Local 6 member Pedro de Sa at the 2010 LEAD conference
Rank-and-file leaders and elected officers from across the ILWU gathered in San Diego from September 20th-25th to attend a series of workshops, seminars and to collaborate on interactive group projects. The goal of the week-long Leadership, Education and Development (LEAD) institute was to provide participants with tools to be more effective leaders in their work in democratic unions and to make them more effective in implementing organizational goals.
“This requires two skills: problem solving and the ability to build agreement,” said Retired Education Director, Gene Vrana, who helped to organize this year’s institute. The LEAD program draws participants from throughout the ILWU and the workshops throughout the week are designed to maximize interaction between participants. The goal is to promote solidarity and broaden their understanding of the different struggles and challenges faced by locals throughout the ILWU.
“They moved us around in different small groups and different lessons with a new set of people. That really helps us to engage with a wide variety of people throughout the week,” said Leslie Lincoln of the American Radio Association. Many participants felt that this aspect of the training was particularly valuable.
“First and foremost what I will take away from this is the fellowship with all of the other locals—learning about their struggles and what we have in common; what our differences are and how together we can increase member participation, “ said Local 13 member Donovan Russell.
“There was great interaction with people from up and down the coast—people we had never met before the conference are now family,” added Mario Medina, also from Local 13. The participants were tasked in the final days to create a membership action plan based on the tools they acquired in the first half of the week.
The LEAD Institute emphasized group participation, collaboration and collective problem solving skills.
“Getting more members involved has definitely been an issue for us,” said Local 6’s Pedro De Sa, who was excited that everyone would emerge from the retreat with some actions items that could be implemented once they returned home.
“We need to be growing as a union but because of the economy we aren’t.
We are all concerned about that—we want security for ourselves and our families and with a program like this, we have to tools and resources to make our locals better able to deal with the issues we are all facing,” said Victor Gasset of Local 26. All of the ILWU International officers attended at least a portion of this year’s conference.
The International’s support and networking with all members from across the ILWU was not lost on Local 5 member Katy Imbrone. The experience, she said, made her feel that she was part of something very big. “I feel very supported,” said Imbrone. “I’ve always said that if we need them, the
International will have our back. So for me to have that personal experience and to come here and see folks from the International and all of the other locals—that’s very powerful and very reassuring. I will definitely take that back with me in my everyday work in the union—knowing that there is an organization behind us, that there is a greater goal we are working towards and that we are doing this for the right reasons.”