More than 300 of SEIU 721's top problem-solvers, educators, and communicators have gathered at union offices in every region over the past year for a series of training sessions designed to help them hone their skills as front-line worksite leaders.
Sponsored by the Member Leadership Academy, the trainings are designed to provide stewards and other work-site leaders with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to build a united, organized and involved membership in their workplace.
The ongoing training series includes:
- New steward orientation
- Grievance handling skills
- Family Medical Leave Act
“Exciting and inspiring”
Mirna Cuadroz-Rico, a L.A. County Department of Public Social Services employee who attended a March 5 steward orientation session, described it as “exciting and inspiring.” She left with a new understanding of employees’ rights at work, she said, and put that newfound knowledge to use right away.
“The day after the training, I went to the union website and printed the information it had on the Weingarten rights, made copies and passed it out to all of my co-workers,” she said. “We talked about this right and I helped them to be more empowered by sharing this knowledge.”
Facilitated by Debbie Dominguez, coordinator for the SEIU 721 Leadership Academy, the trainings are designed to be interactive and dynamic. Participants share stories of how they got involved as union stewards, discuss the challenges they face at their work, and learn from others’ experiences, said Len Curiel, an intermediate typist clerk from L.A. County Department of Public Social Services.
"It gave me an idea that if anything should happen in my neck of the woods, at least I know how to deal with it in the most effective way,” he added.
Interactive exercises and role plays
Eula Leichman, a L.A. County Department of Public Health employee who attended a daylong grievance handling skills training on March 19, said she learned how to help employees with their issues by conducting an investigation prior to filing a grievance, and the training’s interactive format helped reinforce those ideas. “The exercises and role plays enhanced the learning process,” Leichman said.
Francine Galvan, a Ventura County employee who participated in an earlier training session, agreed. “Participants played management on one side and the union on the other,” Galvan said. “I could see both sides of an issue and which questions or arguments were effective. Some brought up questions and arguments I never thought of.”
In addition to learning skills to apply at work on a day-to-day basis, participants said the trainings provided a greater sense of how stewards’ efforts fit into the larger picture of the labor movement.
Before the orientation, Mirna Cuadroz-Rico said, “I was not aware of the fight that exists in other states in the United States that are struggling to form a union and how we are in the same struggle to protect our union while becoming stronger.”
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Sign up today!
Trainings for SEIU 721 member leaders are held in every region on an ongoing basis.
For more information, call Debbie Dominguez, Leadership Academy Coordinator, at 213-738-8426.
Want to sign up for a training?
Apply online.
"[The training] gave me an idea that if anything should happen in my neck of the woods, at least I know how to deal with it in the most effective way."
Len Curiel
Intermediate Typist-Clerk
L.A. County DPSS
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