LEAD Institute trains next generation of ILWU leaders in Tacoma
The ILWU held its Leadership, Education, and Development (LEAD) Institute from April 13-18 in Tacoma, Washington. LEAD is a key component of the ILWU’s education program and is held every three years. It brings together a diverse group of rank-and-file members and elected ILWU leaders to teach them practical skills and provide tools that attendees can bring back to their local unions to develop new leaders and increase membership involvement.
Past graduates of LEAD who have gone on to become elected officers in their locals or at the international level were on hand to share their own leadership experiences with attendees. Among the LEAD alumni are International President Bobby Olvera, Jr., and International Secretary-Treasurer Ed Ferris, both of whom attended LEAD in 2010. There was a record number of attendees this year–112 in total, including two casual longshore workers.
Participants learned through panel discussions and group exercises that emphasized active participation and collaborative problemsolving and were structured to allow attendees to meet and get to know one another throughout the week.
Among the practical skills taught were how to run a successful union meeting, how to increase member involvement, how to strategically problem-solve, and strategic campaign planning and research.
Opening reception
The conference started with a reception and opening remarks from International Secretary-Treasurer Ed Ferris, International President Bobby Olvera, Jr., and International Vice President (Hawai’i) Brandon Wolff.
Secretary-Treasurer Ferris emphasized that leadership was about serving the union membership and thanked everyone for stepping up to help build and strengthen the ILWU.
“The time to step up is now,” Ferris said. “Our union needs you.”
President Olvera spoke about the ILWU’s democratic culture and the International Officers’ commitment to developing new leaders.
“Nobody is going to hold you back. You have to follow your heart, the constitution, and the bylaws of this international and your locals and divisions, and we will all be much better off because then we truly are a democratic union. Our voice is strong because we are one,” Olvera said.
Vice President Wolff spoke about the four key characteristics of good leaders: integrity, honesty, honor, and commitment. Wolff said that leadership is not about being in charge–it’s about taking care of the people in your charge.
“True honor and integrity is doing the right thing for the right reasons, and that’s one of the problems we have with leaders nowadays. They don’t have that. They are in it for power, for profit for themselves, and they’re not about the people,” Wolff said.
ILWU leaders speak
The first panel discussion consisted of ILWU leaders who are past LEAD alumni: Local 142 Secretary-Treasurer Mike Victorino, Jr., Local 30 President Demetrius Freeman, Local 34 Vice President Jadine Trujillo, and IBU Secretary-Treasurer Peter Hart. The panel was facilitated by Local 63’s Patricia Aguirre.
Trujillo spoke about the impact the 2022 LEAD conference had on her leadership trajectory.
“It was exciting just to be in community with everybody else in the ILWU from Canada, Hawaii, and all of the West Coast. That was just a special experience.” Trujillo said. “What I learned from everyone who attended the conference gave me the drive to want to run for the vice president of my local union; it came from the collective solidarity I experienced at LEAD.”
Victorino spoke on the importance of connecting with members, building trust, and working with people. “As a LEAD alumnus, you’re not doing it for fame, power, or glory. That’s not what you’re here for. You’re here to help the greater good,” Victorino said. “What I want you to take out of here is just do the work of the people. Serve. That’s what you do as a leader, whatever role you play.”
The panel was followed by small group discussions facilitated by LEAD
alumni. The groups discussed obstacles or roadblocks they encountered in
their local unions and discussed solutions to overcome them.
During breaks, LEAD graduates sat at a “Leaders Table” so they could answer questions about their history with the ILWU and their paths to union leadership.
Ten Guiding Principles
The Leaders Speak panel was followed by a discussion about the ILWU’s Ten Guiding Principles, facilitated by Education Director Robin Walker and consisting of Local 400 President Jason Woods, Local 13’s Vivian Malauulu, Rob Ashton of ILWU Canada, and Local 30 President Demetrius Freeman. Each panelist discussed one Guiding Principle and explained its importance to the union and their work as ILWU members and leaders.
Following the panel discussion, LEAD attendees voted for what they felt was the most important principle at one of ten easels around the room.
Strength through diversity
In the next session, participants learned firsthand about the diverse industries and occupations that make up the ILWU. Through small group discussions, everyone learned about the work of ILWU locals and their fellow LEAD participants and how diversity works to build the union’s strength.
Anchoring our values
The day’s final panel discussed how locals are using the union’s core values to anchor themselves as they navigate the divisive and partisan political climate and avoid letting red/blue divides derail union cohesion. Panelists included Local 13 President Gary Herrera, Local 142 President Chris West, Local 23 President Jared Faker, and pensioner and past Local 40 President Dawn Des Brisay. It was facilitated by Columbia River Organizer Ryan Takas.
Herrera also spoke about how he is building bridges with organizations outside the union that have in the past been adversaries. He explained how environmental groups have supported automation because they use “green technologies.” Herrera said he sought to build a blue-green alliance that advocates for clean air technologies operated by humans, not robots.
“These groups are all about sustainability,” Herrera said. “But sustainability has three pillars: social, environmental, and economic. To achieve sustainability, those three things must work together. You have to have a strong community, good jobs, all while having a clean environment.”
Reaching out to young leaders
The second full day of the conference began with a panel discussion facilitated by Local 23’s Brian Skiffington on how locals are reaching out to and engaging with newer and younger ILWU members. Panelists included ILWU Canada Second President Dan Kask, Local 23 President Jared Faker, Local 54’s Stef Flores, Local 23’s Tyler Rasmussen, Local 508’s Brittni Paquette, and Beau Logo and Gina Villeggiante from Local 10.
The panelists discussed the history of the young workers’ movement within the ILWU, which started in ILWU Canada in 2013. They emphasized the importance of creating spaces within the union for young workers to get involved, highlighted their vital role in strengthening the ILWU, and shared practical tips and strategies for engaging new and young workers.
Respect in our union and workplace Local 142 Education Director Ilima Long facilitated a discussion on respect in the union and the workplace with panelists Scarlett Kelly and Joulene Parent from Local 500, and Local 5 President Benjamin Ficklin. The panel was grounded in ILWU’s Third Guiding Principle, which holds that discrimination of any kind is a weapon of the boss that serves no other purpose than to pit worker against worker to their own destruction. Long introduced the conversation with a discussion of the history of the way oligarchs in Hawai’i deliberately utilized and fostered racism and division among plantation workers to undermine their strength and unity, and how that was overcome by building an inclusive movement that welcomed diversity.
“They unified through a working-class identity and also brought in their racial identities, their national identities, and their ethnic identities. Different languages were brought into union meetings and union materials. Culture was brought in, food was brought in, and that is what created the whole of what we have today.” Long said. “It was not about getting rid of everything that is not a worker identity. It’s about expanding the walls of the union to bring in our whole selves. That’s what our Hawaii history tells us.”
Kelly spoke about the “Be More than a Bystander” workplace bullying and harassment prevention program that ILWU Canada has successfully implemented in its longshore division. Ficklin talked about Local 5’s diversity and inclusiveness and how that has been a source of strength.
“Three-quarters of our officers at Local 5 are trans, queer, or non-binary including myself; I’m a non-binary person,” Ficklin said, explaining how inclusion has helped to attract workers organize their workplaces with Local 5 and make it one of the fastest growing locals in the ILWU.
“By embodying the Third Guiding Principle, people are brought into our labor movement, and that makes everybody sitting here and all the locals that we represent stronger by making sure that we’re a radically inclusive space,” they said.
Race, labor, and lessons from history
Moon Ho-Jung, The Harry Bridges Chair at the University of Washington’s Bridges Center for Labor Studies, gave a talk that challenged attendees to think historically and critically about race and national security. He argued that race is a socially and historically constructed category that perpetuates social inequalities and denies power to those considered non-white.
Ho-Jung then traced the intersection of race, labor, and national security from the founding of the U.S., the colonization of the Philippines, Hawai’i, and the internment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II and concluded by challenging people to consider that the ways “national security” has often been invoked to in U.S. history including the current moment to criminalize and repress anti-racist and labor struggles.
Meetings that work
Prof. Ho-Jung was followed by a session led by Local 34’s Sean Farley on how to run effective meetings. He gave practical tips and tools for orderly debate, efficient meetings, and decision-making.
After the day’s program, LEAD attendees, speakers, and guests attended a dinner at the Local 23 hall. The event included food trucks and live music. They also heard about the organizing efforts by 200 vehicle processing workers at Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics in the Port of Tacoma, who are fighting for a fair contract.
Internal organizing & external growth
Wednesday morning began with a discussion on internal and external growth facilitated by ILWU Organizing Director Ryan Dowling with panelists Local 56 President Albert Ramirez, Local 6 Business Agent Pedro de Sa, Local 22’s Dax Koho, and Local 142’s John Simpliciano.
“When we are talking about external organizing, we’re talking about bringing new members into the union, and when we’re talking about internal organizing, we’re trying to activate the members of the union,” de Sa explained. “But in many ways, the ideas are very similar. We are trying to ensure people have agency in their workplaces and their unions. How do we create a relationship and structures where people have more investment and power in their workplace and union?”
Strategic Organizing Campaign Planning
Jon Brier and Northern California organizer Evan McLaughlin introduced
the “Heat and Hammer” strategic campaign framework that attendees would
use in their final group project, which challenged attendees to put together all
of the skills they learned throughout the conference.
“Heat and hammer” is a framework for understanding and strategically using both workers’ energy and workers’ power. “Heat” refers to the passion and readiness of workers to fight for their rights, while the “hammer” represents the leverage and power that workers have to achieve their goals.
Analyzing the 1934 West Coast Strike
This was followed by a strategic analysis of the 1934 West Coast Strike. After watching the PBS documentary, “Bloody Thursday,” Local 23’s Zack Pattin led a discussion that broke down the strike as a strategic organizing campaign using the “Heat and Hammer” framework.
ILWU Senior Researcher Bridget Wack and Rachel Erstad, Research Director for the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, facilitated a two-part training to give attendees practical tools for applied strategic research and how to utilize them in a campaign.
Lords of the Docks
Wednesday evening LEAD participants gathered at the Washington State History Museum to watch, From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks: The Life and Times of Harry Bridges, a one-man play written and performed by Ian Ruskin that chronicles the life and times of ILWU co-founder Harry Bridges. The UW’s Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies sponsored the event.
Final project
For their final project, attendees were grouped by region and tasked with defining a goal and identifying decision makers, harnessing the energy and passion among fellow union members about the issue, identifying the points of leverage and pressure to apply to the decision maker and the tactics and actions that will be used to reach their goals. Participants spent most of Thursday working in their groups, with most of them working well into the night.
On the conference’s final day, attendees presented their final projects. Each presentation was followed by questions and feedback from the audience. Afterward, a graduation ceremony was held where each participant received their LEAD diploma for completing the course.
Participant reaction
LEAD attendees said they came away from the training inspired by the ILWU. They learned concrete skills that they could take home to their locals and left with an appreciation for the union’s diversity and rich history.
William Evans is a casual at Local 23 and a member of the Young Workers Committee. He said he was energized and grateful for the opportunity to learn about the union.
“The experience has been very eye-opening to me. I didn’t know a lot about the workings of the union. I was honored to come to LEAD and learn from other workers. I’m what I’m going to take black everything that I learned. It’s given me a lot more confidence to be more involved in the union than I am now,” Evans said.
Neal Gonzalez from Alaska Longshore Unit 223 in Dutch Harbor said LEAD reminded him how big and diverse the ILWU is and that he would be taking back many of the lessons he learned back to Alaska.
“I want to take back things like organizing unit meetings to make them
more efficient and effective and get more members to the meetings,” Gonzales said. “Internal and external organizing are also things that I’m personally passionate about