46th UALE Northeast Regional Women's Summer School

Every year, United Association for Labor Education (UALE) sponsors 4 regional “women’s schools”. These residential programs last 4 days and include classes and workshops on a variety of labor-related topics. Women from all over the country and beyond learn the skills and knowledge needed to play leadership roles in their organizations. Visitors from labor unions and workers’ organizations in other countries frequently participate. One of the most valuable aspects of the schools is the chance to meet and network with other labor women from around your region and beyond.  You can learn about the other three schools on the UALE website.

> Register for the 2023 UALE NE Women's Summer School
(Registration is temporarily closed due to full capacity.)

All participants will choose from workshops designed to improve leadership skills and capacities. Multi-day workshops will be offered to allow for in-depth learning experiences and practical application. The courses are designed to promote development of self and relationships; organizational leadership; how labor’s values and issues intersect; member engagement, and an understanding of the economic and political forces shaping today’s labor movement. Summer school instructors are intergenerational pairs of union officers, staff, and labor educators from universities, unions and worker organizations. Throughout the week, experts on current labor issues share their knowledge and wisdom as guest speakers. Evening activities provide opportunities to network and have fun!  

Visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NEunionwomensummerschool

Petal Robertson
Secretary-Treasurer, NJEA

We are honored to have Petal Robertson, Secretary-Treasurer of the NJEA as our keynote speaker on the final day of the Women's Summer School.

Robertson has found creative ways to organize union members for different causes, including Restorative Justice Montclair, the Vision and Voices program and the 8:46 Project. Robertson is a dynamic leader, a truth-teller and has a commitment to the fight for racial, social and economic justice in and outside of the school community.

Laurel Brennan
Secretary-Treasurer, NJ AFL-CIO

We welcome Laurel Brennan back on opening night to the NE Summer School for Union Women. She has been involved in past schools as an instructor and a participant going back to 1977.

Laurel Brennan was elected as the first woman to the position of Secretary-Treasurer of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO in January 1997. Brennan, partnership with NJ State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech, develops and implements statewide policies that impact 1 million union members and their families, including the Raise the Wage campaign, fight for equal pay and earned sick leave.

Adrienne Eaton
Dean, School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR)
Rutgers University

Adrienne Eaton is the Dean of the School of Management and Labor Relations and a distinguished professor of Labor Studies and Employment at the Rutgers University. She is also a past President of the Rutgers AAUP-AFT, the union of faculty and graduate student employees at Rutgers.

Dean Eaton has expertise in Union participation in management decision-making and the relationship of unions to direct forms of worker participation; negotiation, effectiveness and outcomes of neutrality and card check agreements and the impact of unionization of particular groups of workers.

Nikol Alexander-Floyd
AAUP-AFT Member
Professor Political Science, Rutgers University

Nikol Alexander-Floyd is a Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University-New Brunswick with specialties in Women & Politics, Race and Ethnic Politics and Public Law. She was a leader in the historic Rutgers Strike and a member of the AAUP-AFT.

As a lawyer and political scientist and an award-winning educator, Dr. Alexander-Floyd teaches a range of courses on Black feminist theory, Black women's political activism, and race, gender, media, and the law. Dr. Alexander-Floyd is the author of Gender, Race, and Nationalism Contemporary Black Politics (Palgrave Macmillan 2007).

Start and End times are confirmed. Events during Summer School may change.

Workshop A Choices

1. Building an Economy for Workers from Crisis:  Bargaining for the Common Good Framework
   Elizabeth Pellerito, UMass Lowell - Labor Education Program
   
   In this course we will explore the tenets of bargaining for the common good, how to prioritize competing goals, create a bargaining platform, mobilize membership with coordinated outreach & meaningful actions, and build a successful contract campaign

2. ---

   Gripe or Grievance: Strengthening the Contract; Strengthening the Union
   Michelle Keller, DC 37 AFSCME Retiree, NYC CLUW President and Valerie King, Senior Representative Organizer UWUA and President GNJ CLUW
   
   This workshop will address many questions including: What is the grievance process? How can we use it to organize within our Local ranks? What is my role as a Shop Steward/Delegate? How do I teach and inspire my members to seek justice in the workplace? We will learn to identify the grievance and work with management effectively. We will cover legal protections including Weingarten Rights, DFR, and Legal Rights of the Shop Steward. Grievances are neither the first resolution nor the only method of exerting pressure on mgmt. We will use group discussion, role play, presentation and lecture.  

3. ---

   Internal Organizing: Empowering and Activating Our Members        
   Susan Tindall
   
   This workshop wil give you the tools to engage members at a local level! Participants will explore the basic concepts of internal organizing –including but not limited to: forming an internal organizing committee, identifying organizing targets, defining issues to mobilize around, educating        workers about the union, and moving members to action. Through class discussion and hands-on training, we will share ideas and strategies for             engaging in effective one-on-one conversations and building organizational strength.

4. ---

   Running for Office in your Community or Local Union
   Nedelka McLean, Harry Van Arsdale SUNY Empire and Celeste Kirkland, TWU Local 100
   
   “The Future is Female!” Do you aspire to a higher leadership position in your community or in your union?  Have you attended rallies for social justice? Black Lives Matter, Immigration Reform, the Women’s Marches? Are you ready to find your voice and claim a seat at the table?  Drawing on the experience of successful women role models, this class will focus on strategies and tactics for overcoming barriers and building support for “moving up.”  You will develop an individual plan of action for achieving your goals within your community or union organization and quite possibly be inspired to run for public office!

5. ---

   Women in Non-Traditional Jobs: Making History, Coping Strategies and Changing the Culture
   Erin Sullivan, IBEW Local 3          
   
   This workshop will focus on the challenges facing women in non-traditional jobs and offer ways to cope in the working environment. We will also discuss the advantages and obstacles of aspiring towards leadership, ways to create sister solidarity and not just how to survive at your job but how to thrive in your union. 

6. ---

   Fighting United: Steps for Building & Working in Successful Coalitions
   Jeannette Garcia-Alonzo, Labor Education Coordinator, AFSCME and Pam Whitefield, UMass Lowell - Labor Education Program
   
   In this workshop, we will explore the elements of successful coalition campaigns and how to build strategic and respectful partnerships across diverse organizations, with different interests, values, and goals.

7. ---

   Collective Bargaining    
   Adrienne Eaton, Dean Rutgers SMLR, and Anneta Argyres, UMASS Labor Center, President Professional Staff Union/MTA/NEA
   
   This workshop will focus on the skills and strategies for collective bargaining. Participants will examine the negotiations process as an on-going          method for resolving workplace disputes. Topics included are: 1) Who is on the negotiations team? 2) How does a local union prepare for        negotiations, including situation analysis, planning and division of labor? 3) During negotiations: proposals, strategies, impasse, settlement, 4)         The contract: on going negotiations and contract administration. Instruction methods will include brief lectures, small groups, and simulations.     

Workshop B Choices

1. Addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the World of Work: An introduction to ILO Convention 190
   Ardra Manasi, Global Program Manager at the Center for Innovation in Worker Organization (CIWO)
   
   The workshop will introduce the participants to ILO Convention 190 (C190), the first international treaty to address violence and harassment in the world of work adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2019. Till date, 31 countries have ratified C190. Through the workshop, the participants will get an opportunity to explore how C190 [along with Recommendation 206] can be operationalized and implemented (even before ratification), within their respective workplace contexts and settings.

2. ---

   Healing Justice Arts
   Alethia Jones, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
   
   We will use movement, music, poetry, and sing-along songs to explore healing as part of our freedom struggle. Participants will learn techniques they can use for themselves or use with others. Comfortable clothes and shoes recommended (barefoot ok).  Possibility of class session held outdoors, weather permitting.

3. ---

   Speak Up, Stand Out and Amplify the Movement Online 
   Kristianna Brown, Communications Specialist for the UNITE HERE International Union
   
   Discover the transformative power of storytelling in this dynamic communications training. Learn how to share your stories online and on social media to inspire, mobilize, and proudly showcase your union's strength. Master the art of engaging social media posts, utilizing multimedia elements to captivate and cultivate a vibrant online community. Explore the visual storytelling potential of photography and videography. Gain practical skills in framing messages, targeting audiences, and leveraging social media analytics to amplify the reach and impact of your stories. 

4. ---

   Public Speaking        
   Arianna Schindle, Director of Training and Curriculum Design, Equity and Worker Rights, Worker Institute
   
   Are you worried that you’ll blank before an audience? Or are you just looking for tips to improve your oral presentations? This workshop is designed to give you self-confidence and polish in speaking before various groups. You’ll have the opportunity for practice and feedback in a friendly, sympathetic setting, and the benefit of up-to-date strategies for coping with public speaking. 

5. ---

   Racial Justice
   Kasi Perreira Director of Leadership and Organizational Development at Center for Innovation in Worker Organization (CIWO), and Sheri Gates, Associate Director CIWO, Assistant Professor, SMLR Rutgers
   
   Description Forthcoming

6. ---

   Social Justice Tour of New Brunswick: New Labor and the fight for a Temp Workers Bill of Rights/Direct Action
   Germania Hernandez , Olga Morales and Jeniffer Garcia New Labor Organizers
   
   Join organizers from New Labor on a tour of the temp agencies in New Brunswick and learn about their successful fight for a Temp Worker Bill of Rights.  This unusual workshop will end with a training on direct action strategies used by New Labor to win both monetary and political demands from employers and the state.  A van will take us to the start of the tour.  If you have mobility concerns, please let us know in advance so we can accommodate your participation in this workshop.  BILINGUAL Spanish/English

7. ---

   The Legal Right To Resist
   Tamara Lee, Assistant Professor, Labor Studies and Employment Relations, Rutgers
   
   This workshop covers basics and contemporary issues in federal and state labor law (e.g., employment-at-will, Title VII, wage and hour, the NLRA). We will then transition to the legal right to resist "unjust laws" (both on their face and in application), with resources for civil disobedience and discussion of opportunities for the labor movement at this political moment. This is the class to take if you, like me, have a problem with authority!
   We will also discuss the recent decision in Student for Fair Admission v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admission v. University of North Carolina 

8. ---

   Nuts & Bolts of Quality Political Doorknocking: How UNITE HERE workers took on Trump, Pennsylvania and Working Class Political Apathy
   Rosslyn Wukinich, President President, UNITE HERE Local 274 and Sheila Silver UNITE HERE Philly
   
   After Donald Trump won Pennsylvania in the 2016 Presidential race, UNITE HERE Philadelphia decided it needed to do more than the volunteer door-knocking shifts it had been doing on political elections.  Using strategies from other UNITE HERE locals around the country, Philadelphia union leaders designed a massive and wildly successful door-to-door political program that knocked on over 350,000 doors in the 2020 Presidential race and almost 1,000,000 doors in the 2022 U.S. Senate & PA Governor’s races.  This workshop will teach the basics of deep, quality canvassing and why it matters.  We will practice how to talk with community members who have given up on the political system and how to connect their concerns not only to politics but to building the Union.  BILINGUAL Spanish/English

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The UALE Northeast Summer School for Women in Unions and Worker Organizations strives to be a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students and instructors alike. We adhere to the following principles of unity:

To respect each other's race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender expression and identity, immigrant status, sexual orientation, political affiliation, and language.

To communicate in class and during the summer school with awareness that:

• Life experiences and perceptions vary; be mindful of what you say and how you say it.
• What you mean to say, with the best of intentions, may not always be interpreted that way by others.
• Giving constructive feedback promotes respectful dialogue.
• Being open to hearing constructive feedback promotes understanding.

The Union Women’s Summer Schools began in the Northeast Region in the late 1970s and expanded to the Midwest, Western, and Southern Districts of the United States. Their conception was rooted in the traditions of early worker education as exemplified by the Bryn Mawr summer schools for Women Workers of the 1920s and the Works Progress Administration worker education programs of the 1930s.

Courses of study were tailored to the needs and interests of working people. Barbara Wertheimer, Director of Cornell’s Institute of Women and Work, introduced the idea to colleagues in the University and College Labor Education Association (precursor to UALE). Encouraged by the the rising feminist movement and the founding of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, UCLEA launched its first school in 1975 at the University of Connecticut.

Designed by a committee of labor educators, the residential schools bring together women workers, officers and staff of unions and workers organizations to strengthen their knowledge of the labor movement and develop skills which will enable them to become more active and influential in their organizations. The schools are a place where women workers can share experiences and give one another support. As Gloria Johnson, past President of CLUW and frequent speaker at the schools’ graduations ceremonies pointed out, “We have to create 'old girls' networks to be able to support each other and advance.” The schools contribute to this objective, as evidenced by the record of participants. Since 1975, the schools have educated thousands, many of whom have become leaders of their unions.

• $750 Double Occupancy 
• $850 Single Occupancy  
• $525 for worker organizations other than unions 
• $400 Commuter cost

The cost to attend is $750 (double room) or $850 (single room). This includes tuition, housing, meals, and parking for the four days of summer school.  Residents will be housed on campus, in dormitory apartments near the Labor Education Center (LEC). Each apartment has 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom, and will house two to four women. All apartments are non-smoking. Commuters to the school will pay a fee of $400, which includes tuition, parking, and two meals per day; commuter slots are limited. You should plan to arrive the afternoon of Monday, July 10, and the graduation program will end at approximately 1pm on Friday, July 14. 

Limited scholarship support is available. We request that Union members ask their Local to sponsor their attendance. The scholarship form will be available online in April or by contacting Djar Horn at wss2023@smlr.rutgers.edu. 

A limited number of partial scholarships are available and will be awarded based on individual need. We ask that you approach your union, Central Labor Council, or organization to cover your registration costs before you apply.

The scholarship application is available here. Contact Djar Horn at djar.horn@rutgers.edu with questions about scholarships. 

The Women's Summer School is an exciting week of learning and solidarity. Space is limited to 150 participants, so register early!

Register online with payment by check or by credit card. Your organization can make payment to cover your registration by either method.  

Registration deadline: June 15, 2023 

Cancellation Deadline: June 15, 2023 

> Click here to register for the 2023 UALE NE Women's Summer School

All cancellations must be received in writing by email. Full refunds less a $25 cancellation fee are available until June 15, 2023. Cancellations made after June 15, 2023 will incur an additional $150 fee. Registered participants who fail to cancel in writing prior to the start of the summer school on July 10, 2023 and do not attend the program will not receive a refund except in extreme circumstances that will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. 

We have received updated guidance from Rutgers University as of March 2023. If the University updates the COVID policy prior to the start of the Summer School, we will notify all participants and post the information here. However, we have confirmed that the policy below will be in effect for the duration of our 2023 summer conference season. 

• Guests to the university will no longer be required to show proof of vaccination or negative COVID test.  Group representatives will no longer be required to attest to the vaccination status of their participants.  
• Face Coverings are not required in academic or administrative settings. Wearing a face covering is required of all faculty, staff, students, and visitors in all clinical settings. While masking is optional in academic and administrative settings, we do encourage it. 

Women’s Summer School Position 

In solidarity with those of us that are at higher risk, we ask all participants to consider wearing masks during the group activities. Masks and tests will be provided at the Women's Summer School. Further direction will be available prior to the start of the school.   

We are working on eating arrangements for those that need distance. More details to follow.   

For the latest Women's Summer School updates, check out our Facebook page!

For more information about the 2023 program, contact the Rutgers Women’s Summer School team at wss2023@smlr.rutgers.edu.