LABOR CENTER RISING AND ON THE MOVE! Washington State Labor Education and Research Center South Seattle Community College November, 2013 E-News

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1 LABOR CENTER RISING AND ON THE MOVE! Washington State Labor Education and Research Center South Seattle Community College November, 2013 E-News We send regular bulletins to announce Labor Center news and activities. IF YOU WISH TO BE REMOVED FROM OR ADDED TO THIS LIST, please send a message to william.brucher@seattlecolleges.edu. Information about Center activities and resources is also available at our website - This week in labor history Note to Will: Since tomorrow is the anniversary of the Everett massacre, I think it would make sense to devote the entirety of history section of the blast to this event, but there s only this one sentence on the website. Can you write a bit more to beef this up? November 05 Everett, Wash., massacre, at least seven Wobblies killed, 50 wounded and an indeterminate number missing 1916 LEAD ARTICLE Registration Deadline Extended!! You now have until Wednesday, November 6 th to register for our upcoming Union P.O.W.E.R. class - Labor History of the United States to be held on Friday, November 15 th from 1:00 5:00 p.m. AND Saturday November 16 th from 8:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THIS CLASS SIGN UP NOW this includes District Faculty, Staff or Students. We have a minimum enrollment requirement to run our classes and this class is currently under-enrolled. If we don t get a minimum of 10 people signed up by Wednesday, the class will be cancelled. Register through Continuing Education at Cost: $125 per person. Look in the Professional Column for Labor Education. Let us know if you need help registering! For Seattle Community College District Faculty, Staff or Students, it is FREE. Call to register. This class will be held at the Georgetown Campus of South Seattle Community College 6737 Corson Ave S, Seattle, WA 98108, Bldg. C 212.

2 Labor History of the U.S. - Class Description: Understanding the struggles of workers in the U.S. for decent wages and benefits, and for respect and a voice on the job can go a long way towards inspiring current union members and non-union workers to stand up and be counted. Labor history is woefully under-taught in our public education system. Even the most experienced union leader might never have had the chance to really learn about what working people in this country went through to gain the rights we take for granted today. Although 12 hours is too little to cover this massive subject we will choose some particular areas to focus on. Some of the subjects could include a regional focus on labor history of the Pacific Northwest, the connection between the labor movement and the civil rights movement, or women in the labor movement, to name only a few. Ideally we would like to design the class around the interests of those who will attend, so will register early and help us decide what to cover! The class will be multi-media including pictures, artifacts, video, and music. Bring your own history and see how the stories of you and your family fit in! WELCOME LISA PAU, OUR NEW LABOR EDUCATOR!! (insert photograph) Prior to joining the Labor Center, Lisa practiced union-side labor law for many years in the Bay Area and Seattle, advocating on behalf of labor unions, affiliated groups, and workers of all backgrounds. She has worked with a wide variety of unions, from the Teamsters and teachers unions, to the building and construction trades, food workers and service employees. She has taught labor law and introduction to law classes as adjunct and part-time faculty, including classes offered at the main campus of South Seattle Community College. Lisa graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco; she also has a degree from the University of Washington in Sustainable International Development. With Lisa s expertise, the Labor Center will be offering increased programming around legal issues and international trade. You can contact Lisa at , or lisa.pau@seattlecolleges.edu Twenty-four States Have Right To Work Laws NOW is the Time to MAKE SURE IT NEVER HAPPENS HERE... Conference on Saturday, November 9 th, 2013 from 9:00 am - Noon The Washington State Labor Council and labor communicators from across the state invite union leaders, union reps, labor educators and activists to a training on how to create media messages for union members about the threat Right to Work laws pose in our state. Oregon will have an RTW ballot measure in ALEC s top legislative priority is to weaken unions. It is very likely that RTW legislation will be introduced in the Washington State Legislature in the 2014 session. The conversation must begin NOW so our members understand what our unions and our communities stand to lose. We will have materials available for use at union meetings. Where: Georgetown Campus of South Seattle Community College 6770 East marginal Way S Bldg E Room 370. Thanks to the Seattle Building Trades Council for hosting this event.

3 To Register: Call or WSLC Communications Director Kathy Cummings SAVE THE DATE! Labor Law Class and Launch Celebration for the new Washington State Workers Rights Manual is Coming In February! On Friday, February 7 th & Saturday February 8 th, 2014 the Labor Center will offer a new labor law class for those interested in learning about and/or doing training on basic workplace rights. Then, on Saturday afternoon/evening, we will have an official launch celebration for the new manual, open to the community. Stay tuned for more details! THE LABOR CENTER IS DEISGNING A SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM TO BEGIN IN 2014! Are you interested in having students work with your organization on campaigns to mobilize union or community members around important workplace and social justice issues? How about having some help with new union organizing campaigns on the ground or doing strategic research? Modeled after the AFL-CIO Union Summer program, and the UC Berkeley Labor Summer Internship Program, the WA LERC will be offering recruitment, training, and placement services for students who are interested in working for economic justice. The first step in our planning is a SURVEY we will be asking labor leaders to complete. It will be coming out shortly. If you are interested in creating a placement for interns and/or helping the Labor Center design the program, please contact Lisa Pau at or lisa.pau@seattlecolleges.edu Check our this great Shop Steward Training video (insert link)! Produced by Kathy Cummings at the Washington State Labor Council, in collaboration with OPEIU Local 8, this is a great resource for helping shop stewards learn representation skills. Note to Will: Here are listings for the Calendar section of the blast note that dates are subject to change and all events are at SSCC GT campus unless otherwise stated. November 9 th, 2013 Right-to-Work Conference November 15 th & 16 th, 2013 U.S. Labor History Class February 7 th & 8 th, 2014 Labor Law Class & launch of the new Washington State Workers Rights Manual March 14 th & 15 th, 2014 Shop Steward Train-the-Trainer Class April 22 nd 27 th, 2014 in Spokane, Regional Labor Council L.E.A.P. (Leadership Education and Activist Program) April 22 nd 27 th, 2014 in Seattle, Emerging Leaders Initiative Program

4 May 29 th 31 st, 2014 Collective Bargaining Training June 13 th 15 th, 2014 Pacific Northwest Labor History Association Conference, Vancouver Island, British Columbia June 18 th, 2014 Health & Safety Training for labor leaders, in collaboration with the University of Washington School of Public Health July 8 th 13 th, 2014 Summer Institute for Union Women, University of Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, hosted by the B.C. Federation of Labour LABOR CENTER GRANT PROGRAM The Labor Center is now offering financial assistance for those who would like to attend our programs but for whom the cost of registration or travel is a barrier. Applications for grants are due one week prior to the registration deadline for the program you wish to attend. To learn more about our grant program, look on our website at FREE LABOR HISTORY PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE!! These presentations include great stories from the history of labor organizing, a Power Point slide show, and music! We will bring this educational, entertaining, and dynamic presentation to your meetings or events. To schedule a presentation, sarah.laslett@seattlecolleges.edu. NEED A TRAINING TAILORED FOR YOUR UNION? If what we're already offering does not meet the needs of your union or organization, we can design and implement trainings on a wide variety of topics for one or more unions or organizations. We have a standard fee schedule for preparation and training. Some of the topics we can train on include:

5 Rank & File Leadership Collective Bargaining Recruiting the Next Generation of Leaders Basic Workers' Rights Union or Not Immigration and Labor Strategic Planning & Campaign Design Salting Meeting Facilitation Organizing: Internal and External Shop Stewarding MEETING FACILITATION Having a critical meeting to figure out its goals and strategies? Would you benefit from having an outside facilitator who can make your meeting as productive as possible? The Labor Center can provide this service for a fee as well as combine facilitation with education about how to have effective meetings in the future. Contact us. WORKERS RIGHTS MANUAL: This is an invaluable resource that offers easy access to lots of vital information about workers rights in Washington State. It can be downloaded for free at our website in both English & Spanish Staff & Contact Information: Sarah Laslett, Director sarah.laslett@seattlecolleges.edu Will Brucher, Labor Educator William.brucher@seattlecolleges.edu The Labor Center has a web site! - The site includes a catalogue of some of the trainings available, the current schedule of classes and events, information about Center resources are available to the public (like our film & book libraries), our Workers Rights Manual, and the Asian Workers Journey for Justice Project. The resource section of the site is still under development but will eventually include labor history timelines and lots of useful links. PLEASE LINK OUR SITE TO YOURS AND SEND US LINKS TO USEFUL SITES THAT WE SHOULD INCLUDE ON OURS!!

6 The Labor Center has a Facebook page! Go to and log in or join, then search for solidarity works and you will find the link to our page. Enjoy! You Tube Channel