RIGHT PLACE! RIGHT TIME!

RIGHT PLACE!  RIGHT TIME!

          "Be a part of everything all the time." Shelly Allsup

                 BA Local 542 and an international representative for the Teamsters Warehouse Division

You may have heard about the United State of Women summit convened by the White House this month to celebrate achievements and discuss how together, we can take action on key gender equality issues and make a powerful difference in our collective future.

In the coming months and especially during the Teamster Women's conference we will be hearing a lot about women, women's leadership and for the first time in the U.S. we may elect a woman for president.

From the book, Clara Day: A Teamster's Life, longtime member, activist and leader "Clara Day was the right woman, in the right place, at the right time."  Sister YOU are the right woman, in the right place, at the right time to lead in our union!

STAGE THREE

From WOMEN’S UNION LEADERSHIP: CLOSING THE GENDER GAP

Michelle Kaminski and Elaine K. Yakura

The third stage of the leadership development process is figuring out the politics—and it is a stage at which even experienced leaders can stumble. Once individuals have the technical skills they need, they look for opportunities to use those skills. Depending on their interests, they might take on special projects or run for office. At this point, they need not just the technical skills, but also political skills. 

According to Lois Spier Gray's article, "The Route To The Top:  Female Union Leaders and Union Policy" based on research and interviews, the most difficult knowledge to acquire is political know-how.

So just what are those "political skills?"  Find a Valyrian sword and get yourself ready for a "Game of Thrones?" It's true you will come across people who approach politics as a game of winners and losers but here I'm focusing on positive political skills like building relationships, networking, consensus building, internal organizing and building power together to make our union stronger.

Take a moment to think about this quote by Alexis de Tocqueville in 1831...

"In democratic countries, knowledge of how to combine is the mother of all other forms of knowledge;  on it's progress depends that of all the others."

The knowledge of how to combine (to organize) is the political skill that all other political skills will build on.

Some of you may remember when Dr. Elaine Bernard spoke at the women's conference in 2011, take a closer look as she teaches us about how to combine.

How do you take action? Is this worth your time?

Do you want to be involved?  Will you catch the torch?

The best school for political skills/know-how is participation!

The third stage can be really tough for aspiring women leaders.  It can be a vulnerable time because you show up, want to make a difference and you really put yourself out there.  A time when you may face those who critically challenge you and try to block your progress.  A time that may cause you to become disillusioned, apathetic and disengage from labor activism.  Take a look at Brene Brown's video "Why Your Critics Aren't The Ones Who Count"

Has a quote ever changed your life?  Are you willing to dare greatly?

I know that some of us may still face a brogressive, lib-bro and outdated "old boys network" but many more of us know that our union grows stronger in diversity and like our sisters & brothers before us we will show up!  We will continue to educate, agitate and organize!

RESOURCES
Register for Teamster Women's Conference 2016
United State of Women 
Clara Day: A Teamster's Life
WOMEN’S UNION LEADERSHIP: CLOSING THE GENDER GAP
The Route To The Top:  Female Union Leaders and Union Policy

TEAMSTERS STAND ON A STRONG LEGACY

TEAMSTERS STAND ON A STRONG LEGACY

Learning about our history is where we see every day working people, just like us, do some extraordinary things.  Imagine in 1903, with the prevailing segregation in American society, forming an organization that was color blind or demanding equal pay for equal work even before women could vote.  Throughout our history we see the strong values our union was built on. The character, courage and commitment it took for every day working people, just like us, to make our world better. We have a history we can be proud of and a responsibility to pass it on.  We are Teamster history makers too!

Why learning about our history is so important:

-At first it's like some interesting facts or trivia but over time you start to recognize patterns.  Patterns of oppression and injustice that working people have faced and fought back against.  It makes a person wonder how they did it? You start to recognize that there is real power in collective action and solidarity.

-You start to realize that it's a constant struggle that you are a part of, you have a role and a stake in getting involved.

-It's not just something you read about, history is being made everyday.  History isn't just about our past, it's about our present and future too!  It's all connected.

-Recognizing the patterns in our history is a wake up call.  It's connecting the dots.  You then have to ask yourself,  "What am I going to do about it?"

-Learning about our history we can learn to do things better, quicker and sometimes easier.

-You learn the sleeping giant is you!  It's personal, it's political and everything in between.

-You learn that the very time you have to spend with your family is because someone else fought long and hard for it.  Even gave their lives for you to have a better life.  

-Sharing our history is a way we can share our values with others. 

-It's full of lessons we can learn, a road map and guide from working people's lives.  

Check out this workshop given by Karin Jones, IBT Historian!

                               

  Stand proud Teamsters!  Pick up the torch and pass it on!

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

 

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

 

"I am endlessly fascinated that playing football is considered a training ground for leadership, but raising children isn’t." -- Dee Dee Myers, former White House Press Secretary

 

The first and most basic prerequisite for leadership is the desire to lead. After all, it takes hard work to become an effective leader; and if you are not prepared to put this work in, or if, deep down, you're not sure whether you want to lead or not, you'll struggle to lead people effectively. Want to find out what kind of labor leader you'd be? Take the quiz!

Click Here - Which Labor Leader Are You?

I hope you had fun with the quiz, courtesy of Union Plus! 

In reality, leadership isn't about having a title or position, it's about courage,  character and behavior.  It takes time and happens one step at a time. 
Are you ready? What can you do?

STAGE TWO


From WOMEN’S UNION LEADERSHIP: CLOSING THE GENDER GAP
Michelle Kaminski and Elaine K. Yakura

The second stage in the process of developing union leaders is developing
basic skills. In the union setting, this might mean working on a committee, taking
workshops to improve communication skills, or learning a technical skill that is
central to the union such as grievance handling or organizing. Union activists in
this stage benefit greatly from having a mentor. A good mentor can provide
opportunities to put new skills into use, provide encouragement about the
member’s skill and capability, and offer guidance and advice when requested. A
second factor that particularly helps activists in this stage is belonging to a group
of peers who meet regularly and are at a similar stage of development. The peers
can be a huge asset to each other, because they can ask questions without fear of
being embarrassed in front of their mentor.

As Teamster women, one of the best places to build your "basic skills" is at the annual women's conference! There's always a wide variety and range of workshops to chose from like organizing, mobilizing members, political action and basic steward skills that will prepare you for leadership in our union. Take at look at this video from the conference in New York!

Have you started making plans to get to this years conference in Hollywood? From the classic work of Anne Nelson and Barbara Wertheimer in Trade Union Women: A Study of their Participation in New York City Locals, having the opportunity to get training and education made a key difference to women. Of course we already know education empowers! "DANGER EDUCATED TEAMSTER WOMAN!" T-shirt?

As great as our Teamster Women's conferences are, there are other opportunities for union education. The AFL CIO has an extensive list of universities that offer low cost training workshops that may be in your own back yard.

AFL CIO List

How about the UALE women's summer schools? Or like Mother Jones said, "Sit down and read. Educate yourself for the coming conflicts." I think you'd be surprised to find a wealth of information right at your fingertips! How could you build your skills if you have 1 hour to spare a week? Half hour? Is there something we can do every day to build Teamster power?


The 2nd factor that can help activist in this stage is joining a women's committee and/or the Teamster Women Facebook Group! We're using today's social media to empower and mentor each other. We're sharing what we have learned along with resources and ideas on how we can build power in our union and become leaders. We're connecting, networking and bonding in real relationships that would have taken years to build a decade ago. Women's lives are busy and sometimes it's hard to find time to attend union meetings, educational workshops or travel to a conference. Teamster Women Facebook Group is a place to connect all year round, on our own time and in real time that really works! Listen to Lori's (a founding member of TWFG) mentoring story...

 The basics of leadership haven't changed much over the last 100 years.

What are you waiting for?

 
RESOURCES:

http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/lwp/WURF%20Files/kaminski/kaminski%20Women's%20union%20ldshp.pdf

http://www.bergermarks.org/home/reports-guides/

https://uale.org/womens-schools/upcomingcurrent-classes

https://teamster.org/about/leadership

 

 

A WOMAN'S PLACE IS TO LEAD IN HER UNION

 

A WOMAN'S PLACE IS TO LEAD IN HER UNION

 

Taken from the recent report by the Institute for Women's Policy Research on the status of women in the US, union women’s leadership is critical to advances that are especially important to women and families—including equal pay, access to affordable child care, a higher minimum wage, and expanded access to paid sick days—and raising these issues to the forefront of unions’ agendas.

Union leadership can build the skills of talented women who may then expand their personal goals to include leadership in other areas of public life (Caiazza 2007).

Women make up a large and growing proportion of labor union members and have been closing the gender gap in union membership. In 2014, 6.6 million of 14.6 million union members were women, with women comprising 45.5 percent of all union members (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015a). Women’s share of union members has increased in each of the last three decades, from 33.6 percent in 1984, to 39.7 in 1994, and 42.6 in 2004 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2014) and women are projected to be the majority of union members by 2025 (Jones, Schmitt, and Woo 2014).

Stage One: Entry into Leadership

 

 

Also known as who does she think she is?!, ok Norma Rae or that's not "lady-like!" etc...

 

Finding your voice is the first step to understanding oneself as a person with power in an organizational setting. Not to mention that I know U-CAN!!!

 

 

Things to think about...

Most future leaders were urged, pushed, or pulled into leadership roles by another human being, usually an individual close to them who already held a leadership role with the union.

The classic work of Anne Nelson and Barbara Wertheimer in Trade Union Women: A Study of their Participation in New York City Locals, which showed that most women who moved from "members" to "leaders" of the union did so as a result of individual encouragement, usually from union leaders.

This and other research suggest that the most common and effective mode of leadership development is encouragement and recruitment by current union leaders.

Women were more likely to articulate their reasons for becoming leaders as helping others than because of their own ambition.

Poor working conditions or dissatisfaction with the union's handling made people want to become active but not usually enough to motivate people to take on leadership roles.

Having the opportunity to get training and education made a key difference to women. This could be formal or informal

 

One thing that observers of millennials agree on, including sociologists, union officials and managers, it’s that they communicate differently than older generations. They expect a constant flow of news, information and feedback. They were raised with a sensibility that leads them to think it’s a good thing to question whether the options being presented to them are the best ones possible. This is a generation that wants to be consulted.


"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be." -- Rosalynn Carter, former First Lady

RESOURCES:

https://www.kpmg.com/US/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/womens-leadership-study.pdf

http://statusofwomendata.org/app/uploads/2015/08/R409-Union-Advantage.pdf

https://teamster.org/about/leadership