AFSCME Summer Institute
AFSCME Council 31 and the University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations have offered a week-long training program for local union leaders and activists since 1989.
Classes include:
- Labor History (3 hours) – A history of the American labor movement and its lessons for unions today.
- Labor and Politics (1.5 hours) – A history of the labor movement’s involvement in the political process.
- Challenges Facing the Labor Movement (1.5 hours) – Analysis of the political and legal challenges facing unions in Illinois today.
- Leadership (1.5 hours) – Learning how to recruit and develop new leaders.
- Building Power in the Workplace (6 hours) – Learning how to identify key problems and work with potential allies to achieve important union goals.
- Activist Training (4.5 hours) – Learning how to spur workers to deepen involvement in their union through reflective listening and one to one conversations.
- Action Planning (1.5 hours) – Learning how to develop an action plan to achieve a strategic goal.
- Reaching Out to Our Community (1.5 hours) – Learning how to identify and gather support from the broader community to help unions achieve key goals.
- Effective Public Speaking (4.5) – Learning how to prepare and present a public address.
- Getting Our Message Out (1.5 hours) – Tools for effective communication with union members and the public, including earned media and social media strategies.
For more information about the AFSCME Summer Institute, please contact Nadja Robot