DELEGATES AND GUEST PARTICIPATE IN ‘INCREDIBLE’ WORKSHOPS

On September 27 and 28, Convention delegates and guests attended workshops that covered a range of topics, including:

+ Growing Masonry and Tile’s Share of the Construction Pie
+ Market Recovery Best Practices
+ Organizing and Supporting Immigrant Craftworkers and Apprentices
+ Recruiting and Retaining Women Craftworkers and Apprentices
+ Effective Member Communication in the Digital Age
+ Effective Use of Action Builder
+ Working Effectively with CBTU

“I always find something from each workshop that I can take back to my local,” said Matt Braun, Local 8 Illinois President. One of the four workshops he attended was Organizing and Supporting Immigrant Craftworkers and Apprentices. “It is an untapped [area] for us... All our staff are male, white guys that don’t speak Spanish, so anytime I can hear about that, it’s very useful.”

Local 2 Michigan President Paul Dunford felt that the Effective Use of Action Builder and the Recruiting and Retaining Women Craftworkers and Apprentices workshops really stood out. “I saw how hard it is for [women] to get into the industry,” he said. “We were able to hear their perspective and I think that helped all of the guys here… I would say we have less than 100 women in our local throughout the state, and there is obviously a lot more opportunity. I hope we can build that.”

“I think the workshops were incredible… getting perspective on what my representatives at the union hall are doing is huge,” said Local 1 OR/WA/ID/MT apprentice Chelsea Collson. “It is nice to know that [the union has] these resources, because that means that I have them as resources… I know that Local officers have all the tools that they need to support me.”