Twenty-seven members from four UE locals attended the Labor Notes Troublemakers School which was held at the Steamfitters Local 601 Hall on October 4. Locals 1103, 1122, 1177, and 1186 each contributed members to the UE delegation, which was by far the largest of any union in attendance. The Troublemakers Schools are all-day conferences that cover organizing skills and highlight real-world examples of taking on the boss.
During the conference, Local 1186 President Mike Tomaloff, attended the “Secrets of a Successful Organizer: Beating Apathy” workshop on how to combat membership disengagement in the rank and file and the “Labor History” workshop. The latter was focused on militancy in the labor movement throughout history. He described the energy at the conference: “I think people left feeling very empowered and felt a renewed sense of what is possible when it comes to labor,” he said. “I think people felt the sense of ‘when we fight, we win.’”
Members also attended workshops on new organizing, assertive grievance handling, and immigrant rights. Other workshops taught members how to assemble union leaders within a local, turn an issue into a campaign, and get involved in politics. Lauren Johnson, a Local 1122-NUGW trustee said, “I was very inspired by the wisdom of the panelists during the ‘Doing Politics Differently’ workshop… I also learned about how significant a political action campaign (PAC) team can be, and I hope to start something similar at NUGW-UE so we can endorse and campaign for local politicians in the Chicago/Evanston area.” The conference ended with a session on power mapping to build strength in the union.
Tomaloff said the Troublemakers School “furthered my thoughts about our labor fight and it solidified that it doesn’t matter what you do, where you work, or what your union is — we are all in one fight. It doesn't matter if you are a teacher or highway worker — we need to reach not only inside our union bubble but outside of our workplace and build power. Stop looking at people to the left of you that you know but look for the people that you don’t know. Look for the people that don’t know about militant union action.”