The ILWU will be holding a Leadership Education and Development Institute (LEAD VII) in Seattle, Washington, May 7-11, 2017. The theme of this year’s training will be: Internal Unity and Mobilization: the ILWU in Action.
“Our union and its membership demands leadership education to survive and grow. LEAD helps develop activists, a strong rank and file—everyone has a niche and leadership training helps pave avenues for action on all levels,” commented ILWU Secretary-Treasurer Willie Adams. “I look around and see that most of the leaders in this union have gone to LEAD. These programs help inspire and engage. Education will deliver us as we move forward.”
Topics at the training will include:
- Increasing strength and unity through member participation;
- Building union power in times of economic and political uncertainty;
- Improving communication— both within the union and with the general public;
- How to run effective union meetings;
- Bridging the generational gap; and inspiring young worker involvement;
- Lessons from the ILWU’s history, its diverse membership and divisions;
Instructors include active and retired ILWU members, labor activists, and staff from the International, university labor centers, and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Local unions and affiliates may nominate participants, who are each required to fill out an application and hotel reservation form. Priority consideration will be given to new officers and rank and file activists who have not yet participated in any previous LEAD programs. For reasons of space and diversity, each affiliate should expect to send no more than two participants, but a waiting list will be taken in case of cancellations or non-participation by some locals.
The LEAD budget will cover participants’ hotel stay, breakfast, lunch, training materials, facilities, and instructors. Participants will be housed together in double rooms but may upgrade to a single room at their own expense. Any reimbursement for expenses such as lost wages, or travel will have to be covered by the participant or his or her local or IBU region, or by area fundraising activities.
Financial hardship applications will be considered on an individual basis. In cases where financial hardship is an obstacle to participation, a written request for assistance, including a statement about the circumstances involved and the amount of assistance requested, must be submitted to the International Secretary-Treasurer. Interested members should complete and return the application and reservation forms, which are available from your local or through the ILWU website: www.ilwu.org/training. Educational Services Director Robin Walker is also available to help answer questions.
Please return the completed forms by fax or mail no later than March 10,
2017 to: ILWU LEAD VII Applications
c/o International Secretary
Treasurer William Adams
1188 Franklin St., 4th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94109
Fax: 415-775-1302