduled to Jan 21 (Thurs 1:00 pm - 5:30 pm) &
22 (Fri 8:30 am - 5:00 pm), 2010. This training will introduce unionists
and labor activists to the organizing model and a variety of methods for
implementing it, provide exercises to develop organizing skills, and offer
opportunities to understand organizing strategy. Cost is $125 per person;
the class will be held at the Georgetown campus of South Seattle
Community College. To sign up or for more information email
lasletts@evergreen.edu <mailto:lasletts@evergreen.edu> .

2) SOLIDARITY! March 2010 - This class will look at the history of
organized labor in the United States and the meaning of Solidarity. When
have workers supported each other in the struggle for workplace justice
and when have we succeeded? When has our solidarity failed and we have
lost? What does solidarity between workers, both inside unions and
outside unions, mean today for our political and economic empowerment?
Interested? For more information email lasletts@evergreen.edu
<mailto:lasletts@evergreen.edu> .

3) LABOR HISTORY & UNIONISM 101 IN SPANISH! March 2010 - These classes
will be offered in both Western & Eastern Washington. Basic information
will be provided about how unions work, how the U.S. labor movement has
developed, the role of Latinos & other immigrant communities in labor, and
how current immigration rights struggles tie in to labor struggles.
Interested? Email bocanegj@evergreen.edu
<mailto:bocanegj@evergreen.edu> .

FREE LABOR HISTORY PRESENTATIONS - AVAILABLE NOW!! These presentations
include great stories from the history of labor organizing, a Power Point
slide show, and music! We will bring this educational, entertaining, and
dynamic presentation to your meetings or events. To schedule a
presentation, email lasletts@evergreen.edu
<mailto:lasletts@evergreen.edu> .

LEADERSHIP CLASSES FOR NATIVE/LATINO IMMIGRANTS: Juan José Bocanegra will
be offering ongoing leadership development classes for native/Latino
immigrants in the Auburn area. For more information email him at
bocanegj@evergreen.edu. <mailto:bocanegj@evergreen.edu>

NEED A TRAINING TAILORED FOR YOUR UNION? If what we're already offering
does not meet the needs of your union or organization, we can design and
implement trainings on a wide variety of topics for one or more unions or
organizations. Some of the topics we can train on include:

* Rank & File Leadership

* Staff Development

* Recruiting the Next Generation of Leaders

* Basic Workers' Rights

* Immigration and Labor

* Strategic Planning & Campaign Design

* Salting

* Meeting Facilitation

* Organizing: Internal and External

* Shop Stewarding

* Collective Bargaining

OUR FEES: We have a standard fee schedule of $65 per hour or $500 per day
for preparation and training, but will work on a sliding scale. As
mentioned above, there will be a per person charge for each of the UNION
POWER classes.

WORKERS' RIGHTS MANUAL: This invaluable resource can be downloaded for
free at our website in both English & Spanish:
http://laborcenter.evergreen.edu
<http://laborcenter.evergreen.edu/> /.

Staff & Contact Information:

Peter Kardas, Director
360-867-6526
kardasp@evergreen.edu <mailto:kardasp@evergreen.edu>

Nina Triffleman, Assistant Director
360-867-6055
trifflen@evergreen.edu <mailto:trifflen@evergreen.edu>

Juan José Bocanegra, Labor Educator for Union and Immigrant Workers
360-867-5524
bocanegj@evergreen.edu <mailto:%20bocanegj@evergreen.edu>

Sarah Laslett, Labor Educator for Union and Community Women
360-867-6527
lasletts@evergreen.edu <mailto:lasletts@evergreen.edu>

The Labor Center has a Facebook page! Check out great photographs from our
July 2009 Summer School for Union Women and Community Activists, and more!
Go to www.facebook.com <http://www.facebook.com/>
<http://www.facebook.com/> and log in or join, then search for "solidarity
works" and you will find the link to our page.
Enjoy!

Want to know more? For more information about our programs, see our Labor
Center newsletters. Check out our website at
http://laborcenter.evergreen.edu <http://laborcenter.evergreen.edu/> .
Feel free to call or email us at any time with questions or ideas.