The Online Working Group is hosting a one-hour presentation with AFGE labor educators Keturah Raabe and Dave Neun. They will demonstrate some of the features of AFGE’s real time, online steward class plus answer questions.

For those of us  involved in online education, university or union-based, we sometimes feel that synchronous programs seem to lack the spontaneous dialogue and interactions that are a common feature of an effective face-to-face education experience. To retain the benefits of real-time interactions and reach a broader audience, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is currently using Blackboard Collaborate to conduct instructor-led, synchronous online training.

Join us for one of two 60-minute presentations, maximum of 20 participants each, on Wednesday, May 28 and Thursday, May 29 from noon to 1:00 Eastern time. There is no charge for these sessions, but pre-registration is required because the capacity is limited.

Sign up for the Wednesday, May 28 session here.

Sign up for the Thursday, May 29 session here.

To see the system requirements for Blackboard Collaborate download this document: System requirements

Schedule at least 30 minutes before the presentation begins to access the AFGE system. Confirmation and directions will be sent upon registration.

-- Debra Kidney & Helena Worthen, Online Working Group Co-Chairs

UALE CONFERENCE IN LOS ANGELES

The UALE Conference “Organizing for Power: A New Labor Movement for a New Working Class” was held in Los Angeles from March 26 to 29. More than 200 people participated, including many labor educators from worker centers and community organizations.

The conference include a Labor Tour of Los Angeles, a street action in Downtown Los Angeles for worker and immigrant rights, and a cultural celebration at the Justice for Janitors union hall featuring Korean and African drummers and the “Jornaleros del Norte,” the band of the National Day Labor Organizing Network. Photos of these activities, as well as the conference itself, are being posted to the Conference 2014 photo gallery. (Some are there already; more ar coming soon.)

The opening plenary featured newly elected Executive Vice President Tefere Gebre, Pablo Alvarado from the National Day Labor Organizing Network, and Neidi Dominguez, the recently hired Assistant to President Richard Trumka who will spearhead the AFL-CIO’s work in building union and worker center partnerships. Three inspiring videos were shown at the opening plenary. You can see them on our 2014 Conference Videos page.

The second plenary featured the next generation of labor educators: Aida Cardenas from the Justice for Janitors worker training program, Lanita Morris from the Black Worker Center, and Greg Cendana from the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance. The final plenary featured a panel on organizing women in the global economy with women leaders from South Africa, Palestine, and Mexico.

In addition to the 3 plenary sessions, some forty breakout sessions, including workshops, panels, teaching demonstrations, roundtables, and poster sessions, dealt with numerous aspects of our conference theme, and elicited lively participation. Some of the papers and other materials from these sessions are posted on our Papers and Presentations, 2014 page. We would welcome other submissions from conference presenters.

The awards luncheon honored Lois Gray from Cornell with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and AFSCME Education Director and UALE Outgoing President Elissa McBride with the Outstanding Achievement in Labor Education. Other awards winners were Jackie Gabriel, for the New Generation Award; William P.Jones, for Best Book; and Marissa Brookes for bst Labor Studis Journal article. Formore about the awards, visit our Awards page.

At the General Membership meeting, Cheryl Teare (AFT) was elected as the new UALE President.  See the EBoard Directory for the entire newly elected EBoard.

The UALE 2015 Conference will be held in Florida.

This year is an election year for UALE. Our Constitution calls for all Officers and EBoard members to be elected every 2 years. This year, some of our current EBoard members are planning to run for re-election, while others are termed out. A Nominations Committee has been in charge of looking for good candidates for all slots. But nominations from the floor are also always welcome.

There are also some volunteer jobs that we would like to fill. These are not members of the Executive Board, but they perform vital functions for the organization.

If you are considering running for UALE office, or stepping up to take on a volunteer role, you will find the attached description of officer and volunteer roles helpful:  Officer and Volunteer roles

You can also check out our Constitution for more information.

Are you interested in attending one of UALE's exciting, informative, action-packed and fun Summer Institutes for Union Women this summer?

Preliminary information about all four 2014 UALE women's summer schools -- location, date, and contact person/people -- is now available on the Women's Schools page. And keep checking back; we will upload flyers, brochures, registration forms and more as it becomes available.

The Joseph S. Murphy Institute at the CUNY School of Professional Studies has launched a national scholarship competition dedicated to fostering a diverse leadership in the labor movement and in the academic field of labor studies.

The Institute will award significant scholarships to deserving students: up to $30,000 for graduate students and up to $20,000 for undergraduates. The deadline for applying is March 31. See press release here: Murphy Institute Press Release

According to Murphy Institute Director (and long-time UALE member) Gregory Mantsios, “Our goal is to help prepare the next generation of union leaders, advocates, and labor scholars, and to do everything we can to ensure that the new leadership adequately reflects the diversity of the U.S. labor force.”

Read more: Murphy Institute launches scholarship program to promote diversity